Get used to taking an ASS BEATING!

WARNING WHAT FOLLOWS IS INTENDED FOR THOSE WHO TRAIN AS WARRIORS TRAIN AND DO AS WARRIORS DO. IF YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A "WEEKEND" WARRIOR, OR JUST TRAIN IN THE COMBAT ARTS FOR FUN. THEN DON'T READ THIS BECAUSE YOU WON"T FUCKING COMPREHEND IT. THANK YOU AND HAVE A NICE FUCKING DAY!


If there is one prolific thing I learned when I first started training 20 years ago is I had better get used to getting my ass kicked on a regular basis, and in some cases on a daily basis. Most people begin their martial arts journey so they don't get their ass kicked in everyday life. The thing is toughness is not a natural born attribute it is an acquired attribute and believe me it has a big fucking price tag. The Combat Arts are not for the faint of heart.

If you truly want to train like a Warrior and BE a Warrior then you have to "pay your dues" so to speak. What I mean by that is you are going to have to deal with more than your fair share of assholes that beat the hell out of you in sparring. Then years later you realize that they weren't being assholes and could have literally turned you into a puddle of DNA on the mat if they really wanted to. They were working with you and teaching you through applicable experience.

I can recall plenty of times that I would go home pissed off, complaining that I had my face beat in, bleeding from one or more places, and with a limb that didn't want to work correctly for at least a week. This would go on for about five years.... for me anyway. Then at some point your perspective of things matures and mutates into longing for those hardcore training sessions where you feel like you have gone through an epic war and wearing all of your "battle" wounds like a badge of honor. There's nothing quite like trying to limp with pride.

As time goes on you get the privilege of being the ass kicker. Which is a completely different experience. Then it is also your duty to help others pay their dues so that they can continually progress as Warriors.

Obviously training like a Warrior is not for everyone and that is completely ok.

I am a Warrior and I am absolutely thankful to all those that have kicked my ass over the last 2 decades. I am now especially thankful to all of my students who try so diligently to beat my ass on a regular basis. Keeps me humble and keeps me training as hard as I possibly can.

So many experts.. so little wisdom...

It is very sad to me that there are so many things that you can get "certified" in. Read a manual, fill out a study guide, watch a video... and magically you are a "certified" whatever. But what about experience? What about wisdom? What about being in the trenches and truly learning by trial and error?

Granted it is best to study everything that you can about your craft. But studying is not enough.... NEVER enough! You must get your hands dirty, you must risk epic failure before you can experience epic victory in anything in life.

You walk into any gym in the country and I guarantee you will see an anorexic looking trainer working at that gym putting their clients through the worst possible exercises with the wrong form. I witness it DAILY at the gym I train at. It is very unfortunate in my opinion. People come into a gym expecting that the trainers truly know what they are doing and willingly do the exercises that could very well cause serious injury or exacerbate an old injury.

Experience is the most important certification anyone could ever have. And it is by far the toughest to get.

WTF!

When I logged into the internet a little while ago there was a headline on MSN.COM titled "New exercise you can do in your chair".... I wish it was a joke but as usual it isn't. WTF! The majority of the population doesn't even have the discipline to sit with correct posture in a chair let alone sit at their desk and do an exercise. I am willing to bet that out of 1000 people that may read that article... less than 3% will even try it. Less than 1% of the 3% will do it more than once. WHY? Because why would anyone in their right mind want to do an exercise at the work place. Most people can't hardly stand their jobs and that doesn't exactly create any self motivation at all. People are better off making time to workout consistently instead of trying stupid shit at work that wastes time and does nothing.....