An Athlete at any age...

Just finished my first official workout at the Power House gym....man did I feel like a toys r us kid in that place. It was hard for me not to do every exercise I could think of. As soon as I got there I began warming up with 80 pound dumbbell snatches and an older gentleman approached me and asked me if I was preparing for the Scottish Games....I replied "no sir I am a fighter and a MMA Coach", he said the reason he asked that is because he has very rarely ever seen anyone do that particular exercise. Which I have never seen anyone outside the internet do the exercise either. After talking for a while I learned that he is a 3 time National Scottish Games Champion and he is 64 YEARS OLD!!!! He is not huge by bodybuilding standards but he has the "power" look, he is dense and thick, he was moving some big poundages too on every exercise he did. He was very down to earth and just loves to compete as an athlete, he doesn't even care if he wins money or wins the competitions.... he loves the entirety of his sport. It was an honor to meet this 64 year old athlete and just reaffirmed my drive to work hard and never place limitations on my self. He even gave me tips on making my dumbbell snatch much better...

Always on my mind....

You know...there is a quote that is constantly in my head and has been firmly beat into me over the years. I am not sure who originally said it but whoever it was, was a genius.

Here it is...

For what level of mediocrity will you settle for?

That goes through my mind everyday, all day long. Although no one has ever accused me of being average or mediocre at anything I do it still pushes me and drives me on a daily and sometimes minute by minute basis. I hate the term average or mediocre...hell... I hate the term "good".... Most people think it is great to be called "good" at something. There is another quote that comes to mind which states "The good is the enemy of the best"...have no clue who wrote it but it is a good one as well. I honestly do not think that I am "good", "great", or the best at anything. I will not be solidified by such terms, I have an insatiable desire to improve in every aspect of the martial arts and life in general. I can never be to fast, strong, technical, or agile enough. There is no such thing as enough in my world..(so I think anyway).

Last week I was humbled by a 10 year old girl who is in Mr. Gilberts Junior Kenpo class. She is also an amazing gymnast as well. She may be tiny but her core strength and pound for pound strength out does most people I have ever met or trained with. I did her 5min abdominal routine with her and of course was pathetic in my performance. I loved the fact that I could not do what she was capable of doing, which may sound strange to some. I am a firm believer the you can never be "humbled" enough...notice I didn't say humiliated. It was refreshing to see someone, correction.... an ATHLETE at her age to have that kind of core strength. Some may argue that she doesn't weigh very much or that gymnastics is way different than MMA....who cares...strength is strength especially when it is displayed under complete control. I respect and admire elite athletes in every sport...those that shatter the boundaries of the good and the best, who seek that ever elusive perfection knowing they will never fully obtain it but never stop trying to grab onto it with both hands regardless of what others "believe".

So the next time you hear the "lazy" voice in your head screaming and begging you to stop, remember to ask yourself "For what level of mediocrity will you settle for".....

The 9pm class after a grueling training session. I have a great group of warriors that give me their all and more in class.

Fantastic job guys..... just wait till Thursday.....insert evil sadistic laugh....

Its Official

Last night our very own Josh "the Beast" Elmer made the cardio room of the Power House Gym a hard core training domain. I am pretty sure he threw up everything but his shoes....

Last nights 7pm training session was Ruthless as usual....great job guys.

9PM Class

For all of you that were at class on March 6th....excellent job. Everyone did at least three 5min rounds of positional grappling, and that isn't easy to do by any means.

DSMA Videos

Dragons Spirit Martial Arts student Matt demonstrating the ever popular med ball slam.

Brocks Next Opponent

According to Sherdog.com, Coleman and Lesnar will square off at UFC 87 on Aug. 9, which will take place in Minneapolis, Minn.