It amazes me that so many people think that they are "special" or "unique". Usually they believe this because their mommy or daddy said they were during their childhood. News flash people.... no one is fucking special or unique. You are just you.... did that sound profound... I sure as hell hope not! I don't know how many "aspiring" fighters I talk to on a weekly basis... but I do know that at least every other one thinks that they have a "special" something that sets them a part from everyone else. Well that belief in that special something doesn't keep someone from knocking them the fuck out. Nothing in this world takes the place of purposeful, consistant training. And boxing and wrestling with your buddies in a garage does not count as training. Have enough respect for the sport of MMA to at least train at a real MMA gym that has an actual coach that has fought before and produces fighters that are successful in the cage. The fact that people actually believe that they can fight in this sport with little to no training is appalling to say the least. It shows complete lack of respect for the sport and to those who actually train and coach day in and day out for years.

If you meet people that fit the above description... tell them to grow a pair and train for real.

"What fun is it? Why all that hard, exhausting work? Where does it get you? Where's the good of it? It is one of the strange ironies of this strange life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest..."

Brutus Hamilton, Coach of Olympic Track Team, 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Your life deserves 100% effort. Everything you do is an "investment" to your self. You either progress each day or you don't. If you don't then that is an entire day of lost opportunity. But a wise individual knows when rest is the "means" to the end.

Frustration

I had some extreme frustration while watching many of the cage fights last night. It is very difficult for me to be just a spectator and not want to coach everyone. I get irritated at some of the most ridiculous mistakes that a fighter can make. I ge...t so fed up with watching 2 fat fucks swinging butterball size fists at each other and the crowd loving it. Makes me want to throw Twinkies instead of applauding.

There is no "E" for effort in combat sports. Purposeful TRAINING YIELDS PURPOSEFUL RESULTS. I do not understand in any capacity how people don't seriously train. I only know one way to train and one way to train people... and that's with everything that I am. I do not in anyway care about the entertainment factor of the sport. I never will. I care about the the performance of the fighters. Warriors displaying their Art in the most skillful capacity.

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.....