Concrete Jungle where Dreams are made

New York. One month. Jiu Jitsu? I’m gonna learn... Jiu Jitsu? 

Flight, taxi, hostel, Tanja and Katherina and Flavio and Phillipe. Alone, jet lagged, settling in, wandering around, getting my bearings. I’m not in Kansas any more. Superbowl, sleepiness, bewilderment. Sleep. Jen, Jiu Jitsu, Vitor and Loro, Gabriel and Tete and too many others to name you all, my jiu jitsu family. Blues, purples, browns and blacks, oh my! Side control, collar choke, tap tap tap.

This is the end...

Happy Christmas everybody, and a Messy New Year!

So the year is rolling to a close. Almost everyone seems to have switched off for Christmas, taking it easy until the New Year rolls around before attempting once again to take things by the scruff of the neck. But, hey, why wait? Life’s about momentum. Finish 2010 in style, and starting 2011 with a bang will be that much easier.

My friend R___  mentioned that instead of waiting for January to make a big push, when everyone is in the gym, he always makes an effort to get his work done in December, when everyone else is winding down. That way, when the New Year arrives, he is already in shape and ready to start the year running.

What Would I Do?

"I am so smart! S-M-R-T... I mean S-M-A-R-T!"

It's December! Whooo! Bleh. Bear with me folks, I'm a little sick of writing right now, having churned out just over 50,000 words in the last month for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. So here's another article I wrote a year ago. Normal service will resume shortly.

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What Would I Do?

"Stupid like a fox!"

I’ve read far more self-help material than I’ll ever need and attended countless seminars, all in the aim of gathering every little scrap of knowledge out there. I recently realised that I knew more tricks, tips and techniques than I’d ever need to know and was becoming paralysed by too much information. Obviously my response to this revelation was to go and read more to discover how I could get past this hurdle. Since then, I’ve read even more, experimented with different techniques, consulted with different coaches, mentors and therapists, and also worked with several students to improve their confidence in social situations.

Here's one I made earlier

Oof. Busy as sin at the moment, from training and work. Because of that, I thought I'd dig out this old article I wrote a year or so ago. What does being fit and healthy mean to you, and what would you do to get there?

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The Difference between Health and Fitness

Kick around in the park - fun and social

A lot of people talk about ‘getting fit’, or trying to be ‘healthy’. It’s the sort of vague New Year’s resolution or earnest promise that often falls by the wayside, precisely because it can mean almost anything. The key thing is to understand exactly what being fit or healthy entails.

Most people aren’t influenced by the government’s constantly changing recommended level of weekly exercise. For most people, it’s about somehow enriching their lives in some fashion. It’s about fun, achievement. Otherwise it would be hard for many people to continue, because the truth is, when you begin any exercise regime for the first time, it’s a sore and painful experience.

What's my motivation?

Today I met up with my good friend J_____, who’s a successful life coach. It does mean that he occasionally asks you questions that really make you think, but that’s all part of the fun- cheers mate! Anyway, at one point he asked why writing is my dream job. Sit back and find out why...

Like him or not, Tony Robbins has achieved a lot

Around 5 years ago, J_____ discovered a Tony Robbins course, which helped him to imagine how his life could look... before realising that his reality looked entirely different. That gave him the motivation to turn his life around. He treats his life as a second chance, one that he’s putting to good use. Right now, he’s remarkably successful and doing something he’s incredibly passionate about. And the bastard is a day younger than me.

Fear is your friend

Eep.

Today, I got back into light training after dislocating my shoulder a couple of months ago. I was a bit nervous: maybe even scared. I’m used to that feeling going into a tough sparring session, where everyone’s gearing up for a fight and swinging for the fences. But this was different, a simple training session with a bit of light grappling sparring at the end. Hardly the stuff to get the heart racing, but I was still scared because I’m worried about the injury, which may never fully heal.

A lot of things scare me or have scared me in the past. Before a fight, I’m scared. That one’s self explanatory: you can get hurt. You can get injured. You can lose. You could get knocked out in front of your friends. I’m afraid that injuries might stop me from doing the thing I love.

Learning - Mastery and Failure

How do you learn?

One model used to analyze the process suggests that we learn in a few different ways. Some of us learn by seeing something done, or by reading about it, while others take in information when someone explains it to them. Others understand when they actually do something for themselves.

That's how you learn to do something right, anyway. You see something done right, you try and copy it, you don't do so well, you do it again and get better, until you succeed.