Kenny Florian and Social Consciousness

Today, Kenny Florian came to the Bartlett School for Community Partnership in Lowell, Massachusetts. I am finishing my practicum there and when I mentioned to Joe that Kenny would make a huge impact on the kids there, he called Kenny and Kenny graciously agreed. The kids at this school face what often appear to be insurmountable obstacles on a daily basis.

This morning, they heard from Kenny that there are no such things as obstacles, only "small hurdles." Small hurdles in this school community include saying no to drugs, to alcohol, to joining gangs, to dropping out of school. Today, even the kids who are seemingly jaded and "checked out" hooted and cheered after Kenny had finished his speech. He talked about making the right choices, of staying out of street fights-"only cowards fight in the street,"-the importance of never giving up, and of staying in school.

Today, Kenny Florian gave 200 at-risk kids a day they will never forget. And it's something we should all keep in mind when we're asked to make a difference.

Stacia

Ninety-nine failures

Tatsugami Roshi said, "A tiger catches a mouse with his whole strength." The tiger catches the mouse with the same intensity the way he catches a bigger animal. The tiger totally focuses on whatever action he is taking. He doesn't worry about the size of his "problem." The tiger does not think that because he didn't catch something the last time,he won't catch something the next.

Sometimes we all have difficulty practicing our respective arts. Dogen Zenji once proclaimed, "Hitting the mark is the result of ninety-nine failures." Failures are only a part of the process of success. "It's the last arrow that hits the mark, but only after ninety-nine failures." Failures are acceptable, and even valuable, as long as you keep them in perspective and know that they are a means to achieving your goal. The only real failure is not to shoot the one hundredth arrow.

Each time you practice, do your best. Be tiger-like in your effort. Physically and spiritually, you will benefit.

"You Travel in Good Company..."

Recently, I entered into a conversation with Stacia about the commercialism of martial arts versus the fundamental integrity of practicing them. Kanei Uechi once said that no one under the age of seventeen should be taught karate. Perhaps he said this for the following reasons:

1) Physically, the bodies of young children are not mature enough to properly execute and withstand the rigorous training that the martial arts demands.
2) Children do not understand the philosophical concepts that are embedded in these ancient practices.

She mused about the fact that just about every strip mall we had passed had a karate or tae-kwon-do studio inside. What would motivate the discerning patron of martial arts to enroll his or her child in a strip mall dojo? How can you tell whether or not the instruction that would be received was of quality or was based in authentic principles?

What often gets sold by these strip mall senseis is the ideal of YOUR child benfitting from confidence and mind and body awareness. What actually happens, though, could be the polar opposite. Just as you choose your doctor, your dentist, or your mechanic, you must choose your martial arts instructor with the same well-informed criteria that you would apply to other practitioners.

Beware of the snake-oil peddlers. You get what you pay for.

BTW...This photo is of Joe Graziano, Dave Cedrone, and myself at a recent demo where we performed Jifa and Sanchin Kata. You won't find these forms being taught in your average strip mall dojo. Unfortunately, less and less people are being schooled in the ancient rituals.

Put your mind in your practice

To be skillful in martial arts requires time and effort. You have to first learn the techniques properly to be able to do them efficiently. Learning body mechanics takes patience. It takes practice to perfect the movements.

To be effective in martial arts you have to create a focused, bellicose mindset with the physical practice.

Having great mechanics and practicing martial arts without having a focused combative mindset is like doing a dance. You might execute the movements flawlessly. You might have perfect form. But, you are not practicing martial arts.

Just because someone does a Kata does not mean they are practicing martial arts. When you do the movements of a Kata without the proper combative mindset, it is like a Ferrari without gasoline to make it move. The car won't move without gasoline. It might look great, but it is useless in actually getting you somewhere. Practicing your Kata like this won't take you anywhere in your development of martial arts. It is a waste of time.

What is important?

What are you looking for?

My friend Kenny Florian won his UFC fight last night. I've been very lucky to have trained with Kenny, as well as with many good martial artists over the years. I was really excited for Kenny. He's worked incredibly hard to achieve his current status.

There's a lot of controversy when it comes to the combat arts. Questions are often asked: "Is this style is better than that style?" "Is this type of training better than that type of training?" The word "better" means nothing.

I've enclosed a link to my friend and teacher Tim Cartmell's website on an article he wrote on "Combat to Sport." Hopefully, it will help some folks understand more in terms of the context of why and what they are trying to achieve in their practice and study.

http://www.shenwu.com/Combat_To_Sport.htm

Whether you train in MMA or traditional arts, it all depends on what you're looking for in your training. The trick is not to try and fool yourself.

"Fighting in the pocket"

On Saturday's I usually train at Sitydotong (Muay Thai) with my coach Jake Steinmann. Sityodtong is a great fight gym. Mark DellaGrote, who owns and runs the gym, not only produces great fighters but also produces great trainers. Jake Steinmann is one of them. Jake is a sharp guy. Not only does he possess some very excellent martial skills, he's a great educator. This is what he does professionally. This combination makes him a very good teacher for Muay Thai.

Jake has been working with me on focusing my Muay Thai on infighting. Lately, we've been training with my back against a corner of the gym to develop these skills. Jake has been reinforcing my infighting even while we've when doing pad work. He has been focusing me on "fighting in the pocket." Meaning, I have to stay close to the other person to work on both defensive and offensive movement, playing to my strength as a fighter.

Sometimes, seeing what we should do physically to get the best results and play to our strengths, isn't as easy to see in other aspects of your life. After Saturday's workout, I started thinking of where I could "fight in the pocket" to better help me grow professionally or personally.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. While it's important to develop your weaknesses, everyone should understand where their strengths are and why they are your strengths. This reflection will help in continued development.

So, for now I'm "fighting in the pocket."

Makes sense.

Just Relax...Proper "mechanics"

My friend and teacher, Tim Cartmell once told me that the difference between good martial arts and great martial arts is your ability to relax and use proper body mechanics while executing to produce the greatest output of efficient energy.

This of course, is easier said than done.
It takes years to master the physical. It's no different than any other endeavor, whether it's swinging a baseball bat, hitting a tennis ball, kicking a soccer ball, etc.

But my question is, how can I "use" my ability to relax with "proper mechanics" that I learn in a martial setting and apply it to my everyday life? After all most of the time we all are working, dealing with loved ones and living a normal existence.

While I might be able to relax while rolling with someone or mix it up a little sparring; my ability to "deal" with pressure from non-martial stress often fails. Tension creeps in and clarity becomes muddled because of stress. The phrase, "keep a cool head" comes immediately to mind. This is difficult for me.

I find this type of tension tremendously difficult to contain. It's hard to have to deal with yourself. It is for me. I'd rather have someone try to choke me out or take some punches at me. That's external, physical, tangible. The "inside" stuff is difficult to pin.

High level arts can transcend. There's a need to work on ourselves by using the principles that we learn in our physical study. How and if we apply these physical principles of relaxing with good mechanics into our normal daily lives is the challenge.

Think?

Below is a clip of my good friend and teacher Tim Cartmell. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuP6cApKAD8