It's a New Year!

The last several months have been very busy but very productive. We took some time to re-evaluate and start some new things. The Holidays were busy but they were great. We had some time to get away from our hectic schedules and to spend some time with the important people in our lives.

I've started to do a lot more cardio as of late. It's really been challenging but satisying. I can honestly admit that I don't enjoy the cardio as much as my martial arts training, but cardio really is extremely important if you want to be serious in your training.

Stacia has been doing a lot of Yoga. She's always practiced Yoga, however she's getting her Ashtanga Yoga certification this Spring. She'll be teaching Yoga classes in Lowell once she begins the process.

The room we practice in at Gary Card's Karate in Lowell has been remodeled. Gary Card has done an outstanding job in putting down a great floor and mirrors along the walls and we're very grateful for his enthusiasm. We're very excited to show our new students the space. It has a great feel.

Back Straight - that's all

"Keep your back straight" is so important and so simple that I take it for granted a lot of the time:

My mom used to tell me to stand up straight.

Master Takara of the Shoehei/Uechi-ryu school Stated the importance of keeping your back straight during Kata. He emphasised this directly when speaking to us once at my dojo in Lowell, MA about the Kata SanSeiRyu. He stated that there were 8 directions you moved in but your spine being straight was the connection between heaven and earth.

Tim Cartmell taught me the importance of body mechanics and the importance of your spine, using it as a great lever.

The great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu folks I've had the opportunity to train with always have told me to "posture up."

Sometimes, the most simple thing to do is the hardest to do.
Just keep your spine straight, that's all...

Good training,
Joe

What's in a freakin' name?

I guess I should have named my website, "do you have the balls to do this???"
The name the study within is too soft for most people. I don't do therapy. Although, the training I give the guys can be theraputic.

The guys that train with me, don't rub their navel and chant.

They work hard on mixing it up. They push themselves. For a lot of them, they're doing things they never thought they could do. They want to do Burpees every workout as part of the warm ups. They are freakin' nuts.

So, I'm going to keep the blog the same name. However, I'm trying to come up with a new name for the website. Something that people can sink their teeth into and not be embarassed about the name. Enough with the esoterical and more with the meat and potatoes.

Maybe it will be "Step up you sissy mary martial arts and killer arts"

Stay tuned...

To study the way is to study the self,
To study the self is to forget the self,
To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things...
- Zen Master Dogen

You have to want it

Mindset.

It's the first tool you need to be successful in fighting or competing.
If you don't want it, you won't get it.

You have to want it.

Other tools are necessary too, but if you don't have the right mindset and want it, pack it in because all those other tools are useless.

That's why I named the site the study within. Your toughest opponent is yourself. You fight your own laziness, fear, guilt, busy schedule all the time.

You have to want it.

See you on the mat tonight...If you want it.

Is it the picture or the frame?

All I can say is "wow." I had a conversation with a very dedicated martial artist who's practiced a traditional art for many years.

He did everything and believed everything the style stated. He never ever doubted the system. Until he had an encounter that made him almost loose everything. He was lucky...He only lost his confidence in his art after the incident. I told him it wasn't his art that let him down, it was him working with his art. It was as if he never saw the picture in the frame, he only saw at the frame around the picture.

I was really suprised that he never thought about other aspects of martial art training. I guess I shouldn't be all that suprised. He never thought he had to look at his study and pull the concepts and training practices apart to self inspect. He simply thought that he didn't have too.

I think a lot of people are like this too.

I think most martial artists either want to blindly believe and don't want to have to think. All they have to do is do what the "Sensei" says, while others believe that if they get tattoo's and hit each other hard, all is good.

That martial artist was lucky. His ego was bruised but he's not dead.

Where's the fight, inside yourself or out?

"Take what is useful"

"Take what is useful" is a famous quote from Bruce Lee. It is a great piece of advice. In fact, many martial artists these days are taking pieces of useful techniques and using them. The "take what is useful" quote is a direct attack on another phrase Bruce Lee coined. That phrase was "classical mess."

Now, "classical mess" to me means, blindly following a process and protocol. Tens of thousands of martial artists do this continually. Why? Because it is easy to do. The martial artist doesn't have to think. Many martial artists don't want to self inspect, they are looking for the next best parlor trick.

So, "taking what is useful" is a very good thing, but if you want to go deeper into your art you must self inspect. You, as a martial artist must understand your strengths and weaknesses and build around them accordingly. This means understanding your physical attributes and your martial mindset. It's hard to self inspect. However, if you don't, just pulling useful techniques off the shelf will only get you partially complete in your art.

My concept of Martial Arts Fusion, the class I teach is built around:

- A solid use of technical martial skills, drawing from a variety of disciplines.
- The skill sets developed by my students will be different in each of my students, based upon their physical attributes and martial mindset.
- The concept of flow and proper body mechanics in chaining become vital to continued development.

I look forward to sharing these with you and look forward to seeing you on thursday nights. All are welcome.

Some videos you might find interesting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2VGqi-6W9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2tsG5H0v7s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ImMi2DCGs