Summer 2008 and the IFL

It's been a looooong while since I blogged, I know. Hey, I've been busy. The 2 or 3 people that actually read this blog have tactfully told me "either blog more often, or stop taking up room in cyber space". So, here I go...

This past June I earned my black belt in mixed martial arts. It's a mix of Muay Thai kick boxing and Krav Maga. Check out America's Best Defense for more info.

Now, you're not going to see me in the IFL anytime soon, but I did learn a few things in the process of training for my tests.

At this point I feel compelled to mention just what the term "black belt" means because there's a bit of misunderstanding about this. Earning a black belt means only that one has mastered the basics. That's it. It doesn't me you know everything - far from it. So, it took me 3 years to get just the basics down. I mention this so you know that I'm not claiming that I'm the next Karate Kid or Jackie Chan. Ok, moving on...

Now, as I said I have learned a few things. One of the things I learned is that 15-year-olds can move really fast. Part of the test required that all black belt candidates show some degree of competence in sparing. So, to prepare for that I started training with some of the folks at the school in an effort to improve my sparing skills. Most of the folks I trained with were younger than me. They were ALL great to train with and though I often learned how much I don't know, no one EVER made me feel inferior in any way. Still, we all knew that during the training they were moving much slower than they would if they were really sparing. So, although I did my best, I generally got hit a lot. But I learned a lot too.

There were about 15 adults training with me. We each had to pass 3 tests (given in Apr, May and the final in June). In Feb we started something called Bootcamp. This is an additional class we are required to attend where the instructors help you clean up your skills in preparation for the tests. These were both emotionally and physically challenging classes. Some folks give up in bootcamp - and I think that's the point. You have to really want this. The training was at least as much mental as it was physical. So, from Oct to June I forced my body to do thing that most people would think are physically impossible (or at least, not normal). Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed this...well, most of it.

I won't go into the details now but I can say this was the most challenging thing I've ever done in my life. I am so glad I did it!

Here are some of the take aways:

1. Age is as much a mental attitude as a physical reality.

2. Attitude has A LOT to do with whether or not you will succeed. This is not just true in physical training, but in life in general.

3. Anyone at almost any age can get info better physical (and mental) shape if they want to.

4. There is a LOT I don't know - both about martial arts and about life in general.

5. You can do a LOT more than you think you can. You can push more when you think you are exhausted and you can give more when you think you are empty.

6. The chief factor that stops people from achieving goals is fear.

7. What you eat effects you both physically and mentally. If you're going to train hard and push yourself to new levels you need to feed your body right and the average American diet just doesn't cut it.

8. Martial is not something you do, its something you live - its a lifestyle of perseverance, modesty, courtesy, respect (for self and others), self control and integrity. Although one part of the focus is on improving oneself, there is just as strong a focus on helping and encouraging others.

So, this is what I have been preparing for for the past 3 years and what my life was really focusing on for the first half of 2008. I'm very much committed to maintaining what I've accomplished as well as bringing what I've learned from my martial arts training into other areas of life. There are always new goals to set and achieve. There are always new things to be learned. Bring it on!

-Steve