The mind makes order from chaos - that's it's job.

Fi oyu acn raed this, you mya begin ot urstnaned hwo srmat you rlleay aer! Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Our minds do a great job of piecing stuff together without a lot of detailed explanation. In fact, this is how a lot of my early martial arts learning was done overseas when I was first starting out. Although I couldn’t understand a word the instructor was saying, I usually pieced together the gist of what he was asking by looking at how other people responded. In fact, I became very proficient at ‘glimpse analysis’. I would sneak a quick glance at the best technician in the class and do a rapid comparison between the way he executed the given technique and how the rest of the class executed it. This is a skill that can be learned and refined; in fact, it became my most potent model of learning in places where I couldn’t speak the language. I am now quite dependant on this thing I call ‘Glimpse analysis’; and it has become a powerful tool in my coaching arsenal. Provided everyone is facing the same direction on the mat, I can cast an eye over the room and in a second or two, pick out the two or three most common mistakes that people are making and put them in an order of importance. Our minds, once presented with a problem, are quick to seek out solutions. We make order from chaos – it’s simply what we do.
JBW

Innovation and the better result

There are great advantages in being isolated. In many respects, most of us are isolated in one way or the other. Countries like Australia and New Zealand are geographically isolated from the rest of the world; but likewise a rural town in heartland America, can also be viewed as being isolated from the trends that are born and grow out of the larger cities. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of ‘isolation’ is that it forces us to innovate, create and seek out solutions for ourselves.
On my various travels, people often comment that they feel isolated or ‘out of the loop’. I always reply the same way – this forces them to think for themselves; if they don’t have a high ranking, experienced coach or instructor ‘on tap’, they can often make up for it by actively and intently trying to solve problems for themselves. In many instances, such people come up with very novel and interesting ideas. We all have a tremendous capacity for ‘innovation’ and it seems that we tend to tap into this potential more often when we are ‘isolated’.
The kinds of people who re-invent themselves on a regular basis are the same kinds of people who come up with ‘new’ and innovative ideas. Innovation, sadly, flies in the face of the majority of people. New ideas are not as readily accepted as one would think they aught to be. The reason for this is that most people are ‘emotionally invested’ in the status quo. This is why ‘traditions’ endure so well. New ideas are also often treated with a fair amount of scepticism by the masses because most people are addicted to those things that have ‘worked’ for them to date. In other words, there is a ‘survival imperative’ that says ‘stay with what is familiar’. In times past, the ‘unknown’ would have often led to injury or death. The people we had lived with, the food we ate, the places we lived in; all these things were known and comfortable and played their parts in our survival. To visit new people, to try new foods, to migrate to lands could very well have led to our early demise. And so, the survival credo, ‘whatever works for us today – repeat tomorrow’.
The problem with that credo is evident; it holds us back from growth, new discovery and innovation. In times past, migration to new lands or the eating of new foods was almost certainly driven by necessity rather than by choice. The food ran out for one reason or another, and we moved on to newer pastures; where we came across other tribes, new technologies or new ideas. The same mechanism is still in play today. Most people stay with those things that are familiar to them, way beyond the point where those things remain beneficial to them. Familiarity usurps the need for functionality; change and innovation are left to the few who have less need for the security of the familiar.
Innovation is desperately needed in the martial arts landscape. In other industries, innovation is often driven by the competition that comes with business and money; but the martial arts industry is really more of a ‘cottage industry’ when compared to such things as ‘medicine’, ‘architecture’ or ‘engineering’. Innovation in the martial arts landscape is not so much driven by necessity, as it was during our evolution as a species, as it is by the odd individual with a tendency toward the creative. Innovative training ideas, programs, marketing concepts, technical advancements and teaching strategies all play their part in the changing martial arts scene. Some of these innovations filter through to the wider community faster than others; and as they do, they pass through the seemingly inevitable stages of, ridicule, debate and finally, widespread acceptance. Such is the teething process that most new ideas must endure before ‘coming of age’.
For myself, the creative process is deeply interwoven into most of my work. Problem solving and creative design, particularly with regard to training and teaching strategies, is a big part of how I earn my income. For myself, the key is in always looking out, testing and probing for a better way to do the things I do. It’s not really a matter of living in a state of discontent; it’s really just about getting a better result today, than the one I got yesterday. For me, innovation is driven by a desire to get a better result; a better result from the way I communicate; a better result in the outcomes I see in my students performance and understanding; a better result period!
In looking for the better result; I am no different than my primitive ancestor who sat watching two branches rub together in the wind; whose brow wrinkled with thought as he noticed a puff of smoke arise as a result of the friction. The better result starts with innovation; and innovation begins with noticing …

JBW 2008

Faith

This weekend just past – I took a few presales of my newly developed Pro MMA curriculum. Actually, I was amazed at how many people came up and paid me for the product in advance of it actually being produced. While it is nearly done (will be in six weeks or so), I couldn’t actually hand it to anyone on the day. It is a wonderful reflection of peoples good faith, that they are happy and willing to make payment up front, for something that I don’t quite have ready yet. Thank you all – I know your good faith will be rewarded; I have put a load of work into this curriculum – into it’s design, production and content. It is far and away, the best thing I have done to date. The official launch will be in early July at the Supershow in Orlando (florida). So you will have it before then. I’ll put up a post on this website when I have it sitting in my office.
Faith is a remarkable thing. My feeling is that we either ‘earn’ it – or we fail to ‘earn’ it – by our actions and our words. Robert Kiyosaki (renowned author and great educator) once told me – the secret to building trust and engendering faith is simple: “MAKE SMALL PROMISES AND KEEP THEM!
That my friends – is a gem!
Be true to you word – no matter how big – no matter how small.
JBW

A big weekend

Just come home from a weekend in Sydney at the Australian Martial Arts Industry Supershow. I taught an Alpha MMA class and a Anti-bully (zero striking solutions) workshop. Everyone seemed pretty excited about them – it was a heartwarming weekend, with forty or fifty people taking time to personally introduce themselves and thank me for the classes. The pleasure was all mine – truly.
I also feel very honoured to have received the Industry’s Lifetime Contribution Award – a humbling experience and one that I feel pretty good about. As I mentioned briefly upon receipt of the award, for me, it has always been about the ‘passion’ – I simply love the evolutionary process, the analysis, the research, the training, the teaching – pretty much every aspect of the martial arts. It has, and continues to be, a very exciting and powerfully intoxicating journey for me. So thank you to all concerned – and there were quite a few people involved in making that happen! Thanks especially to Fari Salievski, for putting the event together – thanks to Marc Herbert, for editing the amazing video montage that they screened on Saturday (where the hell did you get those photos from?) – and thanks to my wife Melissa for keeping the secret from me so well.
My good friend Richard Norton was also there – he was taking one of the last classes of the weekend as I was leaving for the airport. For those who haven’t met him, he is truly a ‘class act’. If you ever get the opportunity to get on the mat and be taught by him – DO NOT PASS THE OPPORTUNITY UP! He is one of the most inspirational martial artists you could ever hope to meet – Aussie-grown – and we should all be prouder for having him represent us on his travels.
I’m writing this on the plane – we are about to hit descent, so I’m away. Once again, thank you everyone for making that one GREAT weekend. Well done Fari!
Best wishes all,
JBW

Certainty

In visiting martial arts schools around the globe, I find myself the recipient of a barrage of questions relating to the running of a professional martial arts school. I almost always reply by first stating that there are people far, far more qualified than I to answer such questions; people who have seriously worked out the ‘business end’ of running a martial arts school. I do have my opinions of course, but they relate more to the ‘quality’ of instruction, and ‘lifestyle’ and ‘happiness’ considerations, rather than the ‘bottom line’ figures, profitability and so forth.
I run my single school of between 150-190 students. The majority being adults, who are there for serious martial arts practice. We don’t sing ‘kumbayah’, we don’t hold birthday parties for kids – not that these are bad things, it’s just not where we put our focus.
One of the things I have been asked (quite often of late) is how to make the jump from amateur/part-time martial arts instruction to making it a full-time vocation. This involves many sub-questions such as ‘do we rent a full-time place’, do we run things out of a school hall or community centre – or do we subscribe to what many of the pundits say, and buy a commercial property – and do it in style. Well, I can’t go into all the considerations here – but I will say this – DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. And one thing I know about happiness – is that CERTAINTY, (as much we can be certain about anything anyway) is one of the most important elements to the ‘state of happiness’. I see a lot of stressed people out there – and it seems to me they are stressed because of the UNCERTAINTY that surrounds many of their situations. Can I make rent/payments, on my house or commercial property ? What if interest rates go up? What if my wife leaves me?
Call me conservative (many of my high-powered business friends have) but I will trade a fair amount of ‘potential income’ for the state of certainty that I usually enjoy in my life. I could ‘leverage out’ more with property investments – but in being conservative I can sleep easily at nights (well, most nights anyways – right now I’m still jet lagged). Life is short my friends – too short, even for those blessed with longevity – it’s more important to err more on the side of happiness and contentment, than it is to be stressed out and worried about how your new business venture will work out. That’s my view in any case. I see a load of very rich, and very unfulfilled people out there – I have no desire to join their ranks!
Take a look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs diagram - if you lump all bottom three tiers together – in my view, they add up to one thing – CERTAINTY. Something to be said for that ….
I’m off to Sydney tomorrow morning for the Martial Arts Industry Supershow. I hope I’ll see some of my readership there.
Best wishes,
JBW

To Gi or not to Gi?

Many people, particularly on my recent trip, ask me about the pro's and cons of training with or without a Gi? certainly, with MMA on the rise, no-gi grappling is more widespread than ever before - but it's worth noting that this is not necessarily always the best way to go.
There is a lot of value in wearing the Gi, especially when first starting out. Apart from the fact that there are many potent techniques that can be used against a gi-wearing opponent, the ost important thing to understand is that the Gi slows the fight down. And when people are startign out, especially in their first year or two of grappling, a slower fight is an easier fight to understand. The Gi affords the same benefits to grappling as 'training wheels' do to learning to ride a bike. Without the Gi, the fight speeds up considerably - grips are harder to get and maintain, and escapes are much easier to execute. With the pace of the fight moving faster, it becomes more difficult for beginners to 'map the fight', to learn 'what usually follows what', to get a grip on both the mechanics and strategical considerations of the fight - it's sort of like playing chess when you only have a three second time-limit to work out each move, as opposed to as much time as you like - mistakes will be many and lessons both harder and slower to learn. For the more advanced grappler though, there are many benefits of the no-gi grapple. With the pace moving faster, there is a far greater cardio benefit to be enjoyed. The controls need to be more exact and the game needs to be 'tightened up' somewhat. The no-gi pace also requires that we 'up' the processing speed in our thinking and well as our physical movement - so we tend to improve on both strategic and physical levels. From a self defense perspective, becoming less-reliant on an opponent wearing a gi, has obvious benefits.
Hopefully these few obvious considerations will shed a bit of light on the subject for the newbies. I must apologize for the skimming over the surface of this complex issue - but I am jet-lagged to the eyeballs right now. it's 4;40pm and my eyes are beginning to closedown hard.
I'll be back on deck in a day or two - my brain still thinks it's in Norway.
best wishes - sweet dreams.
JBW

Jet Lag hits

Having arrived home, I'm looking forward to getting back into my school, come Tuesday night. As it turns out, I feel like I'll need all three days to get back on my feet after my European tour - the jet-lag has really kicked in. The problem with staying away on the opposite side of the planet for two weeks is that the old body clock just starts to fully adjust and then you come home, sending the circadian rythms into a frenzy. pretty much the worst place to spend time for jet-lag to do it's evil thing to you upon return, is the exact opposite side of the planet from where you live. To check out where that is, go to this site: http://www.zefrank.com/sandwich/tool.html
I'm off - need to shock my body back onto the regular timeline. I'll be heading to Sydney this weekend for the MAIA Supershow (http://www.amisupershow.com) - where I'll be taking a few classes and manning a booth to chat to people about my 'soon to be released' professional MMA Curriculum. Normal blogs will resume in a day or two. I hope to see some of you in Sydney ...
Thanks folks,
JBW

Homeward Bound ...

It has been a great trip - and although I am sorry to say goodbye to both old friends and new over here in Europe, I must admit I wil be happy to arrive back home this weekend. I miss my family and my school. I have done a load of travelling and overseas training over the last three decades - and although it is always intresting and stimulating, there is, as they say, no place like home. I use technology to keep in touch with my family whilst o the road - specifically, video i-chat from ym Macbook laptop - so that's a bonus - but still, not te same as being there ...
So tomorrow I'll be up before dawn and norways UFAF rep, Kenneth Fjeld will take me to the airport for the two hour trip back to London. Once there, I'll have two hours to get on board for the next leg to Singapore - were a four hour layover will give me enough time for a swim in the newly built 'terminal three', before beginning the final leg of my journey back to melbourne.
Once there - my blog will be back to usual (apologies to those who have not been interested in this mini travel-log).
Happy trails,
JBW

North to the land of ice and snow - and sun!

I arrived at Ken Pankeiwicz's Kickfit academy in Slough (near London) and took a short session for he and his instructors before it was time for the evening class. The room was pretty packed and we had a great time going through some entry-to-clinch techniques before hitting the floor for some basic guard and choke work. After class, i headed back and spent the evening with Ken and his lovely wife, Anne-Marie. it was an early start the next morning (today) as Ken took e back to Heathrow - just in time for my flight to Norway.
I was met by Kenneth Fjeld, who I met at last years UFAF convention, when I was teaching for chuck Norris in Vegas. Kenneth is a wonderful guy - and has the only fulltime school near Oslo.
We had lunch under a bright blue sky (unusual for Norway at this time of year) and it was actually hot! Then we headed to the mat for the evening class - which finished up around 9pm - and by ten I was at my hotel and the sun still hadn't gone down! it is really light here right now.
Back for anpther session with Kenneth tomorrow - the Norwegians are very friendly and warm people - have to be i guess, with all the ice and snow, etc. I guess I just have a soft spot for Vikings! Time to vid-chat my family - so it's bye for now. Stay well,
JBW

Up, Over and Up

Phil Wright came down to pick me up from Coventry, bringing with him, two students - Gaz and Chris (Chris being an ex pat Aussie now living and teaching on the isle of man). We headed north for a couple of hours, up to Manchester where we hit the mat for an hour or so before the troops started piling in for the evening seminar. The night went all too quickly before finishing up about 10pm. Graham Cook (who runs a keysi MMA school in Hull) arrived to pick me up for the drive across country to the eastern side of england. it was well after midnight when we arrived in Hull - and a few hours sleep were had before we hit the mat the following day. Again, after spending a little time with Graham, the students bagan pouring in for our afternoon session. This was a no-gi, MMA based session - and a good time was had by all. Drew Hopkinson, my friend from newcastle (a few hours up to the north) had driven down to do the session and to provide transport for the next leg of my trip. As it turned out, we stayed the night in Hull, before making the early morning drive north to newcastle where I took a sunday afternoon BJJ session for Steve Muckle's group. This was all organized by Drew, who had organized lodgings for me at the Linden hall country club - hey what - very english, very cool. I just finished breakfast and am about to head back into newcastle for round two - today being an MMA class. I'll stay the night here at Linden Hall again (spoilt) - before heading to London in the morning to train Ken Pankiewicz'z group (TKD) at the Kickfit Academy.
Best go - need to pack for todays training.
regards,
JBW

A walk in the woods

A night at Coombe Abbey is certainly a treat. This amazing hotel was originally a 12th Century Cistercian abbey and reeks of all things mediaeval. I love it. My mate, Geoff Thompson turned up early morning and we took a long walk through the surrounding woods – talking of life, love and left hooks. Our chat was extended throughout a leisurely breakfast which we took inside the east wing – adjacent to the moat – yes, moat. Ahh, the regal life …
I absolutely love the time we spend together – and a big part of why is the fact that Geoff is hungry, ravenously so, to chat about the wondrous mechanics of life and living. So our breakfasts are long and always end too quickly.
I am excited to watch his new movie – ROMANS 12:20; he generously gifted me with a copy, but I will wait to see it on the big screen, where I will be more fully able to appreciate it in it’s full glory. Geoff is a prolific worker – his work ethic is second to none – it’s one of many things we seem to have in common.
Many people expect to see changes in their lives despite the fact that they continue to do the same old things each and every day. Someone once said ‘to expect a new result to arise from the same old action is one apt definition of insanity’. New things, new outcomes, new adventures all begin with new ACTION. We need to DO. And Geoff does … every time I talk to him he is onto a new idea, working a new recipe, looking at an age-old problem from a new angle – refreshing to a fault!
So with breakfast and our mornings conversation over, I leave Geoff to the rest of his day as I write this quick blog. Phil Wright and an ex-pat Aussie from the Isle of Man are on their way from Manchester to pick me up in an hour. Best get packing,
Live well – live fully,
JBW

Springtime in the UK

Landed at Heathrow to be welcomed by Richard Green from Coventry. England is a great place – and right now it’s springtime – beautiful! The martial arts culture here is very different from that of either Australia or the USA. It just feels different. I love the ‘gritty’ feel of the fight culture here – there’s something about the smell and look of an old-school fight gym that is both grounding and uplifting. This week in England is one that I know I will enjoy immensely. I conducted an MMA/BJJ-based seminar for Rich and his stable in Coventry on Tuesday – after a good nights rest at the Old Mill hotel in Baginton. After which, Rich was awarded his blue belt. He has a great group of keen guys and is about to move into a new premises. I am sure he will go from strength to strength.
Frank Monea, a student and good friend from Melbourne was over doing some business in Europe – he usually has a private session with me every Tuesday morning – so I shouldn’t be too surprised, when he showed up at the Old Mill hotel on Monday night – 'good to go' for his usual lesson on Tuesday. Some people take fanaticism way too far. Amazing frank – you definitely win the ‘keenest student’ award for this month.
Today I was picked up by longtime student and good friend of Geoff Thompson’s – Tony Terranova, who lives down in the Cotswalds in Cheltenham; after a workout with him and a few of his seniors at his place, we sat down for a home-cooked meal and a great 'family' chat - a nice treat when 'on the road'. I now have a few moments to write this blog before we head off to train at his school this evening. Once again I am reminded of one of the most wondrous benefits of my job – and that is the exceptionally nice and interesting people I meet along the way. Tony and his family are just fantastic. I best sign off – training awaits.

Back again - early next morning actually. Tony and his family are great hosts, warm an friendly, to a fault. The training was great last night. The room packed and full of some of the friendliest and folk I have met. The Fighting Fit school has a great culture - no surprise really - considering that the culture is always set by the person running the show. I'm already looking forward to a return visit, and I havn't even left yet!
Off to Coombe Abbey today for an evening off, before hooking up with friend Geoff Thompson tomorrow at dawn.

Best wishes all,
JBW