Deep South

After being at my friend Shayne Cox's place in Napier (and sneaking in a half day of flyfishing where a tricked half a dozen good rainbows, I made my way down to Wellington yesterday afternoon. I am now at the excellent Geoff Grant's place - having just finished raiding his pantry for toast and coffee, we are set to head to the airport where I board my flight to Queenstown. My friend Paul Jolley flew in yesterday and provided he hasnt got lost, the plan is that we meet up down south, leap into our hire car and head to the hills for some good backcountry flyfishing. The weather report seems okay - so things are looking good. I am looking forward to this week of R&R - it has been a hard couple of months; time in the wilds always rejuvenates me ...
Last night was awesome - we ran our class in Geoff's new school at the top of Taranaki St; it was a good first test for the school, with well over 50 people on the mat, and still room to move. Awesome job Geoff! new ranks were awarded to a handful of very deserving students but especially 'special' was the presentation of a brown belt to Hemi Pou - what a wonderful person; amazing skills, softly spoken, always smiling and one of those people who goes out of his way to help every other student on the mat. When a mat has someone like Hemi on board - it cannot help but grow and prosper ... congratulations Hemi! Congratulations Geoff, for creating such a unique and fun-filled training environment.
Well, time to go - the headwaters of my secret stream await ...
JBW

Kia Kaha ...

Kia Kaha - Live Strong.
Seems about right - as I am over in New Zealand at present, conducting a series of seminars throughout both north and south islands. My first stop was to visit my good friend Geoff Aitken in Christchurch. Geoff has one of the biggest and best martial arts schools in the country; it was he who pioneeered Kiwi MMA, and paved the way for others, even before MMA was known outside of Brazil. After our session, we went out for dinner and had a good chat. That left five hours for sleep and then it was an early morning flight to Auckland where I was collected at the airport by Mark Corkhill. I had a great session with MArk and Warren, made even more special by an unexpected visit by Haydn Clasby in his wheelchair. he rolled onto the mat and joined in our group photo at sessions end - a treat for everyone. His goal is to be in a rugby/friendly wheelchair by my next visit. Haydn, you are a true inspiration. The it was off to run and MMA session at the new ground Control school; a great facility and super nice group of people. karl Norton, Steven Cockell and his wife Pri also attended, so that was another treat. After our MMA session, a new crowd turned up and we ran the BJJ session for a couple more hours. At days end, everyone was fragged but smiling. A chance to eat some food, wash my gi (that's right - it's not all fun and games) and get a good nights sleep. Nest morning, a trim and athletic Karl Norton picked me up for our Maii Hyoshi session. Karl has shed quite a few kilos since my last visit - and really looks great. he's been taking more BJJ classes and has coupled that extra effort with a better diet. Awesome job Karl. Awesome! The session was a really good one, with a couple of pics being taken afterward with a well-known sports celebrity having joined in the fun - Tana Umaga. For those who don't know, Tana was a former captain of the new Zealand All Blacks and one of the best Rugby players of all time; he began his BJJ journey under the experienced eye of Geoff Grant in Wellington. As is the case with many of the truly great, he is a quietly spoken man, and happy to put his head down and just do the work. it was an extra special treat to see him bring his son Kade along for his very first BJJ class. Nice.
My other good (former pro rugby) friend, Tahi Reihana, is also a BJJ afficionado. TAhi lives in Geelong and for those who dfon't know him, he is one of the best strength and conditioning coaches one could ever hope to meet. And a man of honour and integrity to boot. Rugby, although I know next to nothing about it - is an arena where grace under pressure is a much-desired attribute; perhaps this is a commonality between BJJ and the hard=man's game ...
In the afternoon, I headed to Hamilton and ran a session for Phil Beale, who fresh from his wedding (the night before) hit the mat with his usual enthusiasm and vigor. Well done Phil - and a huge congratulations to both you and Gillian!!!
And that brings me to the present, sitting in Starbucks drinking a Chai Latte, waiting for my friend Errol to pick me up for this evenings session at IMA (Incorporated Martial Arts). I am looking forward to spending time on the mat with Steve and Reid. After that session end - I will be driven to Lake Taupo, several hours away, by my friend HArvey, where if all goes to plan, we will be met by long-time friend Shayne Cox, and the journey will continue to the east coast town of Napier. All being well, we'll arrive around 2am, and get some sleep before a big day on Tuesday.
Apologies for the travelogue-style of blog - I can't imagine too many are interested; but for now, that'll have to do. Wednesday I'll be in Wellington and teaching with my good friend Geoff Grant and then it'll be qa week off for a much-needed break. I'll try to blog again on wednesday, as Geoff has wirless access at his house.
Bye for the moment,
Kia Kaha.
JBW

Intent on the single step …

My eldest son Ronin is in rehab mode after his last big surgery. He is dealing with it the way most large [problems can be more easily dealt with – by placing all the focus, all of the intent, on the very next step in front of him.
He understands that the goal is to be able to run a mile – but he also understands that it no good focussing on that goal, to the exclusion of actually doing the work – one step at a time. By putting the focus on the each step as it presents itself, we eventually find ourselves at the top of the ladder.
I know this from when I am doing my own strenuous physical training. It serves absolutely no purpose to dwell on how hard the last exercise/effort was … nor does it help my ‘form’ or ‘mindset’ if I think about what lies ahead of me … I remain ‘in the moment’ and do the very best I can, right where I am. Eventually, the workout is done! Time will go by, whether we want it to or not – so we need to put our focus on excelling in the present if we want to reap the most out of how we are spending our time. This takes practice and training, just like any other worthwhile skill.
We are all, either improving, staying the same or losing ground … forward is key, but not at the expense of being in the moment.
JBW

Life Puzzle ...

Money is very useful – but I’ll keep family, friends, health and passion as my priorities, any-day …
In our quest to ‘get enough’ we should never lose sight of the big picture. A good question to ask is this: Enough for what? Enough money to do the things we want to do? Maybe we are already, to a large extent, doing the things we want to do. If so, don’t stop doing those things.

I am reminded of the old story – the one about the fisherman, who went fishing every morning, to catch some fish for his evening meal – and to have fun, teaching his son how to fish. Along came a business-advisor who explained that if he bought a boat, he would catch even more fish, thereby making himself a profit.

What then? Asked the fisherman.

Well, then you could eventually buy a fleet of boats to make even more profit.
What then? Asked the fisherman.

Well then you could build a huge company, selling fish all over the world and make even more money.
What then? Asked the fisherman.

Well then, replied the business consultant, you could do whatever you want. You could have fun, spend time with your son – things like that.

I am already doing that replied the fisherman – and walked off down the road to go fishing once again, with his son.

I like this story. It says something about perspective. We all need to keep one eye on the big picture; whether in our martial arts training or in the living of our lives.

JBW

24 hours ...

My eldest son Ronin broke another record yesterday - not one to be enviable of - this time for the longest open heart surgery in the history of Geelong hospital - just on 15 hours! After repairing a hole through the septum (middle wall) of the heart (one he received when he was stabbed seven months ago), they also replaced one of his valves, only to realise it was leaking when they were done - and so they had to redo it again. A huge day for him - but he is okay and on the road to recovery in the intensive care unit now - doing well. This should be the last of his ops - and so he has a clearer road ahead of him - and if all goes well, this summer should be one of rehabilitation and conditioning. Thanks very much to those who called or e-mailed with words of support - very appreciated

I hit another high intensity interval training session yesterday - this time upping the ante to one minute work periods with a thirty second rest between - times five exercises - followed by a one minute break and repeated another three times.
Five Exercises:
- Whipping large ropes up and down while moving back and forth in a sideways direction
- Shuttle runs with a heavy bag on the shoulder
- Cleans and squats with a cylindrical sandbag
- Flipping a traktor tyre up and down the room
- Plyo pushup on and throwing of a medicine ball

After that was done - I sprinted to the airport and caught a plane to Sydney. This was followed by a three hour drive into the Hunter valley where I took a seminar for 50 odd students in Singleton. Today , three more seminars in Sydney, with good friend George Adams, Black Belts Simon Farnsworth, Peter King and Darko Zaric, and finally Michael Scott in Cambelltown. After that, back to the airport, the one hour flight home and then the drive back to Geelong.

Tomorrow a nice day off, visits to the hospital and spend some time reading a new stack of books I have just bought from Amazon. Looking forward to a good week ahead.
BESt wishes all
JBW

Making things we don't even understand ...

Man’s first inventions were simple things; things whose usefulness was apparent to everyone; a stone-knife, an arrow, a spear, a digging implement, etc. Nowadays though, our inventions are much more complicated; so complicated, that it takes hundreds or even thousands of people contributing to their manufacture. At one time a single individual could make a stone knife and that person could teach another to do the same thing, and so forth. Now though, we are surrounded by implements and objects that we use in daily life, but no single person could ever hope to make these things without the assistance and input of hundreds or thousands of others. Take our mobile phone, we need people to make the glass, the case, the diodes, the chips, the plastics, the polymers, the software, etc; then there are the second-level contributors; those who drill for the oil that is used to make the plastic that is used to make the case, etc. The there are those who transport the oil-drillers, from land to a sea-based oil platform, and those who support them, etc. As end-users of these implements/objects, we tend to take them for granted when in fact their existence owes a debt to many thousands of people, each making a very specific and unique contribution.
I am talking about this, as someone asked me the other day ‘Who invented the Darce choke?’ Well, I can easily answer the question of where the name has come from, but as to who first worked out the mechanics of the choke and developed the various angles of application; who can possibly know? I remember thinking about this upon seeing photographs of Omoplata (an advanced BJJ technique) being used in an Indian wrestling pit, some sixty years ago. Who invented cooking? Answer: lots of people. Countless people make their contributions to the development of the things we may learn in an evening class. Ideally, when we learn something new, we build on it, adding to the work of the people who came before us. Quite often though, we tend to grasp at the ‘end result’ of a technique, without having been privy to the evolutionary process from which the technique has evolved. It is always good if possible, to understand the evolution of a technique, and that way we develop a more wholesome form of ownership of it. A superficial understanding of things ultimately means a lower or poorer quality of ownership; this may be acceptable in the many aspects of the throw-away, ever-changing society we live in – but surely not, in the meaningful and deeper aspects of our lives – or in the art we practice …
JBW

Clicks and whirs …

One of the most difficult things for people to do – at least this is my experience – is to switch off the workings of the mind. Day in, day out, the subtle internal mechanisms, click and whir, producing all manner of thoughts, daydreams, inspirations, plans and concerns. It is worth setting aside some time of the day, even a few brief moments, to bring the clicks and whirs under control – to silence them, even for a few moments in time.
For myself, I enjoy the disquieting murmurings of my mind; they sometimes produce surprising thoughts or ideas; but they can just as easily distract me from the task at hand or from the peaceful moment. My own clicks and whirs do not respond well to harsh commands for silence – for me, they recede gently into the background as I focus my attention on a specific action or object. In Yoga, the point of focus starts with ‘breath’ – in BJJ, it begins with ‘attention to our opponent’. Our minds are like errant children, running amuck when given the opportunity – sometimes this brings about funny, amazing or remarkable results – whilst at other times it can be distracting and less than productive. Being able to bring our thoughts and emotions under control (at will) is a skill that can only serve to benefit us throughout the course of our lives.
JBW

Reining it in ...

TO be successful at things we need to hang in there for the long term – and the key to hanging in there, is to take an approach that is sustainable.
I cannot count the amount of times I have witnessed a newbie (on the mat) catch a healthy dose of the BJJ bug and suddenly turn their whole lives over to BJJ practise; and only in rare cases, are these people still training a year or two later. The same thing happens to people when they join a gym to get fit; all too often, the newbie starts training five days a week, only to burn out well before their membership has run it’s course.
The healthy approach (to work, training, etc) is to take an approach that is sustainable; this allows us to wed the activity more seamlessly into the fabric of our everyday life. When our practise becomes an integral part of our LIFESTYLE, we are less likely to stop, give up or burn out.
I am reminded of Cliff Young, an amazing middle-aged sheep farmer who lived and worked in the coastal foothills not far from the town where I live. He used to trot around his hilly farm all day, wearing gumboots (shin-length rubber work boots) rounding up his sheep. The one day he decided to enter the 1000 kilometre Melbourne to Sydney footrace; a well-known event that attracted professional runners from far and wide.
As the race started, everyone took off with a bang. Old Cliff Young began his shuffling trot at the back of the pack. Come half way, the sprinters had all dropped off – yet Cliff shuffled on. And yes, you can probably guess it by now … he won the thing. Eventually, in his steady but sure, shuffling style, Cliff past them all, including the pro’s and went on to become a local Australian legend. I would bet with confidence that many of the people in that race have since given up running – and I also bet that Cliff can still be found chasing his sheep over the hills of his farm. Long is the race – train in a way that is sustainable, diet in a way that is sustainable, exercise in a way that is sustainable … the middle road rules.

Best wishes
JBW