Choose wisely ...

I have heard somewhere that each of us is an amalgam of the five people we spend most of our time with; and that is why it is so important to choose carefully who we surround ourselves with. I think there is a lot of truth to this idea – and as we go through life, and the group of people who most influence us continues to change and evolve – so do we change and evolve.
I think to some degree, the same can be said of our BJJ game. Our personal games are to a large extent the product of having regularly wrestled with a small group of influential training partners. My personal game for example, is largely influenced (even now) by Rigan and jean Jacques Machado, David Meyer, and several key players on my own mat. Other influences come in now and then, for certain, but ultimately, our games are pressure-tested and consolidated by who we regularly roll with.
I have friends who have amazing marriages, friends who are masters of investment, friends who are into living their lives to the max … each in their own way helps to shape and evolve the way I live my own life.
The moral of this blog: choose carefully who you look up to, spend time with, learn from … because the dynamic works the other way as well. As the old saying goes ‘you can’t fly like an eagle if your hanging with turkeys’.
JBW

Homeward Bound

Finally finished my work in Las vegas (for the 2nd time in a week), flew back to Los Angeles, met up with Rigan Machado and headed out to lunch. After lunch we walked and chatted for a bit, then went back to his place, slapped a few mats down on his loungeroom floor and worked on some BJJ technique for the latter part of the afternoon. The he, Dave Meyer and I headed out again for a bite of dinner before I was dropped at the airport for my late flight home. Boarding shortly.
Here are a couple of pics - The first of me surfing the invisible wave with Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce champion and latest UFC sign-up)
Another of Rigan and I on his lounge-room floor.
And finally, a nice one taken just before I left Vegas after breakfast with a nice group of friends (LtoR: Fariborz Azhahk, Benny Urquidez, martial arts legend: Jhoon Rhee, myself and David Meyer).
I have had a great trip - but must admit will be glad to get back home to my family and my students in Geelong. Looking forward to returning to my usual routine this week. More soon - travelblog complete.
JBW

Last few days

Here in San Francisco now, for the last night. Heading back to vegas tomorrow for the MAIA show, then home on Sunday night after I spend the day in Los Angeles with Rigan Machado. I have had a busy time of it, after Seattle and Vancouver, I came back to SF with Dave Meyer. Took Dave through a tabata workout yesterday, then went to Gilbert Melendez's gym where we also met up with Denny (Eddie Bravo's first black belt) and a couple of other fighters. I took a two hour class, and led them all through some entries, angle drills, etc. Very well received - Gil owes me a Churro.
Today we caught up again at Fairtex gym, where Gil's main training partner Jake Shields also joined in on some ground transitions and finishes we were working on. Gil owes me a 2nd churro. Love those things - fond memories of eating them when my wife Melissa and I visited Mexico twenty years back.
After Fairtex, I accompanied Dave on a home-buying excursion in the beautiful Marin county part of San Francisco - we may be close to having him in the market. Nice. An early start tomorrow, back to Vegas, then home on Sunday. Miss my family - but it's been a blast. JBW

The trip so far ..

What a great day - waking up to a beautiful Canadian morning.
My trip thus-far, although hectic, has been great. After spending a day in Los Angeles, I headed to vegas, met up with my friend Dave Meyer and taught at Chuck Norris's annual UFAF convention. On the thursday, I spent time with top thirty or forty instructors, lecturing on coaching models. The reception was very positive - so it looks like a repeat performance will be called for next year. On friday morning, I taught the main group of Black Belts, (see pic) before saying my goodbyes and heading north to Seattle. On Friday night I taught at Andy Wilson's MKG gym - a fun MMA and reality-based self defence class which was hugely attended. Again we all had a blast - and the sign-ups for next year have already started!! On saturday morning I taught at Black Belt student Brian Johnson's school to a packled mat. Afterward, we had a BBQ and social gathering for all of his students, a great day! Then we drove north to Canada with good friend Perry Bateson - had a bite to eat and hit the sack. This morning I am heading to PErry's gym for a bit more fun with good friends before heading back to Seattle this afternoon and then on to San Fransisco this evening. Time to get moving.
best wishes to all,
JBW

Getting beat up and not knowing it ..

I took up martial arts when I was a youngster, as a way of trying to quell the insistent voice of fear that murmured inside me … after having been beaten up a couple times, as a young kind, I began my quest for super-powers. Fear can be a powerful motivator – the more scared I became, I more I would over-compensate. I was pulled off the unconscious body of the biggest bully in school on more than one occasion. Yikes!
There is though, a much more insidious threat that I didn’t perceive until much later in my life. And my response to that new threat – I beat the crap out of it!
When we are beaten on the mat (or on the street) we at least know it … the much worse beating to take is the one we don’t even perceive; the soft beating; the beating we take day after day without even realizing it.
People are beaten down by the way they live their lives; by advertising, by the foods they consume, by the conversations they have, by the habits they acquire, by the work they do … and all the time, they think ‘that’s just the way it is’.
I have always rebelled – and have been punished for it. But I won’t be beaten down! Never.
JBW

Surfing the Bell Curve

Everyone falls on the Bell Curve – there are really, really good people, and of course, at the opposite end of the curve there are the counterparts – really, really bad people. There are the extraordinarily wealthy and the extraordinarily poor, the extraordinarily fit and the extraordinarily unfit – and so on. There is always that certain person in any martial arts class who is such a positive force for the school, always positive, always encouraging of others, always raving about the benefits of the school to their friends, etc – and then of course, there is their exact opposite, the person who is gloomy, who finds fault with everyone, etc … that’s the person you want to get rid of – and fast – life’s simply too short!
The bell curve is an interesting concept – and we all surf it whether we want to or not. What I mean by this is that we may sit nicely to the right of the bell curve in some areas of our lives, right smack in the middle of it in other areas; and way to the left in other aspects still. A genius at making money might be terrible at his personal relationships; a great family man might be lacking in fitness; a seriously fit athlete might be no good at making good life choices, etc.
I like to think that we all have the capability to surf that Bell Curve in the direction we like, I like to think we are all capable of moving to the right – from very mediocrity to acceptable – from acceptable to very good – from very good to excellent. Moving to the right of the Bell Curve makes us happy; we feel good about ourselves, especially when we notice that we have made the move. Noticing is very important – not noticing that we have made improvements is a sure-fire way to let our behavior and habits slide back to the left side of the Bell Curve. When we make a decision to shift one of our positions on the Bell Curve, we have already made progress. Nothing is fixed! Life is short … get surfing.
JBW

Switching On

Switching on – is the opposite to sleeping – but those are just the extremes on the bell-curve – there is a lot of grey area in between. Some of the in-between states are what we experience when we are daydreaming, awake but non-attentive, bored, etc.
Being switched on is about being in a state of high arousal; being acutely aware ; having our attention turned up to full volume. We can be switched on and highly focused, with our attention tuned almost exclusively to one thing that we are concentrating on – or we can be switched on and very broadly focused, taking in as much information from our environment as is possible.
Switching on while we are training has obvious benefits – in fact, I think that is one of the reasons many of us are attracted to ‘action-based sports’ – we need to switch on so that we aren’t injured or killed – and we like the feeling – the feeling of being fully switched on. You don’t ski down the steep side of a mountain in a state of boredom – you are fully switched on – fully invested in the moment – fully alive. The same goes for fighting – fully switched on – fully alive and completely in the moment.
If we experience being switched on in one facet of our lives, we can try replicating that ‘state’ of being while we are experiencing other facets of our lives. I have taken the feeling of being switched on – on the mat – off the mat and into other areas of my life. This is a skill I am glad I have developed – to whatever small degree that I have.
JBW

WHY DO FIT PEOPLE NEED TO TRAIN SO HARD?

That’s how they became fit people. Why do millionaires need to be so frugal – that’s how they became millionaires. Why do good fighters need to work defence? That’s how they became good fighters.
It’s all about a mixture of the right ingredients.
Physical fitness is about not only doing sufficient exercise, but it’s about eating the right foods and getting enough rest so the body can do the repair work. My preference is a high intensity-style of workout, coupled with my martial arts training – eating good quality smallish meals, usually four times a day and resting in between.
Financial fitness is about setting up more than one stream of income and then making sure to spend way less than what I make. It’s not so much about the amount of money we make, but how much we tend to accumulate, that ultimately determines whether we are financially healthy or not.
Fighting fitness is about training in the variety of skill sets that best prepare us to be comfortable across a range of scenarios. This includes pre-fight strategies, kickboxing skills, takedown skills and ground skills – then there are those skills that deal with edged weapon attacks, multiple assailant scenarios and the like. There is no room for boredom on this landscape.
So why are millionaires so frugal - because that’s how they became millionaires. Why do great martial artists need to train so much … etc? Kind of obvious isn’t it?
JBW