Category Archives: General Discussion

Sometimes our genius defies the laws of finite categorization.

Who is This Program for Anyway?

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It recently came to my attention (yesterday, as a matter of fact) that several people are under the impression that my Evolve Your Breathing program is only meant for a small demographic of the population, ie – male martial artists.

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but the last time I checked 100%, that means ALL, of the population breathes – am I right? 🙂

So why would someone assume that a program on breathing exercises for health, wellness,performance, and stress management, applies to just a limited segment of the population?

Let me help – No matter who you are and what sort of activity, sport, or martial art (or none) you are engaged in, your breathing is an essential, and I mean critically essential, component of that activity.

Want to make it better?  Get Evolve Your Breathing.  Period.

EVOLVE_SPOT-1 (2)30 Day Money Back Guarantee

To make this an even easier decision, I am so sure that EYB will increase your energy levels, improve your response to stress, and speed your workout recovery that I am offering a 30 day money back guarantee.
Try Evolve Your Breathing for 30 days and if you don’t like it, I will give you 100% of your money back no questions asked. (well, I might ask one question, like – did you actually try it???)

Take the Evolve Your Breathing 30 Day Challenge today!

PS  – You can also get Evolve Your Breathing at 50% off the regular price when you purchase it as part of one of my Budo Packs!

Traditional Martial Artists of the World – UNITE!

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Traditional martial arts all have a long history of intense, sometimes downright brutal, physical training to forge the warrior’s combative body, mindset, and spirit.

This training has, up until very recently in history, never been optional. If you did not have the strength of will to endure it and push through then you simply did not make the cut and were not taught higher level skills. Not that you would be considered somehow unworthy or anything silly like that, but you would be thought physically incapable and therefore not worth the teacher’s time to train you.

Each school of martial art had its own type of tanren or forging process to harden the aspiring martial student. Continue reading →

The Worst Reason Ever

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The other day my daughters and I were sitting in a local diner having breakfast.  As we sat there looking at the menus and discussing  what we were planning to order, my 4 year old looked at her older sister and said – “Hey!  Get your elbows off the table!”

“No way!” replied my 12 year old, “why should I?” Continue reading →

The Most Powerful Form of Training

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“Look at this guy – he’s a beast!”

“You’re an animal!”

“He’s got beast strength!”

In the fitness world it’s become very common to refer to extremely strong and capable individuals as “Beasts” or “Animals”.  We use these terms to separate them out from the regular crowd, to distinguish their strength as something more than human.  These people push past their puny human limits and transcend into the realm of beast-like strength. Continue reading →

Little Dragon

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dragon

I just finished watching, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, for probably the 10th time since it came out in 1993.  It still amazes me that in such a short life, Bruce was only 32 when he died, he was able to have such a huge impact on the world.  Bruce was my childhood hero.  The man who inspired me, and so many others, to train in the martial arts.  It staggers my imagination thinking about how much he accomplished by the young, tender age of 32.  International movie star, world renowned martial artist, teacher, author, father, husband.  A man truly ahead of his time.  A revolutionary thinker forging a place for martial arts on the world stage.

How much more could he have accomplished had he lived?  What else would he have done?

In the movie, when Bruce was just starting out his teaching career, he placed a pebble in Linda’s (his girlfriend and future wife) hand and told her to drop it.  He then explained to her how dropping a simple pebble in a pond creates larger and larger ripples moving out from the center.  She drops it and he smiles, “It has begun.”  40 years after his death, the ripples of his life and his teaching still move us and affect us.

Dying Young

I remember back in my sophomore year in high school English class, we were studying poetry and we read a poem called, “To An Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman.

To an Athlete Dying Young by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market-place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come, Shoulder-high we bring you home, And set you at your threshold down, Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields were glory does not stay And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut Cannot see the record cut, And silence sounds no worse than cheers After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout Of lads that wore their honours out, Runners whom renown outran And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade, The fleet foot on the sill of shade, And hold to the low lintel up The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead, And find unwithered on its curls The garland briefer than a girl’s.

Our assignment was to write a similar poem about a famous person we admired who had also died young.  I chose to write about Bruce Lee.  The day our poems were read in school, I was absent due to being sick.  One of my friends told me how much our teacher loved my poem and how she had read it to the class as an example.  I was shocked.  I didn’t try to write for a an “A”.  I wrote from my heart.  From my passion.  This was an important lesson for me – people recognize and respond to passion.  You don’t have to be the most educated or the most skilled, but if you do something – anything – with passion, people will feel it.

Live With Passion

The moral of the story, kids, is that you don’t know for sure how much time you have.  Don’t waste it.  Live your passion to the fullest.  Don’t wait for next year, next month, next week, or even for tomorrow, it may never come.  Do it now, TODAY!

Bruce-Lee

In the movie, Bruce Lee said, “The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”

What are you still doing here reading this?

Go out there and create a life worth remembering!

 

Healing Yourself with Mobility Part 1

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Guest blog post by Eric Guttmann, U.S. Navy Officer, Author, Fitness Enthusiast and More

Healing an Ankle Sprain

 

I frequently attend health, youthing, anti-aging, and training seminars along with travels all over the world regarding health practices. I always make it a point to ask both presenters and experts in the audience what is the number one thing that they have SEEN bring about the greatest results.

The answers are varied and very good: get your bloodwork done because “numbers don’t lie”, drink one gallon of water a day, do “grounding”, wake up early and go to bed early to establish a rhythm with nature, optimize your hormones, do more isometrics, eat 51% of your food raw, get a magnetic mattress, take shilajit, harness the power of the mind, and of course everyone seems to have a favorite supplement and eating regimen they are really fond of.

However as I asked myself this question I found the answer to be achieving FULL Mobility.  If there is one thing that I have learned and can transmit to others, that ANYONE from 7 to 97 can do, it is FULL Mobility.  Reclaiming my FULL Mobility has helped me in every area of my life and has been a significant source of healings for me and for others, here are just a few:

Reclaiming Full Mobility

When I was in the desert flying missions over Iraq I went into the base gym and they were giving a Capoeira class.  Well, it was more like “get in there and do it.”  I should have paid attention and noticed that everyone took their shoes off.  I simply jumped in the class, started kicking, and managed to twist my ankle.  “No problem,” I thought to myself “this will heal in three weeks.”  Six months later I still had a nagging pain in my ankle.  I went to my chiropractor and training partner and he informed that it was a ligament that was injured and it would take 18 months to heal.  I got pissed and decided that I would fix this myself.  I dug around my library to find a solution and unearthed some joint mobility materials and started doing joint mobility for the feet and ankles morning and night and in ONE WEEK the pain was gone.  I went from 18 months to ONE WEEK doing joint mobility.

I now became a believer and decided to incorporate it daily and made it a life quest to gain FULL mobility in ALL my body. I devoured everything I could get my hands on regarding mobility. My father was a Greco-Roman wrestler in Hungary and when I was seven years old I noticed that he would do exercises every morning.  I asked him why and he told me that his Eastern European wrestling coach had shared some training wisdom with him,  “If you do something everyday, then everyday you will be able to do it.”  Of course, it made perfect sense!  If I achieved FULL mobility and practiced it everyday, then everyday for the REST OF MY LIFE I would have FULL mobility.

I have been practicing joint mobility for five years now ever since I had the epiphany with my healed ankle.  I have been studying, incorporating, experimenting and refining my routine based on the works and/or my personal interaction with Pavel, Steve Maxwell, Scott Sonnon, Navy kinesiologists, Chek Practitioners, Z-Health, Mike Mahler, Chuck Habbaken, Bud Jeffries and others.If you want to get your hands on the best mobility training out there and the EXACT one I have used to heal myself multiple times from the injuries sustained through training and life then click in the link below:

Moving Freely For Life

As an added bonus I am including a FREE BONUS which is my SECRET stretching routine to open up the hip and lengthen the spine which I found are the keys to maximizing my Qigong practice (which would be the second thing I most recommend for longevity).

Done together the joint mobility and stretches can be knocked out in under 26 minutes, yet your health and quality of life will expand to new and greater levels that will seem like a 1000% return on your investment.

Another bonus is a makeshift mobility test that you can do to gage whether you are at a Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 joint mobility.  If you train others you can also use it to gage where your clients are at and to monitor their progress over time.

So order this DVD now and try it for yourself. I know that you will feel immediately freer and open, even diminishing or completely getting rid off nagging pain if you are carrying any, at the end of the instructional session.  That is right, I am saying that after going through the instructional part just ONCE you will feel an immediate improvement in your mobility!  Commit to doing it everyday and you WILL have FULL mobility for the rest of your LIFE!

Moving Freely For Life  <<<=====

If you live in the New Jersey area and prefer personal instruction in mobility then I highly recommend you check out my friend Jon Haas’ school, Warrior Fitness at 4004 Sylon Blvd, Hainesport  NJ, 08036, or give him a call at 609-556-8712 to set up an appointment or attend a class.

Moving Freely For Life  <<<=====

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Eric GuttmannRead Eric’s complete bio HERE.

Time to Reorganize Priorities

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I spent all morning today running around with my 4 year old doing a bunch of errands.  We went to Story Time at Barnes & Noble (she loves that!), then to the bank, to the post office (where I shipped out one of the last paperback copies of Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts!), then off to go food shopping.  Finally we made it back home where I got lunch ready, chicken nuggets for her and a protein shake for me (recipe here!).

Now, aside from telling you about my morning, you may be wondering what my point is here.  At each one of the stops we made I did some people watching and listening.  At B&N, while listening to the story teller read Good Night Moon, I overheard 2 moms having a conversation about Weight Watchers and how they both needed to lose weight.  There was some talk about eating healthier, but the main focus seemed to be on how they could cheat – and they hadn’t even started yet!!  All this while both were sucking down some serious calories from their Starbucks mocha-whatevers with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.  Since I was curious, I engaged them in conversation and asked if they were going to add exercise in to help them with their goals.  They both agreed that it would be a great idea, if only they had time.  They seemed very convinced that they were way too busy with everything going on in their lives and would just have to “do the best they could”.  I wanted to pursue the conversation more, but the story was over and Juliana was ready to go play with the legos and trains, so we walked away.

Stephen Covey Quote

This got me thinking – why do people TALK about being healthy so MUCH, yet put so little actual value on their health and fitness that they can’t make it a priority in their lives?  We all KNOW so much about how to be healthy, but knowing is not enough.  We all want so much to be healthy, fit and strong, but willing it is not enough.  There is simply ONLY ONE WAY to become fit, healthy, and stong, and that is DOING IT!

 

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”  – Zig Ziglar

Make your fitness a priority in your life.  Sooner or later if you don’t make time for being healthy you will be forced to make time for being sick.  Take charge of your own fitness today.  Make it part of your weekly schedule.  Get it done.

Remember – what gets scheduled gets done.  What does NOT get scheduled falls by the wayside.  Don’t just talk about it.  Become it!

 

Why Should YOU Train Like A Warrior?

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Upon hearing the name of my gym, Warrior Fitness Gym, and my 30 year martial arts background, many people become hesitant and ask me, “Do I need to be a martial artist to train with you?  Do I have to be a warrior?”  The answer to the first question is no and the answer to the second question is yes.

You do not have to train martial arts to join my gym, in fact the majority of the clients who train with me at the gym are not, but yes, you DO have to be a warrior!  The definition of warrior that I am using here is –  “One who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause, or conflict.”

Your activity is fitness training.

Your cause is to be the strongest, healthiest, best version of yourself you can possibly be.

Your conflict is fighting against mediocrity, laziness, and the pull of simply going along with the herd.

Good enough is NOT good enough, good is the enemy of GREAT!

If you are not a warrior, don’t worry.  I’ll make you one.

Why should you train this way?

Quite simple.  You are dissatisfied with the status quo.  You want something different, better, more effective, and quite frankly much cooler and more kick ass than traditional boring fitness workouts.  You want to walk tall and stand out from the crowd, not be lost in the masses as another wall flower.  You want to become the most powerful version of yourself possible and you will fight hard to do it.

Warrior training is the essence of fitness.  Remember that sports were created as a way for warriors to practice and hone thier skills in times of peace.  Almost all physical training that has stood the test of time was once warrior training.  In essence, training like this will bring you back to the root of what fitness training really is – training for battle.  Yes, even if you never engage in combat, this type of training will prepare you to face any challenges life may throw at you.

My recommendation?  Train with me.  Train like a warrior.

Jon Shizen

 

Why Eating Bitter is so Sweet

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The Chinese martial arts have an expression, chi ku, which means to “eat bitter” or “eating bitterness”.  It is frequently used by the master to express to the students training under him the fact that if they want to become masters of  the art in their own right, they must suffer first.  The training is often very rigorous, both physically and mentally demanding.  It can also be extremely boring and repetitive sometimes as the trainees must perform the same movement patterns and work though the same solo exercises over and over again in order to burn it into their nervous systems so it becomes part of them.  This is the only way to do it.

Certainly this type of training is not for everyone.  Yet for those with the physical and mental fortitude to endure the long years of training and hardship, the harsh realities of becoming great, the rewards are vast.  The students develop formidable body skills and enourmous amounts of mental toughness.  For those that make it, they realize the training was intense, but they made it through.  They are now the masters.

As Jim Rohn famously said – There are only 2 pains in life.  The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

It’s your choice.  Suffer a little now, endure the training, endure the hardships, endure the life adversity, and then look back knowing that you have walked through it and achieved your goal on the other side.

Or, be afraid of the hardship and pain and decide to back off and stay where you are.  The pain of discipline is avoided, yes, but what you don’t realize is that the pain of regret weighs much, much heavier and is in fact the greater of the 2 pains.

Eat bitter now and be able to endure physical and mental hardships in training.  Endure hardship and succeed.  The rewards are so sweet!

muhammad-ali

 

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit.  Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
– Muhammad Ali