Powerful Book Recommendations

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Jon

I am an absolutely voracious reader. Usually I am reading 3-4 books at a time AND listening to a book on CD in my car. The book on CD is key. My car becomes a mobile library and I’m able to productively utilize my driving time. I do occasionally jam out to my favorite tunes while driving, sometimes you just have to roll down the windows and sing (or try to in my case) at the top of your lungs, but for the most part I really love being able to read and drive at the same time! Continue reading →

The UN-Natural Athlete

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Jon

I was never what you would call a natural athlete growing up. In fact, I pretty much sucked at every sport I tried – baseball, basketball, soccer, kickball, tennis… you name it, I sucked at it. To make things worse I was also ridiculously shy and introverted as a kid, so that combination, on top of having little to no athletic skill, made things even worse! Continue reading →

Do You Have Fitness ADD?

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Jon

I have to say it. Fitness ADD is running rampant. And, no I don’t mean math skills, I mean Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)! The misinformed, and some who should know better, running from program to program looking for, but never finding, the holy grail of fitness training. They never stay with a program long enough to actualize the real results inherent within it. Exercises are changed up on a daily basis to stave off boredom or keep it interesting or to never plateau or to confuse the muscles, or whatever nonsense people tell themselves. But really it’s a problem of commitment; actually sticking to a program to reap all the promised results from it. Continue reading →

What Have You Done (to yourself)?

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Jon

Do you people watch? I do. Traveling a few weekends in a row earlier this month gave me ample opportunity. The people watching was especially entertaining at the various rest stops along the highways, turnpikes, and parkways the length of the northeastern corridor from NJ up to MA, and out through PA on the way to OH.

In all my recent people watching adventures I’ve notice something pretty sad. On the whole, in general, there are many, many people out there in very poor shape. Actually, horribly pathetic shape is a more apt description. Now I know this is not a revelation to you, my dear readers, nor is it one to me either. It’s just that in crowded spots where people are traveling from all over are congregated, it becomes very noticeable.

Formula for Failure

The question I kept coming back to, as I looked around at these horribly out of shape people from all walks of life and all ages, was WHY? Why are people so enormously overweight? Why is their physical condition so screwed up? Why do they struggle for breath just standing up or sitting down? What happened along the way to get them in such a state? Surely no one started out wanting to be fat, out of shape, and de-conditioned. Surely no one wanted to feel so devoid of energy and vitality. Surely it was a slow, slow decline. Surely it was an insidious series of small errors over the course of a long, long time that brought them to this, right?

Formula for Failure

“A few errors in judgment repeated every day.” – Jim Rohn

What does it matter when you decide not to exercise?
What does it matter when you have that extra dessert?
What does it matter when you sit all day?
What does it matter when you skip your mobility practice?
What does it matter when you don’t breathe fresh air and walk in the sunshine?
What does it matter when you smoke that pack of cigarettes?
What does it matter when you watch TV for hours at a time?
What does it matter when you KNOW the right thing, but don’t DO it?
What does it matter when you don’t eat your vegetables?
What does it matter when you add 4 sugars to your coffee?
What does it matter if you don’t get enough sleep a night?
What does it matter when you consistently eat too many carbs?

The truth is, it does matter. The little things you do, or don’t do, on a daily basis matter very much in the long run.

The only one ultimately responsible for your health and well-being is you. Not your doctor. Not your spouse. Not your friends. Not the government. You. You alone. Make the right choices.

Settling for Imperfection

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Jon

I’ve got some news for you. You will never be perfect at anything. Not your strength, not your conditioning, not your martial art, not your job, not your relationships, nothing. You will never even be able to make the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Nope. Not ever.

So what does that mean?

Should you simply stop trying right now? I mean, since you’ll never be perfect at anything, what’s the point, right? Why bother? Why struggle and make the effort? Well, I think the struggle is the point. It’s the process, not the goal. It’s what struggling and reaching and trying make of you that is the important thing. The journey itself, not so much the destination. In any worthwhile pursuit, like budo (martial arts to you non-budo people) for example, there is no end to the learning. The study is so vast and so deep you could pursue it for several lifetimes and still not reach the end.

The late, great Brandon Lee once said, “With what level of imperfection will you settle?” I think this is what he was talking about.

How content are you with your current level of skill in your martial arts practice? How satisfied are you with your current level of strength and conditioning at the gym? How happy are you with your current job, status, level of wealth, or relationship(s)?

Are you willing to settle for where you are right now in one or all of those categories, or do you want more?

The question you need to ask yourself in each of those areas is Brandon’s – with what level of imperfection will you settle? Where will you stop growing, pushing, struggling, changing, expanding your capacity, living up to your potential? When will you stop?

Or will you ever stop?

Keep Going!

The Difference Between External Strength & Internal Power

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Jon

For as long as I can remember, I have always believed that the body is meant to be used as a fully actualized, integrated unit – nothing can (or should!) exist in isolation. By this I mean that muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone are all equally important and must all be unified in producing amazing degrees of strength and skill for fitness, martial arts, sports, or life. And, in most cases this is completely true. Continue reading →

3 Months to Live

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Jon

I had a very interesting conversation the other day with an elderly Chinese gentleman. At 74 years young he still works part-time as a medical doctor and is in excellent health. He told me that back in 1982 in China he was diagnosed with a very severe lung problem, which was slowly reducing his breathing capacity. The doctor at the time gave him only 3 months to live!! I looked at him in amazement and said- “Well, obviously you are still alive and in good health, so what happened?” Continue reading →

Are You a Martial Artist or Martial Hobbyist?

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Jon

Sometimes the lines between martial artist and martial hobbyist get blurred. How do you determine whether you are a true martial artist or just a martial hobbyist? Here is a quick and easy way to find out…

Martial Hobbyist Quiz

Do you train only when it is convenient?
Do you train only when you feel good?
Do you train only when you have nothing better to do?
Do you train as a way to get out of the house?
Do you train to socialize?
Do you train only when it’s fun?
Do you only train when you are in class?
Do you only train when someone is watching?

If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, then congratulations, you are a Martial Hobbyist. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Martial Artist Quiz

Do you train regardless of whether you feel like it or not?
Do you train when you have a headache?
Do you train when other people are relaxing?
Do you train when it’s raining outside?
Do you train even when there is a new episode of Big Bang Theory on TV?
Do you train every day no matter what?
Do you train for life?
Do you train even when there are better things to do?
Do you train when it’s boring, repetitive, and dull?
Do you train on your own without supervision?
Do you constantly strive to get better each time you train?
Do you define yourself through your martial practice?
Do you look at everything else in life through the lens of your martial training?

If you answered YES to 3 or more of these questions, then congratulations, you are a Martial Artist.

This post was inspired by reading about a dedicated yoga practice earlier this morning and what it takes to achieve a committed, dedicated practice. Hopefully no egos were bruised in the reading of this post!

By the way, if you want to move from hobbyist status to artist status, here is great article on How to Train More Every Day. Enjoy!

Coulda Killed Ya (A.I.F)

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Jon

I have a confession to make. And after my last post on the 13 Deadly Sins of Fitness this seems to be becoming a theme!

Here goes… sometimes I let my situational awareness slip and find myself in a position where a person with bad intentions could take advantage. Ever happen to you?

Let me back up a little bit and tell you what brought this confession about. This morning as I sat in my car beside the pump at a busy gas station waiting for the attendant to come over and fill up the tank (yes, there is no self-service in NJ!), I sort of drifted. It seemed to take forever for the guy to come over to the car so I let my attention wander while I was waiting. As I was lost in my thoughts about the million and a half things going on in my life, I was suddenly startled out of my reverie by the attendant at the window asking if he could help me. I flinched slightly (think I covered it up pretty well), and then told him to please fill up the tank with regular.

As he walked away to gas up my car, it occurred to me – he coulda killed me! I was completely not paying attention and did not even notice him amble up to my car window. Had he been a bad guy (insert your own bad guy of choice here), I would have been in serious doo-doo (yes, that’s a technical term).

Not only was I embarrassed that he startled me, but I was pissed at my own lack of vigilance . I usually pride myself on my awareness skills and rarely, if ever, do people sneak up on me. But rather than chalking it up as just “one of those things” I figured I would write about it as a lesson, not just for you guys, but for me as well.

So what is the moral of the story? As I tell all my martial arts students and the women in my Women’s Self Defense workshops….

A.I.F!

Awareness is Fundamental. This is the basic requirement to keep yourself and those around you safe from harm. Yes, I probably could have beaten up the gas station attendant had he attacked me, but that’s not the point. The best way to stay safe is to be aware enough to avoid a potentially bad situation to begin with. So, here’s your homework (and mine!):

When you are out in public, whether it’s at work, at school, in a mall, walking in a park or down a busy street, or – GASP – at a gas station waiting at the pump, you must keep your awareness up.

How do you do this?

1) Look around! Keep your head and eyes scanning the environment. Use wide angle vision.

2) Do not fixate all your attention on one task, especially if it takes your eyes off the environment around you. Look up every once in a while and note the position of people in your general vicinity. As I am writing this post I am sitting in a Panera nursing a delicious cup of dark roast coffee. My eyes are on the computer screen and keyboard, but also scanning around me.

3) Keep your ears open! Rather than blasting music in your ears with your ipod as you walk, run, or sit in public, keep your ears open and listening around you.

4) Listen to your gut! If something feels wrong, it probably is. Do not ignore the hair raising on the back of your neck or the feeling in the pit of your stomach that something is off. Ever feel like someone is staring at you and when you turn around, they are? You have the primal ability to know when you are in danger. Do not disregard this sense, it can save your life!

Warrior Fitness

Old School Training for the Modern Warrior

Category Archives: General Discussion