"R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me..." by Jeremy M. Talbott

Some of the great things I enjoy most in martial arts, outside of the training, are the anecdotes that an experience teacher or school owner has to offer.  Now when you have someone who has been around the martial arts for as long as my instructor Sensei John Sharkey has, you hear some great ones.  One in particular, that I would like to share, deals in subject that we as martial artists, strive to practice daily; respect.

As the story goes, Sensei Sharkey walked into the school in his "street" clothes as a class was proceeding.  He then moved across the floor, at which time, as rules would state, a senior student would bring the class to attention when a higher rank black belt would come on to the floor.  Of course, this time, it was not done.  He then asked why and the response was that he didn't have his belt on.  Sensei Sharkey then said "OK" and proceeded off the floor and into the office.  All seemed fine until he returned from the office with his belt in one hand and a trash can in the other, to which he threw his belt in the trash,  "AM I STILL A BLACK BELT?!", was the question the only question he asked.

Now most people may think or feel that Sensei Sharkey was on a power trip, commanding respect, that that was not his point at all.  When I asked about what he was trying to teach he told me this "A belt rank is a symbol of your status and identifies the progress of your training. Even though the lesson was on the unimportance of the belt, it was intended to only point out the unimportance of the belt compared to the person."   You see, we impress upon the students that they should respect their seniors and their teachers, but what most of us seem to stress is not so much the person, but their belt.  As a student you should discard the fact that you teacher is a black belt and ask yourself this "If I met this person in the street without knowing his rank, would I still hold the same respect?"  If the answer is no, then you are not really practicing true respect so much as just showing basic respect due to a position he or she has.  

In some cases this same mode of thinking happens in everyday work life or school life.  How many people would say they respect their CEO?  Now how many people have actually met their CEO on a personal level?  What about your teachers or professors at school?  Do you respect, them because they are your teacher or do you respect them because they show true character that is worthy of respect?  While most of us respect the title, we don't really show the true respect to the person who earned the title.  I was brought up and try to instill in our students and my own children that you respect all people regardless of their position in life, until they have given you a reason not to respect them.  Once we begin to strip away titles and positions we begin to judge people by their character and actions.  Through that, we begin to exercise the true meaning of respect that we talk so freely of in the school. 

"...the black belt serves as an assumption of respect and knowledge, the true worth of that respect is only solidified by the person's actions." - Sensei John Sharkey

Are your goals accounted for? By Jeremy M. Talbott

It seems that while summer time is a slow time for most schools, here at Sharkey's Karate we seem to be constantly bombarded with events.  This year is no different.  From July 17-August 17 one of our school's biggest projects will once again be our Annual 30 Day Boot Camp.  Each year we have kids, and some adults, traveling in from all over US, Canada and Europe to train for 30 days at a live-in camp with world champion instructors in sport martial arts and extreme martial arts as well as top notch instructors in traditional karate, kung fu, wushu, kenjutsu and taekwondo.  With their training regimen usually running between 8:00am to about 7:00pm every day for 7 days a week, I was once asked what kind of crazy kids would such a thing.  I was quick to point out they are the same crazy kids that can be seen winning top awards on whatever circuit they compete in.  Is it the continuous daily routine of punching and kicking that does this?  Well, to a point, yes it is.  However, there are two things that are instilled in these campers during their training time, which seem to be lost in the daily routine of life; Goal setting and work ethics. 

Now Goal setting and work ethics are not some unique epiphany found solely in martial arts.  They have been around for centuries in the work force and at home, but at the same time are rarely seen in either.  Sure we may get motivated on January 1^st and put down those resolutions to get fit and those goals to achieve better financial situations, but come March 1^st are you still keeping track?   You know that in order to get a form down you need to practice the motions consistently, and correctly, every day, if only for a few minutes.  However do you choose to run that form at home for five minutes, or do you switch on Oprah instead?

At the very beginning of the camp, the campers are given a 3 ring binder notebook with sheets to fill in.  On those sheets they are to place what they hope to achieve by attending the camp.  They list their individual goals in order of importance as well as group goals.  Then there are log sheets that are utilized to keep track of what they did for the day to help them reach that goal.  Each day this journal is reviewed and each day the campers are held accountable for their progress.  Instilling this fundamental practice not only betters their martial art training, but can help them achieve success in other areas of their life as well.

Martial arts teach us a work ethic from your very first class.  In order to achieve your next belt you have to undergo countless repetitions of kicks, punches and blocks.  Regardless of what your goals are in martial arts, or in life, you know as well as I that if you want to move upward you have to do the work.  We also know that the temptations to lead you astray from those goals are plenty.   So take a tip from these crazy kids.  Grab a notebook and write out the goals you wish to achieve.  Set down a reasonable time line and steps you need to take in order to achieve the overall goal.  At the end of the day revisit the notebook and write exactly what you did to further yourself in your goal.  You will find, in time, that the one person you are truly accountable to is the one person who will not accept excuses for not getting further; you.

You only fail when you stop trying by Jeremy M. Talbott

When deciding on my first column I tried to decide which part of training would be best to try and assimilate into a real life situation.  After much trial and tribulation I decided that failure was the best.  Now for most people in martial artist failure is something that rarely comes up.  I mean, whenever you test you are guaranteed to succeed.  It is what most schools try to pass off as "self esteem".

This is really a very sad fact about the martial arts.  We claim to teach life skills, but if you are trying to protect your students from failure are we actually teaching life skills?  So many people look at failure as a negative aspect of life, but in fact it is one of the most positive things that could happen to a person.  Even Thomas Edison once said "I have not failed; I have found 10,000 ways that won't work."  Now for many of the instructors out there I'm sure you are ready to scream and shout how failing a student would totally traumatize a student from ever wanting to lean martial arts again.

Come on folks, you know as well as I do that if you fail a student they will not be totally traumatized from ever doing martial arts again.  If they are, then you as an instructor failed way before the testing ever began.  Let's face it, when our students leave our studio they will be challenged in school, home, and work.  What if they fail that challenge? Have we really taught them anything? 

Failure is just as much as part of life as success.  Failure is the fire that forges our armor of strength.  Once we teach the true concepts of failure we, as instructors, can finally show that success is an actual accomplishment.  I have seen way too many black belts that frankly don't deserve them.  When I asked the instructors why they say always say the same thing. "They have improved much more than what they used to be like in the beginning."  Well that is great, but are they doing the technique correctly?  If they are not then how can you say they are passing?  This same concept would never relate to the real world.  If you don't know that 3+3=6 then giving any answer is still wrong, not matter how much improvement you had made to achieve the answer.

Eventually the student has to realize that even if they do their best, that sometimes it is just not enough.  When this happens, it is up to the instructor to let them know why they didn't succeed and what they need to do in order to pass the next time.  What happens in this process is that the student learns from their mistakes and finds out how they can better themselves to succeed the next time around.  When is all said and done at the end of the test the instructor must remember on key concept Character is not built upon success.  It is built upon the failures that lead to success.

Push, Pull or Get Out of the Way by Jeremy M. Talbott

The legendary Bruce Lee is quoted as saying, "A good fight should be like a small play...but played seriously.  When the opponent expands, l contract. When he contracts, l expand. And when there is an opportunity... l do not hit...it hits all by itself."  It would seem that this would be very simple to achieve, but it is our natural instinct to meet force with force.  Many of us have heard the theory of Yin Yang principles as they apply to combat.  Life must have harmony and combat is no different.  If your opponent pushes, then you pull, if he pulls then you push.  Again, simple in concept, but difficult to execute.  Think about when you have a disagreement with a co-worker.  Do you allow the person to express their point of view without total interruption or you are quick to refute their point head on and don't allow the co-worker to finish?  For most, it is natural instinct to meet that force head on.  So how can one train one's self to go against natural instinct?

For starters you must keep in mind that harmony has to be met.  Without it, your chances of winning the combat, or anything else in that matter, will be diminished.  For the majority of us out there, when extreme stressful situations occur, regardless if it is in combat or if it is a problem at work, our body goes into a fight or flight mode.  This is when the our sympathetic nervous system kicks in causing our heart to be faster, our breathing to become more shallow, and our blood vessels in many parts our body begin to constrict.  When this occurs we can quickly become disoriented causing wrongful reactions to the situation.  Balance is no longer there.  One of the first things to do to achieve back the balance is to control the very essence of life; breathing.  Once you focus on your breathing to slow, down you calm your mind and begin to put your body back closer to a natural state.  Once that begins you can focus more clearly on the stress factor and decide which action to take.

Once harmony is met, the next step is to keep it maintained.  This is where you must figure which steps to take in order to maintain balance.  To do this you must use an I.P.D.E. method to assess your situation.  I.P.D.E. is a term I learned in driver's education which is very much easily applied in martial arts.  It stands for Intercept, Predict, Decide and Execute.  When you use the I.P.D.E. method keep in mind that this is not a method which you debate long term about your actions.  First you intercept the situation.  Is this life or death, being mugged in the streets, versus simple physical altercation, perhaps sparring at the gym, or is it someone just ranting, the disagreeing co-worker we talked about in the first paragraph?  For example purposes let's say the situation is a sparring session in the gym.  Now we move on to the next step, predict.  Is this person going to use a simple 1-2 combo followed up with a kick or will your opponent go in for a takedown, perhaps you can offset him by being the aggressor? Onto the next step, decide.  Simple enough decide on a course of action based on what you predict the opponent will do.  Let's say, for sake of argument, that you predict that the opponent is aggressive enough that he/she will be executing some combos.  We will also say that the opponent has got reach and weight on you.  With that in mind you need to decide the 3 courses of action.  First is Push.  Execute if the person is in a retreat mode or is in a less aggressive mode.  Second Pull.  Execute when the opponent's momentum is more aggressive and allow the momentum to proceed forward and react against it.  Lastly Get out of the way.  When the opponent is highly aggressive and has an oncoming barrage of punches and kicks sometimes the best way to block is not be there. Once you have predicted what is going to happen you move on to the last step, execute.  Once you arrive at your decision you must, without a doubt execute.  Do not be afraid of the choice you make, that will only cause hesitation and in return the harmony is no longer maintained.  One of my favorite quotes "Fear causes hesitation and hesitation will cause your worst fear to come true."

Once all of this has taken place the situation will now change and with it, you must change.  Remember to combine the I.P.D.E. method along with the thought of push, pull or get out of the way to maintain the harmony of the situation and you will be one step closer to achieving overall victory.

Climbing over that Mental Peak for Competition - 5 tips that can help you push past your usual limits by Jeremy M. Talbott

Whenever I am asked, "What can I do to better prepare for the next competition?" I naturally answer train, train, train and when you get tired, train some more.  Let's face it that is easier said than done.  Everyone knows you need to train hard to be good, but, no matter how hard you train, there is always a peak which you just can't seem to get past.  A mental exhaustion where you body no longer wants to go on.  So how do you motivate yourself to train harder, to push your body just past that limit you didn't think you could?  That is the key question. 

While trophies and medals may motivate you to get ready for the next competition, this may not always motivate you to push on when your muscles ache and your body is fatigued and you are drenched in sweat.  Sometimes you just need to "trick" your body and mind into going that extra mile.  So here are five mental rules to use whenever you need that extra push.

1)      Music enrages the savage beast.  Most of the time we hear the old saying "Music soothes the savage beast" and while this may be true, the opposite is just as true.  No matter how tired someone is, they always have enough energy to tap their toes or nod their head when their favorite song comes on.  It is almost instinctive.  Sometimes all you need is some really fast paced music to give you your second wind.  You become revived and ready for another session.

2)      Just one more time.   Repetition is key in successfully executing a good form as well as building up muscle memory to execute good sparring techniques.  So when you reach the state of tiredness, simply tell yourself, "I just need to do this one more time."  Once you do it, and then repeat that in your head again.  Before you know it, you have just pushed yourself an extra 30 minutes longer than you thought you could. 

3)      10 times right.  While repetition may be key, it is CORRECT repetition which is crucial.  If you are going to do something over and over, make sure you are doing it right.  A good start is the "10 times right" rule.  This means that you pick out a combination of techniques that you need to use and execute it, at full speed and strength, ten times.  Sounds easy enough right?  Well there is a catch.  If you mess up the combo then you have to start all over again.  This means that if you have executed the combo nine times successfully and then on the tenth time you mess up, then you go back to starting all over again.  Even when exhausted you will find this drill will push you to stay in the game longer than you expected.

4)      Whatever you are doing, your opponent is doing it more, and harder.  Sometimes you need your biggest rival to motivate you to stay on the mat.  Since most of the time they don't train at the same place as you do, you have to envision that they are always training harder than yourself.  If you throw a single combo once, your opponent has thrown it twice.  If you ran your best form 10 times, your opponent ran hers fifteen times.  If you swam 20 laps, your opponent swam 21 laps.  With that in mind run that form one more time or do one more round of sparring.  Each time you reach that limit and you are about to quit, always remember your opponent had no problems doing it once more.

5)      Let the movies help.  Before an event, it is always nice to relax the body and mind.  So how can you continue your training even when you need to just unwind?  Simple, let the movies work for you.  Prior to a big event simply grab a nice meal and watch a good inspirational movie such as "Rocky" or "Remember the Titans".  Movies that tend to inspire and send out the message that even the biggest long shot can be a champion.  Such movies not only send out a positive message of overcoming adversities, it also reminds you that you can achieve the success you deserve.  What better way to go into a competition than to have that message fresh in your mind.

Everyone has their own physical and mental limits.  Many of these limitations we place on ourselves never really knowing what we may be capable of doing.  These five items are just a few things that can help you push that bar of limitation for yourself a bit higher.  Even if you are able to tack on an extra five minutes of training or execute a form one more time than usual, the mental success you will achieve will reach far beyond the competition floor into your everyday life.

Transform and Change a Life by Jeremy M. Talbott

Many years ago there was a kid who, for the most part, wasn't on the right track to a good future.  In fact an incident happened where he beat another kid so severely that he left him for dead.  What saved this troubled child from being a statistic in our prison system, was one man who pleaded his case and took responsibility of him.   He was a karate instructor who took the boy under his wings.  The once delinquent child became an instructor himself who now donates his time in teaching kids.  He has trained several national champions and he formed a charity organization that helps feed and clothe homeless children.   All this, just because one man decided to try and make a difference in a child most of society would just give up on.  He transformed the delinquent child into an outstanding man of character.

During the past weekend I attended a martial arts seminar, where the theme was ‘transformation'.  As an instructor, and a student, I have found that the martial arts and its people transform others on a very personal level.  Together we build relations with one another based on forging our bodies and minds through blood sweat and tears.  We have understanding of each other, because we all went through the same awkward process of the first martial art class.  Not many other activities can produce the same type of kinship as martial arts do.

Though the lessons taught and the techniques learned make us better people, the most wondrous part about it is that the transformation doesn't necessarily come from all of that.  For the most part it comes from the simplest thing you can do, such as a friendly greeting or even going up to another competitor and telling them that you really enjoyed watching them compete, regardless if they won or lost.  Have you ever had a new co-worker or a class mate start on a project and totally messed it up? How did you react?  Did you react at all?   Our actions and non-actions transform others more than we realize.  Transformation:  Change in form, appearance, nature, or character.  Every action we take has a rippling effect which we may or may not ever see.  What if the instructor I mentioned in the first paragraph never intervened on behalf of the troubled kid?  A simple act of kindness not only transformed the kid's life, but the lives of others who have been taught by him and helped by his charity. 

Don't let the story fool you though.  You don't have to be an instructor in order to impact a student's life.  Everybody has the choice to transform themselves and others through their presence in this life.  We are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for.  Every day our lives have an infinite amount of possibilities to make a difference in someone else's life, if only by one simple act of random kindness. 

You can not be in the martial arts for a long time without hearing at least one Zen story.  The one that I really like and one that totally changed my life in the martial arts is the story of the student who wanted to become a master. 

 Once there was a monk who was very skilled, and very talented. He wanted to become a master, so he went to see the Zen Master, to study under him. He went to the Zen Master and he bowed to him and said, I want to study with you to become a master, how long will it take? The Zen Master said 5 years. The monk said, 5 years, okay, but I am very very good, I will learn very quickly, how many years will it take me? The Zen Master said 15 years. The monk said 15 years! But I won't sleep! I won't take breaks! I learn very fast, I will work harder and tire less than any of your other pupils, how long will it take me? The Zen Master said 25 years.  "How is it each time I say I will take work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?" the boy asked. "The answered is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the Way."

 In October I will be celebrating my 28^th year in the martial arts.  It is hard to believe that time has gone by so fast, yet I still remember first stepping on to the floor, like some people, wondering how long until my black belt.  In the beginning it seemed like it would be a goal I would never attain.  I had no coordination and I was so skinny that a quick change in the wind could knock me over.  It was at that time that I figured that once my contract was up, I was done.  When I told my friend about this, his uncle, who also became a teacher of mine, told me this story.  It was then that I took my eyes of the "prize" and just focused on the training without worrying about the end result.  Hours turned into, days, which turned into weeks, which did turn into years and before I knew it through both good and bad times, my perseverance paid off and I reached what I was hoping for.  Now it was easy to preserver when things were going well, but the true test was when things didn't go so well.  I had a choice of either quitting, hoping something will just happen, or making it happen regardless of what it would take.  I chose to make it happen. 

 There is not such thing as smooth sailing.  Whenever things start to take a turn for the worse, we tend to focus on all of our problems as being on big problem which, in turn, starts to make our overall goals seem too overwhelming based on the circumstances that we are in.  An example would be a school owner who is trying to make a livable profit at his school but is being swamped with student enrollment being down and student retention being down.  It seems to the owner that the only thing up is the cost of running the school.  When this happens you must remember this question; "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is simple; one bite at a time. 

 Instead of looking at it all as one giant problem, you need to break it down into smaller bites that you can work on.  Above all, you need to keep working.  Remember perseverance is not just standing still hoping that something good will happen.  Perseverance is moving forward towards you goal and making things happen regardless of any obstacles you may face.

Sparring, Life's Unsung Teacher
by Jeremy M. Talbott

It is inevitable that if you participate in martial arts, you will, at least once in your martial art life, do some sparring.  Sparring is an interesting "moment of truth."  As you step on to the mat and bow to your opponent you can begin to feel your heart race and your adrenalin pulse throughout your body.  All the countless punches, kicks and blocks that you spent hours on doing will now be put into action.  You are now set in a situation where you must think and react quickly, and instinctively, and a split second could make the difference between victory and defeat.

Sparring is probably one of the most important training methods in the martial arts and, unbeknownst to some, life itself.  Not only does it allow you to utilize your techniques in a live situation, but it teaches you how to think and react in a high stress situation.  As your opponent moves in to attack you have to quickly find a way to block or dodge and the parry and then get ready for the consequences of your counter attack.  There are many people who face, almost on a daily basis, situations where fast, crucial decisions must be made on projects that may affect deadlines, revenues and sometimes jobs.  When utilizing sparring skills in this matter they are able assess the situation in short amount time and decide the best way to proceed as well as figure out the consequences, good or bad, on the decision made.  This will help in figuring out a counter strategy if things go awry.

Moreover sparring teaches us how to control emotions in high stress situations.  A good fighter never allows himself or herself to become overly emotional if they feel things are not going according to plan.  They do their best to keep a clear mind that allows them to think about a better attack or counter plan to achieve victory.  Becoming overly emotional will cloud judgment and inevitably lead to an unsuccessful ending.  How many times have you argued or debated with a stranger, friend or loved one?  How many times have you allowed emotions to take over causing you to either say something you regretted or say something that was, well, just plain stupid.  Emotions cause you to read more into something that someone is saying than what it really being said.  When that happens, your reaction is skewed because you do not look at the logic behind their words.  What proceeds from there is that you choose words that no longer help you in achieving your goal in the discussion, but rather you choose words that seek to hurt or demean the other person.

Finally, sparring is one of the best ways to test our character.  What happens when you get hit or when you lose?  What happens when you hit someone or when you win?  Your reaction to these situations helps form your character.  When you get hit do you start to give up?  When you lose do you just quit?  When you hit someone do you gloat and dwell on the small victory or do you prepare for what happens next?  When you win do reflect on just the victory itself or what you could do to be just as successful, if not more successful, the next time?  When taught, learned and applied to your life properly, you will find that your sparring knowledge can improve your decision making skills, your emotional well being and your overall character.  So the next time you step on the mat and bow to your opponent, just think of the great life lesson you are about to receive.