Be Prepared to Defeat the Vampires

For all of you who are partaking in this year's Halloween activities, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable time! However, whether you're part of the celebration or not, it's still a good idea to be mindful and use your self-defense training to remain aware, as you may still encounter situations even if you haven't planned to participate!

Because I care so very much about all of you, I want you to be aware of a deathly serious threat.

Thanks to modern media, vampirism is back into the mainstream. People all over the world are raving fanatics of The Lost Boys, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Underworld, Blade, Twilight, Vampire Academy, and more! It's quite possible that thousands of people will embellish their bodies with sparkly glitter and other accessories in order to become whatever brand of vampire they please. It'll be a pretty popular costume selection - the perfect camoflauge for REAL VAMPIRES.

DO NOT BE FOOLED. THEY ARE OUT THERE AND THEY WANT YOUR BLOOD.

BUT DO NOT FEAR. ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE. IT IS FAR MORE POTENT THAN TYPING IN BOLDFACED BLOOD RED CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS.

This link may make the difference in a confrontation against the lords of the undead world:
http://www.themartialist.com/1003/vampire.htm

I shall leave you now to peruse this valuable knowledge, but before I depart, I must rephrase the site's disclaimer in order to protect myself from another breed of bloodsuckers: LAWYERS.

WARNING! Vampires are inherently dangerous. Do not attempt to fight vampires unless you are trained in vampiric combat and work under the supervision of a qualified instructor or dedicated vampire hunter. The staff, writers, executive producers, janitorial services, and target dummies of Kickin' It (all the same guy) accept no responsibility for death, dismemberment, or conversion to vampire resulting from vampire fighting.

Vampires, beware. My people are armed with the knowledge to defeat you now. You have been warned.

P.S. IMPORTANT UPDATE:
http://www.fvza.org/zdefense.html

Don't let the zombies get you either.

Taekwondo Park

This year, South Korea is beginning construction of The Taekwondo Park, future home of the World Taekwondo Academy. It will become a pilgrimage site for martial artists from all over the world. Based on the concept art, it's going to be beautiful....an amazing tribute to the old traditions as well as the innovations which drive the 21st century!

Watch the video in this link, and explore the rest of the site too!
http://www.tpf.kr/eng/park/park01.asp

The park is scheduled to be completed in 2013. Perhaps someday you may go there!

MMA & 'Mixed Up' Martial Artists

For generations, the founders of new styles cross-trained in other styles and fused them into new systems of martial thought. This kind of thinking and innovation in the martial arts world predates Bruce Lee and his maxim of 'absorb what is useful'.

When I came up through the ranks, I studied a hybrid system which included elements of Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Eskrima, along with some dabbling in numerous other styles. I've learned much since then, but even at my beginnings, I trained in unarmed striking, plus grappling, plus weapons....so I've been doing mixed martial arts since before it was cool.

In November 1993, the Ultimate Fighting Championship debuted on pay-per-view, challenging most martial artists' assumptions about the ring effectiveness of their respective styles. Most fighters at the time were specialists in a single discipline and it became a fascinating, albeit violent, experiment - one which intrigued thousands of people and upcoming fighters, while many others, including Senator John McCain, branded the sport as "human cockfighting".

It is undeniable that the UFC and the rise in popularity of MMA has infused the industry with a lot of new people.

It's also attracted the kind of people that are the complete antithesis of what we practice. Where many martial artists stood for honor, discipline, and respect....there are now beer ads, scantily-clad women, and testosterone-overdosed armchair tough guys. There are now people who would cast the 'old' martial arts industry as being fake, in light of their new tv-star gladiator overlords...almost as many as there are people who visualize brutality and barbarism when they hear the term "martial arts". (How coincidental that this change began shortly after the UFC was purchased by boxing promoters....hmmm.)

Despite this, I'm not going to stop practicing MMA, nor am I going to restrict myself to using the narrow view of it that is glorified in the media. To do so is a logical error known as the fallacy of composition: the part is not the whole, nor does it define the whole. For example, even though street racing exists and has an unpleasant element to it, I'm not going to stop driving my car in protest....and the existence of boring classes doesn't mean that college isn't worthwhile.

The hybridization of martial arts can be valuable and useful. The image which has grown up around it is not.

So, like the great Bruce Lee and the masters of old, we will learn what is useful and absorb it. Leave the rest alone. By doing this, we can be high-quality mixed martial artists, and not a bunch of mixed-up martial artists.

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

First of all, smile a little bit and watch this clip from the Conan O'Brien show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

Next, take a deep breath, look around you, and check out all of the amazing stuff in your world right now.  Now the hard part: begin carefully evaluating your attitude before you make another complaint, and EVERY time you're about to complain. ;)

Today's lesson: sometimes, we must protect ourselves from ourselves!  Keeping a positive and constructive attitude IS self-defense.

All Frosting, No Cupcake

Guilty confession: as a child, I used to sneak spoonfuls of frosting right out of the container and eat it. Doing this gave me a sugar rush like no other, and it was always soooooo much sweeter than just eating the cake. In fact, I used to just lick the frosting off of my cupcakes and then leave them there, much to my family's disgust....since I'd usually wipe out the tray and leave them with a bunch of freshly-licked cupcakes.

In the 21st century, we live in a specialized world where we can have whatever we want, exactly how we want it. In fact, if you really like the frosting that much, you can walk down to the store, buy your own can, and have at it until your pants don't fit right and your head hurts. You're entitled to it, if that's what you really want.

Sadly, this is also how many people view the martial arts. Even within my own school, where I'm busily preparing for BJ Penn's Live Like a Champion Project and gathering my team, I have students who want pieces of the program, and are reluctant to sample anything other than the frosting. Even though I've reinforced that the FIRST stage of living like a champion is a physical transformation, and the prelude to something more, some are unwilling to reach beyond that. Physical training is all they want, and all they're willing to commit to.

That's no different that licking off the frosting. I'm used to this.

I get students who only want to fight...
...who only want to exercise.
...who want weapons training.
...who want self-defense training.
...who want to lose weight.
...who want to control their stress/anger.
...who want to feel more confident.
...who want better flexibility or strength or endurance, etc etc.
...who want to have something fun to do.
...who want to wrestle.
...who want to dance and trick and flip like the movie guys.
...who want (insert benefit here).

And I provide that and a thousand other things too. It's all part of the recipe.

Throw away your assumptions. Most people only catch a fleeting glimpse of what I really do, align it with their perceptions, and then use this sliver of information as the basis to make a decision....without actually looking.

All frosting, no cupcake.

(Perhaps this also explains a lot of other issues in the world and in our lives. Food for thought.)

I've learned a lot from the mistakes of my childhood. I've eaten more than my fair share of frosting, but I've also spent my life learning how to bake an amazing cupcake. I'm going to continue to find ways to make it better, and in the process, I will share all of this with you so you don't need to spend a lifetime retracing my steps. I provide this service for virtually nothing other than your commitment to "live like a champion", achieve "black belt excellence", strive to attain "mastery", create a meaningful life, or whatever metaphor drives you.

The cost: eat the whole cupcake.

Evan's Dream

This is a video made by a colleague of mine, Master Chan Lee, a heartwarming photo montage which helps to illustrate the power of martial arts.

The teacher depicted in the video is Master Chan's father, Grand Master J.K. Lee.

I believe that this video shows a little bit of all of us: how we all struggle, how we all have challenges, how we all have something beautiful to give, how our passion and efforts can change lives, and the importance of our role in the world. It highlights the core of our mission and purpose.

Time Travel

If I could travel through time (without any weird sci-fi loopholes, butterfly effects, intricate ethical dilemmas, fixed assumptions about determinism vs. free will, etc.), I'd love to be able to show my students where their lives are headed. In particular, I'd love them to meet the person that they could become after 5, 10, or 20 years of martial arts training.

If you could meet that version of your future self, even maybe just see them for a little bit...

You'd never miss a class.

You'd rock every belt test and be at every event.

Every training partner would become your best friend.

You'd reorganize your entire life to ensure that you made the time to train.

You'd begin to exhibit qualities of your future self right now.

Your spirit would enhance every relationship and connection in your life.

People would notice something different about you.

Many might see you as calm and kind, yet with a deep reservoir of inner strength.

Everything in your life would feel like a lesson worth noting.

You'd meditate daily and it would never seem like wasted time.

With your mastery, stress wouldn't phase you for long.

During the rare times that you feel anger, it'd slip away more quickly.

When challenges arise, you'd roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Even when injured or sick, you'd find a way to turn things around.

You'd shatter obstacles with determination and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Others admire your tenacity, your passion, and your sense of purpose.

You'd see it as just another day in your life.

And just as you were given this gift, you'd encourage them to train with you.

And like I once did with you, when they seem hesitant and unsure about committing,

You'd want to be able to time travel too.

What I see in you is only a possible future, one which I think you'd love to have. I can't choose for you though. The path, as always, is still yours to walk. My role is encourage and guide you to actualize what we visualize.