Day by Day...brick by brick...kaizen and the daily grind.
I am going to make a small confession that most Type A people don't. I am a self help junkie. I can't count how many self help books I have now read (I officially stopped this year as I honestly believe my habits are in line with my goals). Amazon has a great way of making my wallet empty!
One of the key things that all successful people do (among others) is to keep attacking their goals daily. Small increments, that add up. I remember reading an old Nike poster that as a young man...really hit home. It said, those small goals, they add up!
It is important to note that as I write this blog, I have been a Father for the past 15 months and we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. My son was born in April of 2019 and he has kept both my wife and I incredibly busy. My Son is indeed a bundle of joy, but in order to maintain my household and do my part in caring for him, I have to train at home for a while and not at the training hall. The training halls are all closed, however, people are really coming together to offer free Martial Arts classes on-line and via Zoom.
It is important to note that as I write this blog, I have been a Father for the past 15 months and we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. My son was born in April of 2019 and he has kept both my wife and I incredibly busy. My Son is indeed a bundle of joy, but in order to maintain my household and do my part in caring for him, I have to train at home for a while and not at the training hall. The training halls are all closed, however, people are really coming together to offer free Martial Arts classes on-line and via Zoom.
Practice what you want to be good at..... Be very careful what you practice. Kindness, selflessness, generosity, hard work, and discipline should all be things you practice daily. On the physical side, drill basics, conditioning and footwork as priorities on your list. But the honest truth is, without a mindset of constant improvement, absolutely none of it will work.
The Japanese refer to continuous improvement as Kaizen. Kaizen actually has a much deeper meaning than just "continuous practice". The Japanese characters literally translates to "change-good" however in the business world, the term has been hijacked into a convoluted business cycle. However in the Martial Arts world, you will see Kaizen's simplicity and effectiveness quickly. The basic idea of Kaizen is continuous improvement through constant measured practice. I cannot over emphasize how powerful this idea is for goal setting and goal achieving. This concept helped me with everything from renovating my house, selling a house, to improving myself both on the dojo floor and the boxing gym.
Daily practice and measure improvement is a simple, yet VITAL center point of my training philosophy. I must admit, Daily practice is THE only way that I have retained most of the skills I have attained. I box better now than ever with this constant refresher. I owe almost all of this to practicing for 20 - 30 minutes about 3 times a week outside of training hall time. It helps that I have a gym in my basement, but any small work space will do. I am finally understanding the fundamentals of Human movement...It actually an incredible breakthrough for me!
above is a pic of my basement home gym. Sometimes just getting here for an hour in the day can make all the difference. This is my laboratory where mistakes are made OFTEN...in a safe environment where learning AND mistakes are welcome!
The infamous (and quite influential) Joe Rogan said something in a podcast that summed it up quite well. His quote was something to the effect of "90% of success is just showing up and F$%^''in doing it. Most times you wont want to, in fact, those days will be more numerous than the ones where you do. If I only worked out on the days when I felt good, I would be a fat f$%^ now!" This quote often enters my mind when I am having a day where I don't want to train or study. The days you don't want to are the days you HAVE TO, and truthfully that's MOST DAYS. The everyday weight of work and family obligations weighs down on a person. The hardest part of training is getting there! Once you are there and moving, you will be so glad you made that one little decision.
We all have days when we dont want to work out..just take control of them, and when your head hits the pillow at the end of your day you can say I got after it!
Osu
Shak
The Japanese refer to continuous improvement as Kaizen. Kaizen actually has a much deeper meaning than just "continuous practice". The Japanese characters literally translates to "change-good" however in the business world, the term has been hijacked into a convoluted business cycle. However in the Martial Arts world, you will see Kaizen's simplicity and effectiveness quickly. The basic idea of Kaizen is continuous improvement through constant measured practice. I cannot over emphasize how powerful this idea is for goal setting and goal achieving. This concept helped me with everything from renovating my house, selling a house, to improving myself both on the dojo floor and the boxing gym.
Daily practice and measure improvement is a simple, yet VITAL center point of my training philosophy. I must admit, Daily practice is THE only way that I have retained most of the skills I have attained. I box better now than ever with this constant refresher. I owe almost all of this to practicing for 20 - 30 minutes about 3 times a week outside of training hall time. It helps that I have a gym in my basement, but any small work space will do. I am finally understanding the fundamentals of Human movement...It actually an incredible breakthrough for me!
above is a pic of my basement home gym. Sometimes just getting here for an hour in the day can make all the difference. This is my laboratory where mistakes are made OFTEN...in a safe environment where learning AND mistakes are welcome!
The infamous (and quite influential) Joe Rogan said something in a podcast that summed it up quite well. His quote was something to the effect of "90% of success is just showing up and F$%^''in doing it. Most times you wont want to, in fact, those days will be more numerous than the ones where you do. If I only worked out on the days when I felt good, I would be a fat f$%^ now!" This quote often enters my mind when I am having a day where I don't want to train or study. The days you don't want to are the days you HAVE TO, and truthfully that's MOST DAYS. The everyday weight of work and family obligations weighs down on a person. The hardest part of training is getting there! Once you are there and moving, you will be so glad you made that one little decision.
We all have days when we dont want to work out..just take control of them, and when your head hits the pillow at the end of your day you can say I got after it!
Osu
Shak
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