SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Happy Halloween 2011!Filed Under: Rantings

Hope you guys enjoy your trick or treating, pumpkins, and dress up.  Don’t eat too much candy.

Tags: holidays

Happy HalloweenFiled Under: Local, Rantings

Don’t Eat too much candy.

Tags: holidays

Happy Thanksgiving: Abundance of FistsFiled Under: Rantings

I love MMA almost as much as I love holidays.  Depending on what your family is like, you can eat a great meal and get punched in the face at the same location.

On the serious side, there is a satisfying juxtaposition of resting and improving, enjoying abundance and giving. I hope you choose to view your holiday celebrations in a way that uplifts you as a person, as well as improves your fighting game. On top of that,  I hope you find a way to serve those around you.

I just wanted to throw out a couple of things I’ve been trying to do, and maybe they’ll help you start off  the holiday’s right.  After reading, give me a holiday shout out – the more guys I train with, the more I realize that everybody has something awesome to teach. I love hearing from you!

Rest and Meditate

If you’re like me, you have a tendency to over-train rather than under-train. This can be a great time to rest from training, heal up from injuries. Physically and mentally, you need to rest in order to rebuild and prevent burn out. I’m reminded of periodization -  an idea to construct cycles where loads and workout to get tougher and tougher, but then with a new cycle you back off from your maximums and build up again to new ones.

On a mental note, use the holidays to pause and reflect on life balance, goals and training strategies. Take some time to be a better person. Certainly, train with the “fight to win” mentality some of the time, but now can be a time to “play to learn” (credit SBGi guys). Gain some perspective.

Celebrate

Everything is better with a good attitude.  Get in the “I’m celebrating” mood. Loosen up mentally, take yourself less seriously. Chances are, you’ll find different connections between moves and ideas – maybe have a breakthrough.

Also, celebration is about coming together as people. Thank your instructors and teammates. Bury old feuds, forgive your training partner for chipping your tooth (or whatever).

Be Grateful

Giving thanks for something is almost paradoxical: the more you are thankful for what you have (no matter how little it is), the more valuable it becomes.  The more you respect and treat your Sensei like gold, the more meaningful his instruction gets. Also, your gratitude will probably facilitate your instructor to be better able to serve your individual martial art needs.

Being grateful helps you understand and take to heart things you might be missing.

Give

Maybe you don’t know how lucky you are by global or historic comparisons. Chances are, if you are reading this, you’re on the abundant side of life.

Take the opportunity to give to a food drive, or serve at a homeless shelter.

In terms of MMA, take some time to share insights and techniques with guys at your gym.  The knowledge you don’t teach will die with you. The knowledge you teach becomes immortal. When you improve your training partners, you improve your game.

Eat

Turkey is a good source of protein.

Tags: holidays, thanksgiving, training partners