I’ve brought a new practice into my life this spring. Something that has been more about altering my mood and resetting my rhythm than just purely about martial arts. I started doing a cold ocean swim in the mornings. I had been looking for a way to reset my morning routine. My schedule had been drifting later and later into Read More …
Sometimes, I have hated swordplay. This is something I truly love and has been an enduring passion of my life. But when the fire is gone a sense of resentment, frustration, or anger can remain in its place. It can bring a tremendous feeling of loss; when something that has so readily fed you before seems now to have abandoned Read More …
Sometimes the most you can muster is a single mindful breath. And sometimes that’s all the meditation you need. One set of crunches. One line on your manuscript. One walk around the block. We often overestimate what we can accomplish in one day, while we underestimate what we can accomplish in five years if we were to start taking small Read More …
We just finished our last curriculum week for the year at Academie Duello. It will be two weeks before we’re back on to our regular program and, depending on where you practice, you might be stepping into a similar break yourself. So what to do with the time off? If you don’t stop, you don’t have to restart Many good things Read More …
When I first started going to the gym, it was with a colleague from work. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays instead of going home from work we would head to the gym together. We were generally there for an hour, sometimes we’d work out together, sometimes we would follow different routines. Though our approach to the gym certainly varied, one Read More …
Willpower is not enough Any plan that depends on willpower for success is doomed. Success in anything is largely based on rhythm and the ability to take gradual and reliable steps toward your goal. Crunching away at the 10,000 hours of mastery required to become excellent at a skill is not going to come from a few good bursts of training; Read More …
Practicing does not always mean “working on”. It’s important to give yourself time with the passions and skills in your life to just simply indulge in the activity. It’s vital to allow yourself on occasion to indulge in pure enjoyment. This helps you remember why you do this thing in the first place, and can give you energy for further Read More …
“Where’s the Fire?” asked Christopher Sommer in the last moments of a podcast I was listening to last week. Sommer is the Head Coach of the USA JR National Gymnastics Team and runs an online strength training program called Gymnastic Bodies (which is absolutely worth checking out). When I started listening, I anticipated hearing from him what you hear from many accomplished motivators. I expected Read More …
A few weeks ago I delivered a talk at TEDx EastVan. The talk focused on something I am passionate about: inspiring others to pursue and master movement. In the talk I delve into why I believe it’s vital to pursue the path of mastery — that it is both vulnerable and empowering. In fact, it is the journey through our Read More …
I have gone from being able to do 100 push-ups in a set to not being able to do one and back again. I spent years developing myself as a fencer only to have to tear down what I’d built and start from scratch. Years ago I could touch my toes without bending my legs, sometime in the future I will again. Read More …