Compromising

 

When I was younger, I saw the world very starkly - black or white, right or wrong, good or evil. I conveniently put things into comfortable boxes, placing subjective judgments on everything and everyone, especially myself. As I got older, however, I began to see the world as a continuum, a series of curves with very few absolutes. In business, I began to learn advanced skills in selling and negotiating. My teachers began to coach me in how to see the perspectives of others and to apply active listening and seek solutions that were mutually beneficial. My martial arts studies explored the place of compassion and empathy in the Warrior Way.

For many things in life, the secret to happiness is compromise. Done is better than perfect. The 80% rule. Higher productivity equates to higher satisfaction. More is better.

However this is not always true. In our relationships, at home and at work, there are many times when we should reject compromise. We should seek absolute integrity from our leaders and partners, holding them to the highest ethical standards and always challenging them to be more about people than just profit. Our partners should genuinely care about our happiness and success.

In martial arts too, it is good to seek the best instructors with the highest commitment to quality and care for their students; teachers who are more committed to students learning than their own ego. Teachers who relentlessly grow and evolve with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge rather than staying anchored to the past. Preserving tradition and history is important, of course, but the focus should always be on helping students grow and improve faster/further.

I’ve been very fortunate to have been surrounded by the very best teachers, students, friends and partners throughout my life. It’s the cornerstone of my success.

Please never settle for less. Halfway might as well be no way. You deserve it all.

See you at class. 

Weathermen and Rainmakers

 

(Thanks for the inspiration PM)

One of my close friends just came back from an industry conference. It was a big, multi-day affair with "experts" flying in from around the world to give keynotes and host breakout sessions, sit on panels and otherwise enlighten everyone with their insights. I've attended countless such events in the past and even presented at a few. They are great places to gather info, network, catch up with old friends and share the excitement of the industry.

However, my friend framed it in a way that made a lot of sense (he's good that way) and I realized his categorization applies much more broadly. After watching dozens of speaker sessions, he concluded that those on stage fell into two categories: Weathermen and Rainmakers.

Weathermen were those who gave "market insights", "trend analysis", "forecasts" or otherwise spoke in industry jargon and buzzwords about topics that were clearly well outside their sphere of control or influence. For example, when a central banker opined about AI calling it "transformative" whilst at the same time not actually doing anything in that space or having any experience in it, we can only see him/her as a weatherman, discussing storm patterns and their implications while simultaneously being unable to do anything about it. These presentations are often very entertaining, with colorful slides, catchy tag lines and visuals with generalized predictions and hypotheses about the future. In lieu of other contents, they present historical analyses and discuss the causes and effects, knowing full well that these past results may yield insights but never actually guarantee any future outcomes. They may even cultivate a specific look or persona, and might have curated a robust presence on social media to substitute for their limited actual skills or knowledge. In the end, they are never more than a part of the scenery and soon to be forgotten. A careful eye can always see through their facade.

On the other hand, Rainmakers present quite differently. Their focus is on what they themselves are driving and achieving, the products they are bringing to market (and specific delivery dates), their product pipelines and investments, their calendars of events. Rather than vaporware, they tend to demo real end user scenarios and present real measurable values. They operate solidly in the realms of what they can control and what they can influence - delivering not only thought leadership but also compelling calls to action for other participants to get involved. They build consensus and help organize work into teams and streams so it can actually get done - finding ways of making the impossible possible. Rather than be satisfied with hypotheses about the future, they are out there shaping and creating it every day. When they are in the room, you can feel their vitality. 

In our own lives too, it is far better to be a rainmaker than a weatherman. We can do this by trying to keep our bias toward what we do as an extension of what we say, and to focus on what we can control or influence rather than just engaging in prolonged discussion of high-level academic topics. We can also continue to develop and hone our basic skills, since these are the building blocks of excellence. Preparing detailed task lists and meticulously executing on them with discipline is key to being a rainmaker. Making a habit of this will usually ensure you stay relevant to the matter in question and deliver results rather than just talk about someone else's.

In martial arts, too, there are plenty of weathermen. They are happy to opine endlessly about ki, or other esoteric topics and discuss advanced techniques, but under careful scrutiny are found to train very little and rarely work on their basics or fundamentals. They are often happy to invest lots of money on uniforms and equipment but less willing to invest in daily practice, which is the cornerstone of mastery. They have trouble developing or maintaining the habits of champions and easily find excuses to miss class or train at home and may only work when someone is watching. Their real progress is slow and their knowledge is shallow, since their actual investment of time and energy is minimal. 

Martial Arts, like Life, is not a spectator sport and the greatest joy we can find is in participation. To be clear, I am not advocating violence or conflict. Instead, I am saying that I believe good, daily, martial arts training is the best way we have to maintain our inner peace. By doing so, we inevitably contribute to outer peace in our families, workplaces, communities and society.

Don't let yourself be a weatherman when you can be a RAINMAKER!

I am forever grateful for the many Rainmakers, past and present, that have continued to challenge me to be my best self and to maintain my training no matter what.  Pugay Po!

See you at class.

Doubling Down

 

Here we are in a brand new cycle. Every three months in Kali Majapahit the curriculum changes. In general, during a cycle we will focus on either:

• Single or Double Sticks
• Empty Hand subsystem or other specialist weapon
• Boxing or Kickboxing

This time we will be working on double sticks. Sometimes I get asked "why double sticks? It's not useful..." Some students feel it is not as practical as single stick, with the logic that they are unlikely to have a pair of sticks handy at a time when they get attacked. Fair point. However, double sticks are worth far more in training than just their direct value in stick fighting self defense.

In modern combat sports, champions such as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis and others pioneered the combination of western sports conditioning such as weight training and cardio to enhance their fighting performance. In no case did anyone challenge them by saying that lifting weights had no direct combat application. It was understood that improving the body's core strength, conditioning, flexibility, coordination and speed had overall performance benefits. Even the ancient Greeks knew this. Double sticks can be considered similarly in that although it may be highly unlikely for you to use double sticks in actual self defense situations, the training will improve your overall fighting skills in many other ways.

Double Sticks are training methodologies we use to deepen our coordination and dexterity. The drills work both symmetrically and asymmetrically to challenge us to learn to control our hands precisely across a variety of patterns. The drills of Inayan Escrima which are core to Kali Majapahit are designed to build from a foundation (Cabca) to more advanced drills (Sinawali)  that teach us to move weapons together or independently without interfering with each other. This skill, whether applied with double sticks, double swords, double daggers, or any other set of tools of any length makes it very difficult to defend. Especially for asymmetric movements in odd timing signatures, the defender will be very challenged to successfully block both hands across a full chain of attacks. As well, these drills help develop the ability to simultaneously defend and attack (often using one weapon for each) which is both efficient and highly effective.

Mastering double sticks requires deep focus and concentration to cement the muscle memory needed to execute the movements smoothly and at speed. The focus and concentration sharpened by this training enhances not just our other martial arts skills but also our performance in any other sport or physical activity.

In many traditional arts, dual wielding is not introduced until mid-level black belt rank (3rd dan black belt or higher). For FMA it is an essential skill that is part of even the beginner curriculum. Simple drills make great warm ups and can even be isometric training when done very slowly with heavy tools.

Below are common drills which are used to master double sticks. These can be adapted and/or combined with dynamic footwork and movement to increase difficulty. They can even be done in groups of three people to increase difficulty.

• Cabca 1-8 including ladders, one-hand principle, right/left principle, high/low principle, mirror principle
• Sinawali 2-9 including ladders, one-hand principle, right/left principle, high/low principle, mirror principle
• Sinawali 6 variations including abanico, redondo, dunga, doble doble
• 5 count sumbrada including free flow
• 4 count sumbrada including variations such as punyo strikes
• Hubud Lubud (including punyo sumbrada)

All of the above drills can be done with symmetric tools (such as two identical sticks, blades or nunchaku) as well as asymmetric tools such as espada y daga, stick and tomahawk, karambit and daga, etcetera.

I'm very excited for this cycle and the skills it can help us develop.

See you at class.   

Warming Up

 

Every class starts with a warm up. Why? Why don’t we just grab our sticks and start swinging??

There are several reasons:

Reduce the Risk of Injury

First and foremost, we warm up to get the blood flowing into the extremities and loosen up the muscles and joints. For many students, the day is spent sitting at a desk or in front of a computer. The human body is designed to be in motion. Long periods of inactivity are simply not good for the body. The joints stiffen, blood flow slows and energy levels decrease. At the start of class we want to reverse this and get the body ready to be very active throughout the lesson.

Especially during colder weather, our bodies may automatically concentrate blood flow to the core, further slowing capillary action to the hands and feet, both of which we will need throughout the class. Thus, the warm up must articulate the fingers and toes so they are at full capability for the lesson.

For those of us who are older (I'll be 58 this year), strenuous physical activity without warming up first results in days of soreness and stiffness that could have been avoided with a simple stretch before starting.

Increase Mobility & Flexibility 

In addition to increasing blood flow and preparing our muscles for physical activity, warming up is a good time to work on mobility and flexibility. As we activate the various joints we can work on slowly increasing the range of motion in the joints and lengthening the muscles. This promotes joint health and also prepares us to perform better during the class.

Given the amount of time most of us spend sitting every day, my warm ups are centered around spinal health and mobility. About half of the warming up we do is targeted at the three areas of the back/spine (cervical/thoracic/lumbar) in order to try and offset the damage of sitting and keep the spine relaxed and flexible. Kali is a whole-body movement, so having a very active spine is essential for power generation and mobility.

Studies have shown that the best gains in mobility via stretching occur when the muscles are already warm - this would suggest stretching  at the end of class. This is true, however, the mental aspect of the warm up is also very important.

Prepare the Mind

In our modern society information moves very fast. We are constantly bombarded by messages and data, and our jobs and social networks expect us to be connected 24/7. We are often worrying about yesterday or tomorrow and have trouble to be in the NOW, which our Zen Buddhist training teaches us is the most natural state of being. Not only is this a principal cause of stress and anxiety for most of us, it is very dangerous when we are about to start swinging sticks at each other.

For safety it is very important to leave the outside world outside when we come to class. The goal is to experience the class completely, and to do so without concern for anything else.  This allows us a respite from the rigors of our daily responsibilities - a break when we can feel free - at least for the duration of the class.

Many of my high-performing professional friends engage in extreme exercise such as trail running, marathoning, free diving and the like for exactly this reason. Many also practice meditation, yoga, stoicism and other spiritual disciplines. The overwhelming, constant stress of their fast-paced lifestyles will burn them out if they cannot allow their minds to escape periodically.

In Hagakure, the famous book of advice for young samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo writes about training to be completely calm in the midst of a raging battle, a metaphor that would apply to many of us I think.

Breathwork

Guro Fred often worked on our breathing with us. It sounds silly to imagine you need a martial arts class to teach you to BREATHE, but the sad reality is that many of us breathe in a very shallow way and fail to challenge our lungs' capacity. As he would say "the lungs are like a pair of balloons, it's important to stretch them". This not only improves cardiovascular performance (VO2 Max) but also helps to calm and quiet the mind. Breath control is a central element of proper Zazen and a cornerstone of most yogic practices, for example.

During the warm up, I often remind students to work on controlling their breathing and, from time to time,  we do the exercises Guro Fred introduced in order to improve overall lung capacity.

So then, What?

At KM Japan,  our warm up is usually done from top down, starting with the neck (cervical spine), shoulders (activates the thoracic spine by mobilizing the shoulder blades), elbows, wrists/fingers. Wrist warm ups are done using the core 3 locking positions of aikido (ikkajo, nikkajo, sankajo).

We then move on to the hip rotations (lumbar spine) and beach ball rotations. We move to the floor series and are focused on stretching the hip flexors (common source of back pain and headaches) and groin. We do deep lunge stretching to target the hamstrings and calves as well as pigeon pose stretches for the outside of the hips/glutes before returning to additional back stretches and side stretches. We finish by activating the ankles and toes for stability/mobility.

This series takes about 12 minutes to complete and allows students time to ease their minds into the focus for the class. It may be a bit long for a one-hour class but at KM Japan we have the luxury of a two-hour session 2/week so this investment into warming up is sufficient.

In Conclusion

Like many FMA systems, Kali Majapahit uses the triangle as a universal symbology. It can mean many things, but I often use it to symbolize stability and balance. In this case, balance between mind/body/sprit which is important to maximize the benefit of every training session.

Warming up is a great habit to start every day, whether you have Kali class or not (Actually, please train Kali every day too). This will help you face the day relaxed and confident as your best self.

How do YOU warm up?  Let me know.

See you at class...

The Grandmaster

 

Last week, as 2023 drew to a close, I was honored to attend a very special and important award ceremony. During this online event, attended by more than 30 Kali Majapahit black belts from all over the world, my teacher, Punong Guro Fred Evrard, received his 8th degree black belt / Grandmaster rank. This was conferred by Dakilang Jeff Espinous, who has been PG Fred's teacher, mentor and friend for over 30 years since his beginning in FMA. Also in attendance were other senior masters such as Guro Bruno from Tahiti, Guro Claes Johansson, founder of Kali De Mano and more. All have been with Guro Fred and Guro Lila for decades and know every detail of their lifework to establish Kali Majapahit. All agree he is well-deserving of the 8th degree black belt and Grandmaster title. As Dakilang Jeff mentioned, we could easily have hundreds of people attest to Guro Fred's worthiness. 

Guro Fred is still very weak from advanced stage cancer and has been fighting with great courage for nearly two years. Despite this, he is still a beacon of positive energy. A true warrior and an incredible inspiration to us all.

As is customary in KM gatherings, we all took turns making comments to mark the occasion. At the camps we would all be in a circle, usually after an evening workshop by Guro Fred or one of the other masters, and reflecting on what we had learned.

When my turn came, I spoke about how grateful I was for the trust that Guro Fred and Guro Lila placed in me 12 years ago, supporting me to establish Kali Majapahit Japan, the first overseas KM school. Since then, we have graduated 8 black belts (so far) and taught KM to hundreds of students. We continued despite COVID and we expect to keep going no matter what.

I am certain that without KM, I would not be a martial arts instructor today. I had been a martial artist for many years before I met Guro Fred and Guro Lila, and already had three other black belt teacher ranks in Japanese martial arts. However, I wasn't teaching. I didn't feel ready and likely would never have. I loved Yoshinkan Aikido (still do) but not sure I would ever have been allowed to teach it (especially not in Japan).

Kali Majapahit gave me a platform to research and discover who I could become as a martial artist. It also rekindled in me a passion to share my insights on martial arts with others that had begun with this blog back in 2005. I wasn't ready to start up a school back in 2011. I didn't even have a Kasama (assistant instructor) rank back then. Nevertheless, Guro Fred and Guro Lila believed in me. They encouraged me to start a study group so I could keep training. They knew I would follow through. That trust meant everything to me. The rest, as they say, is history.

Kali Majapahit's global family has given me a place to belong, which has been the foundation of what I've been looking for all my life.

I was born small, premature and weak. I was left face down in my crib for so long that my right eye failed to develop and is still blind today. My birth parents divorced when I was barely a year old and I was placed into a foster family with a different name. I spent over 10 years in therapy/social work with the State of Illinois.  Growing up I was skinny and nerdy with masking tape holding my thick glasses together, not good looking or fashionable or athletic. I had ADHD and was constantly restless. I couldn't sing, dance or draw (I still can't). I was picked dead last for everything - or not picked at all. I had no particular skills apart from reading. I had very few friends (only other outcasts like me) and was bullied relentlessly every day from elementary school all the way into high school. I never had a girlfriend or attended any school events. I was never included in anything at all. I was ignored; forgotten. I didn't exist outside of the annual yearbook photos.

I didn't belong in my foster family. I didn't belong in school. I didn't belong...anywhere.  I felt like I didn't belong in this world at all. In those lonely days I often thought about suicide.

When I joined my first real dojo at 14, I became part of something. As a member of the dojo, people didn't care if I was a foster kid or had a social worker. Nobody cared if we were poor. Nobody judged me for my past. All that mattered was showing up to class, following the instructions and doing my best. For the first time in my life I felt accepted. I've been doing martial arts ever since. I think I always will be.

Guro Fred and Guro Lila's belief in me, aided by the advice of Guro Ben and the other KM instructors,  the guidance of mentors like Dakilang Jeff, Guro Claes, Sifu James, Suro Jason and other masters, and the trust of my students have brought me a life I could never have imagined all those years ago. It's beyond my wildest dreams. Together we are a force of change, a bright and positive light in a world that always feels so close to darkness.

We are Peaceful Warriors --- I am beyond proud to be one of you and to help spread this message of Love, Peace, Compassion and Hope for everyone who needs it - just like I needed it. Saving other people saves ourselves.

So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who has been a part of my journey.

Most especially thank you to Fred Evrard, my teacher. I am proud to call you Grandmaster.

To me, a Grandmaster is someone who changes the world. Someone who goes beyond the limits of martial arts mastery to a far deeper spiritual awakening and uses this to be the power of change for others. Grandmaster Fred is the definition of this for me. He continues to inspire me to never settle for anything less than living my very best life every day. I promise to continue to do so.

Maraming Salamat Po, Guro