The More You Know

(thanks for the inspiration KJ and KJ)

A month is a long time away.  I left the US with my family on June 29 and by the time I get home it will be July 25 - almost a month on the road.  It's been a busy trip, including a week with my family in Taos, New Mexico. A week of thought leadership listening and learning with my team in Redmond, Washington.  A week of Inspiration with 40,000 people at Microsoft Ready in Las Vegas.  Meetings with my customers (and a few old friends) in San Diego and LA.  Very busy, indeed.  However, in between there have been some welcome times for reflection alone in my hotel room; in the airport lounge; walking from point A to Point B.

I've been in and around the martial arts since I was 14 years old.  Lately, my Kali journey has filled the past 10 years.  I know how lucky I have been to be blessed with such talented, caring, focused, devoted teachers.  I know how lucky I have been to be part of an art that is about Life and Light, about being the very best we can be and then sharing that with those we care about.  I know how lucky I am to wake up every morning and live a life that has beaten all the odds.

The more I know, the more I realize I don't know.

There is so much out there for me - so much of which I have seen only the briefest glimpse, just enough to tempt me to explore further.  I am humbled.

YouTube shows me so many martial artists that are so much better than I am.  So many people that are deeply exploring their art.  So many that are better/faster/stronger/wiser than I could ever be.  It motivates me to keep going forward even though I know I'll never live long enough to reach their level.  I feel inspired because I know I can do and be so much more, and so much more beyond that.

Thank you to all my teachers for investing in me.

Thank you to all my assistants and fellow teachers for loving the art as much as I do and for giving it with such commitment and dedication to so many others.

Thank you to all my students for being brave enough to take this journey with me.

Guro Fred Evrard, my teacher, let me in on a secret some time ago --- Shhh, don't tell anyone else.

IT'S NOT ABOUT MARTIAL ARTS

Yep, that's right.  It's about so much more.

Our journey together is about becoming who we are meant to be, and being the very best version of ourselves.  Martial arts is just the means to that end.  A noble means, but just that.  

Martial Arts can be the HOW but it is not the WHY.

The structure, focus and practice are there to help us regain control of our minds, our bodies and our spirit.  It is for us to develop positive habits that lead to positive outcomes.  It is to reinforce our ability to achieve our goals and remind us that we can do and be whatever we choose to do or be - it is merely up to us to set our direction and keep applying our effort - one step at a time, relentlessly, until we attain whatever we really want.

I love to share this power with my students.  I'm a talker and sometimes guilty of being a bit verbose (you thought I didn't realize that, right?).  My assistants love the art like I do, and they love to share it with you.  They are excited and eager to explain and to share their knowledge.

However, knowledge on its own is not enough.  It is only through practice, daily practice, that we own that knowledge, internalize it, and make it truly our own - OUR KALI.  It is for this reason that our class time must be about talking less and doing more.  Our art can be learned with the mind and felt with the heart, but it must be experienced through the body.

The class was never about me - it was about YOU.  It always will be.  I don't want my assistants to try and show you how much they know and can do.  I want them to get you to see how much YOU know and can do.  There is no place for ego in our dojo.  It must always be about YOU, the students, not us.

I can't wait to get home and be back on the mats with you all.

I miss you so very much.

Training to Train

(thanks for the inspiration KW)

Great discussion over breakfast with one of my assistant instructors.  We talked a lot about training.  Specifically, how to train for training.  What do I mean?

Most students show up to class 1-2 times per week.  At best they come to class fresh, alert, well-rested and ready to learn.  They are open-minded and ready to train in the drills and instruction we give.  At worst they are tired, distracted and unfocused - but we quickly put them back on track, at least for the few hours they are in the dojo.

This is training, of course, but it is not enough.  Not nearly enough.

Becoming proficient in FMA, especially in Kali Majapahit, takes much more.  We need to be facile/fluent with single/double sticks, knife defense, a variety of empty hand styles including Panantukan/Pangamut/Dumog, Hakka Kuntao, Silat and to be competent boxers/kickboxers.  We learn about a variety of other weapons including the barong, sarong, karambit, tomahawk too.  It's a lot to remember.

It is said that martial arts must be understood with the mind, done with the heart and mastered with the body.  This means that we must learn strategy and science (the intellectual component), apply it with our hearts (ethical and moral integrity) and commit the movements to muscle memory (the physical side).  All three are required to progress in capability.

Particularly the foundation skills - footwork, stick manipulation, basic punches.  All of these need to be fully committed to muscle memory like they would be in any other activity.  Professional athletes of every sport spend countless hours on the basics: footwork, swinging, throwing, passing, shooting.  They invest this time until those movements are instinctive and done at will under any circumstance.

Why??

If not, then part of the awareness must be used to execute the physical movement.  Unfamiliar movements require our focused attention - the more delicate/precise the more attention needed.  Once we master a movement through repetition we no longer need our attention there.  This is important since, in fighting, we need our attention to be focused on the adversary and their intention.  We need our attention to perceive any changes in our surroundings.  We need our attention to decide our strategy for each situation.  Playing an instrument first requires mastering the position of the hands, after which attention can be redirected to the sheet music, for example.

Sometimes students tell me I move fast.  Too fast for them to defeat.  This is simply not true.  I am not bigger/stronger/faster than most of my students.  However, when I start moving I do not pause or stop.  That makes me appear faster than I am because I act without hesitation.  How does this work?

Every attacking motion coming to me gets routed or "bucketed" into a particular configuration that flows through a pattern I have committed to muscle memory.  Once I react, I am always redirecting the attacker into one of these "buckets" where their attack can be processed.  Similarly, a pachinko ball does not pause after hitting each pin.  It merely goes to one side or the other until it reaches the destination.  So do I.  Regardless of the attacker's response, I just keep flowing into one of the "buckets" I have drilled again and again.  Then I end the situation as needed.  I've been preparing "buckets" like that for almost 10 years, and always channeling the attacker into them makes it far easier to deal with whatever attacks may come.  The more you train, the more of these solutions can be embedded in muscle memory.

We have about 4 hours per week to train together, during which time we introduce new material, show sample techniques, drill and practice our skills.  We spend time on our fundamentals, but frankly 4 hours per week is not enough to develop fluency in fundamentals very soon.  This requires work outside of the scheduled classes.  I often recommend students to train on their own, and this is why.  Striking and especially the flowing striking combinations we use in Kali take time to commit into muscle memory.   This means DAILY PRACTICE.  Even for a few minutes per day it is very important to work with the sticks.  Just a round or two of Karenza is often enough.

Train Hard.  EVERY DAY. Even for just a few minutes.  The results will surprise you.