I wanted to start a blog like this in 2008, when I was about 22 years old. I remember telling my martial arts teacher about it, and he asked why. I told him I wanted to share the lessons I learned. Instead of telling me, “That’s a good idea, go ahead,” he said, “Help me set up a blog. I’ve been wanting to start one for a while.”
Being young and inexperienced, and not knowing what I had, I agreed. I went on and set up the blog for him, which he only wrote in once. I figured I didn’t have much to write about and kind of put the idea aside.
Until 15 years later.
Looking back at it, he took advantage of me or he really wanted to set up a blog I’ll never know for sure , I was too naive to know.
This is why you never tell people why you are doing the things you are doing. You can tell them what you are doing, but never why. Because if you tell them why, you set yourself up for manipulation, jealousy, discouragement, or worse, in my case.
The best thing to do is tell people when you succeed, but even then, don’t tell them why. You ever heard that if you tell people your dreams, they never come true? This is why.
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Guy staring at computer screen while his martial arts instructor is in the background
I was about 20 years old. I just finished BrandFord Hall Technical Institute. I was lost in life and not sure what I wanted to do. I was stressed out from school and needed some guidance.
As a kid, I loved martial arts movies and seeing wise masters who defeated opponents with just their words without lifting a finger and wisdom, but I was not sure if they existed in real life.
Being naive, I typed “kung fu martial arts” into Google. Luckily, Small Forest Temple, which translates to Shaolin temple, came up in Middletown, Connecticut.
Ancient rules for success
Know Thy Enemy (Know your challenge)
Know Thy Self
Behave Accordingly
This is what appeared on their website, along with the history and claims to have connections to the original Shaolin temple. They not only taught martial arts but also some ancient wisdom training. I was ecstatic and decided to show up at the next available class.
I showed up to a three-family house. I knocked, and a monk with a shaved head opened the door and led me to the floor that the dojo was on. We sat down, and he explained that this is not only martial arts but also Zen Buddhism, which also practices meditation and tai chi. This happened in 2009 before most people knew what meditation was.
The monk led into a near-empty room with a wooden floor and a bunch of meditation cushions spread on the floor. The teacher entered the room and sat on one of the cushions cross-legged. About four other students were already sitting, and he invited me to sit.
I sat down, and he asked if I knew how to meditate. I said no, and he proceeded to give me instructions. You inhale to the count of five through your nose and exhale to the count of ten through your mouth. When a thought comes to your mind, dismiss it and refocus on your counting. We do this for twenty minutes. he said
He hit a wooden tool that made a noise, and we began. Being a first time meditator, I started doing this with my mouth open, making a loud hissing noise every time I breathed in and out. One of the students came over and whispered in my ear, trying to breathe without making any noise.
I finally realized I was the only one breathing out loud, and the actual meditation began. It was like Torture; time seemed to pass slowly, and the twenty minutes seemed like forever. Thoughts kept coming, and I couldn’t focus on counting.
Meditating has many benefits, both spiritual to break karma and physical to help you relax and focus better. However, at the time, I just wanted it to stop.
After twenty long minutes, he hit the wooden device, and we stopped. Everybody got up, and it was time to do martial arts. The teacher said martial arts means life and here we practice life. Every single optical you face here, you face in life.
Once we began, he taught me how to throw a punch. He said not to over-extend because you will fall over, just like in life. Not to be stiff because you will crack just like in life. I knew it was the beginning of something special because not only had I found what I was looking for but I was also practicing with Shaolin monks.
My experience When I was around sixteen, I would do kickboxing classes three times a week for three hours each. I loved it and pushed myself to the limit. But then, one day, I stopped going.
I gave up on the sport I got discouraged by family and didn’t have the confidence to keep going. I told myself I would do it when I was older, not realizing there was a time limit to doing martial arts or MMA professionally.
It’s too late. Before I knew it was too late, I was twenty-seven when I got back into it seriously. I was distraught that I missed my opportunity to go pro. However, I still dabbled in martial arts.
I didn’t understand why till I finally realized I enjoyed practicing it, and the result was not the goal. Sure, I could not be the best in the world, but I could be the best I can be.
The realization I could not make it a career, but I can make it a hobby. Something I do for fun, So you are never too old to do martial arts. It’s your reason that you do it that changes.
You can’t be the best in the world in everything you do, and no life is a perfect life. There are mistakes you are going to make along the way and regrets you are going to have.
What matters is that you eliminate the things you don’t enjoy doing in life and arrange your life so you do more of what you do love doing. That is how you become a better and more fulfilled person.
The why The reasons you do something are essential, and they can affect the outcome of the activity, whether you keep doing it or give up. If you were running to save someone’s life, you would run much faster than you run for exercise.
The reason why you do martial arts is critical. If you do it to beat someone up and don’t enjoy it, you will quit; however, if you do, because you love and don’t care about beating someone up. The result will be very different, and you will do it for a longer time.
So before you start doing anything in life, whether it is a job or a hobby or starting a relationship. Think long and hard about the reasoning for it. It will make you a better and happier person.
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