Have you ever seen the comedy movie starring Bill Murray called Groundhog Day. In the movie Bill Murray’s was forced to continue to relive a single day until he got it right. How many times did it take him to get it right? In his case, it took him 12,395 times before he learned the life lesson which were critical to his character having a successful outcome on that one fateful February 2nd. Again and again and again he kept getting it wrong by going through the day without the forethought about what was important to him, what was the outcome he was after and how he treat the people he came across.
My background in martial arts is based in a sport which requires you with great precision to go as fast as you can for a 2 minute. There is nothing slow about point fighting, it is one of the fastest forms of combat in the world. And while speed and quickness are essential what is more important is having a calm mind that can see things happening as if the punches and kicks are being performed in slow motion.
Part of what enables the best athletes in the world to access this “flow” state comes from their practice of visualizing the performance in their mind over and overusing different scenarios until they feel confident they can perform it in reality as well as they can see it in their mind. Finally, when it is time to actually perform, the traditional feeling of nerves fall away and a familiar calm falls over them as they enter their ideal flow performance state.
Q&A with Master Rappold
Posted: December 20, 2023
How can I get my martial arts skills to be more automatic?
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to help your martial arts skills become more automatic is to slow down the execution in your personal practice and be attentive to the details of each movement. Contrary to what most people think, which is to speed up, try slowing down and feeling the balance, power and movement from start to finish. Allow your body to feel every movement from its start to its completion. Gradually build up speed as your body feels ready.
The Quieter You Become the Better You Execute the Really Great Ideas!
Posted: December 12, 2023
While this may be hard to digest as a truth, think about this. The more you are speaking to other people, watching TV, surfing the internet etc. the more you are getting advice from everyone but yourself. Truth be told, other perspectives are valuable, especially when they are different from your own. Many times, though what happens is we hear something that sounds logical and immediately say, “that makes sense, “I will do that” without taking the time to be quiet and fully thinking through what is best for you and will fit your present situation. When this is done often what is missed is the unintended consequences of a decision we make.
For example, imagine you hear a great idea about a new morning working out routine you can do in your home. You know that you need to lose a few pounds, so you decide that you are going to follow the advice and act. The next morning you wake up start the workout and proceed to wake everyone else in the house up! Aside from that you end up hurting yourself because the workout was too intense for you. The unintended consequences of doing this was you woke up your family and hurt yourself. Was the idea wrong? No, the execution was flawed because you didn’t take the time to embrace the silence and sit with the idea allowing for your thoughts to enter in to make the correct implementation of the idea.
Two things you can do to help prevent this from happening.
Three Strategies To Help You Benefit From Silence
Posted: December 05, 2023
Silence is often filled because we can be uncomfortable with it. There can be a feeling like the silence is awkward and it needs to be filled. Perhaps a way to start to bring a bit more silence into your life is to talk less. Talking less invites people to speak less and it helps you listen to what they are saying. Think about it. If you are only going to allow yourself half of what you would usually say, then you need to be a bit more precise with what you say. Plato said, “wise men speak because they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something.”
Avoid the urge to react. This can be another great way to bring a bit more silence into your life. Imagine you are in a disagreement with someone. The communication escalates but instead of hitting back you say something like, “it seems we are at an impasse, why don’t we think what has been said and pick it up again tomorrow.” By doing this you provide the time to reflect in silence and in private instead of potentially escalating and making the situation worst.
Watch the sun rise, watch the sun set. Both happen to be my favorite parts of the day. While I don’t do this every day, when I do, I am amazed at the level of peace and calm that comes over me. There is something wonderful about starting the day with watching the sun rise. The world is still quiet yet the day ahead is filled with promise. There is also something peaceful and reflective about taking the time to watch and enjoy the sun going down. It doesn’t take long but being at a place where you can watch it disappear into the horizon requires you to slow down and embrace the beauty of something happening in nature that is way beyond any person’s control.
The 12th Pillar of Your Potential
Posted: November 28, 2023
The 12th Pillar of Your Potential
I have always enjoyed using the 12th month of the year as a time to catch my breath and digest the lessons from the last 365 days.
The 12th Personal Best Pillar of Success is, “Embracing Silence”. It is intentionally put in place in December as a reminder for me to take the time to reflect on all I have to be grateful for. I have always found if I don’t slow myself down and allow myself to create the list and take a full inventory, I often forget how many blessings I have. Forgetting the blessings for me allows the defeats, disappointments and hurts to invade my mental space.