Three Points to Remember That Will Keep You in the Fight
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Mid-America WTKO karate Seminar. The seminar was hosted by Sensei Sonny Kim of the Cincinnati based Japanese Karate-Do and taught by the WTKO Chief Instructor, Sensei Richard Amos, whose dojo is base in New York.
The seminar included several elements of training and applying Shotokan Karate, but element that was emphasized throughout the two days that we trained was the use of a person’s core – their waist in initiating and completing techniques.
The fact that the core drives everything that we do in karate and provides both the power and the connectedness that we need got me to thinking about other areas of life where moving from the core is not only important, it’s vital. With technology moving as fast as it is and globalization growing like it is, the only way to maintain stability in both life and business is to also move from your core. In this case, your core is your spirit – the force, passion and motivation that drives everything that we do. It is the thing that moves us from the inside out versus being moved from the outside in. That is the ability to not be moved by external forces. It is that still, inner voice that tells us what we should do… if we discipline ourselves to listen.
I think most of us have encountered situations where we made decisions that were wrong. Something deep down was telling us that what we were going to do was not right. But, due to outside pressure, whether peer pressure, time constraints or just not wanting to hurt someone, we compromised or just ignored that little voice that was saying, “No, don’t do this. It’s not the right thing to do.” Now in cases like this I’m not referring to issues that are black and white. I’m talking about those little grey areas that are muddied by a lot of “extenuating circumstances.”
Those are the cases when life’s circumstances seem to send you a fake kicks or punches. You can swat at them with your arms and hands in what could be perceived as a block, only to be set up for a real situation. If you’re going after the fake and just using your arms to block or deflect it, its power will carry it on into completion. But, if you move from your core, you have more to work with. You can both block or deflect the situation and counter with a strike of your own. You’re not flailing at life’s circumstances. You’re moving deliberately from your core and making your defense your offense.
As we learned in the seminar this weekend, movement from your core; from your waist keeps the individual parts of your body connected, allows you to flow without the tenseness that comes from trying to hold things together and gives you the power of your entire body to make your block and/or your strike. Likewise, living your life and running your business from your core provides three three key elements to help you move forward and keep fighting. One; it allows you to keep all of the various aspects connected instead of being compartmentalized and disjointed. Two; it allows you to flow with the changes in circumstances and situations that come at you which may need for you to make a change in your strategy. And three; it allows you to put the entire power of your passion and drive – your whole self, behind what you are doing.
There’s no flailing and swatting because whether the strike or circumstance is real, your response is real and your response is not purely defensive. It is offensive as well. So, even if you get hit, your opponent will know that he got hit as well. And regardless of the circumstance that life throws at you, you will come out still fighting.
*Copies of the photo can be purchased from VBL Photography at http://www.vblphotography.com/1204_senseiamos
It’s been a little of a month since I’ve posted anything on the Around My Home Town/Cincinnati area. But, the Spring thaw is upon us, despite the fact that it’s been cold here in Cincinnati lately. That means, hibernation time is over.
As with all things Spring, growth is underway, Spring cleaning is at hand and the vibrant energy of life has things at a fever pitch. Current projects are taking on their final form, new projects are coming into place and old projects are becoming a type of mulch to both beautify and feed the current and new projects.
Baseball season has started and the NFL Draft is right around the corner. Before you know it, Spring will be gone and we will be in the middle of Summer moving into the Fall months. As a somewhat popular commercial pointed out, “Life comes at you fast…” That’s why with the dawning of Spring, it’s a good time to reassess where you are.
Are you where you want to be? If not, keep plugging away. If you are, great for you! You’re really getting it done. Now the really important question is; are you enjoying life? Are you able to breathe in each moment and cherish it? Whether you’re at the place where you want to be or not, if you’re not “enjoying the journey” and just reaching for the goal, you could be missing out on what’s really important in life and also some valuable lessons to have under your belt once you reach your goal.
Yes, Spring is here with all of its newest. But, take a minute to see what the Winter’s rest has provided the Spring to work with. Push for your goals. Really push hard. But don’t neglect the joy that comes with living in the moment. Literally stop and take a close look at a blade of grass or a flower. See if you can find some squirrels playing. Scratch your pet behind their ears and watch their expression. You may just catch yourself relaxing a little. And, it may take you to another place – a place of peace and thankfulness.
Hello and Happy Last Week of February. I didn’t post much this month. I got caught by the too-much-to-do-in-the-shortest-month-of-the-year syndrome. In short, I had more work with less time and had to change priorities. Priorities are funny things. Like tactics they can and may need to change if circumstances change.
Strategies, being based on determining and understanding your goals and your strengths and weaknesses may be static and until the current objective is accomplished, immovable. With that out of the way, stay tuned for more and more frequent posts on things from holistic Christian living to Shotokan karate, from being a cartoonist to being an adjunct professor.
Jack finally came through the front door of his house, almost staggering and slightly brain dead. Thinking back to old television shows when the husband-dad came home from work and yelled, “Honey, I’m home!” and the family would gather around at the announcement. Each person in the family trying to get attention and let everybody know what had happened in their life that day.
But now there’s just a scene of a cowboy entering a tumbleweed littered ghost town. Everyone in the family is off doing their own thing – in their own room, in their own world. Just to have some fun and try to kick start his brain, Jack loudly announced, “I’m home!”
Nothing….
As the explosion of technology continues to grow, family life takes on a different look. There are some core values, beliefs and actions that are foundational to developing families that are whole and able to positively influence culture. So, it is important to understand that one of culture’s way to compensate for the need of human interaction is through social media and social networking.
Families who may not be able to communicate due to the interference of technology may be limiting their family’s influence with each other and within their culture.
Like the true warrior, the family may need to periodically set aside their major tool or weapon (technology) and take up a literal and/or figurative paint brush or tea set. The ability to take time to be balanced and holistic should be a primary concern in this high technology society.
Life is more than bits and bytes, pixels and flash. It takes time to slow down and communicate. That’s because communication takes effort and time. It involves a giving and taking. Even true listening takes active involvement.
What’s your take on this?
So, here we are. We’re at the start of February; the second month of this new year. How did we get here so fast? The question now at hand is, have you started your year off on a good note? That is to say; are you going in the direction that you want to go? Or another way to put it; have you fallen into your same old routine that you ended the year with.
This is only a valid question if you’re not going in the direction that you want to go and you’ve found that you’ve already gotten derailed. Getting derailed is very easy to do. We live in a world that’s designed to provide distractions – whether needed or not. Yes, sometimes distractions are needed.
I can tell you that it’s taken acts of God to keep me from settling into my same old routine. A whirlwind of new projects and activities combined with new problems, challenges and mishaps has kept me busy. It’s been almost too busy to stop and take note of where I am and if I’m on track.
Any project manager will tell that you need to plan, implement, evaluate, revise and implement again. Then repeat as necessary. Once one plan has been accomplished, move on to the next. The same strategy applies can be applied to living a productive and purposeful life. It may be true; if you stop planning, you stop growing. If time goes by too fast, you can then say that you are moving in the right direction… or at least moving.
