You've come a long way, baby....

I almost forgot that 2007 marks the 9th year I've been teaching martial arts and fitness in Bangsar.

Of course, there have been many people coming through these doors and the gym has seen a lot of changes, mostly for the better.
The change which I constantly harp on about is truly inevitable.

It slowly and surely blankets our existence and personally, initiates and forces change. I happily report that I have changed and grown for the better, each step, each week, each month brings about a small but significant change. Synapses fuse, a new memory cell is formed, sometimes at the expense of an old one, but all towards discarding old, inefficient habits for new, high performance ones.

Attitudes and belief systems have also undergone a dramatic change. 9 years ago my perspective has progressively become wider, hungrier for more information, as if I was a late blooming student who has just enrolled on another degree program. This change and knowledge also helped confirm some views, eradicate old ones and initiated new suspicions about the ones I'm unclear about.

In short, I've been on a mission to streamline and simplify my daily existence at home, with family, at work in the gym, with the people whom I see almost daily. They have become of sorts my extended family, sharing many ups and downs together, sharing many joys and concerns, of fond memories and the promise of what tomorrow will bring.

Part of the streamlining has unfortunately resulted in the kids karate program to be terminated. The attitude of kids 9 years ago and today is remarkably different, frustrating and more challenging. Perhaps, as with my advancing age, my patience is tested and cornered to the extent that the continuation of the program is no longer enjoyable or commercially justifiable. It has been almost a year since I delegated the program to someone else, yet on the days when the program leader cannot make it and I have to jump in, the amount of attention required from me become very draining and monotonous. I'm not making excuses to reason with myself about the ending of this program, but I still get a feeling that the program is used as a cheap way of baby sitting. Afterall, at RM20.00 per class, it is pretty cheap considering kid-targeted businesses charge 3-5 times that amount for the same time.

What else has changed over the years? The adults karate program for one, the inclusion of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program 4 years ago, and the progression from karate to a full fledged mixed martial arts program.

I spent a day looking at my old website links (yes, I have records of my old internet haunts) and they were all centered around karate, shotokan and later on in 1998, Kissakikai karate and on Vince Morris. I don't know whether he is aware of his philosophy on Kissakikai, but a lot of it draws parallels with the scant knowledge I have on Bruce Lee's JKD - use what works, no forms, no wasted movement, etc. I kind of took that in my own direction, not for wanting to reinvent the wheel, rather continued and sought out expert instruction where I could find it. In my current mindset, it is in the direction of boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, and Brazilian jiu jitsu. Somewhere in between karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu, I found time to pursue my interest in Judo. It was another missing link to the martial art puzzle, a vital link between the striking arts and ground grappling techniques. I'm sure there are more (kicking, clinching, etc.) however it provided more food for thought on how different disciplines can be used to complement each other.

On a side note, as much as I have tried, I still find it challenging to combine certain disciplines, but to prevent an internet flaming war, I will refrain from naming names and martial arts.

Looking back at many of those old photos and memories, I now understand that while they were a step in the right direction, the techniques were incomplete. A missing control position, forearm or elbow in the wrong position means today there is escape and a counter technique which you can't afford to give away.

A lack of hip twist or failure to commit your weight forward will mean the difference between a slap or a knock out. These significant details are all makes or breaks a technique and what I deal with are all techniques.

As you look through the other posts in this blog you will see the great departure from what I use to do, dress, think, read and what I do today. Doubtlessly in another 9 years my views and opinions will have have changed yet again. Who knows what that will be, but hopefully better as I age.

As you continue along your journey, take a moment to reflect on your past experiences to see how they have slowly shaped your present life today. Nothing in the past has been wasted. I consider it like chipping away the fragments to uncover the diamond contained in a boulder. How many layers and how long it takes really depends on how difficult you make things to be.

Does this mean there is a more efficient and expedient way to the core? Perhaps, but then you will miss out on the lessons, good and bad, has to teach you.

Enjoy the journey.

Vince