Bump

Mental bump, physical bumps and colour bump.

I didn't mean this to sound like a video game or a nightmare but generally when things change (and in this case) for the better, it's like driving over a speed bump. It shakes up things and forces change. Change, if you have heard my mantra before, is inevitable but growth is optional. Some people change but refuse to grow (usually the fault of the ego) while for others change forces some people to soar high and excel. For the majority, they flit somewhere in between. In some circles this is also known as mediocre and none of us want to be in that category right?

The much anticipated visit from John Will to our gym in KL was attended by folks near and far. Special mention to Robert Bruce (battling jet-lag and driving down from Ipoh) and the BJJ Borneo crew (Allen, Genn, Enoch and Samuel) and of course the regular KDT crew is always what makes events like this special.

I like John Will. He's a down to earth, honest fellow who tells it like he sees it. I love listening to his stories and past experiences when he was going through the ranks and the little insights and nuggets of instruction from some of the world's top BJJ coaches (Rigan Machado, and the Machado brothers) which bumped his skill level and understanding literally over night.

I like the tight but explosive game he has and is something for me to emulate perhaps.

I like the fact that he's a professional coach. By that I mean he's a teacher's teacher. He cares about what he teaches and whom he teaches. That's a very important point for me. I've been to events where the course leader doesn't bother about learning about his audience, their names, or makes any attempt to establish any kind of relationship (aside from monetary) and they establish a one-way street of communication. They don't bother about wanting to learn where you're coming from or why you are interested in training. It's hugely disappointing for me to attend such events which is why I pick and choose the people I associate with. I feel that by associating with individuals who are great leaders, great technicians, great personalities, and who know how to bring out those attributes in me by coaching or showing me that by internalizing the lessons I can become better at what I do, I go for it.

I certainly don't want to be in the "mediocre" category and goodness knows there are already plenty of "average" trainers around. By virtue of association, learning from their knowledge, we are inspired and motivated by their success. I often catch myself thinking, "that's great and I want to be like that" during John's technique presentation, class lecture or setting the culture of his class.

Sharing his wealth of knowledge, troubleshooting solutions, technique mapping and teaching sequence, John imparted a lot about himself and what he does on and off the mats. He's human after all and it's great !

I won't disrespect the workshop participants by going over what was presented in the classes but they are great techniques and I'm looking forwards to practicing and integrating the techniques into my game.

If you are interested in what John had to teach us perhaps you will consider joining our next event and maybe you can experience that "bump" in your knowledge too.

More info: www.kdta.com