Category: mentality

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good quote, and whenever I happen upon one that really resonates with me and passes my stringent criteria for some really cool stuff Master Po would say to a young Grasshopper I copy it down in a little journal I have that I use for on-the-spot motivation and reinforcement in my noggin.

One such great quote I read re: all things self defense goes like this:

A tornado haze of windmill violence… brutal defeats refined; simple dominates complicated.

Let’s break this one down bit by  bit. Continue reading

No figure in the history of martial arts in America has been surrounded by as much controversy, myth, flamboyance and flat-out bullshit as the late John Keehan, also known as Count Dante. The self-proclaimed “Deadliest Man Alive,”  Keehan was once a respected sensei, undefeated tournament fighter and former Midwest Director of the United States Karate Association (USKA) and the one person responsible for entrenching the martial arts in Chicago and the Midwest during the early to mid-1960’s.

After parting ways with his instructor Robert Trias (the “Father of American Karate” who opened the first dojo in the USA in 1946) Keehan began promoting himself as the “Crown Prince of Death” and offered his booklet, World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets, for sale in the back of comic books and bodybuilding magazines.

An absolute attention hound and fierce self-promoter, Keehan would walk his pet mountain lion down Continue reading

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu is best known for his classic work on combat, The Art of War.  This book has to be up there with the Bible as one of the most often quoted or referenced books out there.

Every chapter in this simple little book contains gold nuggets of wisdom for damn near any subject involving any type of conflict with others, from relationships to banking-so much so in face, that so many people have lost touch with the fact that it was created as a guidebook to the mentality and mindset of life or death conflict and combat.

Of the many quotes that have been used, posted and hijacked by everyone looking to make an inspirational meme or poster on the internet, one of my favorites for training Wing Chun for combat, self defense and combat sports such as MMA or sparring goes like this: Continue reading

Internet entrepreneur and social media phenomenon Gary Vaynerchuk consistently calls the majority of people who listen to his podcasts, read his books and follow him on social media “students,” not “entrepreneurs.”

Why does he say that?  Because they read, plan, strategize, journal, make dream boards, order another book, listen to 7 more CDs, write their 10 year goal list and read some more…but do not GET GOING.  They do not ACT.

A survey was done that found out 90% of folks who invest in a self-help product such as a book or CD set never even begin using it, and of the 10% who do start, 90% of them never finish reading or listening to it!  Whats’ more, out of the 10% who do finish the book or CD set, 90% of them do not implement what they have learned into their lives.  Once they have the course or book in their hands or on their shelves, this is where most people stop.

Makes no sense, right?  Wrong. Continue reading