Originally Posted by Eric Perez
When I left that group, one of the messages I received was "You'll never know how much money you missed out on". It was then that I knew I was doing the right thing. My goals are in line with what I see my potential to be. Money is a benefit of the pursuit of those things I remain passionate about, nothing more.
As a martial arts coach, I remember people through the years asking me how my team did in any given tournament. My answer usually threw them for a loop as, instead of reciting a medal count, I’d comment on how many of my students believed enough in my message to actually put their fears aside and go give the competition a try. As I always saw it, some would win, some would lose, but as Miyagi said, they'd all "make good fight".
Man, what happened to martial artists looking to explore themselves, push themselves...become "better people"? Is that too corny for today's generation? I get a lot of flak from friends when I tell them my favorite movie is "The Princess Bride", but when you think about it, I'm a "root for the hero" kind of guy. Doesn't everybody still want to be a hero? Is it just me? When did people become so obsessed with shiny medals that they were willing to put their pursuit of tem at the forefront of what it is that our training is "for"? Why would a “leader” aspire to make people “hate” them? Why would that leader go so far as to create meter for it and brag about how many people they aim to hate them as much as possible? I know I can’t make everyone like me, but I’ll be damned if they aren’t going to respect me. Whichever it is, though, I don’t set out to make any “haters”.
It would only make sense that an environment that holds money and tournament wins at the top of their list would suffer deficiencies elsewhere. Disrespect, intimidation...rape. Yep, it all makes sense. Are the powers that be responsible? Well, is the omission of character standards at fault for its absence?
Recruiting from other teams, or to put it more specifically, making it painfully obvious that a tournament champ can leave his team, family, and mentor to go and join another group and be welcomed to do so is, well...disgusting. If you've been invested in by another instructor, especially to the point where you've had your life changed for the better because if that instructor and you’re willing to leave him solely because of greener pastures, stay away from my team. We don't want you. I don't care if you're a "world champ", either. My students and instructors have heard one of my favorite sayings for years now: If someone leaves their family to come here, it's just a matter of time before they leave here to go elsewhere. I've experienced this at EVERY belt level of student. Heck, I've even had tournament-winning students thrown out of my school because of their refusal to cultivate personal character, more still who've left because I just flat out refused to promote them due to character issues. Stay with those who’ve invested in you, guys. I’ve seen rarely the case when the “next guy” loves and cares for you as much as the “first guy”.
What we do in the martial arts has the potential for greatness. Greatness is a “largeness”, a “magnitude”. We can move the largest of doors with the smallest of hinges, they say. Contrary to what some may think, I believe in martial arts’s ability to grow and empower our “hinges”.
What do I want from my students? Just to be as motivated (if not more) as myself and their teammates to fulfill personal potential...WHATEVER that is. Ask any one of the people who work for me what I told them they'd be if they were still working for me in 10 years. What is it, you ask? A loser. Jim Rohn said a loser is anyone who doesn't actively pursue their potential. I aim to help and inspire EVERY life I touch a successful one. Here's to never being a loser.
Now to those who don’t feel they have the strength to stand on their own. Those who think they need to protection of their current “umbrella”…An umbrella is meant to protect. Why does yours weigh so heavily on you? Make the change, as being unprotected is infinitely better than suffering from the weight of a supposed “protector”.
These days I still don’t want to be a loser, but a hater ain’t looking half bad. Osu.
Justin “Master Chim” Garcia
Reply With Quote
