Embark on a Journey to Self Perfection

It’s said that martial arts training is like a roller coaster ride, a constant cycle of falling in and out of love with training throughout your life. I am no different. 30 years into my own training, and I’m still battling these ups, downs, ebbs, and flows of motivation and complacency - but each time I battle, I get stronger, knowing that I’ve done this before, and that through the course of my life training in the martial arts, I’ve always found a way to re-fall in love with the martial arts no matter how long or hard the battle.

My Martial Arts Story

I was enrolled in the martial arts as a young boy, my parents seeking to give their son the skills to defend himself in a world that was changing ever more quickly. They may or may not have known about the philosophical or mental elements of martial arts training, and enrolled me in a dojo where my older cousin had already been training. I hear this same story from most parents who enroll their children with me to this day - seeking a practical skillset and confidence that will serve them in their formative years.

Through my childhood in the martial arts, I came to dislike the routine and “monotony” of training every week, what felt like the same routine, the same practice, for “no reason”. (as with nearly everyone) Whether it’s music, language, or any other slowly learned craft where the benefits are reaped in the distant future, I couldn’t see as a boy what was right in front of my face the entire time. I couldn’t appreciate that my training was an investment in my future. At the age of 11 I wanted to quit. To this day I still thank my parents and my Sensei for not giving up on me - refusing to let me have what I wanted (or thought I wanted) in the moment.

It wasn’t until my teenage years that with the guidance and mentorship of my Sensei, that I did fall in love with the martial arts for the first time; inspired by his example of stoic confidence and by witnessing his skill in self defense time and time again when instructing me and my peers. As a child I never loved the martial arts, nor was I ever the most skilled, talented, fastest, strongest, or any other athletic attribute in any of my classes, but my Sensei knew ME - he knew what elements of the training could drive me into the way of the martial arts to reap the long term benefits for my life and personal development. I credit him to this day for leaning into these elements of my personality and disposition to help guide my training and giving me my “1st love” of the way of karate-do.

By leveraging the physicality of the training, my Sensei helped a 12 year old me see a challenge, see something worth conquering; see that I could make myself stronger through training in the martial arts. This led me to be not the strongest, fastest, or most talented in my class, but among the most consistent and disciplined with my practice and independent training routine. That methodology and mindset of slow, consistent, unrelenting commitment continues to serve me to this day in every single outlet I pursue as a professional, an academic, and as an individual.

By the age of 13 I was foregoing a high school job so I could be at the dojo to assist, and train 6 days a week. Through the contact training, the fighting, the strength and conditioning elements of the training, I watched my body, mind, and life change before my eyes. Over the course of 5 years, I watched my skill improve, my lack of athletic skillset become competent, my confidence grow. I watched the benefits extend outside the dojo too - I suddenly became among the strongest in my high school weight training class in pullups, plank, and the bench press, despite never having lifted a weight until the age of 16. I watched my grades at school accelerate as a function of the discipline I had acquired from training in the martial arts. I was training with adults and being seen as a leader in my kata and physical capacity, even sometimes leading those who were older and more experienced than me on their path too. These experiences deepened my obsession and love for the training, and fueled my ambition to test for my black belt at the age of 18.

After my ACL injury in 2006, which has inspired my career in physiotherapy, sports medicine, and exercise science to this day (learn more here), my time training as an adult; as a black belt forced me to see that the skills I had learned during my “1st love” were useful, but imperfect in isolation. I could not train in the same way I always had after my injury. Others were now much physically stronger than me, and I had to adjust the way I moved to suit my “new” post surgical body. This was the start of my first big drop on the roller coaster of motivation and challenge since the age of 11; but thereafter, a “2nd wind” and re-falling in love with the martial arts for a very different reason. I had formed my identity in the martial arts as the person who loved the physical training, but never delved into the philosophical, esoteric, or spiritual elements of the training. Now after my ACL surgery in 2010, I had no choice but to embrace the fact that I was not who I was before, and had to forge this new identity in the non physical elements of the martial arts.

Since that time, I’ve gained a deep respect for the philosophy and mindset of Bushido that formed the basis of my training all those years ago. The ability to stand up for what you believe in, have integrity in what one says and the actions he takes, demonstrating unshakeable discipline, and a commitment to moral conduct are traits that are becoming ever more rare in our changing world. As a tradition, the martial arts is hundreds if not thousands of years old, but the values and virtues the participants are trained in are timeless. The older and more experienced I become, the less my training is physical (although it still continues to be valuable in this respect), and the more it is mental and philosophical

I now derive my fuel from giving back. My training isn’t about “me” anymore, although it continues to add immense value to my life every single day. The discipline gives me the ability to endure things most can’t - what some might see as the “monotony” I’ve come to see as an opportunity to “practice” my martial arts training. If nothing else, that’s what the martial arts has taught me - enduring things others do not volitionally is my “superpower”, and gives me the routine and consistency to achieve in the long run. I am grateful to give back and mentor my own students for the past 8 years, and to give back to professional martial artists in Japan with the gifts I’ve been given as a martial artist myself. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the martial arts, and it will always be an intrinsic part of who I am. I will always continue to walk my path, ride this rollercoaster so to speak, because if I’ve learned anything after 30 years of training, its the journey, the walking of the path itself that’s most meaningful.