I discovered that one of the guys I train with Trey has a JuJitsu Blog, cleverly named JuJitsuBlog.com I recently read a post there:
Camaradie talking about the jujitsu class, laughing and having respect for one and other.

One of the things I love about martial arts training and particularly our school (www.kobukaijujitsu.com) is the guys I train with. I stated in a comment on Trey’s blog that I have always felt that the best friends you have are the ones you fight. Two of my closest friends are people who have fought and trained with extensively. My friend Mike and I met in a boxing ring. We were told to go in there and beat the shit out of each other. We had never met and barely even said hi. It was one of the best fights of my life and an all out war. And from it a mutal respect was formed and a great friendship. My friend Oz and have been training and workout partners for years. We have pushed each other to become stronger and better, we have fought great battles, and we have grown together as martial artists and friends.
I really think the backbone of these friendships is respect and honor. Its hard to say exactly what causes this to be formed. All I know is that it is formed and I can’t WAIT to get back to training!!!!

Side Note: I recently had shoulder surgery for a torn LABRUM, NOT labia and a bone spur. About that labia…. When I first found out about the torn labrum I was going around telling people I had a torn labia….. Caught a lotta flak for that one.
But, I’m out for 6 weeks. Tuesday will mark only 3 more weeks to go, then back in action.

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Take a moment to watch this brief video (you must watch the end to appreciate the significance).

This video reminds me of a famous Thomas Edison quote. In his words, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

I’ve seen truth in these words at all levels. I know professional fighters who have starred in main event title fights on national television who still doubt their ability. The physical talent is there, but the mind is still trying to hold them back from reaching their true potential.

The mind is certainly powerful. There is no denying this fact. Unfortunately, the mind’s power can work in both directions. The mind can either propel you forward or hold you back. More often than not, the physical talent and potential is present, but the mind prevents the athlete from moving forward.

There are times when you need to turn off that little voice inside your head. Turn it off and go! Don’t think about what you can or cannot do. Just go. Think less and do more. Challenge yourself. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

As mentioned in the past No Excuses article, I often see athletes who constantly search for a new and better plan. If something isn’t going right, they rarely take personal responsibility. It must be something else, right? Wrong! Often times you simply need a reminder of what REAL work is all about. Hard work is interpreted differently by different people.

For a combat specific example, we occassionally call for additional rounds of sparring when the athlete thinks he is in the final round. For example, the athlete believes he is sparring 6 rounds, but we may call for 8 or 10. Initially, you may be mentally conditioned to assume that you are fatigued in what you believe to be the last round. When you are forced to “suck it up” and continue however, you’ll often surprise yourself (and realize that you have more gas in the tank). Clearly, this isn’t something that the novice should attempt, but as you climb the ladder, you need to do more than is expected of you.

Ross

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One of the martial arts I train in for a while was Kyokushin Karate. During that time I met a very unique and captivating man named Shihan Kenji Fujiwara. Over the years, I have become fairly close to him where I believe I can call him a friend. I now teach grappling at his school as well. He runs a Kyokushin school in Cromwell, CT. His school is now more of a traditional karate school compared to a fighting school. But Shihan is a serious badass. He was a Uchi-Deshi of Mas Oyama and has dedicated his life to Kyokushin Karate.
I was searching around on youtube and I came across this kyokushin highlight video of Shihan Fujiwara competing. Enjoy!

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This is the first of many posts regarding opening, running, and operating an internet business.

For the last 5 years I have been running an internet business. I always believed there is a ton of money to be made on the net, I just need to figure out how. I spent a lot of time, research and made many, many, MANY mistakes trying to find ways to do it. I have tried many different avenues, ideas, and concepts to try and pull it off. Over the years, somehow I have become successful at it. I have run and sold off some great sites. I still do maintain about 70 sites and have multiple streams of revenue coming in from them. It has given me some great luxuries and has really helped support myself and my family. The cool thing about it is, I did it without really any investment. But, it wasn’t all fun and easy. It’s can be a real pain in the ass, but it can also be very rewarding.
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Do you have a passion in life? What is it? …. I’ll give you a second to think.
Post them here:
What is your passion in life?

My passion(s) - family and pets, martial arts, strength, internet.

I wonder how many of you out there actually know what your passion is and/or are actually pursuing it? I have someone close to me, who’ve I’ve asked this question to a few times. The answer is typically “I don’t know” or something very vague. It actually makes me sad to hear it and I believe frustrates the person when I ask.

One of the questions that is supposed to help find your passion is “What you would do in life if you didn’t have to worry about money and had everything you’ve ever wanted?” I think about this all the time. I would open a martial arts gym, fill it with the best training equipment, mats, etc. and train. Then after I’m training, I would geek out on the internet trying to be successful there. My wife and I would travel and I’d live on a HUGE farm with a pack of dogs, birds, and other animals. Man that just gets me excited thinking about it. The thing is, I think I can do it too.

The hard part I guess is trying to merge your passion into your “real life”. We all have to work, pay those bills, and survive the daily grind. It’s part of life. But everyday I believe you should do SOMETHING that relates to your dreams and passions. If you’ve always wanted to … play guitar. Take guitar lessons once a week. Start down that path. You don’t have to go crazy trying to achieve everything you want at once. Break it down into something small and manageable. I always wanted to be a great martial artist. I started small, I took a class and it grew from there. Same thing with the internet. I was intrigued by it and wanted to be successful at it. I started small, I learned how to open a site and it grew from there.

The hardest part is taking that first step. But BELIEVE me, once you do, it will change you. You will now be pursuing your dreams and passions. Thats huge my friend.

Suck Less At: Finding and PURSUING passion in life

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This post is kind of a personal thought or experiences of Being Dumb that I had after I read an amazing blog related to Not Being Dumb by a man named Russ St. Hilaire, who also happens to be my martial arts teacher and more. His blog is called Don’t Be Dumb. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for tips, motivation, and a “real” way of thinking that applies to all aspects of your life. Give it a read.

My personal experiences fighting being dumb.
Ever since I was born, I’ve been thrown into the regiment of living my life a certain way. Go to School, Get a Job, Get Married, Buy a House, Have Kids, etc. The “American Dream” as some of you might say. In fact, my Mother used to say that exact phrase to me to a certain degree. She was TRYING to put me on the path of the cookie cutter life. They soon realized I was different and did things a different way. I didn’t go to college, I didn’t have schooling on Web Design or Marketing, yet that is one of my passions and professions. I was never interested in traditional sports or little league, nor much of an athlete when younger, yet know I consider myself a good athlete and fighter. I could go on, but the point is that I am probably more successful in “life” then I would have been if I just followed “the path”. One of my favorite sayings from my other site: Fighting Techniques, Training and Fight Videos - Fightauthority.com is “Find your Path!” - meaning that everyone should find their own path in life and / or martial arts (it is a martial arts site). A path that is their own, not one laid of out for you.

The funny thing now is that in a way, I have almost done what my Mother always wanted. I did get a job, got married, bought the house, got Dogs (they’re my kids for now). But the way I see it, it was done my way. I got the job of my dream as well as have some other great side jobs and personal business that is also blooming. I married the woman of my dreams. The girl I was in love with when I since was 16 (I’ll share that story another time). And buying a house….well we all need a place to live and I LOVE my house. Lastly my dogs, you’ll all soon find out that I am big animal lover, and my dogs are a vital part of my life. So the end result was something that my parents always wanted, but I did it my way and I am truly happy.

One thing I would like to improve on, which I realized after reading some posts on Don’t Be Dumb is that I should real consider trying to help others more. Either financially, volunteering, etc. Sometimes I almost feel selfish, others times I don’t know how I would be able to do it. But after reading some thoughts and posts there, I know that should be part of my life.

Sucking Less at: Being Dumb
Sucking at: Not helping others.

Again, Thank you Don’t Be Dumb for inspiring some interesting thoughts and life consideration. Please give this blog a read. It is FULL of amazing information.

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Its funny I just wrote a post about being stronger in life, and strength training, and now I’m gonna tell you that sometimes stuff sucks. I don’t personally think this is me sucking less, its just my body sucking less.

For about 1-2 years I have been experiencing ongoing shoulder pain. Come to find out I have a torn labrum, bone spur, and tendonitis. How do I get this stuff? If you read about me earlier, I am can be very abusive to my body. Heavy lifting, hardcore martial arts training, and just general stuff that over the years has taken its toll. I’ve always had this do or die attitude because I am so scared of letting my life slip me by, and not ever doing things that challenge me.

But in doing so, I have now broken down my body and facing surgery in 5 days. I will be out for 6 weeks. No lifting, training, fighting, etc. Shoulder completely immobilized. Freakin sucks.

I’m actually having a real hard time dealing with it. I’m scared that when I am not able to exercise I’ll become a dick (I need to get my energy out), I’ll become weak, and I might gain fat. I’ve been very healthy lately and slowing finding out what my optimum weight is by still maintaining my strength, but losing a few pounds a week. I bulked up over the holidays and hit 265. I am now down to 235 and feeling really good. My strength really hasn’t changed either. I gain weight very easily and I like to eat. I am mostly a fit guy, but I battle with some extra pounds. That is how I suck everyday. I battle my urge to pound food like I did 5-10 years ago. So like I said, I’m scared I’ll go right back up in weight, and lose all my strength.

So my challenge for the next 6 weeks is to not suck at being healthy, calm, and focused on healing. It ties back to my previous post. I need to be a healthy healing mental warrior so I can get back to being a health brutal physical fighting warrior as soon as possible!

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I look around at the people I work with, the people on the street, restaurants, mall…. wherever and I see people who have given up on themselves, their body, and being a warrior in life. I guess you can look at that and see it as a dumb statement “Warrior in Life”, but seriously, thats the way you need to look at it. Everyday you face battles, whether it be struggling to finish a deadline, dealing with home issues, sporting events, or your personal issues. As warriors we need to be strong, not only physically, but mentally. And they are not necessarily separate.
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I would have to call myself a responsible and dedicated dog owner. We have become very dedicated to training and educating our dogs and ourselves. Dog training, and attending training classes has become an ongoing routine for us. Today, we are doing a first. Taking both my dogs to the same class. My wife and I will switch up the leadership roles between each dog.

The dogs currently recognize me as the pack leader and basically listen to what I say, though the can be stubborn shits at times. But my wife really hasn’t established that role yet. It think they believe they don’t have to listen to her.

So this will be a good thing for all of us. Instead of me just training the dogs separately, we can all work together as a family…. very cool. And what makes it kick ass even more, is my sister is coming with her dog too.

So, how is this an OPSLED thing? Being a dog or pet owner is a serious responsibility. It frustrates me when I see dogs that are out of control and owners who have no control over their dogs. Understanding and bettering the relationship with your dog improves their quality and of life AND yours. They are happier, they listen and they respect you. They learn their boundaries and live according to your rules. Dogs are pack animals and need the social environment, but also a pack leader. Once you define yourself as the leader, and learn how your dog “works” and lives, you’ll have a much better life with them. Sucking Less at being a pet owner = total OPSLED

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After years and years of fighting the war of internet business…. and doing well I might add - I partnered with the top MMA internet company in the world, and about to release the biggest and baddest MMA site of all time.

I will be managing the training section. It be the ultimate resource for MMA, grappling, and striking training. No other site on the internet will compare.

Personally I am very excited about this. It is slowly bringing me closer to my dream of working purely in the “industry” that I love: Martial Arts. It is the perfect combination of my passions. Martial arts training, and the internet.

It’s perfect OPSLED - slowly building up my business, making mistakes along the way, but in the end, really kicking some serious ass.

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