Just Say No! (Don't Drink the Kool-Aid)

I had the honor to teach at Revgear University last week, for the third year in a row. This event continues to grow, and the Revgear team, along with the STW team, puts in a ton of work...and it shows.

This year was a lot of fun for me, since I was able to go with several members of the Fit to Fight® family, conduct a black belt test, oversee our inaugural second degree black belt test, teach a few workshops, see some old friends, make some new friends, and have shots of mescal with Bas Rutten and Erik Paulson (shhhh, don’t tell anyone.). I plan to write more about these experiences in a later document.

All in all, it was a tremendous week, and I am still processing a lot of it. Due to my recent surgery, I was unable to train, but I was afforded the opportunity to watch a few seminars. I was in awe of the talent that was on the mats; the instructors and the participants. It was truly inspiring to see. However, I was also reminded of how easy it is to get caught up in a moment, to follow the crowd, and to abandon reason and common sense, because something is shiny or loud or cool or has a brand name (been there, done that, have all the t-shirts.) From the outside, looking in, it is often easy to see the errors of the ways of others, but when it is you that is caught up in the fervor, consumed by the trendy and flashy, overcome by the passion and energy of the very talented and passionate ringmaster, it is hard, if not impossible, to summon such insight.

So, the next time you are in a class or a seminar, remember why you are there. Ask yourself, “what are my goals?”, then ask (and honestly answer), “is this instructor/class/program/drill helping me to reach those goals?” If the answer to the latter is “no”, you owe it to yourself to be honest about that and move on. Life is too short. Learn to JUST SAY NO.