The Post-Alabama Buildvention Post

Sorry for the Delay on this everyone. I can’t believe it has already been a month since the Alabama Buildvention. I have to say it was an amazing experience. I met some amazing martial artists from around the country, made some great friends, built a house, sweet talked some lumber guys into cutting us a deal, did some training during a tornado emergency, and even played volleyball some mennonites who had hosted us for dinner (and we totally got our butt kicked!).

First I want to say Thank you!!!! Thank you for all coming together and contributing to the project! With your help we raised enough funds to pay for the entire house build.

As a school we were able to raise just over $3000 for Hero Housing. All the money went directly into the budget to build a home for Ms. Georgia Woods. The total we raised between everyone who went was just under $20,000.

Imagine if we could come together to do something like this within our own community. We find a need and we come together as a school to make it happen. The possibilities are endless.

Amazing things going on in Greensboro

When you drive into downtown Greensboro (population 2443) and it is an interesting site. Almost all the retail spots are abandoned/in shambles. But there are a few spots where HERO Housing has made their mark. Hero Bike and the Pie Lab are two such places that Hero has brought to the community. They provide great services and help Hero fund other restoration projects in the town. As you drive around town, most of the houses are also in pretty bad shape. But every so often you see a modest but great looking house. It serves as another symbol of HERO's amazing work in the community.

A short drive from downtown we saw a park that HERO renovated. They were able to get Tony Hawk to design the skate park. There is even a playground made out of recycled mouthwash barrels donated by Colgate (it actually has a minty smell when you walk in). They took the leftover barrels and made them into huge rain barrels that power the toilets in the bathrooms. HOW COOL IS THAT!? And they get college level design students to donate their time to design everything.

And the head of HERO - Pam Dorr? Well lets just say you can’t meet that woman, hear what she is doing, and feel like you ever have an excuse to not get something done. She is quite amazing!

The House and more!

The house build went extremely well. A tornado warning delayed our efforts a little bit, but we were able to get the majority of the house done. We all had varied experience with construction work, but everyone was able to play a part. Many of the more experience builders took the time to mentor everyone else as we were building. Everyone was patient and helpful and made the whole experience extremely enjoyable.

Because of the amount of people there we were also able to help on a couple other restoration projects HERO had going on.

In the 3 days we were able to frame the whole house, side it, build a porch, and complete the whole roof. We also painted a massive ceiling, laid down a hardwood floor,

I am happy to report that Ms. Georiga's house is now finished and she is moving in this weekend!

What I learned

This section could be long as I learned so much, but I will try to sum up.

-Giving back to a community in need is an amazing feeling

-We are so fortunate to have so many things and we take much for granted

-You can always do more than you think you can

-We should all strive to leave every place we go a little better than how we found it

-We should always strive to set the bar as high as possible in everything we do.

-I have some pretty amazing students

And much more!

We are definitely going back next year. April 9th-12th. I hope more of you will join us!

I also need to give a shout out to our two junior assistants Brad Palmer and Owen Mahoney. They were two of the most popular people at the event. They worked hard, took initiative, never complained, and really represented themselves and the school incredibly well. I remember waking up one morning around 6am. I looked around and didn't see Brad or Owen anywhere. I walk into the kitchen off the gymnasium we were camped in to get some coffee. I see them running around helping to make everyone breakfast! This was one of the many of their impressive moments during the whole trip. Thanks for making me look good guys! haha!

What Would A Black Belt Do?

Lets imagine, for a moment, that being a Black Belt is being the best version of yourself possible. Now let me ask you - How would you, as a Black Belt, walk/talk? How would you eat? Would you be fit? Would you have integrity? Would you give back to the community? How would you treat the people most important to you, or even the people least important to you?

I bet if you gave it a little thought you would could come up with the answers.

I understand that not all people will associate a Black Belt with those things, but it can just be an example of the kind of mindset that moves you forward. Often times, the ability to be what we want already lies within us. We just need to be more mindful of as it has not yet become habit. Sometimes if you just imagine what the best version of yourself would be like in any area of your life you can start to make steps towards becoming that person.

I write this as I wait for my flight to Alabama for the Buildvention. I am excited to be around a group of forward thinking people who ask themselves every day - What would a Black Belt do? Then they take action to make a positive impact on the world. It is a great example of what a group of people can achieve when they hold themselves to a higher standard.

So, What does the “Black Belt” version of you look like?

What Alabama and the Build-vention means to me (and you)

Ms. Georgia's Current Home (Back)

Ms. Georgia's Current Home (Front)

From April 10th-14th there will be an event like no other in the martial arts community. Myself and some students will meet diverse group of martial artists, most of us have never met in person, but we will gather in Greensboro Alabama to take our work out of the dojo and into the world. Greensboro is located in Hale County and is one of the poorest counties in the US. We will partner with H.E.R.O housebuilding. We will help an elderly woman by the name of Ms. Georgia Woods, and give her a well-built, energy efficient home filled with love and respect. While this is the 10th year it will be held, it will be my first year attending, and I can't wait!

To me, this event is a demonstration of what the Martial Arts is really about. Martial art schools frequently talk about kindness, compassion, service, and leadership. We encourage our students to push themselves outside their comfort zone so that they can grow as people. But how many actually walk their talk? How many “Master Instructors” not only fail to demonstrate the values they preach, but also contradict them in the way they run their schools? Too many in my opinion.

Everyday we will train martial arts, build, and be inspired. We will discuss how to design intelligent curriculum, how to prevent child abuse, and how to promote positive change in our communities.  We will leave there with ideas on how to make the martial arts more than what it currently is, and more than anyone expects. Essentially, we will walk our talk.

We need your help! Each school going must raise money to contribute to building materials for the project. Every dollar raised goes towards the project, not a single person is being paid for their time. We are all there to contribute our minds and bodies to something that can make a lasting impact for everyone involved.

If you can donate even just a little: Click Here

Offline donations can be sent to: Revolution Martial Fitness, 28 Main st, Natick Ma 01760

If we all do a little it can add up to a lot. Can you give up your morning stimulant for a few days? Can you eat at home instead of at a restaurant a little more often? Can we come together as a school, as a community, and give someone a gift that will change their life? I hope so! Because if we can learn to come together to make an impact, the possibilities are endless.

I Am Who, I think, You Think I Am

I have many little “sayings” that I use to help guide me as I teach and help the assistants that I train. I almost look at them as rules. If I stay true to them, they will always point me in the right direction when I have to decide how to approach a certain situation. One in particular that I was recently reminded of is: “I am not who I think I am. I am not who YOU think I am. I am who I think, you think I am”. Yes, it may get your brain going.

I have a student (lets call her Sarah). Sarah is 9 and has been training with me for a number of years now. During a vacation with her family she decided that she wanted to continue learning how to snowboard. She did fairly well, but after a day of falling and picking herself back up, she was physically and emotionally exhausted. On her last run her parents noticed she was slowly crying her way down the hill. Remembering a “Mat Chat” I had with the students one day about “Hitting the Wall” (Also Separate Post), Sarah’s mom went over to her and said:

"This reminds me of Sensei's mat chat about hitting a wall.  You're tired, you've worked hard learning to snowboard all day, you’re cold - it's like hitting that wall Sensei was talking about.  He said, 'we all hit walls from time to time but it's how you respond to it that defines your character”.  She leaned in softly and said, "this isn't who you are"

She gave her a hug and skied ahead, giving Sarah some time to let it sink in.  As Sarah caught up to her mom she took her time, carving some cautious but nice turns and no longer crying.  She made it safely down the hill with her head held high, proud of all she accomplished that day.

Sarah’s-Mother’s response, in my opinion, could not have been more perfect. That last line “this isn’t who you are” was key! By hearing someone she trusts say that, it helped her find that belief in herself that she could, indeed, push through.

We all know that people can be their own worst enemy. No matter how hard they try to avoid it, doubt, frustration, fear, and other negative emotions can sink in during those most stressful times. It is during those times that people look to others for guidance (even if they won’t admit it). They want to be shown that these emotions they are feeling are not totally true. It is those times when remembering that saying comes in handy. When you are working with someone (student, child, employee) during a challenging time, keep that saying in mind.

They way people think you perceive them can have a huge impact on their ability to overcome life’s challenges.

I know that if I can show my students how much I believe in them, they will be able to achieve amazing things.