Being inside the cage at CNY MMA is an incredible feeling.  From the outside you see an assorted and eclectic group of warriors, achieving impossible goals.  Men and women.  Old and young.  Thin and overweight.  Muscular and flabby.  Tattooed and beautiful.  Fighters and moms.  School kids, college kids and people you’d cross the street to avoid.  Once you step inside, all of that disappears.  All you see are your teammates. You see a beginner, hesitant and self-conscious, worried whether…

Journal entry

November 16, 2011

You can do it.  One minute at a time.  Don’t try to do the whole class.  Just one round.  Not even the whole round.  Just one minute of that round.  Just one punch at a time.  One kick.  One crunch.  One throw.  One push up, or sit up or one more moment of wall sit.  Focus.  Determination.  Attitude.  You can do it, one piece at a time.  No one can do it all, but anyone can do one step.  So just do one step.  Then another.  Then one more. …

Along with technique, discipline, strength and endurance we all need to learn the art of partnering.  There is more to partnering than simply standing beside another person, catching his punches and counting his reps.  Being a good partner means teaching and learning, motivating and encouraging, pushing and challenging.  It is a bonding experience, a letting go and letting in, a team-building intimacy.  For that one hour, nothing matters except your partnership.

Some nights,…

November 30, 2011

It’s supposed to take twenty-one times of doing something before it becomes a habit; with Cardio class, all it takes is once.  Intense, challenging, and unbelievably rewarding, this class is highly addictive. 

Start with a stretch while you focus your mind and prepare yourself for what’s about to come.  Before you’re quite ready, it’s time. Jog, skip, lunge.  Butt kicks, high knees, shuffles.  Jumping jacks, seal claps, squats.  One minute to grab some…