The other day a young teenage girl with her two younger siblings were stopped on their bikes near my house and appeared to be having trouble. I went to see if they needed help and saw that the oldest girl’s chain had come off. I put it back on for her and explained how as I went along in case it happened again, she thanked me and went on her way...no big deal.

The thing is, maybe it is a big deal. Not the act of putting a chain back on for someone, but helping someone who needed help. I try to do it when I have the opportunity, but I’ll bet that I could do it more often and for more people. We’ve likely all read news stories or seen internet videos where people who desperately need help are downright ignored by people passing by. Whenever I do, I wonder if I would have helped them or kept on walking too. It’s easy to make excuses not to help people and sometimes it’s truly a matter of circumstance, but how many people go out of their way to help others whenever they can regardless of the situation?

One person that always comes to mind when I start thinking about this is CNY MMA Cortland’s Program Director (at least I think that’s the right title), Jeremy Murphy. Since joining a little over two years ago I have yet to meet anyone as selflessly devoted to the improvement of all of the school’s students as “Murff” is. I remember walking around awkwardly my first few open mats on Friday nights wondering what I could be doing or how to approach some one to show me some techniques to help me improve and progress outside of regular classes. After a couple weeks Jeremy was there calling out new guys to grapple with him and learn from his experience, getting us involved and causing us to improve.

It set an example that many of us try to follow when we see new students worried about finding someone to partner with on their first classes or trying to hard not to look like the kid on the bleachers with no date at the high school dance during open mat time (er…not that I’m speaking from experience or anything). The point is, no matter how busy he is, whether he’s helping get someone ready for fight or getting ready for one himself, I have personally never heard Murff say no to anyone who wants to get better at something.

The mentality of helping others when they need it is something I try to strive for in my everyday life. Whether it’s with family, fellow CNY MMA students or even complete strangers, we should all try to help those who need it when and if we can. We all know people who do and if you train in Cortland, you know the same one I do. Remember that you didn’t learn everything you know without help from other people and that the knowledge you pass on could help others to achieve to greatness.

That said, here's an obligatory cheesy (yet appropriate) quote to end off on:
“Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

See you in Class!