Clik here to view.
How self negativity hurts both you and your friends
Beyond the Mat Lesson Three: Change Your Mind And Your Life Will Follow This week’s lesson is all about internal dialogue. While I might seem chronically optimistic these days, my current level of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Slow Burn
Reflecting on my training this past week, initially I felt like it was particularly unremarkable save for the Mackay workout (more on that momentarily). But then I caught myself. I realized that this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BJJ: Tales From The Mats
Last week was pretty darn fun! There was no checklisting, and we had two Saturdays in a row of jiu jitsu-centric special training. This meant that, for the first time since the test started, I got to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One more time… with feeling!
Beyond the Mat Lesson Four: If You Learn From It, Nothing Is Wasted This week’s topic is all about learning from mistakes and using them as opportunities to figure out how move forward. It’s true that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Discovering Your Potential
Last week was intense. It was yet another week where I learned about what I’m made out of, to my pleasant surprise. When I embarked on this challenge last April, I had no idea what I could...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inertia vs. Long Term Goals
Beyond the Mat Lesson Five: It Takes Daily Commitment (Constant And Never-Ending Improvement) This topic is certainly timed well. Checklisting ended two weeks ago, and Tres warned us that these next...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Confronting Your Fears and Expanding Your Comfort Zone
I’ve approached this black belt test like I’ve approached most things in my life: First, as an observer when my friends or family tackled the challenge; then eventually as a participant when my turn...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Level Up! Last Week In Review
I leveled up twice last week! On Friday I was awarded a stripe on my jiu jitsu blue belt, and on Saturday we completed our black belt pre-test. The pre-test is kind of cool because you get to flip...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Camraderie
If I asked you to envision a fighter training for a big event, you’ll probably get “Eye of the Tiger” stuck in your head while you flash back to some of the greatest training montages of movie...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Martial Arts?
“Because becoming a Black Belt is not only a physical change, but also a mental and spiritual one as well, your Black Belt test will include a written essay. That topic is: WHAT MARTIAL ARTS MEANS TO...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Week #1 in Review
As indicated by the tardiness of this post, you can correctly assume that my first week of testing has been interesting to say the least. Some of the thoughts I’ve had this week include: I didn’t think...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Goal Setting, Goal Tracking
This week’s Beyond the Mat lesson, “Designing Achievable Goals,” was one of the most helpful lessons from my first degree test in 2015. My fellow advanced candidates and I are experiencing surprisingly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Progress is easier to see in retrospect
Welcome, dear reader, let’s travel back in time and review some progress as I’ve missed a few weekly journal entries. Since my last update, we had our annual Bikram yoga experience; a nice, long...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Zoiks! She’s a Master of Disguise
Sometimes I feel like a Scooby Doo villain. At some critical point during this black belt test, my talented fellow testers will unmask this personae of “CGN Elaine” to reveal the sinister, lazy,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beyond the Mat Lesson #3: Keeping Your Goals In Sight
This week’s lesson was all about maintaining your focus despite inevitable setbacks. The irony is that this week’s lesson was actually the lesson for several weeks ago, and because of aforementioned...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beyond the Mat Lesson #4: Silver Linings
“It’s all about the process” Wow. This Beyond the Mat lesson is downright anxiety-inducing in my current state of mind, with its focus on “What if I fail?” I don’t want to fail. I finished my checklist...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beyond the Mat Lesson #5: It’s Never a Waste
“If you learn from it, nothing is wasted.” I really liked this lesson’s focus on trying new things with the mindset that there will be some positive takeaway from the experience. I wish I had been in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
CGN’s New Groove
Saturday morning, as usual, I was running the first hill on the Freestyle loop. Then, something amazing happened. My legs started to feel tired before my lungs crapped out and asthma set in! On the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hot Mess
My last update was before the pre-test! Gee, that was a while ago. Looking back, this month has had more ups and downs than a bouncey castle. High point: I got my best-ever 400-yard dash at run club,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Ways to Cultivate a Positive Mindset
Beyond the Mat Lesson #6: Change Your Mind and Your Life will Follow This Beyond the Mat lesson is both timely and frustrating. My meditation practice over the last year-plus uncovered some very deep...
View Article
