Being a great student/person.

How can you become a great student or even a great person? Well it's not going to be easy, like anything worthwhile it will take work and practice. Here are some suggestions that can guide you:

1. Train 3-5 days a week, no excuses... Train smart when you are injured.

2. Eat for health, control your diet. Don't let food dominate your life.

3. Read good books that challenge and inspire you. Most of you guys should be reading the Art of Learning...

4. Mental and Spiritual Training... I'm not here to tell you who or what to worship. I have taught Christians(from Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalians, Pentecostals, Charismatics, to Catholics) Buddhists, Hindus, Mormons, Agnostics, Atheists, and even a Muslim. The one group that was extremely bitter and disillusioned were the Atheists. They were so anti-christian that they refused to attend tournaments and graduations held in Church gymnasiums... Most atheists I have come into contact with were the same exact way, very bitter, very angry, and militantly anti -christian, oddly enough they did not seem to have the same anger towards non christian religions... If I am currently teaching any happy Atheists then please let me know and I will stand corrected...I also encourage you to examine other religions once you are mature in your own faith...This will allow you to have a better understanding of other people's view points. But if you start picking and choosing before you understand your own faith then it tends to lead to confusion! This is true of your martial arts training as well... If you pick and choose without knowing the background, fundamentals and philosophy of your martial art then you can become confused... A quick example... I teach you guys BJJ and some Judo but they operate under two different dynamics, the goal in Judo is to finish as soon as possible. Thus the points are given for awesome throws... In BJJ the goal is beat your opponent with as little effort and injury to yourself as possible, this is why BJJ players take the match to the ground so they can wear their opponents out and then finish with a submission... Both have tremendous value but the focus is on different aspects. I am well versed enough in both arts to teach you without confusing you about the different philosophies...

5. Live your next belt test now.... Whether you are testing for gold belt or 3rd degree black belt train, live, and work like you are giving your best test every day. If you are truly living then you can experience more in a day or a month than some people experience in years or even their whole life....

6. Develop training partners that can push you to the next level... Don't seek out people that are worse than you, seek out people that are better than you...Take your performance up to their level.

7. Learn how to manage your time... Get a day planner, learn to use it, if you are still a kid then this will be worth more than you can ever imagine when you are grown.

8. Keep a training journal or log... You can do this in your day planner, in a note book, or on our website. This allows you to track your progress...

9. If you need help... ASK!!! I can't help you if you don't ask....

10. Find a great instructor.... Hey you guys have this covered you're reading this aren't you! But if you ever move away then you need to find a different great instructor....