The Headline Hounds. How your mind chases down the all, every, and any, a piece of information that is possibly significant. It is a survival mechanism, and it has worked for a long time and well. The betrayal of your little tiny brain (The Amygdala) Lawrence Gonzales and his master work of a book, Deep Survival https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393353710. Fear, and the on-off switch and what happens when frustration gets thrown into the cocktail. Ambient stress held in the body. The exhaustion of emotional and physical resources. How the News Hound, The Headline Hound can be put on a metaphorical lease.  We’re All In This Together: A lesson in big spirit from a pleasant young lady.

Athena, Atlas, and Hermes. The attributes of Intelligence, skills, endurance, and crossing bounties.  You can come to the dojo whenever I am open.  The notebook and what I see when you bring your notebook to class. Understanding your strength and what works for you. Crossing the bounders that appear, and shrugging it off in an Atlas type manner.  A small geography lesson on Washington state. Barriers to cross both physical and geographically.  And the opportunity to study and see what attributes you have and to actually see them and value them.

Big Bad Burn out in the Martial Arts.  Well, really burn out in life. The story of a music teacher who changed his life, who ran from burn out and did it successfully.  Burn out is tossed about but three key elements are part of the formula. Not all elements need to be present. The sense of diminished ability – here is what that looks like – in the movie, “No Country for Old Men.” Plus, the two other elements that are part of the formula, they can be ugly.  Think you are experiencing Burn out?  Well, here is your podcast. You are going to feel better.

The Book Burn Out From an Amazon review Herbert Freudenberger’s Burnout book is one of the best books I have ever read. It is only about 210 pages long but answers all the questions we have about the way we feel about life and the “what, why and how”. It is the best self-help book EVER!! It allows you to laugh at yourself and at your coworkers… a book the profiles symptoms, signs and solutions of how we overwork ourselves and how we basically mess up our lives through work and avoidance of the real problem…. getting in touch with ourselves!

We Are All in This Together:  Words of illumination from 8-year-old karate students regarding. “When’s the test?”

In the past I would go to a martial arts store – yes, an actual brick and mortar store. And some people at that store sought Black Belt discounts. Some of the conversations that took place were, simply put, bug nuts. Lightsabers and being able to defeat your instructor.  The difference between a martial arts store and JC Penny’s.  Crossing the threshold form Kyu to Dan and how some things change and other things do not change. The school systems we have come to know and how a belt system would simply destroy people’s minds. Escaping being stupid – sometimes – because of a combination of fear and awe.  The question is, “Who’s responsibility is it?”  you, me, or us (yes I am pointing at you, me, and them at the same time.) And the chemical transformation that became baked in generations ago.  The “We’re All In This Together,” section the experience of loss of an instructor and how you may want to view the journey of the loss.  

Coaching, the difference between frustration and performance, not for you, them!  How frustration and performance can cloud each other. Criticism (again?) what it really is and changing your approach as an instructor. Reaching people where they are is the best place to begin. Analog versus digital –  waterfalls and staircases, one is always creating awe, the other not so much. Feedback and why what is said is on you as the instructor. Drinking from the fire hose for students is just as bad is not answering questions.  And a newsletter list and why you may want to explore joining the list and the importance of time and real service.

Sensei doesn’t like me, and the coach hates me is the lead into an interesting and deep dive into coaching. But a quick correction as a listener points out an error for a previous podcast – that gets corrected. The difference between criticism and coaching and the negative focus. How goals change and the 3 F’s plus how critical external feedback is. The understanding and integration of some good coaching make for a successful experience. Methods should vary for minds and allowances made in respect to coaching – albeit the goal is never lost.  Section: We’re All In This Together, how medical issues can change everything, for good… or it can be difficult.

Trying to make sense of the blending of two worlds, the ancient and the modern. A throw-back to Podcast #127.  The Challenge of the belt and a new way of examination. The issues of trust and levels of competency. Knowing a person’s heart and intent because of time on the floor.  The impact of individualism chipping away the fellowships developed in the training hall.  The difference between cultures and how they can grind on each other, or through recognition blend. And how a student who has trained at several dojo experienced the idea of solving the problem, in a way that he was not accustomed too.  In the section, We’re All In This Together; Thieves, stolen belts and knocking the hard edge off a bad experience.

Being generous in the martial arts is important. The lesson of generosity as taught through pottery and textiles and then brought to the martial arts training hall. Dragging mud up from the bottom of the lake,shuttlecocks, and the admonishing of a young mind to, “Don’t touch.”  We Are All In This Together, a fine man who was present during the youngest years of my martial arts development and a story or two that help bring a good man’s life into focus.

An old-school Sensei goes, all old school and in the event the phrase, “Don’t Break Your Toys,” gets coined. Which brings up the three main items of consideration in this podcast regarding the proper, or at least the good elements of a martial arts school. Then a dive into the three truly essential subsets of the third item for a great martial arts school, or club.  Then the close with the popular, “We Are All In This Together,” section as a down to earth suggestion that spans the history of man rings across the dojo floor, with a midwestern flavor.

Attendance and why it is useful at one level and utterly meaningless in another. The confusion of a public system of education and a martial arts school. The old P.E. (Physical Education) Coach. And the fond memories of the structure and herding of young, stupid boys (I know oxymoron). Then a transition to the Universities and martial arts schools.  Why Plumbers are the heroes of the modern world. The podcast closes with, “We’re all in this together.” The story of a nine-year-old girl that had her life turned upside down some 20 years ago and her recent phone call on a winter afternoon.