Learning From Everyone In Rancho Bernardo

One of the best things I have learned from Master Giuseppe is to keep an open mind and keep learning.  I have never met someone so skilled continue to learn from so many different people.  It has been inspirational to me to see that kind of growth through a CANI attitude (constant and never-ending improvement).  That is one of the reasons why I continue to train not only in my art but in others as well.

•  In Rancho Bernardo, and San Diego in general, there are some amazing martial artists.  I did not start a martial arts school to make money, I started it because I loved martial arts and I thought that was what you did if you wanted to train a lot at 19.  I’ve trained BJJ and Muay Thai one street over, I have trained with a TKD black belt who had a competing program across the street.  I still teach a jumping spinning back kick the way I learned it from him.  I love martial arts, I am not going to sit around on one thing when there is so much more to learn.  When we first opened our school, we had Master Mario Gajo (Guro back then) come in and ask about our space.  He started teaching stick fighting to us, again, a great opportunity to learn.  I have gained so much by keeping my doors open and not pretending like I know everything, no one does.  I feel bad for those who just run martial arts like a business.

• It keeps me up to date.  I remember this Scrubs episode when Dr. Kelso was telling an older doctor he needs to stay up to date on the newest breakthroughs in medicine, you can’t just do things the way they were 10 years ago.  Teaching is the same.  The average attention span for adults is 30 seconds thanks to our smart phones.  Do you know what that means?  I get distracted taking over the gym next to the RB 7-11 in Pokemon GO!  As a teacher, I am not going to have to design my classes differently because they are going to be learning differently.  I remember my BJJ teacher telling me why he stopped doing belt tests and just start doing promotions.  “Adult life is stressful enough, being able to make it to train and putting in the hours to develop skill in this day and age is the real test.”  Something like that anyway.  Doesn’t mean he hands out belts, but martial arts teachers rarely give out a test their students can’t pass.  By the way, neither do teachers in school either.
• It’s social.  My wife and I took a uber to comic-con yesterday instead of driving from RB and back in the downtown madness.  I met this great Uber driver.  He used to be 2nd level black in the marines, I had so much fun talking martial arts with him.  I normally don’t talk at all unless I am at work or with my kids.  I am just naturally introverted.  But you talk martial arts with me, I can’t help but pick your brain a little bit to see if you have something to teach me.  If he lived closer I would have him come up and teach me some techniques, he was a great guy.

I’ve sent students to Thai boxing and BJJ if they wanted it.  If a student is here training and they want something different who am I to stop them?