Judo, “The Gentle Way”

Before I post how I did today at the Dragon’s Challenge Judo tournament in Delray Beach, I’d like to explain a bit about Judo, a martial art called the “gentle way.” It is a beautiful way to train your body in balance, timing, and power. Some principles of Judo are:

• Seiryoku zenryo: strive for maximum effect with minimum effort
• Jitta kyoe: strive for mutual welfare and benefit
• Jika no kansei: strive for perfection as a whole person

These principles are a testament to why I love practicing Judo – not only to kick butt, but for the philosophy of self-improvement.

To start off my day, I went up to the tournament with Phillipe and the rest of the Baragua Judo Kai, one of the best Judo clubs in Miami. Not only do they have solid Judo and many high-ranking belts, they love helping you improve. I will be sad to leave from such a welcoming yet competitive atmosphere that has been so stimulating to my growth in Judo.

[Warning: Boring Judo Competition Excerpt below if you don't know Judo]

Anyways, today I weighed in at 60 kg and actually didn’t eat anything except a small pear and a pack of 6 Captain’s Wafers until after the tournament. I had seven fights – two against a 55 kg judoka and four against three different 66 kg judokas. My first three fights ended without too much effort for a win so I was able to conserve my energy. My next fight I was ahead by a wazari and yuko but after the tournament was put on hold for a few minutes, my opponent was able to capitalize on the distraction with a morote-gari for ippon. He played smart and since he was down, the morote-gari was one of the best choices he could’ve made. I fought against another guy for second place and I beat him. Then I fought the guy who beat me again for first place. I was ahead like last time and then got thrown with the same move. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

Conclusion: 60 kg Gold medal, 66 kg Silver medal. My personal success of the night is when I threw ippon seoinage on one of the guys since it was a favorite throw that I was never able to really make effective until recently.

I love Judo.

My Learning Process: Waves

Learning is very important to me and I enjoy doing it. Though I tend to learn better by doing, learning from books are a large part of my life especially during my college years. Now I have a confession. For the majority of college students including myself, book learning has often boiled down to waiting a few days before the test to study the information and forgetting it as we leave the testing site. I used to beat myself over forgetting information that I only used a few times but I now believe it’s a process that makes learning more efficient. We were meant to learn, forget, and relearn again as the next time is always easier. Besides, if we really need the information, our exposure to it will result in being able to remember it longer.

Since I have come to terms with that, a problem I’ve had is when I try to fit the large variety of my diverse interests (from Judo to cooking to photography) all into my schedule at the same time. This method mirrors time periods in high school where we had a subject an hour. While this structured type of learning gets more done, I find that I personally learn better in waves as once I’m on a roll learning about a subject, I don’t like to stop. Each wave puts me in a zone where I just soak up everything I read or watch about that subject for about a week or so. This depends on how many other interests I’m looking into at that time. I limit what I study to only a few per week to prevent myself from being bored and to keep the rate at which I absorb, understand, and process information high. Like everyone else, my efficiency drops as my motivation cools. In a few weeks, I will usually be as excited to learn about that particular subject as ever. For example, a couple weeks past, I had a home improvement obsession which I satisfied by taking notes on marathon viewings of HGTV every night. After a week, I didn’t have the same curious drive to learn about home improvement. Now I’m on my real estate phase with an occasional viewing of HGTV sprinkled in.

Though the possibilities are endless with so much to learn, my point is that instead of trying to change how I learn, I believe that it’s better to take advantage of how I learn best. In my case, I’m good at digesting a lot of information on the same subject for about a week until I burn out. Then I come back to the topic when I’m feel excited about that topic again, which usually takes a few weeks at most. This ongoing process is what works for me. What works for you?

Weber’s Partial List of Interesting Subjects

• traveling
• home improvement (landscaping, interior design, etc.)
• personal finance
• stock market
• real estate
• cooking & nutrition
• productivity
• judo
• relationships
• massage

Freedom at last!

After working a grueling 23 hour shift that ended at 1:30 pm today, I never have to work at the gas station again. It has been officially sold to new owners. Though I am happy that I will have more time at my disposal, I know that it is never going to be enough and that I need to learn to live more in the present.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle on my mp3 whenever there was time. About a week ago, I finished it and I started on it again to see what more I could get out of it. Though I first believed that it was like every other spiritual enlightenment bull that was out there, I realized that it was more than that when I gave it a chance. The ideas of being in the “now” are explained in a beautiful way that progresses with your understanding of his ideas.

His words have made me realize that I have difficulty finding the balance between living in the now and achieving my goals. Previously, I used my goals as indicators of future happiness and there is no such thing. Not only should goals not be seen as indicators of anything, but there is no such thing as future happiness. Happiness only occurs in the present and life is about making the most out of life in the present. It isn’t about getting away from everything and going on spontaneous road trips (though that would may help). It’s about realizing and being thankful for the potential that life holds for us.

In massage school, we always talked about “being present” for the client – a very important aspect of giving a massage and now I realize, also for my life, in general. While I believe that I have not gotten everything I could from Eckhard Tolle’s message in The Power of Now, I do know that his words have helped change how I view life. I will continue to create my “to do lists” and strive for my goals but I will also be more mindful of the moment.

Being Batman, the Dark Knight

Working at the gas station has enlightened me to a different version of Miami, the world where petty theft, armed robberies, and shootings are not only things seen on TV. Though my experience mostly consists of petty theft and the occasional threat from someone with a knife, I had a thought that with the cops so busy and the economy so bad, it would probably keep getting worse and there needs to be a solution.

My solution: Batman.

Sure. He’s not real but he could be. Though he is a superhero, his superpowers are very human as they include his martial arts ability, his intelligence, his determination, and his sense of justice. Any very rich man with money, training, an alter ego, and a secluded mansion with a batcave has the potential to become Batman. A blog post from the Martial Development blog about becoming Batman (that includes an article by the Scientific American of a Q&A session with movement researcher E. Paul Zehr as well as a slide show by Forbes magazine showcasing the amount of money that would be needed to become Batman) agrees with me. Though it is not likely, research shows that becoming Batman is humanly possible!

At this point, every man is probably thinking, “That could’ve been me if I’d known that it was possible ten years ago.” However, this post isn’t about becoming Batman – it’s about being Batman now. What do I mean? To be honest, I know I don’t have the time, money, or physically intimidating bulk to become Batman, but I can take what Batman represents to how I live my life.

For example, we all know that Batman is much more than a crime fighter. He is a protector of the weak. He is a hope to those who have none. He is a man you know you could depend on to do what is right. At the same time, he is a just a guy with skills who is not afraid to stand up for justice and morality. Sure, superheroes are created from our imagination but the values they stand for are not. Consequently, I’d like to challenge everyone including myself to be Batman and stand up for what is right and speak up against what is wrong.

Recovery point: remedy to being sick

When I was younger, I always got sick. I had a weak immune system and before 5 years of age, I’d probably be sick every other week. Being sick to me meant being cold yet hot and sweaty. It was an unbearable feeling that suffocated my body. It was hard to breathe. I couldn’t get out. Whenever I tried to clear my throat, there was that trademark taste of sickness I had come to know so well.

Though being sick stinks, it is something everyone has to go through. In the past, I always was in a bad mood and didn’t want to be bothered by anything or anyone. It was as if everyone else was indebted to me in some way since I was sick. Now that I am really sick again, as I haven’t been in a long while, I realized a few things.

First, it was a beautiful sunny day outside. It had rained previously so it wasn’t too hot as it usually is on a summer day in Miami.

Next, I have a lot to be thankful for. I decided to make myself a list of what came to mind. It is too extensive to list so I won’t.

Lastly, being sick is good for me.

Let me explain. I go on recovery mode whenever I’m sick and if I have slacked before, I automatically restart on great habits for better health. Just as a computer has a backup and recovery point to take the owner back to a previous point, I do too. I try to add any new tools that will help me recover and I keep my old tools that have worked for me when I’ve been sick.

In my opinion, this can be a launchpad for more than habits for great health — it can be a launchpad for lifestyle change and new goals. After recovery, the difference in energy can be noticed and to me, it’s almost like realizing that I have a pair of legs to run with when I have been crawling everywhere. Because this was a revelation for me, I will include some of the more important habits that I have when I get sick in a list below.

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Weber’s Remedy for Sickness

• Meditate (concentrate on breathing and body awareness)
• Truly observing the beauty of the world around you and what you have to be thankful for
• No medicines unless really needed.
• Light physical activity (I am a very active person so basically taking it easy. Listen to your body.)
• Plenty of rest (at least 8 hours a day for me)
• Ginger tea
• Plenty of water (I chug water when I wake up because my throat is killing me and I’m extremely dehydrated.)
• Eat and drink right (No sugar, No salt, No fattening foods. Balanced diet. Plenty of fruits. My body craves acidic fruits so I eat oranges and strawberries when I can.)
• If I feel hot and bothered, taking a shower is a great way to feel like a new man. The freshness and cleanliness I feel after my shower clears my mind and makes me happy.

[Note: This is what works for me but it might not work for you though in all probability, it will. Most importantly, listen to your body. It really does know best.]

Eisenhower’s Great Man

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“The qualities of a great man are vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Eisenhower’s quote talks of a great man with sterling qualities. I feel that though both nature and nurture contribute to the qualities of a man, a great man is made, not born.

Yesterday a circumstance of petty theft made me think that being strong and being right is not enough. A guy in his late 20s walks to the back of the store. He subtly puts a beer can into his pockets. He tries to exit the store after asking me if we have cans of corona as he saw it the other day. We never did. After asking him to come up to me, I told him to show me the beer. Then he tells me that he’s strapped and how he doesn’t want to take out his gun in the store, implying that he had it in his pockets where he put the beer. Well, you might think this was stupid but I told him to show it to me and also to prove me wrong about him stealing a beer. He starts telling me that I’m getting him hot. Well obviously, I don’t want trouble and I figured he didn’t either so I told him that. I also told him that he needed to give me the beer. Though it’s dumb to risk your life for something so petty, I had a feeling that he didn’t want to go to prison for a beer and that he didn’t really have a gun.

Now that I write that, it seems like I should’ve just given him the beer. However, another guy working beside me was a guy who has lived in the streets for 14 years. Though he is physically strong, he also doesn’t like confrontation. He asked me how I had the guts to face the guy down and it all amounted to that I knew I was right and I knew that the probability the shoplifter would pull his gun out (if he had one) was slim. Standing up for what you believe in can one day get you hurt, but I believe that it is a much better alternative than letting your fear rule you. Eisenhower’s quote represents the type of man I want to become — a great man with vision, integrity, and courage.

Achieving strength list

• Being vigilant in your environment so you’re ready for anything
• Knowing where you stand on what is right, fair, and ethical
• Understanding yourself
• Avoiding anything you would be ashamed of or illegal
• Facing the consequences if you get blackmailed and don’t let anybody hold anything over your head
• Being able to back what you say with real evidence
• Trusting yourself
• Being yourself

I would appreciate comments on anything I missed or even personal clarifications on what I wrote.

I will get stronger

When I was in middle school, being strong to me meant having muscles. In high school, it meant having great comebacks for insults backed up by muscle. In both areas, I was never really top-notch. However, my definition of strong has changed especially after working at the gas station. I now believe it means having the moral fiber to stand up for what you believe in and fighting for it even if you are knocked down. In this post, I’d like to explore what I feel real strength is.

First, I would like to paint a picture of where I work at. Though I always knew the neighborhoods around the gas station would not be good to frequent after dark, I didn’t realize the extent of influence the “streets” had on the neighborhood convenience stores until recently. Sure, I knew that little bags of cocaine can sometimes be found in the parking lot, used tampons were often smeared across the bathroom walls, and that theft was a huge problem, but I never knew that coke addicts sometimes shot up in our bathroom or the real risks that a man working the night shift by himself takes. At the same time, many of these people who come into the store have had to fight for everything they have. Many of them come from poor households broken by drugs, alcohol, and violence but they still try to enjoy themselves – sometimes to the extent of breaking the law.

In part to this, I feel that I am always being tested by customers to see what they can get away with. This ranges from stealing beer to lying about how much money they gave me for a transaction to even cursing me out to see what I will stand for. On the bright side, my experiences at the gas station have opened my eyes to a different world and a new definition of strength. I believe that hardships and adversity in life show our true strengths and weaknesses. This is when we are stripped naked of everything else except the strength in our hearts, which can be showed by our will, our integrity, and our intelligence. Working at the gas station has made me more astute in knowing what to believe, it has made me more resolute in my beliefs, it has raised my moral standards, it has made me more compassionate, and has improved my decision-making ability and speed under pressure.

Although I feel like I am on my way to becoming stronger, there is one man who I believes epitomizes real strength. Though he works 16-17 hour days everyday during the night shift alone at the gas station and is in his 60s, he never complains and is always ready with a smile. When customers try to intimidate him with their size or violent language, he stands strong for what he believes in and doesn’t let anybody push him around when he knows he is right and fair. For those who don’t have money to put food on the table, he lets them borrow some with the mindset that he probably will never see the money again. Yet he usually does as he is a great judge of character. He doesn’t take advantage and refuses to let others take advantage of him. His willingness to sacrifice himself so his wife and son can work less is more than inspiring. His wisdom of letting the small things go and his tireless work ethic embodies the heart of the gas station. Though I have less time than ever to spend time with my dad, the gas station has revealed to me what I would never have known. Though we are the same height, I see him as a giant. I am proud to be his son and I hope that one day, his strength will become mine.

Adapting my way toward my Goals

It is easy to see the connection between goals and a schedule so I can meet those goals. However, though I was brought up to believe in meticulous step-by-step planning with the discipline to avoid deviations from “the plan,” I have realized that many times the effort in creating that step-by-step bridge between goals and a schedule is wasted.

Though I believe that the best schedule is a guide, after a period of time, the schedule becomes a habit and a more definite schedule is in place. As this happens, the person might be closer to their goal, but the rigorous journey to reach these goals sometimes blind people from their real objective as we focus too much on achieving that stepping stone. For example, my goal to have multiple streams of passive income and a successful massage business is so I can travel, learn, and experience different cultures and people. However, because of my passion for massage, it will be easy to lock myself up in a massage business, delaying if not ending my dream of traveling the world. A better solution would be selling my business to a respected massage therapist in the area, and do massage as I travel for money or for fun. Reevaluation of goals and aspirations are regularly needed as humans are creatures of habit. After reevaluating what needs to be done, just do it. By just doing it, you will slowly become quicker and better at making decisions and reacting to what is presented to you.

Kyuzo Mifune, the “God of Judo,” believed that the strength of Judo lies in its flexibility and creativity to see, react, and adapt to opportunities. He called it the “flexible action of mind and body”. For instance, if someone starts pushing me, my reaction might be to pivot under the direction of his push and pull him over me, executing a seoinage or shoulder throw. Being able to follow an action with a quick flexible reaction that shifts disadvantage to advantage is something that can be applied from Judo to anyone’s everyday life.

Scheduling is my Kryptonite

You have discovered my weakness. I love creating schedules that will maximize my productivity. I even take into consideration the best times to eat and how often so I can maximize my nutrient absorption especially when exercising regularly. Is it surprising? As children, we were introduced to it when we were handed sheets that showed what classes we were taking and where we were taking them. That is when I fell in love. But what exactly is scheduling? It means committing our time to a plan.

Before every semester, I input times and days of the week on a spreadsheet and insert my university classes, judo practices, and strength/conditioning workouts where needed. Then I add in the best time to eat, study, and sleep. This process of finding a slot for every activity should take less than half an hour. This is when people ask me whether I have the discipline to follow this schedule. Do I? Well no.

Believe it or not, discipline is not that important to me. I feel that it is actually quite impossible as well as stupid to follow such a schedule religiously. Sure I keep to the times I wake up and go to bed with a few exceptions but everything else is moderately flexible such as reading and doing research vs hanging out with a good friend. As soon as my schedule is “finished,” unexpected events such as projects where group members can only meet at a certain time or all-nighters for a test are guaranteed to throw it off. If I am a robot to my schedule, I will fail school, lose friends, and miss out on many of the spontaneous opportunities that life offers.

My point is that discipline is not the answer. Flexibility is. The schedule is not a tyrant – it is a guide. It is there to show the events whose time slots can not be changed and how much time can be spared for unanticipated situations. That is the power of block scheduling.

MY 3-STEP GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE BLOCK SCHEDULING
[Note: A spreadsheet program from OpenOffice.org or Excel can be used.]

1. Insert (with a text color) the activities whose time slots you can not change for unanticipated events. Ask yourself what your restrictions on these activities are and move your activities accordingly. (Include transition times such as driving to the gym or to work.)

i.e. 1) Weightlifting should not be done close to Judo practice.

2) Eating is necessary an hour before and right after workouts and judo practices.

2. Insert (with a different text color) those activities whose time slots you can change for unanticipated events.

3. Tweak your schedule a couple weeks after it has been made since you now have a better idea of the amount of variability your life will present and how strictly your lifestyle lets you adhere to your schedule.