Measuring and motivation

    What is really good people??!! This was on my mind and I couldn't quite hash it out in my manic brain so I decided to try to do it here. The question is how do you measure success and if you do so by comparison to others, at what point does that become detrimental. When it comes to fighting we are often compared to or making comparisons to other fighters. We as a combat community often take cues from those that innovate with a spectacular knockout or technique in competition.

Soon after Anderson Silva used a front kick/teep to the jaw of Vitor Belfort the front kick to the face became a regular staple of mma fighters much the way people are using Saenchai's cartwheel kick regularly now. These moments how we grow in skill and community as well as evolve our independent artforms on an international scale. As fans we compare fighters and accomplishments to determine who is the best. As fighters we see others in positions either better or worse than our own. With the right training, mindstate, diet, recovery, coaches, training partners, will, promoters, and a dash of luck you can be one of the few fighters that reach the pinnacle of your sport. Clearly it won't happen for everyone. So when we look at this on a more personal level, how can you compare yourself to someone else that has everything you believe you are missing? The simple answer is that you cannot. The better answer is to try and have a different perspective. The phrase quality over quantity comes to mind first. I will forever believe that you must be great at the tools available to you. It means to buy in on the things you are good at and double down on them while adding other skills to compliment that base. If all you have is a jab, then work extensively on that while learning the technique of the cross. Step by step increase your base tools and expand. Your contemporary could have been blessed with athleticism that you do not have. Either you live in mediocrity or you work hard on your personal gifts to find your greatness. As fighters and martial artists the fastest way to get to place of non-growth is not using what we lack as motivation. As fighters we are sort of bound by the idea that we can beat whomever is in front of us. It is often said that if you don't believe that, you should not be competing. I believe this as well. The very idea that someone is considered better than you, can do more, or accomplishing more should be a clear motivation to get focused on your craft. As a human being you can toil at a job for years and never get that promotion, even worse you can watch the new guy get it in a year. Life is not fair. It is irrelevant, do not get stuck on fairness but do get stuck on forward momentum. Don't just stay in your lane, if you want a clearer path then you must build more lanes. If you do this, nothing can get in your way.

Peace, 

L

Do hard things, including love more.

    

Where I thought the gym was going to be.

 It's been a little while since I've written anything but plenty of things have been on my mind. First is an update on the gym. We have reached the two year mark and it is by far one of the hardest things i've done and it was made exponentially harder due to the circumstances. As the recently deceased Nipsey Hussle expressed, this is a marathon not a sprint. So for everything that has transpired throughout this journey I am happy with where we are. So very grateful for everyone and every opportunity. Thank you all.

      It's easy for people to tell you what and how you should go about your life but the truth is there are plenty of examples to draw upon. The majority of the most successful of us didn't get gifted anything. The difference between making personal dreams and accomplishments become reality lies in choice. We all have a choice to honestly pursue our own successes even in the face of seemingly  insurmountable obstacles. Quit or keep going is your choice and your challenge I commend those that continue forward and I understand and encourage those that need a rest and regroup. Just don't quit.

     Let the obstacles in front of you testing your resolve become benchmarks in your growth and vision of your goals. Even if you have to switch lanes to get back on track do so with ferocity and acceptance that even though it is out of the way your are on the right path and your choice has already been made.

     Over this last couple of years I have run into mountains. I doubted myself to my soul but I made the choice to just keep going. I've had to sacrifice some friendships and relationships not based on anything that happened but simply for my own mental health. I had to isolate from the negative vibes and love from a distance. I was and still am in search of...but I also have found so much in myself. Much like fighting an opponent in the ring, fighting through adversity gives you a different view of yourself as a human being and each conquest gives you a further vision as to what could be.

     One of the hardest things to do in this life seems like it should be the easiest and that is to Love. Not the love you give to your mate though it should be measured accordingly. To love those around you even if you disagree with their ideas even if they aren't down for you. It's easiest to put them in the “they can fuck off” category but can you still have love for those that don't believe in you? The answer is a resounding YES!

     I know this is a hard concept and I struggle with this as well but I believe in it. Just because I don't rock with you like that or you don't have good things to bring to my personal universe doesn't mean I can't have love for you, even if it's from afar. I personally can't grow and become what I want and at the same time have hate in my heart for another person. It's a work in progress…

    Lost a few friends over the last couple of years and I just want to take this moment to say love more those around you. Your paths may cross for years or for a brief moment in time but we gotta do better about appreciating those moments as a culture.

    When the artist, entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle was murdered last week it really hit me hard because I was truly inspired by him. I had some people message me about it because they knew how much I looked up to him. I would listen to his mixtapes and get hyped about making something bigger than myself happen. Though I am not there yet I know I'm on the right path. I know that you are too.

   Keep doing hard things to make you a better human and keep loving more to prove you are an evolving human.

Peace and Blessings.

L

R.I.P. Bigg Rodd

R.I.P. Nipsey Hussle

     

The Purge: Making room for gratitude

Well well well... Its been a long time since we were here together. When I used to write this blog it was a way for me to get out my feelings, good or bad. A way to tell stories of my life's journey. It was a way to connect to my friends and to be honest about who I am and how I perceive not only Muay Thai but the Martial arts world as a whole. It was my outlet. Since the last time I wrote this blog my life has changed drastically as well as my relationship with Muay thai and martial arts in general. I finally achieved a huge goal in opening the first Lucky's Muay Thai gym. It was bitter sweet because at the same time I went through a devastating break up which split up my family. Everything I was working towards was still in place but the reasons I did them changed tremendously. I honestly wasn't sure if I would make it. I spent a lot of nights after everyone left the gym sitting at my desk pouring tears. If it wasn't for my amazing friends, family and students I'm not sure I would have gotten through it. For that kind of love I am forever grateful. However, between the stresses of the gym opening and Miami getting a CAT 4 hurricane which killed business for months, and fighting off depression and panic attacks daily, I was drowning. I was completely aware that it wasn't going well and I was doing my best to keep it moving. Fortunately, I did. Now I have to do my best every day to leave those feelings where they belong, in the past.
   It wasn't until now that I finally feel like Lucky's
Muay Thai will be here as a staple of the combat sport community for a long time to come. It isn't because of me, it is because of all of you. It was without a shadow of a doubt that my self belief got me to this point but it is your belief in me that kept me going when all was lost(believe me, it was lost). People coming up to me to tell me about the video they saw on the Internet or someone telling me that I had helped them change their life because of something I said or because the gym was there for them, how can I not be grateful. I have been more than fortunate to have two people that I met that believed in this vision enough that they were willing to jump on this boat with me and help me keep it afloat. Shout out to Benjamin London and Jacob Israel for having good hearts. That brings me to this. Now that the dark cloud is dissipating and the sun is peeping through, its time to work. I want to give you what you all give me, encouragement, support, direction, and above all else, LOVE. I'd like to personally welcome back everyone that rocked with the LMT family into the new space and we would like to welcome all the new members that have been hitting us up non-stop for information. We are for sure a family and we are as dysfunctional as any good family always is. I love you guys and 2019 is our year to make memories and accomplish goals together. I can't wait to build this gym up to reach it's full potential. I am so proud of everything we did and how you all played such an integral part of it all.

I am grateful for you all

Lucky

P.S. LET'S GO!!

Ben's training. Pads, pad holding, and a light spar.

Lose.. Lose.. Win!

Hi guys, hope you are all doing well. I am so stoked about the Cubs winning after 108 years without a championship I can barely contain myself. Its such an amazing feeling overcoming the obstacles that present themselves but in this case it was on a world stage.  However many times this team has tried to achieve its ultimate goal it failed and though the rosters have changed innumerable times the results remained the same until now. So this blog will piggyback off that and give some insight into the truth of competition and perception.
      In my second Muay Thai fight I showed up with confidence and ran into my opponent whom I had met a few months before when I won. He asked me if I had been training, I replied, "a little",  I might have been being smug. Either way he gave me a shellacking. He later explained that he and his coaches were watching me in the last fight and knew that I liked to throw a lot of hooks so they were ready to counter with straight punches and forward movement. I had realized something that I didn't know before and it was that this wasn't going to be easy and I had to learn more because as it stood I didn't know anything other than a straight will beat a hook. So the process of studying began.
     

   I started doing Jiu-jitsu because it was a natural progression for me and ideas of MMA had been bouncing around my brain for a while. First I did no gi which I was successful in and completed and won then I switched to gi and as a white belt I continued to have some success then again came the wake up call. My name gets called I am prepared for a fight I am a blue belt now. I am just not afraid of my opponents at this point having competed in both Muay Thai and Jiu-jitsu already I am just ready to fight. I quickly secured a takedown, a Judo throw called an Ouchi-gari. With the top position I tried to pass his guard without any luck. As time expired he swept me and win with an advantage point. I have endured this in a few different ways in Jiu-jitsu as well as some poor judging and at least one draw in Muay Thai. So what does that mean in layman's terms?.. It means that the Instagram posts showing an athlete with medals and trophies is only the fun part of the story.
          Accomplishments for fighters are measured in the public perception by how many  awards are won and in what organizations and how much money was made. I will contend that to fighters accomplishments can be measured by time spent catching bruises and nagging injuries in the gym, by the number of times we are made to tap and submit to our training partners on the mats and by the mental and emotional struggles that have to be put in check just to show up every day. We sacrifice friendships, jobs, and stability to get some real connection to life. A win is not a result of what is done in the ring or in a tournament time period. A win is a consolidation of everything that it took just to get to the point of the competition as well as the competition itself. Losses on the other hand are the stepping stones to having a hand raised win the bell sounds but also a revealing look at the character of a fighter.
         The perception is so much more appealing than the reality. Likes on a picture or a post are awesome and they feel great to get the support but the time difference between a loss and a win can feel like 108 years. I have lost and lost and eventually won and as proud as I am of the winning I am just as proud of the ability to endure the agony along the way. Define us by the depth of our resolve because what you might not know is that the majority of don't make money but actually pay for the chance to compete, to challenge our very spirit.
        

Peaks and valleys

         Hola people! I hope everyone is enjoying life and living to their best potential as we face a crazy election and some instability in the communities throughout this great nation. One thing I know for sure is that the fighters will keep training and keep fighting because it is our way to deal with life and find our own perspectives. It is our way of communicating and finding balance within ourselves. That being said it is not always so clear cut. As martial artists constantly trying to master our craft it can be challenging when we go through a period where our training isn't going as smoothly as we would like. I often find myself having these amazing sessions where everything is flowing, my low kick is gliding effortlessly into my opponents thigh as a result of a snappy jab and clinching feels as if I'm the bigger guy even when my opponent is 20 pounds heavier. On these days a person can't help but feel like the mountain top is within reach. It's the same feeling some days on the mats, I can feel the my sensei Jorge Pereira's Jiu Jitsu flowing through my very being and transitions and control feel second nature and finishes come easy. On the peak days it is like being completely in touch with my very existence. You can see this in all sports, it is a flow state that allows the unconscious mind to manifest itself in a conscious form. It can be this way in life as well. There are moments in life where everything is happening without hiccup, work is going great, the boss loves you, your relationship feels like it is out of a 1movie, there's money in the bank and life is beautiful. However, the flow state is rarely sustainable for long periods of time and as the title suggests we all must go through peaks and valleys.
         I can start trying to put together the same combinations, use the same footwork, shoot that same snappy jab and follow it with that low kick and in this case it gets blocked and countered. In the clinch I'm getting thrown and swept and pummeled with knees and I feel as if it is the first time I ever strapped up a pair of gloves. I can go to Jiu Jitsu and literally get tapped and strangled from every position even through my defense. These my friends are the valleys and they are for everyone. None of us are immune to having bad training days or bad days in life. So how do we manage these bad days? The answer is they aren't bad, they are learning days. If every training day was good we would never learn anything nor would we know what an amazing training day or fighting day would look like. Let's not look at the "bad days" as worthless or a reflection of our true selves in the ring, on the mat, or in life. Let's instead look at those days as useful in figuring out what we are capable of and what our potential can be. Life is hard, there are no manuals, instructions, or absolutes. We must learn on the go and from training partners, friends, family, and experience. Don't get discouraged by the off days, embrace them and make them part of your growth. If training and fighting were easy everyone would be doing it. The same goes for life, everyone isn't living life because it's not easy, some people are just walking through it. About to head into training and either way it will be a good day. Love you all keep your hands up and never give up your back. Peace and blessings.

Adjust and re-adjust

Oh boy has it been a minute. Glad to be back writing again I missed reaching out to all of you and as the title suggests I've been working towards making adjustments in my skills as well as my life.   The key to being successful in the ring or on the mats is the same in life, the ability to adapt on the fly as the circumstances change.
      In sparring sessions I was beginning to notice that either I was being lazy, my timing was off or everyone I sparred was just getting so much better that one of my best tools, my counter left hook was just no longer a factor. After a series of frustrating goes I began to pick it apart. What I found was a few things, first off it was absolutely laziness as I had become complacent because had used it successfully so many times that I had taken it for granted that it would just land when I threw it. The second thing I realized was I wasn't really willing to be there I was counting on my length and speed instead of proper technique. I found myself leaning away and the punch becoming wide and generally hitting nothing but air. The reason this came to light was because of my lingering shoulder injury. Without the use of my right hand to any great capacity all of my inadequacies with my left hand became obvious. In order to fix this problem I have been basically testing different approaches. Staying in the pocket longer, trying to time my opponents advancing movement, and setting traps to lead them into the hook. I've had some success and some miscues but it's a constant work in progress as it is in life. There is no one right way to deal with adversity in life. Each situation requires an honest interpretation as well as a educated plan of action. Adjusting and adapting to the curveballs life throws at you is not impossible but can definitely be challenging. Trying your best to keep a positive attitude and a vision of how you want those situations to turn out is imperative. I recently spoke to a nephew of mine that gas struggled through some tough times in his life and is about to get a second chance and for me the most valuable thing I could express is one thing I've learned to be true and that is to never quit. People will have plenty to say about what you do both positive and negative but the reality is that it doesn't matter what anyone says if you are persistent and persevering anything is possible. As Nas once said, "The world is yours", never forget that and never give up. It will all pay off in the end. Create small goals and absolutely crush them on your way to realizing your vision. Adjust and re-adjust until you clear the obstacles in your way, anything is possible. Peace and blessings.