Most people think they sacrifice, when in fact they do not. They confuse sacrifice with obligation and duty. You think you sacrifice because you go to work or school everyday. The fact is you have to go to work or else you wouldn't have the means for food and shelter. Sacrifice comes from beyond your normal, everyday routine. Sacrifice involves something extraordinary. Like the saying goes, if it were easy everyone would do it.
Sacrifice is ALWAYS simple but NEVER easy. When I was in college my wrestling coach Thad Turner said, "Rossi (he put an "i" on the end of my name because he knew I was Italian), Rossi, you don't have to be a great athlete to be in shape, you just have to do it." This was after I came in after 8 weeks off a little to big for my weight class.
He was right. Being in shape only requires one thing: SACRIFICE. Seriously, if you just went out and ran or walked 5 to 10 miles a day you would be in far better shape than if I didn't. Sure there are better and more scientific ways to get into shape, but you don't need a PhD.
The same can be said for Self Defense. All you need to do is sacrifice some time in front of the TV or at the bar. Sacrifice something that you know will not be missed.
The trick is just to schedule it in your day. At this time I have 45 minutes of the Self Defense Training System. Then I can go do whatever else I need to do. Mark my words in a few weeks you will dread missing your work outs. Plus, after you master the SDTS you can replace it with whatever physical training you should be doing. If you miss a day...no BIG DEAL. I miss days all the time. Just don't miss two or three in a row. Then you have an issue. Schedule at least 1 to 2 days off per week as well and take 1 week every 8 to 12 weeks OFF.
After a while something else incredible starts to happen; you begin to enjoy the down time. The time with the family is more pleasurable, the night out with friends is that much more fun. Those times you took for granted are what they should be: ENJOYABLE and something to look forward to. Something also happens to you...you're in a better mood and people actually like being around you more.
Life is about the sweet and the sour. You can't appreciate one without the other. How would you know what sweet tasted like without sour to compare it to? Making weight (the act of dieting in order to be a specific body weight for a competition)is a fantastic example. Nothing makes you appreciate food beyond the scope of normal comprehension than restricting your diet to that of a super model and increasing your exercise to that of a Spartan.
Have you ever seen and in season wrestler eat just one M&M? The rest of the world would pop 'em in their mouths without a second thought. As for me I knew this was M&Ms were few and far between...especially peanut! Bet your last dime I made the puppy last for 15 minutes. I'd hold it, stare at it, examine it, "Hey, looks like they missed part of the "M"". Then I would take it in my mouth and hold it there. I wanted to make sure I could taste all the hard shell candy goodness the good folks at M&M Mars had to offer. Then before the candy shell melted away, right about the time it still had it's last bit of crunch, I'd gently bite down and pierce the soft chocolate center and dislocate the peanut into two halves. Slowly I would chew until only the bitter sweet after taste of candy, chocolate and peanut remained. No water will touch these lips for an hour.
Yes, sacrifice makes you appreciate the things most people take for granted. After EVERY work out. The colors seem brighter, the air smells crisper and you have just a little more tolerance than before. Sacrifice is what makes life worth living. Nothing worth anything comes without sacrifice. Love and happiness are to be won and earned not given.
Regret on the other hand is a cold-hearted son of a bitch. Regret reminds you of all things lost, It makes you bitter and angry. Regret turns your soul black. Regret reminds us the end is soon approaching, regret is death. Regret can kiss my ass.
Regret and fear go hand in hand. Fear is regret's best friend. Fear is the tool regret uses to keep you in your place. It tells you you're too old, too fat and too slow. It tells you you will be a failure and look ridiculous. Fear is a douche bag. Fuck fear. I make fear my bitch. Fear pays me $2 to cut my lawn.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to go out and do something that will get me killed or injured for the sake of giving fear the finger. Sacrificing your life for something where the end result isn't worth the risk is flat out stupid. Bungee jumping for example. In theory it looks like a lot of fun. In reality some guy who obviously smokes a lot of pot is going to guess my weight and push me off of a bridge...sorry, don't think so.
Train Honestly, Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company
Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.
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