Hey family! 🙂 This week I want to talk to you about changing your mental state because to be honest it’s everything.
Believe it or not how you feel from moment to moment simply comes down to what you allow into your mind. The way I like to get my day started to have a positive mental state is to crank up music that makes me feel good. Jamie and I do this throughout the day while we are working on Enter Shaolin. It’s fun!
Another thing that keeps us in check is exercise. As a martial artist it’s essential that we exercise. A little bit of exercise everyday goes along way to feeling better which in turn help you to have a better mental state.
The good news is you don’t have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger strong or have the endurance of Lance Armstrong to be an amazing martial artist. You simply have to be consistent to your training.
The key to a healthy mental state and living healthy is simply movement. Walking, doing your Tai Chi, Qigong, dancing, yoga, biking, etc. all lead to a healthier happier life. In short find things that you enjoy that get your body moving, so you have no excuses!
At the end of the day we don’t just train in Kung Fu to defend ourselves and our families. We live Kung Fu as everything we do is Kung Fu. It is integrated into every fiber of our beings.
Here is a clip from The Karate Kid 2010, which depicts exactly what I mean:
I challenge you this week to check yourself first thing in the morning. Are you tired? Sad? Angry? Or in anyway feeling negative and defeated? If you are, I want you to go to YouTube find your favorite music that you know all the words to and dance and sing your head off for 5 minutes.
Then I want you to stretch anyway you want to for another 2 minutes.
If you are into motivational content, listen to your favorite motivation speaker while you shower and get ready for the day. Some of our favs are Les Brown, Dani Johnson, Zig Ziglar and Tony Robbins. Do this everyday this upcoming week and then let us know how you feel.
If you are feeling really spunky, bust out some Qigong too!
To recap: I am asking you to take 7 minutes out of your life in the morning and focus on YOU loving yourself. If you add in the extra stuff, you will be investing 30-45 minutes of putting good stuff into you, and most of that time you are utilizing anyways, just maybe not in the most productive way possible.
Extra Tip: Commute to work? Listen to things that uplift you and inspire you, that stretch you and grow. Utilize your time wisely.
Here’s What We Have Been Doing Online This Week…
This week I had Jamie practicing her Tai Chi Push hands with one of our local family members Sensei David Melker. Push hands teaches you to feel a persons intentions. Generally speaking there are 3 ranges of engagement.
Hands and feet range, close quarter/clinching range and ground/grappling range. Push hands really helps you learn how to feel through close quarter/clinching range.
Practicing push hands #Taichi #pushhands #kungfu #martialarts #sensitivity #energy #qi #chi pic.twitter.com/S0aBs3l65j
— Enter Shaolin (@EnterShaolin) April 8, 2016
Besides learning Tai Chi for fighting purposes, the act of just performing the form yields amazing benefits both physically and mentally. Tai Chi really is the Great Ultimate!
We also had Sifu Phu do a quick technique. In this technique Sifu does a leg takedown followed by a ankle break. Can we say OUCH!?!
Enter Shaolin Quick Tip: Leg takedown with an ankle break #Kungfu #takedown #martialarts pic.twitter.com/vpaDZn3uYH
— Enter Shaolin (@EnterShaolin) April 6, 2016
Let me just say that the fall wasn’t that bad, but that ankle break is painful as hell. Thankfully he didn’t actually break my ankle! 😉
Finally Jamie shared some of her Kung Fu journey with you this week. There’s some great lessons and laughter, so be sure to check it out. Here is an awesome quote Jamie came up with that was inspired by this week.
The more you flow through the journey with ease, the easier the journey will will flow – Jamie Pelaez
To check out her post, if you haven’t already, go here:My Kung Fu Journey | Flow Drills To Help Develop Your Hands Game
Now on to your training…
Here’s Your New Enter Shaolin Training:
Tai Chi
Wing Chun
Exclusive Abbot Training
Happy Training,
Sifu Larry Rivera
& The Enter Shaolin Family
P: 1-844-9-KUNGFU
(1-844-958-6438)
Man just realized, that Jackie Chan clip talks about the drive or 3PROOF. Mind = Blown.
Right, I love it when you can see a different take on an idea.