I would be dead
That's how I would feel inside if I didn't train in martial arts. I can't imagine even for a second not doing what I do. Alot of people ask me or even maybe you've had the same question asked to you: "Why do you train so hard" or "How are you able to stick with your training program for so long?" I guess some people think it's unusual to actually follow through and stick with something. Most will jump from one activity to the other and never build any kind of substance in the areas of strength, flexibility, skill and speed. No results can be acquired with the "Grass is greener on the other side" mentality, especially when you're not maximizing what you're doing at the present moment (stretching, strength training, speed training, balance training, martial art training, etc...) . There's a saying my father shares in his seminars that goes like this: "Failure in life is keeping one foot stuck in the future and the other in the past, all the while you're pissing on the most important moment of all: the present." Avoid making the above mistake or else you will never get results no matter which martial art you study, which training program you follow or which fancy equipment you happen to buy. If there isn't a consistent, disciplined, progressive effort given every single workout, the flame for training will extinguish. Consistent, Present moment, Mini-Improvements. That's the secret. Even if it's a centimeter lower in your splits. An extra rep in your push-ups. Holding a strength position for one second longer, 1% less fear in sparring drills. Find something. Remember, adding just one push-up a day consecutively with each passing day for the next year will add up to you being able to do 365 non-stop push-ups in a single session by the end of the year. Conquer haste. Enjoy the journey to mastering yourself, Sifu Martin P.S. There is a system we use to monitor daily improvements, it comes free when you order a copy of our FSD Training Guide. Here's the link. Labels: Attitude, Failure
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Are you growing?
After having gone through our Training Camp this weekend I'm reminded of how unique the experience was. Something everyone should go through at least once in their life. Today I couldn't help but think about something my dad told me a long time ago. "In life you're either Growing or Stagnating." "Climbing or Sliding." "Living or Dying." Which one will it be for you? Are you constantly looking for ways to better yourself. Do you spend money on external/material things or do you invest in your internal/personal development? The quality of what you put IN will determine the quality of what you put OUT. This quote says it best: "Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning."~ Mahatma Gandhi Everyday should be an opportunity to learn and better yourself, our product section contains dozens of ways to do just that. Learn something new here. Are you sliding or climbing? Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Personal Development
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The 4 must-haves for developing skill
I haven't posted in a few days, which is unusual for me but was necessary. We're putting the finishing touches on the training camp. Both our kid's training camp on July 24 th & 25 th and the adult one coming up on Aug. 8, 9, 10. Okay let's get on to today's subject: Skill When you translate Kung-Fu, do you know what it stands for? You guessed it: To learn a special skill. And with time hopefully you master that skill. I've identified 4 must-haves for acquiring it. You must of heard this old saying before: Who is the mother of skill? Repetition Who is the father? Consistency. Who is the son of skill? Determination. Who's the daughter? Desire. I believe if you arm yourself with these 4 elements: repetition, consistency, determination and desire, you cannot fail. You have there the recipe for mastering anything you undertake. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin P.S. Before mastering a skill you have to equip yourself with the right knowledge. Here's a must-have book. Labels: Attitude, Kung-Fu
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Beating the Plateau in your training
Over the years, the one question that is commonly asked by students is: "I feel stuck, how can I make it passed this "plateau"? Good Question.
Let me tell you, I have never experienced one.
Let me explain why.
Although keeping stats on number of reps, and "time" held in a certain strength position, or running under a set time is important, it will only keep you motivated for so long.
If numbers are the only thing keeping you motivated well I'm here to tell you: "You need to change your focus"
The way I keep stats is purely for entertainment. To have a log book I can flip through at the end of the year, to see discipline on paper. I couldn't care less if my numbers are down. I just want to be able to say I did it. I stuck to my plan of training 2, 3 , 4 times a week (whatever that number might be for you) When you shift your focus from beating reps to enjoying the FEELING of training that's the day you couldn't care less if you're in a plateau or not. I enjoy the feeling it gives me, the same feeling it should give you.
You feel cleansed of toxins.
You feel a natural high.
You feel strong and vibrant.
You feel in total control over your mind, body and spirit.
You have a deep sense of accomplishment.
And that's all I need to stay motivated and commited to fitness for life.
Master Yourself,
Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude
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Add 15 pounds of muscle
I got an interesting e-mail the other day. I've said it before, we have some pretty awesome students. Students that don't let past experiences put a hamper on their future. If there's anything you don't like in your life, change it. This student offers the perfect example. --- Dear Sifu Martin, You've been writing me for quite some time and I am honored. During the last Focus on Results seminar in Montreal I was able to break what seemed unbreakable at first, my ARROW. Today I'm participating in a Triathlon and I will complete it because I know I can. I carry a very heavy emotional baggage even though I'm only 15 years old. I've been through a lot. After having been beaten and sexually abused by my father, I felt this emptyness , it just feels like part of him is dead to me. As you can imagine this had an adverse effect on me and my self-esteem. At that time I weighed 220 pounds and standing at 5 foot 5 inches! One morning I decided I had enough, slipped on my running shoes and started running, convinced I could make it and lose 30 pounds. I never stopped running from that day forward and ended up losing 70 pounds. When I lost all that weight I started asking myself: "What else I could do except for Football to continue my evolution, my physical and emotional progression?" One day my brother told me: "Hey they're opening a kung-fu school just up the street from here, we could check it out?" At that time I weighed 150 pounds and that's when I decided to start my Fang Shen Do training. Today marks my 8th month in kung-fu and now weigh 165 pounds, all the weight I gained is purely muscle mass, backed up by better focus and a renewed sense of purpose. I sincerely thank you and your team. I'm infinitely grateful! I have to go win my triathlon now. S ---- Hi S, Incredible. Congratulations. You know there is no age to inspire someone. YOU insprire me. I'm sure that when you started running it was your way of dealing with your problems by running away from them. After having done the training at the last Focus On Results meeting you've learned to face them head on without any fear. Continue your training, all I can promise you is continued growth and self-discovery. We'll make sure you keep setting higher goals for yourself and we'll offer you the support to reach them whatever they may be. Again, you're an inspiration and let me know anything else I can do to help you. Sifu Martin --- We all have our up days and down days. All I need to do is go through my drawer of success stories like this one to get me back on track. If you have a similar success story don't hesitate to send it my way. Until next time, Sifu Martin P.S Speaking of being down, I wanted to release that link to the 500 year old secret training link to you today, just solving a few tech problems and will send it to you tomorrow guaranteed. Labels: Attitude, Direction, Goals
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Live by this Code
I'd like to share with you this quote I received from one of my mentors. It is profound, and if you follow these guidelines they will put you on the right path. -To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. -To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. -To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. -To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. -To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best. -To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. -To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. -To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile. -To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. -To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. Promise yourself these things. ~ Christian Larson Jot these down and place them on your night table or read them aloud when you awake in the morning. See what kind of effect it has on your attitude, your sense of purpose and the way you tackle daily chores and challenges. This is exactly the state of mind you want to be in before starting your daily meditation. Still unsure as to how to meditate? You can get your meditation course right here. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Meditation, Purpose
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Power of Dreams
No matter what your situation is, you can accomplish anything you desire. If you have a DREAM, you can make it a reality. A dream keeps you motivated, it can help you get through a difficult phase of your life because you keep your focus on the big picture. The VISION you have for yourself. I can't help but to think about my father and how he had all the odds stacked up against him. If you didn't have a chance to read his Bio on the web site it's a pretty inspiring story. It confirms what he's been saying for 3 decades: If he can do it so can you. You just need to believe in yourself. What do you want to accomplish? What do you think about most? What's easy for you to do? What doesn't seem like work? Whatever that is THAT'S your dream and you should pursue it. Some people around you might not agree, you might be criticized but you have to be immune to it. No one can control your destiny, only you can. Dreams are contagious. Especially if you're a father or mother, your dreams can inspire your own kids. Just like my father's dreams helped forge mine. Reaching a point where we share the same dreams about martial arts and personal development. One of his dreams of becoming a firewalking trainer influenced mine and now coming this May we're holding a firewalking event in Bruxelles, France May 8 th to the 10 th. My dad would say: "Everything we have in this world is our own doing, you're 100% responsible for it" That can go both ways. If you don't like what you've been getting out of life you can always dream bigger and better ones. I like to believe how you feel inside reflects what you produce on the outside. The first step to feeling good inside is mastering your body. Here's the training system we've been using with great success for the past 35 years. Aim Higher, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Goals, Strength Training
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The secret to always follow through
Whoever or wherever you are you fall in one of these categories. You're either a PROCRASTINATOR. Nothing ever gets started and the time to start something like strength training and physical fitness never seems to be right. You might be a STARTER. Most people are good at starting pretty much anything. Some are actually very good at it. But as soon as it gets challenging, and you realize the secret to physical fitness for example is repetition, consistency and commitment, you "self-sabotage" by finding excuses. You listen to your voice of reason in disguise (you know that voice that tries to sway you away from exercising: It goes something like: "You don't feel like it today", or "You're tired, you should rest". You start missing one day then 3 and before you know it 3 mths go by with an extra 10 pounds around your waist. That same voice comes on again: "Hey, you should start training again". Then the same pattern repeats itself. What can we do to actually FINISH everything we start? How can we become a part of this group, the master FINISHERS. I'll explain to you how, only if you promise to put it to good use. You become a great finisher by understanding what the Japanese call: Shoshin. Translated it means: Beginner's Mind. One who approaches strength training and martial arts with a beginner's mind is fresh, enthusiastic, and open to the various possibilities that lie before you. When you possess a beginner's mind you're not burdened with old habits or thoughts of how things could have been or should have been. It's hard to get bored of your training when everytime you do, you look at it with a new set of eyes. As if experiencing it for the first time with child like optimism. That is the secret to becoming a great finisher. There's always something to learn if you look close enough. If you're always learning you'll always be growing. Transfer this philosophy in everything you do and you too might become a great finisher. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Discipline, Fitness Training, Strength Training
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Talk less - do more
I have the chance to train with my dad every week. He truly is an inspiration. He doesn't make any excuses. He knows what he has to do and he just does it. He can do pretty much what I do and I'm almost 30 years younger. I know most of you are maybe not as lucky as I am to have a father that's in martial arts and started training you from a young age but find someone. Someone you can think of when you're going through a difficult exercise or a challenging time in your life. You ask yourself what would your mentor do in this situation.  You know that scene in Enter the Dragon when Bruce Lee breaks his tea ceremony with the government agent an says: "It's Louse time", and the agent replies: "Yes of course" It's a time where the instructor teaches an important lesson to the student. I get one from my dad every week. I'm working on making those lessons available through several Podcasts which you'll be able to download to your ipod, on your computer or your PSP ("Play Station Portable", just in case you don't know what I'm talking about).  Today was "Black Tongue". One of the reasons people don't succeed in business or reach a high level of physical fitness is exactly that. They have a black tongue. Everything that comes out of their mouth is garbage. They prefer to complain than to train. Things like not doing what you said you would. Being a king or queen of excuses. Preferring to complain about what other people have instead of focusing on what you really want. Concentrating on the problem instead of the solution. Instead of doing the above, talk less - do more. Or make use of your tongue correctly. Use isometric breathing for tough exercises by putting your tongue behind your teeth as you exhale. Connect your tongue to the palate of your mouth to activate blood and chi flow. Use empowering keywords to not give up in a challenging exercise. Say "Thank You" for the special people you have in your life. Reaching a decent level of physical fitness is attainable. You just need to learn to become a self-starter. An action phrase I use all the time in moments of weakness, as quoted from W. Clement Stone is "Do it now". You're sitting on the fence, you want to get started but you don't. Instead, take charge, no more garbage, "Do it now", here's where you need to go. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Discipline, Strength Training
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Getting fit again after cancer
It's e-mails like these that really inspire me to do what I do: Dear Sifu Martin, First, I would like to tell you how much I love my training with you guys. I only train once a week, and I missed a lot of training days due to my health. But what I'll tell you right now is that, in only that little amount of time of training I saw so much improvement in myself. As you know I have been through cancer treatments last year and that is really hard to over come, especially to get fit again. 3 months after my treatments for cancer I tried to pass the PREP test for Policing, but was not able to make it...at all. Now, about 1 month ago I miss the obstacle part only by .16sec. This is really great for me to see how much I improved and that tells me that the next time I go, for sure I'll pass it. With your training and my devotion to follow my dream in becoming part of the Ottawa Police Recruit, I know that I'll make it. Again, thank you for your time and I'll be seeing you all soon. Sylvie C. S.M: Wow Sylvie, it's people like you that give others strength and hope to reach for your fitness goals no matter what the odds. I'm honored and proud of you and may you get your wish. The way we train is a special thing, see what it can do for you here. Until next time. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin P.S Set your mind on something and never, ever give up. If you want to share a special story about training with our program like Sylvie send it my way. Labels: Attitude, Confidence, Fitness Training, Strength Training
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Strength Training not so cool
Only you have control over what you feel, what you want and what you think. Did you ever want to try something new but didn't because you were afraid of how friends, co-workers or family would react? You might want to change how you look, buy a new car, or start your own business but you don't. Some of you might not pursue the goal of physical fitness because of fear of what your friends or family would say. You might be telling yourself that if you suddenly become fit and toned you'll stand out from your circle of friends who are not. God forbid you would want to be different from them. Most won't change a filthy habit because of social pressure.  A big one is to quit smoking. My girlfriend used to be a smoker 8 years ago and actually lost a friend because of it. Weird Huh? I guess some people like to be in a hole and when you decide to climb out of it they take it personnally and they become an A- hole. For me my favourite is when I meet someone from school or an old acquaintance and I ask them: "Hi, what have you been doing?" , and they reply "Oh, F%$#@! All". Well that's just great I say to myself. It's very popular among alot of people to say that, or that doing nothing seems to be cool. Getting drunk every week seems to be cool. Smoking seems to be cool, being 30 and having big pot bellies seems to be cool. A kind of culture that's okay to be a loser. Training and physical fitness seems to be not so cool because it takes a bit of effort. I don't want to be like everybody else. My father taught me a long time ago to zig when people zag or to be a contrarian. If people are going one way I go the other way. I just know one thing: I want to feel good. If you have a physical fitness goal, go for it. Let no one steal your motivation. Be smart, tell no one about it and if people start noticing changes in you just say:" That's funny I haven't been doing anything special lately?" Some things you share and others you keep for yourself. Let me let you in on a little secret, our strength training kits give you the tools you need to make that fitness goal a reality. I'm with you on this, pick up your strength training kit right here. Get out of the hole, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Fitness Training, Strength Training
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Smiling in the face of Adversity
You've heard me talk about my flat tire stories. Well guess what, one more last night! This is number 6 for me. As I was driving back from my mother's birthday supper, it happened. This is really testing my patience, but as the saying goes: "If Life throws you lemons, you turn them in lemonade". What kind of lemons is Life throwing at you? You might be going through a divorce, sustained an injury that has put a hamper on your training, loss of work, death in the family, an unforeseen mechanical problem on your car (my favourite), poor investment returns, and on and on we go. Whether you like it or not, my mother would say: "This too shall pass" I also like this quote by Frank A. Clark: "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. " We've had our share of set-backs, challenges and criticism over the years and for them we are thankful. You become very resilient and creative as well as strong and un-shakeable. You learn from every experience. That's why experience is so valuable. It shows you've been there, you've made mistakes and recovered, you've faced adversity and succeeded. You should have a rule: you will not learn from anyone who hasn't been there. Let's take strength training for example. There are many places you can go to learn about it. But... How many people can say they've tested their training philosophies for the past 30 years and experimented what worked and what didn't on thousands of students. Saving you the time and money to do this on your own. How much would it of cost you to keep a center open for 30 years, trained over 25,000 test subjects and monitored their results, targeted every kind of person: big, small, tall, short, young, old, weak, strong, to know how they responded to the training, spent countless hours doing the training yourself to see which exercises would yield the fastest results. How much? 100 thousand, 50 thousand, 25 thousand. It's priceless. When you buy our strength training kits, that's what you're buying, all that time and experience, all that testing of what works, the trials and errors, all that for 79 $ bucks. This is what I love about modeling. Instead of doing all the work you let somebody else do it for you. And this what we've done. I don't think you want to go through what we've been through to bring you this information. Do it the smart way, your tried and true strength training kit is waiting for you right here. Adversity? Bring it on, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Fang Shen Do, Perseverance
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Perfection vs Excellence
I just fell on a disturbing statistic. Over 1 million people worldwide commit suicide annually. It's hard to understand why someone would do that. As Sijo has taught me: Life is everything, Death is nothing. Nothing will ever be "just perfect" in your life. I do not seek perfection only excellence in everything I do. One of the best ways to beat depression is by Strength Training. Sometimes it's not even depression it's plain ol' boredom. Most people live a very monotonous life. Same routine every day, never trying anything new. That's why our martial art training is such a breath of fresh air. You never know what to expect. The workouts are always different, the concepts and techniques vary from class to class, you're forced to fight your biggest adversary: Yourself. You discover some of your weaknesses and work towards turning them into strengths. You learn to face fears and overcome them. Since we're so strong on personal development in Fang Shen Do, you the student, has the choice to face fears of heights, fire, public speaking, sparring, glass walking, and arrow breaking. Such was the way hundreds and thousands of years ago. To use your martial art training to reach a level of confidence, awareness, peace, and mastery over your mind and body. Remember not all martial art schools are the same. Some focus purely on the physical. That might be fine for awhile but you will reach a point in your life where you need more than just the physical aspect of martial art training to feel it's worth pursuing. Get involved in a martial art that has much to offer. You can try us out for 30 days, no strings attached. Claim your VIP Pass here. It's FREE. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Fang Shen Do, Mastery
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Are you ready for action?
If you're like most. No. Some people will never change. They are stuck in their ways, repeating the same destructive behaviour for years before realizing they need help. For some, sometimes it's too late. Habits are hard to break, if you don't change your way of thinking. Sometimes it just doesn't "hurt enough", therefore we tolerate it until we get fed up and do something about it. But most never make it to the fed up stage. Smoking one cigarette a day doesn't hurt anyone. Then one cigarette eventually becomes 1 pack and 1 pack becomes 3 and so on. Until you get "emphysema". Then you're really motivated to change your ways, aren't you? Why wait to get to that point to break the habit? Maybe it's pushing to tomorrow what could of been done today? Maybe it's always putting work before family? If you take a minute to think about it, you'll find at least one thing that needs to be worked on. It takes 21 days to break or implement a new habit. Let's take the habit of Daily Exercise. To some, exercise is a scary word. To most, exercise means work and work means pain. When you think about it, pain is only a signal passing through the nervous system. What if we could "dim" that signal to eventually block it completely? The first thing you should do is incorporate fitness training in your daily routine. For example, when you wake up in the morning before going to the bathroom you pump out 10 Squats. Then as you're brushing your teeth with your opposite hand, you hold your balance on one foot. After that you do 10 push-ups. And so on. This way you don't realize you're exercising, you're playing a trick on your mind. If you need any other ideas of "what to do" during your day, pick up a strength training kit here in case, as I suspect, you find yourself deviating from your goals this year. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Attitude, Fitness Training
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Body says NO but it means YES
Something I've realized over the years is when I don't feel like training and actually work up the will to train, that training is the best one I ever had. Strange Huh? Kinda like my body was saying NO but it really meant YES. Whenever I get that: "I dont feel like training today" feeling, I realize I must of done something wrong the day before. I figure my body is giving me a warning sign. Maybe I didn't eat right the day before, maybe I slept too much, or perhaps I didn't sleep enough, it might be stress or lack of sunlight. Something. So make sure to act on that message and go do something physical. Drop some cards down and put in a great workout. The easiest way is to get your very own strength training kit. They're loaded with various exercises and they take out any downtime thinking of what you'll actually "do" exercise wise. Pick one up right here, Aim Higher, Sifu Martin P.S. Remember what I talked about before: Strong are they who force their thoughts to control their actions. A negative thought must be turned in a positive one with great haste or surrender to the art of vegetation. Labels: Attitude, Discipline, Follow Through, Strength Training
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