Blog
A Rag Doll May be Just What you Need
You see it and hear quite often such as a team having home advantage or a boxer fighting on his home turf with most of the crowd cheering him on. What about a football team on a 
winning streak because they have one of the best coaches, and a couple of good strong players; and a police officer in full uniform has better control of persons and situations than a plain clothes officer. These are examples of psychological leverage.
There are other forms of psychological leverage. Whenever I can’t solve a problem or find an answer to a question I will often talk to someone about it hoping they can help me. Amazingly, I usually find the answer or solution myself just by discussing it with someone. The process of explaining it, in such a way to get an answer, is what does it. Get yourself a rag doll if nobody’s willing to listen to you!!!
If you’ve had any experience exercising with weights you usually seem to lift a lot more when somebody spots you ie slightly holding onto the weight bar. Nine times out of ten, you end up doing the lift yourself, only because you believed you were getting help. It wouldn’t ordinarily happen if the spotter wasn't there.
Psychological leverage is quite ubiquitous at tournaments based on reputation, rank, size and demeanor. How does one overcome a situation if you come up against someone with that type of leverage? I remember coming up against the Australian Karate Champion in the early ‘80’s and this guy had a bad reputation because he would take your head off if you upset him or he didn’t like you. In this situation I just took a very relaxed approach. He gave me the dirtiest look when we were at the starting lines. I just threw him a friendly gesture only because I was worried what he might do to me.
The fight started and I scored the first point (there was hard sparring in the early days). Then he scored one on me. The bout kept going and it was getting really rough until the referee had to intervene a number of times and you can see the really angry look on his face. I just patted him on the shoulder as he walked back to his line which seemd to passify him and I acknowledged some of the points he scored on me by nodding my head. The scored reached 5 even. I was pretty sure I scored more than he did but I think the referees didn’t want to see him lose the fight. I was more worried he was going to take my head off. He got the last score in which declared him a winner. He ran and picked me up with a big hug. I wonder whether he would’ve done the same if he lost. Everybody applauded because it was the best bout of the day. What I learned that day was relaxation gave me confidence. I was truly amazed with myself that I had almost beaten somebody who appeared to have it all over me. From then on, I found competition easier because I had psychological leverage over others.
Don't ask me where to find these rag dolls!
GA
WARNING – to Easily Bored Readers
An Instructor has to be many of these things to some extent or more. They include mentor, teacher, coach, leader, manager, supervisor, first aider, public speaker, accountant, counselor, 
office administrator, website administrator, philosopher, (bored readers, Alt F4 now), decision maker, problem solver, examiner, staff trainer, time manager, staff supervisor, motivator, networker, social worker, social organizer, consultant, observer, time manager, equipment vendor, equipment trader, programme organizer, assessor, businessman, communicator, promoter, secretary, interviewer, reporter, school news publisher, receptionist – and not necessarily in that order.
An Instructor is expected to be skillful, likeable, approachable, interesting, well mannered, believable, credible, creative, analytical, helpful, compassionate, polite, eager, patient optimistic, ethical, efficient, enthusiastic, personable, presentable, computer literate, knowledgeable, caring, charismatic, energetic, intelligent, vibrant, reliable, dedicated, kind, considerate, understanding, dependable, responsible, resourceful, informative, innovative, healthy, updated, fit (don't tell me there's more because nobody's going to hand out a free set of steak knives).
Now the word’s out, I may have just killed 10,000 people's dreams of taking up martial arts instruction. It takes years to acquire many of these things which starts the moment you walk in front of a class.
I can’t tell you how nice it is when I sit in the class as a student. It’s relatively easy work, just turn up and wait for instructions.
GA
The Challenge – It’s on Again!
The martial arts is not just about what happens in the school but what happens outside the school . So the challenge is on again! Richard called me, ‘this is the challenge to end all challenges, so you better get yourself in shape, Adams', and hanged up. We're both recovering well from our injuries so there are no more excuses. The last challenge, which left me in several pieces on the ground was not enough for Richard, because he says that I keep getting up and coming back for more!
Richard's now spending a lot of time in the gym (he must be worried). In fact, he called me, the other day, about this 'never seen before' high tech weight machine from Europe he's been working out with and that I better give it up (the challenge). I said, ‘you’re going to need all the help you can get, Mr Norton’.
This got me thinking. What is it about challenges? It’s really all about the journey, not the destination (nice cliché). When I took up training BJJ three years ago it was time for another challenge – this has got to be the mid life crisis of martial arts. At first, you see just a couple of guys rolling around on the mats trying to tear their heads off. Eventually you realise how deep and meaningful it really is. Is it complicated? I prefer the word, challenging.
I'm now approaching 35 years in the martial arts. I despise how people say they have been in the game for so long, by counting their toddler years, 15 years break in between and their school hopping years (never really getting good at anything) My BJJ training is relatively new but few people would do what I do because my approach is different to that of a student. I now have over 420 hours experience on the mats which includes instruction from the very best, Richard Norton, John Will, Steve Perceval and Rob Naumoski. Not to mention seminars with Rigan Machado, Paulo Guimaraes and teaching my students in Sydney, Canberra and Qld. This has been a great boost for my confidence since my accident in 2002.
I remember, John Will, showing an MMA takedown which he improved as result of caressing his knee after surgery. Well, that now has just opened up a new ball game for me. With my injuries, that is going to put John out of business! I have to find ways to make things happen which actually end up improving the techniques. One of my senior Black Belts, Dr Chris, showed me his way of doing a Standing Guard Pass which is so easy to do and minimises potential back strain; that come about of necessity because of his back concerns.
Getting back on our feet, the BJJ would not be much use to us without the stand-up training. A bit like a sprinter who can't swim. So I am very consciouss of my grass roots before getting on my knees.
Back to the Challenge – I know what the prize is and Mr Norton can have it!
GA