A Real Estate client asked me yesterday about Martial Arts and I began the usual spiel about how wonderful it was and how much fun I had and then I stopped cold and said “really though, that’s not how it started AT ALL”
With a look back on my previous few decades to get a picture; in the late 80’s a fractured pelvis and femur with a myriad of screws and plates still internally attached; smoked from age 13 to age 39 mostly inhaling cigars; survived on not much more than diet Coke, gas station junk food and very little sleep while building the heating company; you can see I had been abusing my mind and body as men tend to do but anyone can do this Martial Arts thing right? At least that’s what the sign on the door said….
The first day was awful. I can barely remember finishing warm-ups, lying face down in a pool of my sweat not able to get up, lungs on fire, heart racing, limbs numb and thinking “is my life insurance paid up?” My kids, for whom I started martial arts after they insisted I “quit smoking and get healthy before you die” both had six months of martial arts training under their belts before I started and were sitting in the viewing area. Being kids with that near limitless energy and infinite recharge, they laughed and laughed at the puddle of goo that was me lying on the floor, not understanding that I was paralyzed. Nobody can survive this I thought, perhaps if I just lay here everyone will eventually go home and I can sleep it off. They can step over me or if needed on me because I can’t feel my extremities anyway.
With the kids laughing and cheering me on, though I don’t fully remember what they said with all the blood still pulsing through my temples and the blurry vision, I got up. It turns out the warm-up was only 10 minutes long and I realized we had 50 more minutes to go! Oh yes, those darned kids, they know what they are doing I thought, with me out of the way it was clear sailing with cinnamon buns and unlimited TV and no more exercise. Well that’s not going to happen, they would pay, oh yes I was finishing this class and many more…. Six years later Chris and I have both attained Black Belt, Alicia took some time off to deal with illness but is back training and is half-way there as is Johanna whom started much later. Honestly it would have been difficult to have seen the outcome given my first days experience.
With the heating company now gone and no longer a distraction Johanna and I are both concentrating fully on Real Estate plus working out two or three times a week at Infinity Mixed Martial Arts. We would be pleased to help you with Real Estate or to help you get past those first hurdles in a Martial Arts journey. Also if you or your kids have a fundraiser please give us a call to see if Infinity Mixed Martial Arts can participate and help you out.
Give us a call anytime; Johanna 778 549 7972 or Clay 778 809 4662 and have a great day.
