“Awards don’t define you. Your actions define you.” - Marcus Luttrell
I attended the Martial Arts Supershow (MAS)in Vegas in July. The MAS is a gathering of martial arts teachers where you can get new ideas and meet colleagues. I always become re-energized and recommitted to becoming a better martial arts instructor when I attend. I love the speakers – not just martial artists – but industry leaders that exemplify success.
The main speaker this year was Victor Antonio, a well-known sales motivational speaker. I enjoyed his presentation very much and he was tasked with introducing the 2014 recipient of the lifetime achievement award. The intro included a movie clip of recipient's mom, a tough Texas gal who spoke of taking her twin sons to karate and how THAT, along with them both joining the seal teams, helped them become the men they are today.
The recipient was Marcus Luttrell whose amazing story was recounted in the book and movie Lone Survivor. His patrol was found in the mountains while on a mission and a battle ensued. After sustaining several major life threatening injuries, Mr. Luttrell was taken in by villagers and a successful rescue occurred. His will to survive and patriotism are heroic.
Mr. Luttrell did not talk about his experience in Afghanistan; instead he talked about his mom and his upbringing. He talked about how his mother valued discipline and signed him up for karate to instill those qualities. He admitted that there were plenty of days he did not want to go…but she persevered and took them. Sound familiar?
Mr. Luttrell said "Respect is earned through discipline". What a profound statement! It's not that respect is earned through accomplishing some great feat or receiving recognition. It's the day-to-day, repeated actions that make small changes in us that over time help us become something more - hopefully something more capable and more able to handle the things that the world might throw at us.
We often set our sights on goals that are meaningful and lofty. We might not realize that the day-to-day process of moving toward those goals IS affecting changes in our lives that ultimately make us happy and fulfilled. We might even be happier than simply attaining the goal would have made us! This is one reason for enjoying the journey in all things that we do, not just martial arts, but also everything we experience in life!
Mr. Luttrell also said “Awards don't define you. Your actions define you.” This can apply in so many ways to our lives and to our martial arts training. Mr. Luttrell was an inspiration to me and I am grateful to have had this experience to hear from him.
In martial arts, if we work hard toward earning that belt which might be our short-term or even long-term goal, we become the martial artist that would deserve to wear that belt. This is poignant for me as I think about my family and how we have raised our boys. We desired to teach them to appreciate hard work and enjoy the rewards that come from hard work. We taught them to be suspicious of short cuts from hard work. I think that is an attitude that we can and should cultivate all of our young students. It is easy to see the ultimate benefits of being a hard worker: life enjoyment, confidence and success in all areas of their lives.
I am grateful to be involved in each our student’s lives and martial arts journey. I appreciate your trust and take my responsibility seriously. I look forward to seeing our hard-working, sweaty and smiling faces each class. I can see the reward of pushing them…maybe not every day but looking ahead, the payoff will be huge!
Train Strong!
-Sigung Kelly
