Determined To Succeed

T.G.I.F.! Hey there, everyone and happy Friday! I hope you guys all make it through today to get to a fantastic weekend.

I received a phone call today from my sensei, martial arts and self-defense instructor Doug Shaffer, letting me know my class is being moved to tomorrow. Now, the average person would be like “woohoo, an extra day to rest!” But not me. Moving my class to tomorrow will truly be a challenge for me for two reasons – one, he is incorporating me into an actual mixed martial arts class with others. So there will be the challenge to just keep up and stuff. Two, because it will test my ability to carry his teachings into the gym with me today and give myself a workout. Yes. It will be a test of my own will – er, I mean Bill – power.

So far in my class I have done many things, everything from the tricep dips I love so much to “walking the line” (going up and down the length of the mat doing kicks and boxing – a real workout indeed). We’ve shadowboxed, used the bag and done floor exercises. And at the end of every hour I am sweating, and sweating a lot.

So that is what I am challenging myself with today, being able to do all of those things (well most of them since we do not have a heavy bag in the gym in which I work out) without – repeat WITHOUT – someone standing there saying “O.K., do this” or “now do that.” I will challenge myself to make it an hour. I have to or else there is no point to me doing this. I mean what if, one day, my classes ended. What then? I wouldn’t just stop. I wouldn’t want to stop.  I am trying hard to get my butt (and other parts) into shape and all of this is learning and putting that learning into practice.

Kind of like a Jedi Knight I keep mentioning by the name of Skywalker (Luke, that is. Not whiny boy Anakin). Luke did two things that I always keep thinking about. One, in between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” he kept up with his training. After he left Yoda in “Empire” he continued so he could defeat Jabba, get Han back and prepare for his destiny – to be a Jedi Knight. Two, Luke also put that training to use, both mentally and physically, when it came to facing Darth Vader after Yoda died.

Sorry about that. This geek moment is brought to you by the letters “J” and “K,” and by the number 6.

I guess all of that “Star Wars” talk is just my geeky way of saying I am going to not only build on my teachings so far but also honor my own words from yesterday to make the most of the time I had allotted anyway. Life is short, my friends, and just because our workout buddies or instructors aren’t there doesn’t mean we should slack off. It’s up to us to give ourselves that workout because we are worth it, it makes us better, stronger and makes us live much longer.

So here is to sweat today, my friends, because we all should put forth our very best even, and especially, on Fridays. What better way to earn the weekend ahead.

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