Yin vs YangThe Battle for Success in Life

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Life can be very confusing with all the stimulus our mind has to deal with each day. We have bills to pay, family to make happy, work to do, bosses/clients to satisfy, dreams of a better life, and reality standing in our way.

All of this stimulus can really throw a wrench in our ability to prioritize what is really important, and what appears important on a daily basis. There is so much going on that we don’t know what we should focus on. Instead, we try to focus on it all.  Read more... (1172 words, 2 images, estimated 4:41 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Everyone in life has their position. Whether at work, in your own business, in sports, at the dinner table, financially, or even in your personal relationships, their is an element of positioning. When trying to climb the ladder of success, we are inherently trying to improve our position in life, be it at work, or in our bank account.

Accountability

The first step to fighting for a better position in life is similar to a lot of first steps: Accountability. We must understand that what ever position we are in, it is because we settled for that spot. It is not because of any other reason. We decided at some point that this particular position was good enough. It might not have been a conscience decision. You may not have even thought of it that way, but the truth is, at some point, you accepted the position you are in.  Read more... (1557 words, 3 images, estimated 6:14 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Saturday I teach people how to choke other people.

Well, not every Saturday. Many classes have no chokes in them. Instead we work other Jiu Jitsu moves such as positioning, leg locks, arm bars, triangles, escapes, etc. However, many days, my job as an instructor is to teach people the best way to choke their opponents.

This is not just a physical thing. Sure there are sequential steps to properly apply a choke, but mostly, the art of choking someone is a mental battle. There is a certain philosophy to achieve success. It takes focus, faith in yourself, and most of all, patience.  Read more... (794 words, 2 images, estimated 3:11 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

WARNING: The following article will obliterate any and all excuses you have created for why you can not be successful. If you wish to continue to effectively believe these excuses, please skip today’s post.

When I was a kid, I used to be sure that I was going to be rich. When I was in film school, I was sure I was going to be the next big movie director. And today, for the first time in a long time, I am sure of those things again. It’s just a matter of time.

I realized this the other day, before Jiu Jitsu class, while reading the back of a t-shirt. As stupid as that sounds, it is actually true. I’m sitting there stretching between classes and I see this printed on the back of my boy’s t-shirt  Read more... (1086 words, 1 image, estimated 4:21 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

Becoming focused on our goals is the best way to achieve them. We can learn about how to improve that focus from MMA fighters.

For a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter to be great, they must have incredible focus. Not just during the fight, but also in the months leading up to it. Focus is what a fighter gets better at as they gain more experience. The things that were once distractions, like the crowd, making weight, etc., seem to dissipate into thin air as they evolve into a better, more experienced fighter.  Read more... (939 words, 2 images, estimated 3:45 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

Yesterday I went to train Jiu Jitsu at my school. Thank goodness, because in NJ today, there is about 6-7 inches of snow, which means no training tonight. I’m glad I got it in yesterday, as these days, I could use every session I can get to improve. The Sunday open mats at my school are always helpful, as you never know who is going to be there.

Yesterday I was rolling with my good friend, who I got my blue belt with. We are both purple belts now, and have been training for awhile together. He fights, and I have cornered him for all three contests. We rolled for a while, neither quite doing anything spectacular, and no one tapping the other. Then, we kind of came to a strange conclusion: Lately our games have been growing stale.  Read more... (746 words, 1 image, estimated 2:59 mins reading time)

 ….from Reimagine New Media on Vimeo. 

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Friday is Video Day. If the video will not play, click here…

For Video Friday, I wanted to put up something for all the Yin Yang fans that love Jiu Jitsu. I was lucky to get Brian Katz, the Instructor/Owner of Advanced Martial Arts, and current Royler Gracie Brown Belt to agree to do the video. I am working on getting Brian to do this on a regular basis, but we will see.

Brian is going to take you through all the steps to properly apply the Peruvian Neck Tie, and the transition to the Head & Arm Guillotine. It is very detailed and great instruction (I even learned some details myself). So for all you BJJ & MMA practitioners, here is a little treat from Yin Vs Yang.  Read more... (181 words, 0 images, estimated 43 secs reading time)

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

This past Friday, I spent the day in Atlantic City. After a crazy 2 hour ride through the Pine Barrens (literally through them) we finally made it. I was there to corner my friend who I train with, Ricardo Romero. He was fighting for a title shot at Louis Neglia’s Ring of Combat, a professional Mixed Martial Arts Organization, like a smaller UFC.

In fact, I saw UFC fighters Gabriel Gonzaga, Dan Miller, Nick Serra, Pete Sell, Dante Rivera, and a host of others as I always do. Each time we go down, I learn more and more about the sport just from watching the way these professionals handle themself. I am lucky enough to train with someone of Ricardo’s caliber, and it has been a great ride since he walked into our gym.  Read more... (1777 words, 2 images, estimated 7:06 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

Jiu Jitsu is very much like a chess match. In each match, you are constantly positioning yourself to capitalize once all the pieces are in place. However, unlike chess, there is a very brief moment of time that those pieces will be in place. In fact, as you become more and more advanced at Jiu Jitsu, the shorter that window of opportunity becomes.

I can not tell you the countless times in my BJJ career that I have seen a perfect opportunity and failed to react to it. The majority of time is when I am rolling with someone who is better than me. When I am better, I am much more patient, and trusting in my abilities, but when the opposite is true, I tend to not trust my instinct as much because I am expecting to fail.  Read more... (935 words, 2 images, estimated 3:44 mins reading time)

photo credit

Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Monday is personal development through Jiu Jitsu…

Today, it occurred to me that achieving success in life is a lot like setting up a good arm bar. For those that don’t know, an arm bar is a submission attempt in which you use your body to hyperextend the elbow on someone’s arm. In training, and even fights, the person ‘taps’ before their elbow is hyperextended, unless they are rather dumb, which happens from time to time.

Today I was rolling with a lower belt in Jiu Jitsu. He was a stronger person than me, and weighed about 30 pounds more. I was on my knees in his guard (between his closed legs). He was ripping my right arm with all his strength, desperate to kick his leg over my head and apply an arm bar, similar to the guy on his back in the picture below.  Read more... (604 words, 3 images, estimated 2:25 mins reading time)