Life Lessons from a Black Belt in Jiu Jitsu

Posted by Peter James | Posted in Balanced Life, Mixed Martial Arts Development | Posted on 07-10-2008

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

For those of you who don’t know me, I am currently a purple belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu. I have been training for over 4 years and I can safely say Jiu Jitsu has changed my life for the better. I have not only become a better Martial artist, but I have become a 1000x better person as well. Jiu Jitsu is a martial art which naturally permeates throughout the rest of your life.

This is because Jiu Jitsu takes persistence, patience, and perseverance to be successful at, just like anything else in life.  Even getting just my purple belt is probably one of the accomplishments I am most proud of in my young life. However, if you don’t train Jiu Jitsu, then you probably don’t understand why. Lucky for you, that’s what I’m here to explain. ;)

The Extreme Benefit of Being An Extremist.

Posted by Peter James | Posted in Balanced Life, Learning Off Experience | Posted on 06-10-2008

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Going to extremes is what life is all about.

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

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain’t no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It’s all or nothing at all
Darling I don’t know why I got to extremes
” -Billy Joel: ‘I Go To Extremes’

For whatever reason, I have always been someone who could not walk away from a challenge. My wife even uses this to her advantage by dropping her tangled jewelry in front of me and watching as I grumble incoherently for however long it takes to untangle. She knows I can’t stop until it is done, even if I want to.

It’s how I’ve always been since I can remember. Growing up, if you told me not to do something, all I heard was…