I Suck and You Can Too

This is me after my 3 mile tire run yesterday morning.

Earlier this month I tried and failed to beat my 2016 personal record at the calisthenics nightmare called Self-Destruct Sequence.

But that’s not the point.  

After that, two friends of mine, Scott and Leo, completed it for the first time with very respectable times.  Several others beat the pants off me, namely James, Robert and Arman (who got it done in a blistering 23:59).  Then, over the weekend, world famous coach Mark Hatmaker smashed all of us with a superhuman 21:05 (read all about it here).

Lots of people out-performed me.  That’s the not the point.

The point is that I inspired and connected with some of the coolest, most determined guys around. 

Yesterday morning I completed a 3 mile tire run in under 40 minutes.  Why?  Because it’s one of the achievements in the Cabal Fang Cord and Rule Program.  And because, although I did it a couple of years ago, I haven’t done it lately and I said I was starting over.

For those who like stats, my time was 36:21 and I used a Hankook 205/65R16 weighing in at almost exactly 20 lbs.  But that’s not the point.

The point is that you can go pick up that tire and go give it a try.  And together we can inspire each other, and everyone around us, to get stronger.

There was a time when I was 80 lbs overweight, when I struggled to keep minimum wage jobs, couldn’t manage my finances, couldn’t keep a marriage together, couldn’t control my own behavior much less raise a child, and couldn’t keep a friend if my life depended on it.  On top of all that, I was spiritually unfulfilled and depressed most of the time.

Martial arts helped me turn things around. 

Everything I learned from doing things wrong, and all the martial arts lessons I’ve picked up over the last 30+ years, are embedded in Cabal Fang.

Nowadays I’m fairly fit, financially stable, mostly reliable, and reasonably well behaved.  I’ve been happily married for 20+ years,  have lots of fantastic friends, and I’m enrolled in seminary.  But my personal improvement isn’t the point.

The point is that you can get stronger, happier and more successful — probably even stronger, happier and more successful than me.