Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese word which has no corresponding meaning in English. Basically it means constant never ending improvement. Often people initially are sceptical about my teachings but they do not appreciate that in my seminars I often get people practicing techniques and methods that would normally be considered advanced in many styles. After just a couple of hours with me to see the measurable confidence and ability is a living testament to both my ability as a teacher and the methods that I practice.

Indomitable Mind Body Academy’s methods involve focussing on one specific area of expertise and gradually building up on it in both skill and confidence at a steady pace and making key distinctions unique to my style of training. As an instructor I have worked with many different individuals and just from experience am able to enter a room full of people from any walk of life and am able to reach and dramatically improve their ability in a single session.

A lot of it has to do with starting with a basic principle such as the 360 defence or the plucking motion or the control and redirect and building up on it producing gradual but profound improvement. Some of it also has to do with psychology and reprogramming negative associations with aggression culturally conditioned into us by society. What I do tell my students is to train and look at ways to build up on the skills learnt bit by bit so that the growth is organic like that of the tree.

I have been accused of sounding evangelical in my approach but you only have to look at nature and the awe-inspiring beauty of the Grand Canyon produced by years of gradual and constant change to see where I get my inspiration from. To truly succeed in martial arts you need to learn to continuously build confidence, think better and believe in yourself and your techniques. You would not just go to the gym once and think; ‘Now I can kick back because I have a great body.’ Training regularly, eating the right foods, nourishing your thought with inspiring ideas; consistency is the key.

Sometimes just having the expression of freedom in how we condition and use our bodies can have a profound effect in our life quality. Think of a shackled slave disguising his deadly foot skills in a tribal dance or a refugee practising hand to hand skills in a prison camp. What we see is not a hapless victim of circumstance but rather a testament to the freedom of human expression in the use of the body and mind. Now look at all the people who do not train, who do not have that discipline to dedicate a few hours of quality time to work on their cardio, agility, power and technique; trapped in carving out a living rather than growing physically, mentally and spiritually. Not to grow and take action; not to look for that next level of improvement; to stagnate is to die both on a personal and business level.