THE RED CORNER

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

WEEK OF DECEMBER 2nd, 2024

 

Happy Monday Team!

Hope everyone had a safe, fun, and stress free Thanksgiving weekend!  And big shoutout to the crew that showed up Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to keep their momentum in check.

To be frank, the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year is the “dead zone” for martial arts.  So many people find excuses to take their foot off the gas pedal.  That isn’t to say that these excuses aren’t good — there are tons of social and family obligations in the coming weeks, and it’s extremely easy to just punt our responsibilities to the new year.

October marked my 20th year of training, and as we move into the Holiday season this is also my 20th time observing how people’s habits change.

By all means, go to the holiday party.  Go to the family gathering.  Have fun.  Be Merry!

However, make time for yourself.  Momentum is so easy to lose but so hard to gain.  It is likely that you may have to take your foot off the gas pedal a little bit this month, but don’t let that be an excuse to take it off completely.

We, as humans, are very good at self deception and giving ourselves a “break” can easily spiral into breaking off completely.

Now, nobody is obligated to train for the rest of their lives, but as a coach I want to say this: if training is important to you, if it adds value to your life and gives you a sense of health, confidence, purpose, and beyond, then prioritize it.  What we often take for granted — our health, our edge, our toughness — is not permanent.  It requires upkeep and attention.  So make sure to give it the attention it deserves.

I’ll follow up in a week or two with our Christmas and New Year’s schedule, but until then it’s business as usual on the training floor!

Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately, depending on where you are in your progress) the United Grappling Arts in-house tournament has been punted to January.  So, currently, no events or competitions scheduled for this month.

 

See you on the mats!

–Coach Jackson

You can find this week’s Monday Mindset HERE

You can find this week’s Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge HERE