House of Wolves Episode Five - Combat Sports

You should be a monster, an absolute monster, and then you should learn how to control it. There's an intensity to what we're trying to accomplish, and, um, you know, if you want to be truly great, you've got to bring it every day.

Do you enjoy pain? Pain don't hurt.

You blitz all night. Standing out is a long-term strategy, takes guts, and produces results. If you care enough about your work to be willing to be criticized for it, then you have done A good day's work.

So here we are again.

Good morning, or a good day, or whenever you're listening.

Hello. I think this time around we're going to be talking about our experiences with fighting, why we fight. Yes. And I feel like what kind of fighting we're doing. In Starship Troopers, the— I think he's the sergeant or maybe lieutenant— he says, I only have two rules: everybody fights Nobody gives up. And I was like, oh, so I've kind of adopted those two rules. We have other rules in our family too for our 6-year-old and the 2-year-old, but you can imagine the 6-year-old and the 2-year-old standing in attention, and then I'm going back and forth, up and down our short little line because there's only two of them, telling them that we only have two rules: everybody fights, nobody gives up.

And in the meantime, he goes to his office to start writing, and then the kids are fighting each other, trying to make peace in the house.

But those are not the only rules we have, but I think two of the rules.

Well, I think that there's a purpose for the fighting. So we're not talking fighting like Jonathan and I, mom and dad fighting necessarily. We're talking, uh, physical combat. And, uh, yeah, that's a real thing. I think a lot of people will be a little bit surprised to hear it, but, um, yeah. So I've been doing karate for about almost two years. About a year and a half. Our daughter has been doing karate for almost 2 years, and, um, Jonathan has a history of doing various martial arts as well. And I'll let you expand on that.

Someone say history of violence.

I would say history of violence. I am the son.

That's a movie.

I know it is. Oh, okay. Yeah, some would say— I'm saying, I'm saying, and yes, it was Viggo Mortensen.

I wonder what he's doing. I wonder if he'd be in one of our our TV shows.

Not yet. One day, maybe. One day.

The worst he could say is no. So Vigo, if you're listening, you'd like to be in a space western, Aragorn, or an urban fantasy, we have some things in the works, or whatever you want. Or whatever you want. I'll write a script with whatever you want.

Yeah, this is beyond whatever you want.

Uh, so yeah, so I guess my history goes back to way back in the day before Brazilian jiu-jitsu was called BJJ and everybody seems was taking it and talking about BJJ way back in the day, I was doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu. So I did it for a few years in between when I was 15 to 17. It's like 2 to 3 years in that period, uh, so that would have been a long time ago.

Yeah, nobody cares about the year.

Yeah, a long time ago when I was like 15, 16, 17. So I did Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and then after that did like a tiny— a little bit of like boxing, got knocked out. Then did like a little bit— like I took, uh, like 1 or 2 karate classes when I was even younger than that, younger than 15. Um, and I think that's it as far as organized, uh, combat.

This fight club considered organized, or is that unorganized?

Well, when I was in college, we had a fight club in college where we would meet at night on the field and there was a chain link fence, like a quarter of a chain link fence.

Wait, is this a real story?

Yes, quarter of a chain link fence. So we kind of had like, you know, a corner to fight in and the only rules that we had was no hits to the face. So no hits to the face, but pretty much like ground and pound, body shots, kicks, all that kind of stuff went. So that was in college, that was unorganized. But it was fun. I think it's good for guys to get out some aggression. I feel like a lot of people might not realize what they're dealing with, as far as for me personally, uh, but being a guy, I feel like I've had a lot of get up and go, a lot of energy, and now I realize that's a good thing if it's channeled into appropriate and correct courses. So now I understand so much more now. So when my son, who's 2, as he grows up, like, all that aggression and all that, you know, get up and go and that drive, and as he gets older, when he gets older, the testosterone, all that stuff is great. We're going to channel it and put it into things that he's interested in and that will be good for him, like martial arts. So I think one of the rules that we're going to have in our family is that it doesn't matter what martial arts you do, whether it's karate or Brazilian jiu-jitsu or even like boxing and stuff like that, as long as you're doing something because it's, again, it's only, it's only going to benefit you. It's exercise, it's a discipline, it's teaching you, uh, self-control, learn about your body, learn how to defend yourself. Like, so many benefits.

Oh goodness, there's so many things. I'm sure I can— no pad to unpack there. So, um, you're doing boxing now?

So you— yes, that was my past, what I did do. And then Jennifer and Josephine started taking karate lessons And then they kind of inspired me like, hey, it's time for me to get back into taking some sort of martial arts or combat training. So I've been doing boxing now for just over a year. I started initially because I played a role in our TV show Infinity System. So I wanted to tighten up, lose the love handles, lose the muffin top if you would, and get down maybe like another 10 pounds. So initially I did that and I've just stuck with it over the last year. And for sure I would at least want to do it, I think, for 2 full years. I think 2 years of being committed and showing up every week will give me a solid foundation of boxing. And then from there, maybe I continue boxing. Maybe from there I try different martial arts. Yes.

The other thing is just talking about there is an innate, I don't want to call it a spirit, but a drive. Within humans to be physical. And what that physicality comes out as, we could either continue to encourage it into a healthy channel because it is part of, you know, who we are. Or I have seen that by lifestyle choices, but I mean like sitting down, not having like a testosterone-friendly diet, or that kind of stuff, that's presses them. And I think that's kind of might create some conflict in people, either like the lashing out or, you know, the depression and other things, because there's sort of like a struggle internally. And I know people might be like, oh, that's very woo-woo. But I mean, physiologically, if you look at the hormones and you look at nerves and you just look at the physical aspects of our internal workings, like that is something that is very real. And scientists, researchers, and specialists are finding out more and more about that. So, and so rather than trying to squash it, but encourage it or nurture it in a healthy way is a good, is a really good thing. And I think it benefits people. And if we, as we began to look at many CEOs, successful people, entrepreneurs, we took a look at their daily routines, we took a look at their lifestyles to see like, what are some of the things that they have in common? And I think like Tim, Timothy Ferriss on his podcast, he, um, uh, is it Tribe of Mentors?

That's his book.

This is book, but even in his podcast, he was talking about some of those similar subjects, and we kept seeing that many of them have a very physical aspect to their life. And, uh, whether it was some sort of grappling, fighting, um, some of the acrobatic yoga where they're interacting with another person and they have to stretch themselves and push themselves in ways. I think what a lot of people don't remember is that, you know, as a child's brain is developing and growing, and they're learning their cognitive skill sets, they're also— it's mirroring with the way that they're growing and developing physically. So it's like crawling is so important because it's crossing the different parts of the brain as you cross the different parts of your body. And we have a friend who found out later in life that she has some levels of dyslexia. And so one of the things that helped her to work not through it, but kind of help exercise the parts of her brain, was crawling.

So we had signed up for Krav Maga classes just for like a month maybe, but we were not in the place to be able to use or commit to the time. Maybe also we didn't see the total benefits of it. And also I think we were different people maybe at that time, because as you progress year after year and you change, maybe we didn't realize like how good it would be for us.

Yeah, I think we had like a base understanding and interest, but that particular class, I don't think we did a ton of research too on where we went. One of our first times, here I am like newly married and getting punched by and kicked by my— kneed by my husband who has martial arts experience. No, they—

we had pads. Yeah, no, no, no, she's making it sound like we're in the octagon physically hitting each other.

Pads, and I had zero experience, so it was like a lot to process.

Holding pads, and I would hold the pad for her.

She wasn't just beating me, and then she would hold the pad for me.

Yeah, hit the pad.

But they did— I remember they didn't really show me like how to, how to punch. It's such a huge contrast now, and I think about, uh, what I've now learned and how detailed they are in the teaching process, and not just jump in and do it. It's like jump in and we're gonna, uh, show you each step of the way so you can have good technique to do it well, to do it effectively, and to do it safely. Um, I think that's a huge difference.

So what was your experience with martial arts before? So all you had was that one Krav Maga or one or two Krav Maga classes and then—

right, well, that when I was little, my brother, sister, and I would fight. My dad put on boxing gloves, go back, or, do you guys want to fight? Fight. Uh, no, and my dad made sure that we had— my dad's law enforcement So he made sure that we had some basic exposure to just how physical the outside world could be, um, and, um, you know, teaching us a few things. But it wasn't as though, you know, I had taken karate or anything like that growing up and do anything like that.

So we should talk about karate now for you, like how you— why you got started, how long you've been doing it, stuff like that.

Um, I think I explained earlier how long I've been doing it, but just the importance of it was the mental challenge. There's like threefold. I wanted to do something that made me exceptionally uncomfortable. I wanted to rewrite the narrative that I'd always told myself that I was uncoordinated. I'm in high school, all my best friends were in dance, they were ballerinas, they were in jazz, they were cheerleaders, they were on cheer team, and I didn't even try out for the cheer team. I went straight to being the mascot so I could still be with them and do all stuff, but I didn't have to learn a bunch of movements and dances and all that. So I wanted to rewrite the narrative that I'd always told myself I was just uncoordinated and learn it in a different way. And another one was I wanted to do something mentally challenging and the amount of confidence that I've gained from doing something physical has been just outstanding. Um, so one of the big things I had to get over was, um, hitting somebody. So, uh, I don't know where it is, but there's something in the brain that says like, don't hit another person. And so I don't have that thing.

Yeah, right, whatever brain thing that has— I was when humans are being created and we were in line to pick up that thing. I skipped that line and went on to the line that was more testosterone. I went double testosterone.

Yeah, I'd have to go back in this line. No, I don't know what it is. It was like, when we were just doing the forms and practicing everything, I have no problem with punching and the kicking. But once it came to landing the blow on a person holding a pad, it was mostly holding a pad on their body and maybe even the hand pads too, like those pads. It's just there was something that just wouldn't allow me to execute with, with finality on there. And so breaking through that and getting more physical— like, the first time my sensei was like, you need to know what it feels like to hit a person, to make contact. So it wasn't like he was like, here, punch me in the face, but it was to know that as I was doing a sidekick, what it felt like on ribs as opposed to like a bag or the air. Oh, that was so weird. It was just so strange. And more recently we had a class that, um, part of it they did a little bit of self-defense on, um, uh, somebody comes and choking you, what do you do? And I think, you know, he, he nailed it. He was talking about the amygdala hijack.

He did—

it's not the language you use specifically, but that's the part of your brain that tells you to go into flight or fight or flight. And to know that you need to control that— the more expectations you have for when something is going to go down, the better your brain could react and be able to think through what it needs to instead of going into panic to react appropriately. And so, you know, he put his hands on, on us, and, um, that was— I was okay with it. So I was so surprised that before he approached and he let us all know with caution, this is what's going to happen, he says, okay, now I'm going to use a little bit more pressure so that you can begin to feel that and trigger that part of the brain. And I was so stoked because I didn't really trigger that part of the brain in terms of like someone's touching me or someone's coming at me. It was like I was nervous and I forgot the move, but I nailed it later. But, uh, I think that that's like the key things. And, um, I was listening to or reading, um, who is that biography? Oh, uh, Rickson Gracie, one of the founding members of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu movement. From the Gracie family, and he just explained so much about martial arts. He explained about the mindset of being a warrior, of how it empowers you, how some of the best entrepreneurs and business people are, are able to do that. So for me, that was what moved me into pursuing and going ahead and going into karate.

I think that's a lot of really good stuff. I don't have that same thing in my brain that says not to hit somebody or not to hit things. Like when I'm boxing, the way it's set up is we box for an hour and the timer is, I think it's 3 round, 3-minute rounds. And then we have like a minute in between to go ahead and relax. So for 3 minutes we're working on different drills and then we go ahead and 1 minute off and hear the timer, 3 minutes on, 1 minute off. Working on different things. So every single time, like, I don't ever want to sacrifice power for technique. So I want to make sure I get the technique first, but then once I feel like I have the drill down, whether it's like a slip and a hook and a body shot, whatever the combination might be, once I feel like I have it down, then I'm just like throwing as hard as I can. And, um, I don't know how my boxing coach is. They can just be so used to hitting, uh, getting hit in the mitts, in the mitts. In the mitts. Yeah, in the mitts. I'm just like throwing as hard as I can. And only one time have I seen him take off his mitt and like shake out his hand. I was like, yes, I'm going to throw that hard every single time. Like, if you can't do it, if you're not going to give it all you got, what's the point of doing it at all, right?

They say practice like you're going to execute. And so, like you said, first you got to get the technique. You're not just like throwing out a kick or a punch in the air.

Sometimes I realize, like, I am doing that. Sometimes I realize, like, I'm just trying to throw it for power. And he's having to correct, like, make sure you turn your back foot, make sure you know where your weight is and stuff like that. And then I tell myself, okay, you're not ready to throw with power yet. It's time to like dial it back a little bit and get the technique right exactly. And then once the technique is correct, then you go ahead and throw. But it's been fun. It's, um, usually when I work out, I'm not drenching sweat. So whether I'm lifting weights or doing my own cardio, usually, you know, I might be a little moist. And everybody's a fan of that, right? A little moist after working out. But, uh, usually I'm not drenched in sweat after I'm done with boxing. I am just like I went to a sauna and then the cold plunge, and I'm just dripping. So I come home and go straight to the shower. But, uh, boxing's fun because not one time over the last year plus that I've been doing this has it ever been easy. I don't think I've ever had an easy lesson because we're in the ring and it's just constant movement, and then you get that one timer, that one-minute break in between rounds. And sometimes it's not even a minute, sometimes it will go before the timer starts up again. So it's just like constant movement, minimal, minimal break. And I know it's so good for me. That's a good thing.

That's another point, because when I was doing private lessons, I was always really excited about it, but I would be surprised even just doing floor drills about how much movement there— I guess, you know, like and it's moving in such different, unique lateral ways, as opposed to just at the gym, it's like up and down movements often. And so I think just the way that it, it moved the body and you were concentrating and wanted to make sure everything was in the right place, like you talked about pivots, body distribution, where your feet are, your shoulders, your hips, like everything moving into it all together. It's really cool. The same thing. So now instead of doing the private lessons, I'm doing a group. It's like a karate kickboxing combination right now. And to be clear, no, I'm not like Stingray from Cobra Kai in there with a bunch of kids.

But also, to be fair, we should say that Cobra Kai has maybe contributed to your interest, your initial interest in karate. You don't think so?

It was before. No, it was before.

I don't think it could be before Cobra Kai because they've been going for 5 years.

No, but I haven't—

I haven't, uh, no, you watched Cobra Kai and then you went.

It wasn't that you went Josephine, she did it, and while I was there with her I said I liked it. It wasn't because of Cobra Kai.

Memories are a funny thing when you think back to the time.

That's like people trying to say that I only like the Patriots because they won the Super Bowl, but I liked it before they won the Interesting. Yeah, well, anywho, so this is my kicks on you later. Get used to hitting body shots. Um, I completely lost my train of thought.

Thank you. No, you're talking about, to be clear, that you're not Stingray from Cobra Kai.

You're not right. It's an adult class.

There's an episode of Seinfeld with that too, where, uh, he was like training with the little kids.

Uh, Kramer was like— if I had to guess, it's probably Kramer. Yeah. Yes. So, yeah, so I'm not like practicing hitting, punching children, punching children. But no joke, we say children, but any, like the 12, 13, 14-year-olds and up, they would whoop me. I have seen the way they move. I saw this young man executing a form for his advanced red belt about a month or two ago. Oh my gosh. All I could think of was like, am I supposed to be able to do that one day? That was intense. He was good. Us to that guy. But yeah, I'm on a green belt right now, so I'm actually belted. It's not just like—

but almost purple, right? Then they say the next step up is purple. Yes.

So if I continue to do what I've been training and doing, working on those techniques and showing commitment and mastery of the combinations and forms, then I would be able to earn my purple belt.

There's no belts in boxing, but my mom's proud of me. She says I'm doing good.

She also listened to your last podcast like 8 times, so yes.

Uh, okay, what else are we talking about when it comes to finding the benefits? So maybe for somebody who is looking to begin, like, where to start, I would say do your research on finding a good coach, right? Because a good coach is everything. Good coach could make you love what you're doing, and it could be so much more than just as a difficult. They can teach you like the mental side of it as well. Absolutely. So 100%, do your research, whether you join a boxing gym or you join a dojo, whatever it may be. Yes. So research first, and then I would say just take it slow. Oh, one of the things too, uh, when I started boxing, there's a big humbling experience. Like, I'm constantly humbling myself. So what we were talking before last episode was when I was teaching myself how to jump rope, and I was just tripping over myself like left and right. It took months and months for me to do jump rope, and then I can do— but now I can do like tricks and double jumps and crossovers, all kinds of stuff.

Okay, easy with the jump rope stories.

Okay, so, but that to say, boxing was the same thing. When I started boxing, it was a very humbling experience because the boxing gym where I trained, uh, exactly what you would imagine like where Rocky trains, just like cement floors. The left-hand side is some weights, right-hand side is bags. And in front of you is the ring, and everything smells like sweat. Everybody there looks like they want to hurt me, and there's usually some sort of rock or rap music going on. I would say more rap than rock. So when I went in first, my coach was basically just teaching me how to walk, like the stance. I felt like a child. I was like a newborn baby boy trying to learn how to take his first steps, like Bambi. Newborns. Like Bambi.

Okay, so newborn animals, newborn babies don't walk, they don't have the muscle control to do that. Correct.

Okay, I'll be like Bambi. Bambi is a better analogy. I was like Bambly Bambi looking to walk. That's the name of the character teaching me how to like stand and how to pivot and how to move, slide and step, step and slide, all these different things. And it was very humbling because you'd see other people— I'm not the only one in the gym— the other people around, and they don't care, of course. They're not like just looking at me, laughing at me. But these people have been doing this for years, so they're, you know, on the outside of the ring and they're doing their different drills and routines. So I'd say be ready to be humbled, but it's a good thing so that you can grow. You're not going to be able to grow—

can I say something about that? That would, uh, I think— I would say I think a lot, uh, for sure people are afraid as adults. We get afraid to learn new things. We forget that we need to be learning new things. It helps with our personal growth, it helps maintain our brains, it helps with neurogenesis, it helps us— and that's the part of the brain that's like regrowing and, um, and developing. There's so much of this time period when we're young, like newborns and on, like Jonathan was saying, is that they're learning new things and they don't get it right the first time and they have to keep trying and they get frustrated. And then at some point we become adults or maybe even teenagers and we think we know it all and we think we don't need to learn anything else or that everything should become easy for us to learn and that's not the case and there is just such an opportunity for that humility and then also on the other side of that it shows us that we can learn anything, we could push ourselves to any new limits or any other new area of our life and it's, it's very empowering to go through that humbling experience.

And kind of like what we were saying before about kids, like, learning how to walk, you can imagine too what happens if there's a child who's learning how to walk and then he gave up after the first time he fell, or she fell. Like, you're supposed to fall, and then you pick yourself back up and you continue to try to walk. And then the little babies fall again, but they don't stop trying to walk. So I think that's what we have to do. Maybe there's a lesson for us in there from the children and not stopping if we fail. It's just part of the process. So I know now, looking back, I've been doing boxing for over a year now. Even my coach has been surprised. He's like, oh, Isaac, you've come a long way, because I only go once a week. So he says, you've come a long way for just coming, uh, once a week. But if I had stopped right after that first or second meeting where I didn't think that, uh, I was doing very well, or I was basically learning how to stand in a boxing position and move in a boxing position, I never would have got here. So I think you just have to embrace the process.

Uh, people might be wondering if we practice our boxing and karate on each other. The answer is not usually.

Like, we show each other moves and stuff like that and kind of like what she's learning and what I'm learning, because it's, uh, I think there are some similarities and there are some very clear different differences as well. But, uh, it's cool. We got a— one of our presents, actually somebody bought us a present, bought us a punching bag.

So my dad bought us, our daughter, a punching bag that we also use. Yeah, she uses it to practice her karate.

So we have a punch bag in the garage too where we can go ahead and work and use our different combinations and things that we're looking to practice on.

Yeah, so sometimes we'll practice our new combinations with each other. We have a gallery-style kitchen, so it's like narrow but long. And so I just imagined like somebody or the mailman's walking by and he sees through the window. It'd be interesting to see how we're like punching and blocking and parrying and jabbing at each other. Kind of fun.

And I think now that we've started, we've already been in— you've been doing karate, was it for a year and a half?

Almost, almost 2 years. Year and a half.

Year and a half.

Somewhere in there.

I've been doing karate for like a year and a half. I don't think that we should ever stop training in some kind of martial art in some form, certainly whether it's Brazilian jiu-jitsu or karate or boxing or something like that. Now that we see the benefits, and I think now that we have momentum going into this lifestyle, it'll be easier to maintain and continue and to progress and maybe go into— maybe go back to Krav Maga at some point, who knows, I don't know, as the years pass. But to keep that momentum up, because I feel like momentum is a very real thing, like I can feel it. I can feel momentum even when I'm writing, when I'm writing a book and I know I have that momentum and I don't want to break it. Like I could feel it like a presence, like it's its own entity.

Oh my goodness.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel the same thing with, um, when we're working on different TV shows or different projects, you can feel the momentum. And then also feel it in your plums. Yes, in my jellies. Also, you can feel when momentum stops, and then when momentum stops, it's so much harder to try to get that momentum working for you again. I don't know if you've ever experienced momentum in that way where everything's going and you're checking things off the list and things are happening and the project kind of almost takes on the life of its own. Or the opposite, where you're working on something, maybe you're working with other people and somebody's not coming through and it kind of like grinds to a halt and then there's not like a whole lot of communication, then it's so much harder to try to get that momentum working for you again.

And you're the one pushing the rock up the hill.

Yeah. And I, well, I feel like it's helped a lot too because it gives you appreciation for when you do have momentum, for when that momentum is working for you, you can appreciate it. And the people that you're working with in the project, like everybody's pulling their weight, everybody's executing on things that they know they should be doing, as opposed to we've worked in other projects where people, everything sounds good and people are working and then, you know, it's time to actually sit down and do the work. And then you kind of stop hearing from them or it's hard to reach them and they don't execute how they're supposed to. Right.

Goes back to surrounding yourself with those animals who are just as hungry to get things done as you are. I think that's another thing. There's no lack of momentum on the mats. There's always an energy of movement, of strategy, of thinking, of planning and plotting and preparation. And I think that's something that I could really appreciate is that sort of, you know, energy of go. And it could be go plan and go prepare, or go execute and go strike. And to strike like you mean it, to strike hard. You're not, you know, you can go in to try to create some distance, but you're going there with a purpose. And I think that's a really great way to move because there's no just sitting on the sidelines. There's no was waiting for the fight to happen and pass you by. Like, you're either in it or you're not. And so I, uh, I think that's another thing that I could really appreciate it. So Sensei Steve has just been fantastic there.

What's cool about his community too, and like brotherhood or sisterhood, uh, since, you know, like, you're with those people, assuming at the gym or gym karate, like, you're all suffering together, you're all actively intentionally, specifically putting yourself in this position to sweat and to work and to learn and to grow. So those same people who are with you, that kind of becomes your tribe because you know you're all doing it, uh, together. Yes. So that's kind of cool too. We've seen lots of— we've made lots of friends from, uh, doing different combat sports. I was gonna say martial arts, but I don't think boxing is martial arts, so maybe combat sports.

Boxing is part of a martial art.

It would encompass boxing and karate, just combat sports. Yeah, but being able to meet those people, and a lot of them have similar mindset that we do, we can talk to each other and we're not looked at like sideways.

Yeah, like one of the, uh, there's a couple of girls in there that our daughter loves to play, to talk to, and wants to do playdates with and, you know, go to birthday parties and that whole thing. Well, their mom And I was very friendly, but one day she comes in wearing her, um, uh, jiu-jitsu gi, and I was just like, what? Talk to me about this. So she invited me to join her, but again, it's, you know, keeping the main thing the main thing. So I said, I would love to, and I will one day, but right now, you know, here is where my focus is and working on karate. But, um, since then, you know, just learning more like what she does and what she's about is we have found more a likeness. And that's, it's really cool to be able to, to find that, you know, she's also a mom. She's not necessarily trying to compete, but she's competing against herself, her weaker self, her murderer. Yeah, she's competing. You murder, we're just gonna compete. So yeah, and I think that's another thing that I really enjoyed about, um, Dr. Fit and Fabulous, Jamie Seaman. She is a doctor, an OB-GYN, but she, like, in her mid to late 30s, started working out and trained and went on the Rock's Titan Games. And then after she did that, she's gone on to compete for Miss Nebraska, or Mrs. Nebraska, and Mrs. America. And she is just talking about— she talks about be hard to kill, do something new, put yourself in uncomfortable positions because she, and she has 3 daughters, so she's showing them like there's no point that you stop, need to stop moving and pushing through new caps and new ceilings and whatever that looks like. And so I can really relate to that. It's just be hard, be hard to kill, and set an example for the generation to come after you as well.

That's so important, I think. As we're examples for our children. Like the other day when I was working out, I hurt my shoulder. There's nothing serious, it's just, uh, I was doing too much weight, too many reps when I was working out my chest, so my shoulder hurt. So I just had like an ice pack on and had like some lotion I was rubbing in and stuff like that, and it's fine now. I think maybe for not even a week, maybe like 5 or 6 days, they're just super sore. So I was having to stretch out and stuff, but our 6-year-old daughter, uh, was very worried about my shoulder that I had hurt myself. So just explaining to them, like, you know, it's a good— and again, it didn't hurt myself. I didn't pull or strain anything. There's a lot of muscle soreness. So I was explaining to her, like, that's what we're doing when we go to exercise or we go to the gym. We're breaking down our bodies so they can build back stronger. So I think there's lots of lessons in martial arts or sports combat and then, uh, working out for our children too. And then they can see us, and, uh, even our 2-year-old he's already doing, trying to do push-ups on his own. So he takes off his shirt and says, 'Me Hulk,' and then I find him starting doing, uh, push-ups on the ground. And what's funny, when he's doing push-ups, of course they're not, you know, like you should be doing push-ups. In his mind, he's doing push-ups, but he, uh, he makes so much noise and grunts like he's doing like 1,000. Like, we walked in on him and he was at number 1,000 with his heavy breathing and stuff like that. But I think even at 2 years old, 2 years old, they're always watching you and seeing what you're doing, and you can leave examples for them to follow that he'll remember, hopefully, and that we can continue to develop as he gets older.

Yeah, that was something that was very cool to see for our daughters, learning how to not be afraid to take a punch. No one's punching her in the face, but there is, you know, part of the breathing exercises, the preparing your body and bracing yourself, how to take a good fall and how to get back up. And I think that what is great about that is, as a people, we're afraid to take a punch, we are afraid to fall. And rather, we could focus on taking a punch well, and on falling and getting back up. And I think those are some of the best lessons that we can learn beyond the physicality, beyond the pushing yourself, getting uncomfortable, learning something new, getting humbled. Developing your brain and preventing, um, later issues, uh, is taking a punch well and getting back up after the fall.

Yeah, I think that was a, a learned experience for me too as a father. So when she was testing for her belt, the sensei goes around and hits all the kids, right? He didn't just hit her, he hits all the kids. Some of the kids were falling down. Like, he wasn't holding back either. Like, he was hitting them. Some of the kids are like a push, push.

Is it like a push punch? Not like just a slug?

I don't think he was pushing them.

I think he was punching them.

Goodness.

Okay.

Yes. If I remember correctly, I don't think he was— I think he was punching them. Okay. So some of the kids were falling over. Like, obviously nobody was getting hurt. Nobody's crying or anything like that. They're getting knocked, but like, you definitely knew you got punched. So our daughter was so proud because when she got punched, she took like a few steps backwards, but she didn't fall because some of the other kids were falling. So she was so proud of herself. But when I was thinking about that, I was thinking, oh man, should I be okay with this? Just like watching my daughter getting punched. But then I remembered I'd much rather her get punched and learn what a punch feels like and go through all this in a controlled environment. Uh, God forbid she's ever out there in the real world in an uncontrolled environment. I don't want her to get punched or feel like what it's like to get hit out there for the first time. So at least here in a controlled environment where people care about her and try and teach her, she's learning what getting punched feels like, right? So if she's ever in a position out there, it's not going to be something new for her.

Yep, that's all I gotta say about that.

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