So about a month and a half on this journey, and I must say I am doing better than I thought, and yet I can still do better! I have been eating more healthy for the most part, I have lost 13 pounds, and my waking up in the morning to work out, whether it be at the dojang (training area in Korean) or with Charlene at the gym, I am happy with that. I am also happy with some of the mind lessons and refreshers, and insights I have been able to muster up and share here.
I am on the edge of glory still. One the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, THE EDGE! Still got to get that last jump! Working out with Charlene has been a wonderful and she really has given me the momentum I needed and motivation that I lacked due to the depression. I am definitely stronger, healthier, and more satisfied with my physique, which I will continue to work on fr that fourth degree test. We will do another assessment at the end of the summer, sort of like a checkpoint.
You have to understand the kind fo student I am. I have always made very full and intense workout schedules for myself, and created these cycles that I follow and plan out during three different periods of the year: January- June, July-August, and Sept-Dec. It's when I identify my goals and create the cycles for those months, and then follow the schedule. I don't only do the fitness, but the martial arts and mental training as well. It's been a long time, but I have done it again just as I have for those many years. I identified my goals, created the schedule and cycles, now there is only one thing left to do: APPLY! This coming fall will be good, and thanks to the momentum I got from Charlene, and I will coming back full speed ahead....thank GOD!
This September I will be doing more sparring training myself. I have been so grateful for my friend Robert who I wrote about before. He really gets me into the groove to do that training and I think once I get started with my old cycles and building on them like I want to, I will be in good shape to start to compete again. There is one competition I am bringing my team to on October 2nd, and I am debating whether I should do this one. We'll see. BUT, I did speak to my sparring mentor on the phone today, Captain Peter Bardatsos! And he gave me some GREAT news!
I have seen he has been doing these sparring seminars every month with one of his partners and there is one coming up in September that I plan on going to. It'll start me up on my sparring training with him, and then I was planning on going to his school in Queens like I used to when I was younger. I explained to him on the phone what it is I am looking to do, and he just told me he is opening up a new school in Little Falls, NJ! That is 10 minutes away from me here! I was ecstatic! Another great opportunity! The next seminar will be at his new school and he is going to call me so we can set up those sparring workouts. I am so hyped!
I will also be going this fall to see Master DeJesus and get a jump start in some self-defense work. He has graciously invited me to work out on Saturdays at his dojang in Rockaway and I am not only thrilled to be working out with him but I am thrilled to be with a true master such as himself. This is more motivation than I have had in a very long time. I am very happy to seeing this progress and the direction I will be going. Before I visit Master Balon, I have a new form I am going to learn and then I will be making my way to Spotswood as well.
Then the fuel behind all of this is my intensity, which is where Lisa comes in! She has made some phenomenal progress after her knee surgery and is enjoying her birthday cascade! Follow her on her blog, she is absolutely awesome! I have planned out my mental training but haven't set the direction for it, so I will be collaborating with her very soon. I have ideas, but her input is going to be gold for me!
Progress is the key to motivation! I am so happy I am getting there. I wanted it so bad. I have a lot of goals in so many different areas of my life, and most people would get overwhelmed at this point. But I am excited! More excited than I have been in a very long time. I still have a few brick walls, a lot are in my head and my heart. But as Randy Pausch said, the brick walls are only there to show us how badly we want something. And I am choosing to be a "Tigger" and not an "Eyore." That is my choice!
Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO
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