The Quest

This is going to be a journey for you. The strategies in this

system will take time to master and although there are some
insights that…

…might cause an insight light to come on, it is not likely to

happen overnight.

This is not a 24-hours get-fixed-quick scheme. However,

change happens in an instant and the New You can arrive the
moment you make the decision to change. This is a martial art
system for the mind, and just as a physical practitioner would
need to train in order to level and eventually reach Black Belt
status, you too will need to train mentally and build success upon
success if you are to internalize these principles and in-turn
master the art of Winitsu.

Do not just focus on the end goal.

 The pot of gold may be glistening at the end of the
rainbow, but the path to get there is equally exciting. So ride the
rainbow, appreciate the journey, and take your time as you start
down a new path toward change, self-discovery, and mental
fitness.

In my life as a martial arts instructor and lifestyle coach, I

have had thousands of students. One of my programs in
particular is a live-in training camp where I might have as many
as 35 students at a time for up to two months. Although my
initial goal is to teach my system of martial arts, and end results
I desire are slightly different than what one might expect. For
me, the training is an opportunity for students not only to learn
the martial arts, but to learn about themselves. Moments of
exhilaration, excitement, possibility, and enlightenment mixed in
with valleys of self-doubt are the norm. Students are expected to
accept these challenges and face the good, the bad, and the ugly
equally. In doing so, they will grow and have well-balanced
experience.

I teach with a tough of love philosophy; the goal is to

prepare my students for hardships. Softness will not do that. I
believe that positive reinforcement has its limits, and a person
who is unprepared is often someone who has never been pushed
out of the nest. A great movie, Remember the Titans starring
Denzel Washington, is an example of the fine line between tough
love and false confidence. In the movie, who TITANS football
team coaches each have their own views on creating a winning
team. Coach Yoast (Will Patton) focuses on comforting the team,
but the new head coach, Mr. Boone (Denzel Washington), focuses
on challenging them. In one particular scene Coach Boone
explains to Coach Yoast what I believe illustrates my point of
view as a martial arts coach:

“The world doesn’t give a damn about how sensitive these kids
are. You aren’t doing these kids a favor by patronizing them.
You’re crippling them; you’re crippling them for life.” – Coach
Boone

I am passionate about my system of martial arts, but what

I really want from the students is their dedication to themselves
and to the training, with a 100% of their being. I want them to
grasp the challenge with one hand (cultivate) and break through
their fears with the other (warrior).

If my students can face themselves (for we can often be our

own worst enemy) and overcome their mental demons in the
atmosphere of a Martial Art – Adventure training camp, they
can apply the same lessons toward their life challenges and in the
real world.

The teacher learns too

These programs have taught me many concepts. Here are

four:

1. A student who believes that (s)he is 100% committed is

nearly always mistaken. They are often confused about
the real definition of total commitment. That, of course,
is not limited to students of the martial arts!
2. You can please some of then people some of the time, but
you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Don’t
even try.
3. Those lacking the characteristics of a warrior and a
cultivator in equal measure, regardless of the challenges
they face, will quit prior to reaching the goals they have
set out to achieve.
4. Most will avoid responsibility and blame the challenge.
 So why is it that I continue to do what it is that I do? Good
question!

The answer: If only one student walks away with a new

skill, a new way of thinking, or a way to improve his or her life
for the rest of his or her life, then it was all worth it.

This is why I still teach and run training camps in spite of

how hard I know it is for people to succeed, myself included.
Regardless of the end result, we all walk away with an amazing
learning experience.

An student of life can decide to face his or her fears, or

choose to run from them.

As with an attempt to change or teach another human

being, what matters most is whether or not that person is
willing to change. Do they want to learn? But one thing is true
in every case, regardless of the circumstances: they have a choice.
As with most of the things we fear, it is a fight or flight
response.
 So why did I formulate a Mental Martial Art System? When
considering a student’s ability to take on a new challenge, I
realized they would do much better if they were more mentally
prepared than physically. Winjitsu gives you the tools you need
to succeed and helps to prep the willing student for any
upcoming challenge or life change.

If a student were to ask me the number one skill required

to succeed in the martial arts, I would have to say that it would
be to first learn Winjitsu. I believe this applies in equal measure
to the life arts.

Many of students will agree that although impressed with

my martial art system and talent in the martial arts, the most
important skills that they have learned were not kicks, but
rather, how to kick. This is to say, they walk away with more
mental benefits than physical. The mental lessons they learn will
benefit them for a lifetime; physical benefits may or may not
least.

In order to help my students with their training and to give

them the tools required to improve their lives, I gathered more
than 20 years of applied experience and skills that have helped
me to succeed (and to survive) and added some universal beliefs
that are necessary for personal success.
 I will use many examples from my life and Martial Art
System (the Martial Science) to help share these mental skill.
Skills that have not only helped me to attain the perfect kick,
but also the mental abilities that help me when speaking to a
large audience and taking a group of Ninja Warriors into the
woods for training.

I intend for this to be an enjoyable reading experience that

will enlighten and brighten your thoughts, your present moment
(for those who like to like to live in the now), and the image you
have of your life.

With these lessons in Winjitsu, you too will have the skills
required to both fight off a mental demons, and design your own
Life-Syle.

Never confuse having a career with having a life.

It requires discipline to continue searching for strategies

that help you to live up to your full potential, but that effort and
discipline will be rewarded beyond measure.

“Make peace with yourself, and the love and happiness will
follow.”

- Rick Tew