Those Were The Days

Wow, this was incredible.

Check out this photo of me (right) and my teacher and mentor Robert doing martial arts back in the day. 

This was at the Jewish street fair on Johnson Avenue in Riverdale, New York. 

Recently, in the last few weeks, I reconnected with Robert after almost 27 years.  

He made Aliyah to Israel and I got married, but I always remembered how much I learned from him and the fun times growing up. 

It was great to catch up on the phone with him for about 2 1/2 hours and I think we could’ve gone on schmoozing all evening. 

Then just this weekend, I received 3 large wall photos in the mail from a friend from Riverdale–out of the blue–just like my reconnecting with Robert. 

Both events came almost simultaneously after 3 decades!

Time and space are just fabrications, as G-d Almighty is eternal, and for me I am essentially the same person that I was back then. 

My body is getting (a little) older, but my inner self is still me. 

And the people who mean so much to me in my life, after G-d, that is everything to me. 😉

(Source Photo and with gratitude to Sura Jeselsohn)

The Guardian Angel Handbag

So I took this photo of a Guardian Angel Handbag in Florida.

Back in New York starting in the 1970s, the Guardian Angels were a crime patrol often of martial arts practitioners that rode the dark graffitied trains and stood on the corners in dangerous neighborhoods…they eventually went viral in over 130 chapters around the world.

The handbags of same name are made by Dutch label Vlieger & Vandam and are designed with images of engraved guns or large knives.

The tag stitched inside the bag comes with a warning:

“This is an original Guardian Angel. Do not use it for self-defence purposes. The Weapon feature at the front is fake. To avoid any problems: Do not take this bag on a plane as hand luggage and do not take this bag to the bank to pick up cash. Please do enjoy it!”

When you see the bag, you’ve got to ask yourself is a person bold enough to wear a bag like this also is packing one too?

As they say, never show or threaten to use a weapon unless you are really ready to use it. 

So is it a bluff, a fashion statement, or is the person really carrying and very dangerous–care to find out? 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Slow, Smooth, Fast

A colleague told me a good saying from the Navy Seals.

“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”

The idea is that when we slow down and practice diligently, we give ourselves time and space to heal and to work to perfect our technique, so then when we need to execute, we can do it fast and flawlessly.

Embedded in this concept is that we do things right the first time, and eliminate risk and having to do them needlessly again…slow down and nail it!

In martial arts and other physical disciplines, this concept is honed by practicing in “motion study” and then “exploding” dynamically in executing upon the enemy.

Slow, Smooth, Fast–practice makes (near) perfect. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Leadership Lessons From The Shaolin

I watched a Sunday movie called Shaolin, a martial arts film from Hong Kong (2011).What I really enjoyed about this movie aside from action and adventure was the teachings of the Shaolin monks.

Some highlights that I took away:

– Everything has a purpose:“Which is more useful a pile of gold or of mud? To a seedling, it is the pile of mud.” One thing or one person is not better than another, but are just different and each serves their own purpose in life.

– Greed is the root of all evil: “All negative deeds are done for greed.” We need to be willing to let go of the desire for material things and instead value doing good deeds.

– Evil causes suffering:“From evil comes suffering. With justice, they are gone.” In Judaism, there is a similar notion that one bad deed begets another and causes suffering, and vice versa good deeds spur more good in the world.

– Repentance is learning and growth:“The one who repents is a hero.” Everyone makes mistakes and does bad at some point in their life–no one is an angel–but the key is to learn from these and commit to do better the next time.

– Compassion is the way to peace:By being compassionate to others, we can purge ourselves of discontent and anger, and find inner peace and enlightenment.

Below is how I summarize the steps from materialism to enlightenment.

Hopefully, we can all find our way to achieving our true potentials for the good.