Below is an excerpt from Precision Nutrition’s article “Paleo, vegan, intermittent fasting… what’s the best diet?”:

There are so many diets out there – paleo, plant-based, no-carb, gluten-free – but how can all these different diets actually work?

How can such wildly different nutrition programs all lead to positive results?

They’re not as different as you might think.

Most effective nutrition programs are more similar than different.

When done properly, Paleo diets, plant-based diets, high carb diets, low carb diets, eating small meals frequently, eating larger meals infrequently, etc. all accomplish the following:

 

 
1. THEY RAISE NUTRITION AWARENESS AND ATTENTION.

2. THEY FOCUS ON FOOD QUALITY.

3. THEY HELP ELIMINATE NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES.

4. THEY HELP CONTROL APPETITE AND FOOD INTAKE.

5. THEY PROMOTE REGULAR EXERCISE.

Different well-designed dietary philosophies – even when they seem oppositional and antagonistic on the surface – can all promote good health, body composition, and longevity.

Which is why …
Choosing a single diet camp makes no sense.
1. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS ONE, UNIVERSAL “BEST” DIET.

2. MOST POPULAR DIETS ACTUALLY HAVE A LOT IN COMMON.

3. COACHES SHOULD NEVER LOCK INTO A SINGLE PHILOSOPHY.

4. HABIT-BASED COACHING IS BETTER THAN DIET-BASED COACHING ANYWAY.

Read more about Precision Nutrition’s philosophy on dieting here.

Humbled to receive such positive feedback after the first class.

“Dear Professor Skyer, just wanted to thank you for my very first class yesterday,  I loved it! Thankfully,  I’m not as achy as I expected to be. ..yet…hope it doesn’t hit me tomorrow (^_^). I’ve always loved  sports but it’s been ages and I’ve never taken any martial arts, so I’m looking forward to learning,  having fun and getting fit. . all rolled into one.  See you next week!”
Linda

It was 1996 when I first began training in the martial arts. At the age of 9 I wasn’t thinking about boosting my level of confidence, reinforcing self-discipline or developing my focus. Fortunately, my parents were; so while my goal was to kick butt and learn the flashy kicks I saw on TV during “Power Rangers,” their foresight allowed them to see the training I was undertaking as an investment.

Two years earlier, my parents had moved from St. Petersburg, Russia to New York City in hopes of a better life, less for themselves and more for me. These were not people who did things on a whim, who had resources that they could afford to waste.

What mattered to them was taking an active and conscious role in my development.

Because of that investment, I have spent the past 17 years inside of the martial arts (almost all of which were under the tutelage of Shihan Gene Dunn). There were thrills and defeats, mastery and monotony. It was almost never easy and at times verged on tedium – a handful of times I almost gave it up for good.

I went through different life stages: elementary school, middle school, and college. I went through all the reasons kids want to quit anything: wanting more time with my friends, feeling overwhelmed at school, being bored.

But through it all there was one constant: my parents urging me to continue, to learn a skill, to have something that could be my own. “What about being a black belt? How about second degree? How old will you be when you get to test for third degree? When can you get to fourth degree by?”

Sometimes it was a gentle nudge, other times a conversation and occasionally a full-blown, all-out fight. Regardless, they managed to keep me from going off track and losing the thread; even though there were times when it probably would have been easier (and definitely cheaper!) to have just let me give up.

What I couldn’t verbalize or comprehend at the time was that these feelings were the natural stages of any kind of experience – that these were the peaks, valleys and plateaus that we caution our own students and families about.

What I can say for certain is that it was my parents’ unwavering commitment that led me past many of the pitfalls that my peers could not avoid. I never quit. And it was worth it. So Mom, Dad, thank you for not being afraid of being parents, even when I didn’t make it easy.

Practicing martial arts is not just about what happens on the mat, but influences how we live our daily life. Progression in one’s practice is about training the mind and body. Meditation is a great way to strengthen your practice.

Some insight into how meditation can strengthen you both on and off the mat from budhadarma.com:

Meditation makes us more self aware, both on and off the meditation cushion. This helps us to recognize negative emotions as they arise, before they catch hold. This has the obvious advantage of not having to spend a lot of energy doing damage control after an outburst of anger, for example, and countless other instances where greed, cunningness, lying, deceptiveness, harsh speech, lust, etc., might have taken control over our actions. If we can go though the day without negativity, we will not be fighting off disturbing thoughts when we go to sit in meditation. Eventually, when negativity is well under control, genuine compassion, generosity, honesty, and other qualities will shine in our actions and this will support a deeper meditation practice.

1: Consistency. A good strong practice is developed over a long period of time and we should understand this from the very beginning. We must be in it for the long haul and practice like we eat, everyday, and several times a day, even if some of the sessions are short. Just as we nourish the body best with rest, exercise; and nourishing food, our practice should be based on good teachings, authentic teachings.

2:  Be patient with yourself and believe in yourself.

3:  Discipline desires, but don’t suppress them. A good practitioner is able to sublimate the energy of desire and direct it inward, and rest in the sense of fulfillment this brings.

4:  Keep the body light and pliant, diet disciplined, and sleep not too much nor too little.

5:  Choose a practice that suits your temperament and stay with it.  Since the fault usually lies in the application, always  look to improve how you practice and don’t worry so much about which technique is best.

6:  Keep your life as simple as possible, with the fewest distractions.

7:  Cultivate friendships with others who are better than you or your equal.

8:   Seek out a good teacher and put his advice into practice. Rely on instructions from authentic sutra texts when no teacher is available.

9:   Put aside all thoughts about progress and just work hard. You’ll know when you get there.

10:  Be sincere. More than anything else, being sincere will assure your success.

Shihan Gene Dunn was honored today with the rank of double-black armband by Kru Joseph Sampieri and Master Jamie Crowder, aolong with the Renzo Gracie Muay Thai instructor team. One of only a handful of graduates, Shihan also received an award for service to the development and growth of the martial arts worldwide (pictured below). Congratulations!