A New Chapter
From Path2 Coaching
It’s been a curious and challenging past six months for me. I’ve been living in a constant state of crisis for over 2 years and things finally broke. Since after making what was undoubtedly the hardest decision of my life, I have felt disoriented, awash in an eerie stillness. For a few months, I lived with an eggshell-like quiet tension. Then, some time between immense soul searching, and getting sucked back into the jet engine that is the rat-race bullshit of the corporate world, I reexamined my deep passion for fitness and martial arts.
My life was once centered on martial arts and fitness. I was a gym rat for years, practicing the science of body building, watching Pumping Iron as a tutorial in the late 1990s. I then expanded into the martial arts, becoming a deeply detailed student and technical practitioner. I blended my zeal for both with running and yoga to forge well-rounded and dangerous abilities. I did it all while earning professional certifications and progressing in my career. But, I traded these passions for a career-defining promotion I really didn’t want, subsequently stripping these activities from my life and contributing to the decline of my happiness and fulfillment.
By taking a promotion that wouldn’t permit me to continue my fitness and martial arts training, I traded hours on the mat for hours in the office, submissions for promotions, and reps for cash. But in this new found stillness, I have been able to really examine how fitness and martial arts fits into my Path2 today. Yes I returned to my practices, and continue despite injuries and pandemics. This reflection zeroed in on my “why” and what makes me most excited about these activities. It became obvious: I am fully integrating these passions into my profession to share with everyone.
For years I have been part of the fitness community, from achieving a personal trainer certification in the early 2000s, to serving as a board member overseeing a large YMCA. I have also been coaching martial arts for years as a senior student within my school. Prior the legal matters with my son, I was working toward my BJJ coaching certification and was training young BJJ grapplers. And, for nearly the last year, I’ve been coaching boxing and kickboxing. My passion for fitness and martial arts runs so deeply that I no longer can let it live in the margins of my life.
I am ensuring that fitness and martial arts define my Path2 as I journey ahead. I love sharing and teaching martial arts and fitness. It is central to my happiness. Now, it is central to Path2 Coaching.