The picture above was taken at a martial arts seminar I organized.
At the time, a devastating new style of Jiu-Jitsu was tearing its way across the competition scene. It was a system with a heavy focus on leg locks, and world-class black belts were getting dismantled because they didn’t know how to defend it. I knew I had to evolve or risk becoming the next victim.
So I contacted Robert, an expert on this new-fangled leglock style, and offered to take him on a 20+ hour flight from New York to Singapore just so I could pick his brains.
It seems like I was far from the only one who was curious because over fifty athletes paid good money to attend what would become known as the leg lock mastery seminar. What surprised me most, however, is that all the attendees were seasoned Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in their own right — I myself have had 9 years of experience in the martial arts.
Despite our proficiency, we didn’t rest on our laurels. We decided to step out of our comfort zones, to put on our beginner hats, to grow. We spent the better part of the weekend learning never-before-seen techniques from Robert.
