RED CORNER BLUE CORNER Opposing sides but all I can see is the space between.  I’m sitting on my stool, slightly slouched forward, rounding my shoulders into my breath….the space that fills me and leads to all that space that I have to cover, go through, and sit in, just to get there. I know it’s supposed to be an US vs THEM, but somehow, occupying the void, confined by the ropes, enveloped in the gaps around the ring and in between the judges, it isn’t you and me, it is WE. I am lucky enough to have you willing to stand in and be my reflection for I am my real opponent and it is you who ..read more

The Comeback Not every comeback has a beautiful crescendo and a masterpiece at the end.  It doesn’t begin and end in a neat line with some obstacles thrown in for dramatic flair. My perspective is that our comeback starts the minute we are born.  The first gasp asking for everything to stay right here and right now.  Every single minute we are aware of the vastness of then and there. That’s really where we want to live but complications get in the way. Comebacks are grimy, ugly, beautiful, painful, full of ecstasy.  Comebacks are not a destination forward, rather a coming h ..read more

I started with the Blog Title:  “Into” This is #2 in the series This whole thing is about my story of where I was to where I am. Life in the rearview mirror in some glances just to understand the environment that shaped me and continues to propel me somewhere. It’s an explanation of the work it takes to change perspective, to think more mechanistically.  Not with a loss for compassion– But with an insistence for asking what compassion really means in each context. It’s a witness to the frames I’ve lived and how a slight angle change put me into this sweet pocket that I have more time ..read more

I’ve often thought, “What Is The Point?”  I look at myself, look around at others and again wonder, what is the point? This world is a reflection we have made up as we’ve gone along.  All groups slowly getting further away from the original reasons that have led us here.  We make up our purpose here on earth…..making up a purpose out of a personal need to matter.   What is the point if you have the capability to hop on a boat and go to sea on a whim or go to a movie that you saved up your money for  if we have a single person sleeping in the street?  If we ha ..read more

  Respecting elders is of the utmost importance to me. Elders should have opportunity to pass on what they have learned in their experience and they should have the ability to continue to learn. The elders at Arcaro are an integral part of our gym community.  Their work ethic and ability to adapt motivates me to push myself further.  To be part of a narrative that explores aging and how it can be told differently versus mindlessly accepting what we have experienced via enculturation. Recently we have put out a call to ya’ll to get videos of your sprinting and send it to us.  We can use Functio ..read more

Efficacy and leverage drive my desire.  How can we get that perfect punch in motion with maximum power. It’s cool to have knockout power from a static position….but it’s way cooler if you can generate it while moving. I work on my leverage mentally, physically, emotionally…..I study my patterns and the patterns of others.  I watch my speech, word usage, reactions….everything is for training camp. The true meaning of a term is found by observing what a man does with it, not what he says about it.   -The Tyranny Of Words One of the best things to come out of staying at home is the illumination o ..read more

The days were the same before all this happened. I always had to remind myself what year, month and day it was so I could interact in the rest of the world as we have it constructed. I wake up each day, thrilled to be awake…alive……with the ability to solve problems……mechanical ones.  The ability to work on connecting our physiology in a more productive way. I’ve been on this search my whole life and it took me 40 years to find my place. I’m 9 years deep into finding the path I want to keep walking and I’ve probably only traveled 40 meters.  Isn’t that beautiful?   I’ve nowhere to go on this ci ..read more

A wrecking ball of a human colliding with her targets looking like she is swinging from her arms trapeze to trapeze. Grace and torrential power. Those are the kind of punches I want.  March 1971, I arrived.  Italian mom, wasp dad.  Fire in my heart- a deep sadness in my soul- empathy my guide. Ohio is a good place to be from……….thousands of miles away from. My father ran and headed west as most young brooding men did in the 70’s…….Severing me from the matronly bond plunking us down in Colorado. The mountains shaped me and mother nature held me close, consoling and comforting me- sheltering me ..read more

I used to be driven by being the best. I had this arrogance that I could be or that I was better than others…..that I had skills others didn’t have.  That I would be recognized by “the world” as the best trainer out there.  I would watch how others would train their boxers and think I could do a better job.  An all consuming feeling driven by insecurity. Going on my 7th year in business has cured me of these thoughts.   There is no best over another….being the “best” is short lived and untrue. You knockout somebody today only to land face down on the mat another. I approach each day more mecha ..read more

The only person in the way of you is you. Every obstacle is a chance to develop choice of perception.  Your interpretation is up to you….. but that takes work………a…….lot………of……………Work “Don’t be a blight on society” The phrase from my father in my youth—-It burns from the inner ear and whooshes to every limb.  Tattooing my ego and cementing in all self worth.  Work for what you want-  relentlessly. Every obstacle is a chance to develop choice of perception.  We are influenced by all the environments we have lived in.  From the womb to the present, we are receptacles intaking  a constant barrage ..read more