Unleashing the Power Within: The Benefits of Martial Arts Training

I Got Third Place The BJJ grading is just around the corner and that’s the reason why there’s always more people on the mats. I had one of the members saying they’re all worried about going for their illustrious blue belt and don’t think they deserve. I can totally relate, I was always getting beaten by training partners and every time I levelled up my belt I never felt like I deserved it. Even I refused to go for my brown belt one time, because I rolling like shit and didn’t think I was ready, my coach understood and respected my decision. It’s funny how this all shit works, every time I levelled up I had a bigger target on my back, I became a blue belt and all these hungry lower belts wanted to beat me up. The exact same thing happened at purple, brown and black belts, oddly enough when the target was bigger it actually forced me to improve. Yes, I still think I didn’t deserve any of my belts, I still consider myself a white belt, I love learning and every day is different on the mats. Having a bigger target on your back is good and bad at the same time. It’s bad because if you lose to a lower belt it hurts the ego. There’s a saying that some Jiu-Jitsu gyms quote it says to “leave your ego at the door”. How is that possible? We all have an ego? Does your ego liked getting smashed all the time? I bet you it doesn’t, you humanoid’s have been programed to win, it doesn’t matter if it’s at school, at sport or at work, you must excel at everything that you do. We get rewarded for doing well, and by getting rewarded it triggers a chemical in your brain called dopamine. It’s the chemical responsible your mood, it’s conditioned to like rewards, it makes you feel good, it triggered by drugs and alcohol and is one of the main reason people develop addictions. Now onto the good things about having a new belt, firstly you deserve it you’ve been training hard. I see all the stuff you do on and off the mats. Yes, the target is bigger on your back but when the newbies come in and want to rip your head off. Unfortunately some will beat you, some of them won’t. The end result is you’ll get better because you’ve been rewarded with a new belt and you’re going to defend it, because dopamine makes you feel fuckin great and you love rewards. I remember my high school swimming carnival, I did my bronze medallion at school and knew I could swim 50 metres. The brackets went in age, height and weight, I was a large awkward kid, and I still am to this day. I couldn’t swim very well but a few of my mates were egging me to enter the 100m freestyle as they needed three people in that division or the race was off. The old dopamine kicked in, first and second qualified for the state finals and third place was a reserve just in case someone couldn’t swim. Oh shit, it didn’t take me long to realize I get a day off school even if I came third, to me that was my reward. Fuck yeah let’s do this, there’s only three in the race. The starting gun goes off, I belly flopped into the pool I could hear everyone laughing at me, now swimming 100 metres I thought would be easy, but being a rebellious teenager, I had recently started smoking. Swimming the first 50 metres was hell, but all I could hear was the people laughing at me, by the time I finished the first 50, I was getting lapped, and I could hear some of that laughter turning into cheers, at one stage one of the teachers asked me if I needed help, I said no. I kept going, being stubborn has it benefits and I just kept going. I was hearing a few more cheers, some people actually wanted me to finish the race. I dog paddled the last 20 metres, I did it, I finished the race I was a reserve for the state finals. I quickly ran over the people that section that was laughing at me, I gave them the double bird and yelled out “fuck you, I’ve got a day off school”. Yours always Darko Bloggins

Be an individual, just like the rest of them Now this is a funny subject! The lovely people that run this country are making life difficult for us small business owners. You either comply, get vaccinated to do business or you won’t be able to do business at all. I know many people that work in construction, hospitality or work in red zones that were strongly encouraged (practically forced) to get vaccinated. I seriously believe it should be your choice because it’s your body, but also believe that people should be doing the right thing as the vaccine “may” save lives. The other problem is I’m on social media, like most people I have various accounts. I don’t know about you, but I constantly get conspiracy theories sent to me, and I’m also a huge Simpsons fan. Oh shit! Lo and behold some of these conspiracy theories and episodes from The Simpsons have actually come true. There’s heaps of bullshit out there from the Royal Family who are really lizard people, 5G towers, Bill Gates micro chipping the whole world, the freemasons, event 201, to the rich and powerful that sacrifice babies in front of a giant wooden owl at Bohemian Grove. Gullible people will believe anything Alex Jones tells them. Why? Because he speaks with conviction. Now, I have received heaps of conspiracy theories about the “vaccination of the nation program” the government has been shoving down our throats. I started to believe some of it and it started to piss me off. How dare they force me to put poison into my body? They are trying to scare us, so they can control us. Look at all the side effects. Pretty sure a lot of you had the same thoughts, it’s quite normal to question everything. Now I’m not an anti-vaxxer, I’m anti-stupid. In life I always approached things with logic. We are actually quite lucky to have access to information at our fingertips, so I did a bit of investigating. These vaccines are approved by some smart people, and in order to be approved the ingredients have to be listed. I looked at every single ingredient in the vaccines, absolutely nothing suspicious there. Yes, there is a slight chance something could go wrong. But there’s also a slight chance I could get hit by lightning, which actually happened to me once I was lucky to be in my car when it happened. The right ear still rings sometimes because of it. Oddly enough it was a short documentary about the least vaxxed place in the world, a little place called Mountain Home, Arkansas, in the Ozarks region that convince me to get vaccinated. Those poor stupid rednecks, I actually got a little emotional when Christopher Green who’s 53 years old, he has covid, on his deathbed, he refused to get vaccinated. Poor redneck died 9 days after they finished filming, so much for Southern Hospitality. One of my favourite shows is Oz, it’s a series about life in Oswald State Correctional Facility. The series wouldn’t get released these days as it covers subjects what most producers wouldn’t go near. One of the main characters is a guy named Tobias Beecher, an alcoholic lawyer, he’s a total nerd. Unfortunately he was drunk when he ran over a girl and is stuck in jail. Oh boy, did he suffer because he didn’t fit in. Until one day, Beecher confronts Schillinger at basketball court who’s been giving him a hard time. He assaults him, ties him down, and shits on him in front of the other inmates. Beecher earned respect from the inmates and finally fit in after that. We are not being forced to get vaccinated, it’s seriously your choice. I want travel again, I want things to be normal, I want my local pub back. But most of all I want Prodigy MMA back! Hopefully one day, I’ll do the Beecher and confront these bullies and shit on the front lawn at Parliament House. Yours always Darko 'Vaxman' Bloggins