The power of JFDI
Published: Fri, 11/17/17
Over 36,000 words now for the first draft of my Martial arts book. I have completed the section on self-defence, tomorrow morning will start the chapter on basic weapon training. If I maintain momentum at this rate then I will have 50,000 words written by next week. I am assuming that this will be sufficient for the first draft. Introduction and conclusion and some appendices to follow as well as adding bits and pieces when necessary. So 60,000 words likely in the completed volume. Not that words alone are any indication of quality or value in a book but I needed a target to aim for. If I find I have written 60k words which express my experiences and ideas about martial training and it really does not amount to much then at least I will know that I should be doing something else and to forget about writing, which is a worthwhile discovery in itself. Just accepting that you are rubbish at something and you really should be doing
something else with your life is an achievement in itself. You will never know you are really rubbish at something until you have given it your best shot. I am finding it easier to write than I thought I would, but I am in many cases simply writing on subjects I have taught many times or already written about in my email posts and in various articles over the years. These lessons, posts and articles have often had quite positive responses over the years so I should not necessarily expect the worse. I should know one way or the other between now and the end of the year.
I have also got a class started on a Monday evening. Only two people so far but they seem to be the right two people and I am very pleased to be working with them. If anyone else reading this is within striking distance of Beverley you are welcome to join us on a Monday evening, I reckon I have room for four people to train CQC. On Saturday the 25th I will also be holding an introduction to weapons training too between 10am and noon, if you are interested in coming just reply to this message.
There is a lot more I should have done over the past few years, throughout my life really when I look back. A major effect of writing this book has been to prompt me to reflect on where I have come from over nearly 60 years. The main lesson is, if you want something to happen then JFDI or Just F****** Do It! Nothing works every time and you might have to try several ways of doing something before you get the result you want. But, I guarantee you, nothing much of interest will happen to you if you don’t do anything. Thinking about doing something has its place but contemplation is no substitute for action.
What have you been wanting to do, thinking about but not actually doing it? Just take some action towards making your dream a reality. What is the worst that can happen? We all die one day so the prospect of failure and disappointment really should not discourage you. So whatever it is, don’t wait any longer.
If learning Stav is that thing then there are opportunities, all you really have to do is turn up and train. If you are coming a long way and need somewhere to stay then just ask and we should be able to take care of you. See the training page for details http://iceandfire.org.uk/train.html
regards
Graham
PS Looking ahead a bit there is going to be a chance to train in some diverse aspects of HEMA next June, full details here http://iceandfire.org.uk/hdc.html