The Shaolin Secrets Blog

Sunday I was in a bar in a teeny town of Gulfport, Florida. Nestled on a finger of land sticking out into a cut of Tampa Bay and separated from the Gulf of Mexico by St. Petersburgh beach, this bar, named H.T. Kane's reminds me of all that is great about America.

I sat at the outdoor section. Four bare metal poles supporting an old, faded, blue- looks-like-metal-but-not-quite-sure rooftop. An Irish flag, so faded that you can barely tell the colors, hangs from one eyelet on a string across the bar.

Every seat in the house has a view of the water, condominiums and boats going by. When it rains, depending upon where you sit, you get wet because there are no walls; it's "open" seating.

Speaking of "open", there were, for some reason, an unusual amount of what appeared to be "partners" at this bar. I was later told by a friend who lives there that this bar was one of the places that all types of people could come to and feel comfortable.

A family was on one end, picking out what to eat on the menu. I was eating peel-and-eats, which is also called steamed shrimp in other parts of the country, and fried grouper nuggets, which are exactly what they are called and they are spelled d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.

A fat white dude, who I later found out was the owner, was singing R & B tunes at the front of the bar while playing a drum machine.

You haven't lived until you see a fat white guy who looks like your Granddad with long hair sing Aretha Franklin's "Respect" at the top of his lungs.

A bartender I had met earlier was a college student who had just moved here from Wisconsin and getting her first taste of Florida and life away from home.

It was while I was sitting there, watching the drops of moisture run down the side of my ice-cold adult beverage, that I said to myself, "God Bless America."

This bar I was in was a small cross section of our country and what it stands for.

Our country was founded by a bunch of hyperactive guys that didn't play well with others and had problems with authority.
They basically told the King of England, "Up yours, we're aren't going to your church and as a matter of fact, just to show you, we are all going to get on these itty-bitty boats, aim for the horizon and hope we make it, because we ain't staying here."

So, with their fingers telling the King that he was number one, they sailed off towards the horizon.

All because they wanted to be free to do their thing.

We all know what happened when the King tried to flex his muscles, tax the colonies and all that jazz. He thought he could discipline the rabble that were the colonists and show them who was boss, and he got his rear end handed to him.

In the short time this country has been around, it has become one of the most powerful on the planet.

I heard a quote from a book the other day that said if you shrunk down the world's population to 100 people and kept all the economic and demographic ratios the same, six out of the 100 would control all the wealth of the group and all six would be Americans.

How is that possible.

Because of tolerance and choice.

This country is great because we choose to be. Our ancestors chose to leave England and come to America.

My great grandparents left Germany to come to America. They were farmers and my grandfather became a farmer. He became the richest man in Buffalo, New York because of his bean picking business.

He told me that if his family would have stayed in Germany, he never would have had that opportunity.

Almost everyone who's here in America can trace their roots somewhere else. I bet you know where your ancestors came from and it isn't America.

We all started somewhere else but came here. For opportunity. For liberty and freedom. To be left alone to do what we believe is the right thing for us to do.

America is great because as long as it's legal, you are free to do (or not do) whatever you want.

And the great part...you don't have to like what any one else is doing. You don't have to believe what I believe and I don't have to believe what you believe.

But we're both free to do it.
That's what makes us great. That's what's made us the Big Boy on the Block. That's what gives you, your family and your friends the freedom to do or become whatever you want.

Which brings me back to the bar. You could get hot under the collar about the "partners" and their lifestyle. You could get mad at the guy who brought his family to a bar. You could get mad at me for eating fried grouper nuggets, which are obviously not healthy for me.

You should get mad at the old white guy mangling Aretha's song like he did.

But this is America. Everyone gets to choose what they want and do what they want. Like it or not, it's what has made our country great.

The next time you get a chance, sit back and reflect on what has gotten our country to where it is. Think about the choices you've made. Think of all the sacrifice that has gone in to giving us the chance and opportunity to live like we do.

There's a quote I heard from Ronald Reagan. I can't remember in its entirety so I'll just try to get you the idea behind the message.

He said that freedom was only one generation away from dying if we didn't remember why we defend it in the first place and if we lost the will to defend it.

Keep your freedom, your family and your lifestyle as an American close to your heart so that we never forget what makes America great.

Blessings to you and yours, and God Bless America.

Best,

William Huff
http://www.shaolinsecrets.com
Bill@shaolinsecrets.com

I spoke about diversity, tolerance, and choice. The freedom to do what you want and become who you want.

One of the founding principles of our country is the Freedom of Speech. Like it or not, unless they physically touch you, people and the press can say just about anything they want.

As long as it doesn't break the laws of libel, slander, and whatever else, people are allowed to say what they want.

Freedom of the press goes right along with that. The press, while overzealous at times, particularly in areas of national security, are allowed to report and print as they wish.

If today's news is any indication, there is a certain reporter down in Florida who might need to start thinking about his own need of self defense.

This story can be seen on a certain "impartial" national news website and television station.

A reporter, doing a story on a potentially violent man who was allegedly stealing identifications, buying homes and then renting them out, was camped out in front of the alleged bad guy's house, trying to interview him for the story.

A woman, probably his wife, shows up and starts yelling and screaming at the cameraman and the reporter.

Using language that would make a sailor or truck driver blush.

From there, she whacks the reporter in the face several times with a water bottle. To the reporter's credit, he didn't smack her or provoke her in any way; he tried to "talk" her down from her heightened level of anger.

He must not be married.

She stays muy caliente under the collar until You-Know-Who arrives. The bad guy calmly gets out of his car, walks pass the woman, walks up to the reporter...

And knocks the snot out of him.

I mean, he pulled back and let loose with what looked like a ridge hand strike and clocked this guy.

The reporter, probably still saying to himself, "Hey, you can't do that to me; I'm the press", did what every non-trained person does in the face of an assault.

He turned his back and crouched down, trying to cover his face. Not Good.

Now the bad guy has his back, one arm around his neck and the other trying to claw the guy's eyes out.

Enter the reporter's cameraman. He grabs the bad guy from the back around the throat with one arm and tries to pull the bad guy back and off of the reporter.

The reporter is not helping anything because he is frozen in place, bent over, which is keeping the bad guy bent forward, which is preventing the cameraman from getting a good lock on the bad guy.

If it hadn't been a violent assault, it would have been comical.

It wound up with everyone going down in a heap on the ground, reporter trying to keep from getting his eyes gouged out and ears bitten; bad guy trying to maim and snack on the reporter, and cameraman trying to get a lock on the bad guy.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The woman ran off saying she was going to get a gun, but all she could find was a rock.

She would have brained the cameraman with it if it hadn't been for a passerby who thought things were enough out of control and he disarmed the woman.

This whole thing could have been avoided if the reporter had bothered to acknowledge the potential danger in his job, starting taking self defense classes and picked up Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I.

All he had to do was go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com and he could have had the first volume that covers the fundamentals of self defense, health, fitness as well as strikes, kicks, methods of movement and defense, all based on the secret teachings of the Shaolin Temple.

He would have known that blocking with his face and then cowering in a little ball is not the most effective form of self defense

No matter who you are or what you do, none of us knows if or when we may need to protect ourselves and our families. Don't be like the reporter.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - After the reporter went to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com and picked up Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, he should have gone over to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and picked up the training manuals that were used to train our fighting men in World War II and used to train a certain President of the United States. Then he would have been prepared for the woman and the water bottle.

You may have personal experience with this one and if you don't, let's hope that you never have to.

Personally, I have been through two divorces as a child. It doesn't matter which end you're on, divorce really stinks.

Unless you've trained your mind properly.

In Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, which you can see at http://www.shaolinsecrets.com, there is a passage that explains and teaches you to turn any disadvantage to your advantage.

To move your feet if you are in a bad position. Change your method of attack if your initial methods have failed. Take what it being presented and use it to your advantage.

Like Captain Kirk in one of the Star Trek movies. He was asked how he passed what was designed as an un-passable attack simulation test at Star Fleet Academy.

He looked at the person who asked and frankly said, "I cheated. I snuck in and re-programmed the computer so it was possible to pass. There's always a way to win if you refuse to lose."

How does this apply to getting a divorce.

My friend that I work with has already unknowingly stumbled across a hidden benefit that he wasn't even aware of until we talked about it.

His divorce is going to cost him in the high six figures, maybe even seven figures. But he isn't mad; he's not sitting around whining or complaining. He's moving ahead.

He has been much calmer and in a much better mood since the whole ordeal went down. When it was finally real and he knew he was getting a divorce, the change in him was like night and day.

He's no longer on edge all the time. He's not a raw bundle of emotion walking around waiting to explode.

After years of "trying to work it out", the stress and everything else, he seems to be much more relaxed and ready to move on.

Another close friend of mine went through a divorce about a year and a half ago and it cost him six figures, not to mention the time he was married to the wrong woman.

His benefit and mind set was that he was glad that he went through it because now he could get on with meeting the right woman and starting a family. He now has one child with another on the way.

I was engaged before for about a year or so. We had been dating for many years and were living together.

The problem was deep down I knew she wasn't right for me. I had the "wrong thinking" at the time and stayed with her for the wrong reasons.

I was miserable. When I wasn't depressed, I was irritable. I couldn't figure out why until I got it together and realized what I was doing was wrong for both of us.

The day I broke it off with her was one of the most relieving days of my life. Not because I didn't love her, but because I knew staying together was wrong and it was making me so unhappy that I was a jerk to be around.

Kind of like having a pebble in your shoe. It won't kill you and you can keep walking on it, but it hurts and makes you grumpy.

After we broke up, I felt like I had gotten that pebble out. What a relief.

Life changed dramatically after that. I started making more money, taking better care of myself, started dating again and had a real idea of what and who I wanted in a relationship.

In situation after situation, you can take something that is bothering you, look at it and figure out what's the right thing for you to do next, and then do it.

Everyone I know who has done this, while they may have gone through a painful experience to get there, came through the other side happier, healthier and wiser.

So go ahead, get that pebble out of your shoe. You'll be glad you did.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - Speaking of turning something to your advantage, have you ever been in a situation where someone grabbed you and you didn't know what to do. If so, get over to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and check out this course that was used to teach soldiers hand-to-hand combat in WWII.

So many different organizations, news stations and other media outlets all have specials to remember today and honor all of those who have fallen or sacrificed since 9/11.

I don't want to grandstand on this day; plenty of others are doing that already.

You are going to view today and what happened on this day five years ago and deal with it in your own way.

Today I will give thanks to those who have sacrificed to keep America safe and free and I will send good luck to those who continue to go in harm's way for our country.

I hope you acknowledge today in your own way. Hug your loved ones, give thanks that we all live here in the greatest country on earth, and continue to live in the best way you know how.

Let's make all the sacrifices that have been made or will be made for us worth it.

Best to you and yours, and may God Bless the United States of America.

William Huff
http://www.shaolinsecrets.com

Thousands of years of training secrets, philosophies, principles and techniques are contained in these works.

What's beautiful about these volumes is that many of the principles and techniques that are taught can be used in other areas of your life.

As a professional martial arts instructor, I constantly remind students that I work with that unless you can take what you learn in the arts and apply it to your everyday life, you aren't getting the true value from your training.

Let's look at one of the principles that are taught in Volume I...Tenacity.

That "Don't Quit - Don't Back Up" attitude.

It's what makes a street fighter dangerous. He might not be as skilled as a 5th degree Black Belt in Karate or a Brazilian jiu jitsu Black Belt. He might not know the first thing about knife techniques, gun disarms or katas.

All he knows is...keep swinging. Don't quit.

He knows that if he loads up on every shot, swings for the fences and keeps swinging he's eventually going to hit something.

Babe Ruth struck out more than anyone. But he kept swinging.

Thomas Edison failed thousands of times inventing the light bulb. But he kept swinging.

Abe Lincoln failed at just about everything he tried, but he kept swinging and became one of the most pivotal Presidents in history.

Churchill was criticized and maligned several times in his career...but he kept swinging.

I could go on and on about this, but the reality is that you are just inches and moments away from the greatness that you are looking for in every area of your life...

But you have to start swinging. Do something. Stop planning. Stop talking. Stop telling others and yourself "I'm gonna do this..." and "I'm gonna do that..."

Start swinging.

And don't quit.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - There are many other principles besides tenacity that are taught in Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I. Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com to learn more.

P.P.S. - Speaking of tenacity, there were several courses that were used to train our fighting men during World War II in hand-to-hand combat. Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and read all about it.

Thousands of years of training secrets, philosophies, principles and techniques are contained in these works.

What's beautiful about these volumes is that many of the principles and techniques that are taught can be used in other areas of your life.

As a professional martial arts instructor, I constantly remind students that I work with that unless you can take what you learn in the arts and apply it to your everyday life, you aren't getting the true value from your training.

Let's look at one of the principles that are taught in Volume I...Tenacity.

That "Don't Quit - Don't Back Up" attitude.

It's what makes a street fighter dangerous. He might not be as skilled as a 5th degree Black Belt in Karate or a Brazilian jiu jitsu Black Belt. He might not know the first thing about knife techniques, gun disarms or katas.

All he knows is...keep swinging. Don't quit.

He knows that if he loads up on every shot, swings for the fences and keeps swinging he's eventually going to hit something.

Babe Ruth struck out more than anyone. But he kept swinging.

Thomas Edison failed thousands of times inventing the light bulb. But he kept swinging.

Abe Lincoln failed at just about everything he tried, but he kept swinging and became one of the most pivotal Presidents in history.

Churchill was criticized and maligned several times in his career...but he kept swinging.

I could go on and on about this, but the reality is that you are just inches and moments away from the greatness that you are looking for in every area of your life...

But you have to start swinging. Do something. Stop planning. Stop talking. Stop telling others and yourself "I'm gonna do this..." and "I'm gonna do that..."

Start swinging.

And don't quit.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - There are many other principles besides tenacity that are taught in Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I. Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com to learn more.

P.P.S. - Speaking of tenacity, there were several courses that were used to train our fighting men during World War II in hand-to-hand combat. Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and read all about it.

Thousands of years of training secrets, philosophies, principles and techniques are contained in these works.

What's beautiful about these volumes is that many of the principles and techniques that are taught can be used in other areas of your life.

As a professional martial arts instructor, I constantly remind students that I work with that unless you can take what you learn in the arts and apply it to your everyday life, you aren't getting the true value from your training.

Let's look at one of the principles that are taught in Volume I...Tenacity.

That "Don't Quit - Don't Back Up" attitude.

It's what makes a street fighter dangerous. He might not be as skilled as a 5th degree Black Belt in Karate or a Brazilian jiu jitsu Black Belt. He might not know the first thing about knife techniques, gun disarms or katas.

All he knows is...keep swinging. Don't quit.

He knows that if he loads up on every shot, swings for the fences and keeps swinging he's eventually going to hit something.

Babe Ruth struck out more than anyone. But he kept swinging.

Thomas Edison failed thousands of times inventing the light bulb. But he kept swinging.

Abe Lincoln failed at just about everything he tried, but he kept swinging and became one of the most pivotal Presidents in history.

Churchill was criticized and maligned several times in his career...but he kept swinging.

I could go on and on about this, but the reality is that you are just inches and moments away from the greatness that you are looking for in every area of your life...

But you have to start swinging. Do something. Stop planning. Stop talking. Stop telling others and yourself "I'm gonna do this..." and "I'm gonna do that..."

Start swinging.

And don't quit.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - There are many other principles besides tenacity that are taught in Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I. Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com to learn more.

P.P.S. - Speaking of tenacity, there were several courses that were used to train our fighting men during World War II in hand-to-hand combat. Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and read all about it.

He's been with me for years and is a solid martial artist. He's dependable, steady and a hard worker.

He is training for his 2nd Degree Black and e-mailed to ask me for help in practicing. He wanted to know if there was a "perfect" way to practice where he could work on every aspect of his training.

He wants to work his self defense techniques, his sparring, grappling, weapons defenses as well as his timing, speed and power.

I am also working with other professional martial arts instructors who are managing individual locations teaching the martial arts.

Some are doing well; some are average and some are struggling. The question that keeps getting asked is, "How do I get to the next level?"

Many times it feels like they are looking for Yoda; they are looking for the one thing that is the "key" to success.

The answer to my Black Belt's question and to the questions of the Instructors is simple. Here it is...

There is no perfect way or "one thing".

Sorry.

No secret potion, no ancient prayer, no magic marketing technique.

No one way to train that "magically" transforms you.

There is only action, the right information, focus on the right things and consistency between where you are and where you want to be.

In training, no one way is going to be perfect. Perfection is a perception. You want to address each area you want to develop and just work it.

You can have speed day once a week where you work all your techniques with an emphasis on speed. Then you can have power days where you focus on power.

You can do the same with all the ranges of combat when you train. One day is trapping range for speed, the next for power. Or you can grapple with a focus on finishes or with a focus on transitions.
For business, use the tools that have already proven successful. If you want to grow your business and it already has a level of success with just you, if you add another person and have them duplicate exactly what you did (and assuming you didn't quit working), your business would double.

I know of an Instructor running a school who did just that. He started with zero students and within a year had over two hundred.

And all he did was get to seventy five, add an instructor and have them do exactly as he did, then we that instructor got to seventy five, added another one and repeated the process.

As of today, he has over 243 students and he hasn't even been open for two years yet.

I know; it seems too simple. It can't be that easy.

Simple works. Simple has always worked. The challenge is that we all make it complicated, get overwhelmed, doubt ourselves and generally get in our own way.

Think about it. In martial arts, the jump spinning triple yamaguchi kick rarely hits anything or anyone, but the right cross on the button puts them on their can.

In business, the multi-layered, fifty six step sales process with all these moving parts, bells and whistles fizzle out while good old-fashioned direct mail, print ads, referrals, drop boxes, e-mails and the telephone can and do build multi-million dollar businesses.

The Shaolin Monks understand simplicity. At http://www.shaolinsecrets.com, you can learn that Secrets of the Shaolin Temple has principles, techniques and information that is incredibly powerful and that can expand your knowledge and skills.

And all you need to do to learn and grow with this information is your mind, your body and the desire to be great.

Simple.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - I just got off of the phone with my printer and Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume II is on the horizon. Stay tuned.

P.P.S. - For another example of how "Simple Works" go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and see how simple it is for you to get the training manuals that were used to train soldiers in hand-to-hand combat during WWII.

You blew it. Skrewed up. Fumbled. Checked out. Had a Senior Moment. Temporarily lost your mind.

These are just some of the many phrases that may pop into your head when you have made a mistake.

What do you do when you really lay an egg. How you handle making a mistake can dictate your level of success in every aspect of your life.

There are several ways that people react when they blow it big time.

The first type is the "Drama Queen". This person sits around, wasting time complaining about the mistake that was made and all the terrible things that will happen as a result. Everything gets blown completely out of proportion and the world is coming to an end.

The next type is the "I'm a Terrible Person" type. This person believes and feels that the reason this mistake happened was because he was a terrible person and somehow he deserved what happened. Like he is a mistake magnet.

The next type is the "Conspiracy Theory" type. It was so-and-so's fault. The Devil made me do it. It wasn't me; I was on the moon at the time...and on and on. This type of person cannot acknowledge or accept the fact that he blew it.

So what do you do.

You accept and acknowledge the mistake. The worse lies that we tell are the ones we tell ourselves, so don't pretend it didn't happen or ignore it.

Accept it. Embrace it. Take it in your hands, rub it in your face and say, "Yeah baby...I blew it. Nice one."

You can get mad, but laugh at yourself also. Look yourself in the mirror and say, "Nice job. You really laid an egg on that one."

Then, start thinking about solutions. How do you turn this into your advantage. If you can't turn it into an advantage, how can you minimize the fallout. Can you keep the negatives from being as much as they could be.

And lastly, what can you learn from this. What was your thinking, your beliefs and actions. What steps did you take to make the mistake that you did and how do you not repeat that mistake in the future.

In Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, which is at http://www.shaolinsecrets.com, there are passages where the Masters write about using your opponent's energy against him; how to move from a position of weakness and then turn that position into a position of strength.

Sometimes when you are sparring or training, you'll get blasted. You'll eat a front kick or suck up a right cross. Do you tense your body, kiai and take it or do you roll with it and use that energy for your next movement.

I was sparring with a guy once who had wicked sweeps and leg kicks. I had happy feet the whole time I was fighting him because I was aware of his feet.

He caught me anyway. He hit me with a low leg sweep/kick that hit me so hard it spun me around.

As I was coming around after getting hit, I knew he would be following with his hands so I did the only thing I could think of...

I threw a spinning hook kick as my body came back around and nailed him in the back of his head. I hit him at the base of his neck and put him on his face.

Which was lucky for me because I could barely walk after that stinkin' leg kick he hit me with.

If you think about it, that's what you do when you train. You perform a technique or piece of footwork. You get a result. If it's the result you want, you make sure that you do it that way every time.

If it isn't the result you want, then you stop, figure out what you did that wasn't quite right, adjust and try again.

When you make a mistake, go with it. Admit you blew it, look to see why, take action to fix it, learn and move on.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement for a teleseminar on Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, Volume II and our upcoming DVD series.

P.S.S - If you haven't gotten your copy of Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I yet, get over to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com and get yours before this teleseminar so you can get the most out of the teleseminar.

Many times I have written to you and said that to truly get the benefits out of the martial arts and Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, you want to apply the principles both to your training and to different parts of your life.

Let's say you are sparring and you are the shorter opponent against a taller, superior kicker who favors the front kick and Thai smash kick. What would be the best way to avoid damage and position yourself to attack.

Or, you're in middle management and you have an idea that you have tested that you know will increase business, but you bring it up with your boss, and since he is successful and more experienced than you, he shoots the idea down. Now what do you do.

You want to have a weekend with the boys. It's not that your wife doesn't "allow" you to or that she doesn't trust you; it's just that she likes to spend her time with you and isn't fired up about sharing. How do you handle this.

If your answer to any of these situations was the old, "Hey-Diddle-Diddle-Right-Up-the-Middle" Frontal Assault, then you need to learn about The Circle.

In the first case, going straight at your opponent would put you not only in line with his front kick, but he could fade back a bit or just time you and chop you down with the Thai kick.

If you circle to the weak side, keeping yourself close enough to think he can hit you, you can make him fire when you are offline of hi power or even better, catch him when he is moving his feet and launch your attack when he isn't set.

With the Boss, if you sit and debate and/or argue with him, trying to convince him why your idea is a good one, you are wasting your breathe. Your adversary in that situation is spelled E-G-O and you can't whup it with a frontal assault.

You have to maneuver around to the flanks. You do this by getting someone else that the Boss respects to "plant a seed" about your idea. Then you have someone else plant another seed.

Then you get the test results that proved the idea and "innocently" attach it to another report as a footnote, just so he sees it again.

Pretty soon the Boss is going to get a great idea; the one you told him about earlier and shot down. You can get the credit for the idea later...you won the battle for now.
With the Missus, again you have to circle. Coming home and announcing that you are going out with the boys next weekend is your right as a man; no man should have to clear or get permission for every little thing from his wife or the other way around.

The reality is...if you aren't smart about managing your relationship you whole world can come crashing down. (Remember the Wedding Day joke..."Love is grand...but divorce is Five Hundred Grand.")

Moving onward, a smart way to handle the weekend with the boys is to set up a weekend with the girls or buy her a day at the Spa at the same time you want to be gone.

She feels you have gone out of her way to do something special and you get what you want. And the next time you want to do something you'll have more credits in the "Bank of Wife."

We could go on and on about this principle, but you get the idea.

In most cases, all you have to do is look at your situation and say to yourself, "Self, how can apply the principle of The Circle to my advantage" and you will see many options.

So if you're on the bottom, back on the mat and getting pounded; sparring with a better fighter, bucking for a promotion or practicing Spousal Management 101...

When in doubt...make a circle.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - Man oh Man...some of you are burning up the airwaves about the teleseminar and upcoming products. Your patience will be rewarded. Look for a big announcement on Monday next.

P.P.S. - Get over to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com/lightning-ju-jitsu.html and see how the principle of the circle was used to train our WWII soldiers for hand-to-hand combat and to train a certain President of these United States.

Some are newsletters from people I mentor with or I am in a coaching group with. Others are newsletters from other martial artists or businessmen like myself who have products and services available on the Internet.

Some are from students that I teach; my Webmaster and I are talking more each day and of course, my wife, who is more comfortable e-mailing from work than talking on the phone.

That leaves the last type of e-mails, which are becoming my favorite.

The Nastygrams. The Complainers. The Challengers. The Who-Do-You-Think-You Are'ers.

Yes, as the business and success has grown, so have the detractors.

After yesterday's e-mail on the Principle of the Circle, I got a reply this guy wanted to meet me in sparring.

Huh.

A while ago, I would have reacted negatively. I would have gotten defensive and started to ask myself things like what did I say, who does this guy think he is, I'll meet him and show him a thing or to, blah-blah-blah.

All which would have been crap, completely useless and a waste of my time.

Then I got to thinking. And I said to myself, "Grandma taught me what to do when this happens." Here's a story that explains it perfectly.

I read a story yesterday that was in Sports Illustrated about Julius Jones, the running back for Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys.

Julius said that he had flunked out of college and had to transfer to a Junior College to get his grades up. He said it was the most humiliating experience of his life and he said to himself, "I can either cry about this or be a man, learn from it and grow."

He got his grades up, made it back to Division I-A football and now plays for the Dallas Cowboys.

He talked about how tough it is playing for Bill Parcells and how he pushes you. He talked about a play where he popped a rib out, his shoulder and upper back went numb and he couldn't breathe.

He pulled himself out of the game and Coach Parcells looked at him and said, "What's wrong?" to which Julius replied, "Coach, I can't breathe."

He said Parcells looked him in the eye and said, "Yes you can. Get back out there." Julius ran back out on the field for a play or two, none of which were called for him to carry the ball or catch, and then Parcells pulled him.

He said that he was pretty mad when it happened, but then he figured out that the Coach was testing him to see how he would handle it. Would he get mad, rebel, play harder or what.

Just like when he flunked out of school, Julius took a situation and turned it around to his benefit. He didn't let it bother him or derail him from what he was going after. He used it as fuel and poured it on his fire for the goal he was after.

Just like the e-mail I mentioned earlier. I didn't get mad; I got excited. I want to write more e-mails that get you fired up.

I want tons of Nastygrams. Because for every one nastygram I get, I get ten positive e-mails telling me how much they like Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I, which is available at http://www.shaolinsecrets.com, can't wait for Volume II and any other product I may come up with.

When it comes to challenges or negativity, do like Grandma used to tell you...take lemons and make it into lemonade.

You'll be surprised to find out how much lemonade you seem to always have around.

Best,

William Huff

P.S. - Your Grandma probably read romance novels, but if she was into the martial arts, she would have had to have a copy of Secrets of the Shaolin Temple Volume I. My Granny bought any book that had the word "Secrets" in the title. She always assumed it had to be a romance novel. In Granny's memory, get over to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com and get a copy if you haven't gotten one already.