Gayle HWho’s a Karate Kid fan??
The Karate Kid (the original first movie – not the knockoffs or subsequent installments) was one of my favorite movies as a female teenager.
I mean Ralph Macchio. How could you not have a crush on him?
Sorry, a moment of teenage digression there.
For those of you unfamiliar with the story (and for those who need a refresher) – Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is the underdog – to get the girl (Ali) and to prove his worth as a ‘cool kid who can kick butt’ through the use of karate (the chosen form of said ‘cool and kick butt’ power).
Daniel trains with Mr. Miyagi – who teaches him the purest form of karate. Karate comes from the head and should be used only for defense.
The ‘cool’ kids train at a dojo that promotes karate as a power play, based in winning at all costs, showing no mercy to your opponent and striking first.
You see where all of this is going, right? Spoiler alert – good always wins over bad.
The reason I’m bringing this up is because there is a spin-off now on Netflix called Cobra Kai. This show follows Daniel and Johnny (the leader of the cool kids who Daniel beats in the end) as they are now adults.
And you see where all of that is going, right? Prepare for binge watching.
So where is the life lesson in all of this Gayle? Other than good wins over bad?
Well, the other day I was talking to a friend about our training schedule for the Coast 2 Coast walk we now plan to accomplish in 2021. 192 miles across the United Kingdom. We had planned to accomplish this feat in 2020, but that, like many other things, was rearranged do to the global pandemic.
Anyway, we were talking about whole body training. Physical and mental preparation. And what we needed to do to be at our best.
I have been back to a fairly regular routine at the gym. And, over the past few months, have ventured out to increase my strength training. Meaning, in addition to a nice mix of weights, form and cardio training, I have been using a bar bell.
And adding weight. And challenging myself.
My friend asked why I was focused on this type of training? How would it help my performance on the trail?
My response? Most importantly, adding weight increases my focus on form. And using the right muscles to do the right work. Just like when you are hiking for extended periods of time, the more the right muscles are doing the right things (think using your legs to walk vs. your upper body to move you forward), the longer you can go, the better you feel and the less chance you will injure yourself.
BUT! There is one more thing. And I’m not ashamed to admit this.
Lifting those heavy weights makes me feel like a badass!!
Back to Cobra Kai.
My modus operandi for exercise is to pay attention to how my body feels. To incorporate functional movements. Seek to understand how to create and distribute power through focus, function and understanding.
Mr. Miyagi style training!
But every now and then you just have to be a badass. Cobra Kai style.
I’m reading Jen Sincero’s You Are A Badass Every Day book (this supports the more detailed concepts she lays out in her first book You Are A Badass). In here, Jen refers to a ‘spiritual gym routine’, which I love. Mr. Miyagi style training.
But then Jen acknowledges that being a badass supplements that spiritual gym routine (those are my words, not hers). Her book is a ‘booster shot for all the motivational medicine you are taking’. Cobra Kai style.
I love these ideas because, as with my physical exercise example, I feel like I can get caught up sometimes with:
Focusing on making sure I am being thoughtful
Worrying if I’m being ‘too much’
Ensuring that I take other’s points of view into consideration before I share mine (if I even share)
Caring too much about what other people thought of me.
Don’t get me wrong – these are all good things in the right context!
But none of them should ever get in the way of remembering that you have your own badassery too. And that badassery needs to be seen! Felt! Shared!
Don’t hurt anyone intentionally. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t be a bully.
Do find something that makes you feel good about yourself and proactively do that thing with power, no apologies, no explaining or rationalizing to others.
Find your Cobra Kai and use it for good! (Spoiler alert: You’ll see this concept come to fruition in the Cobra Kai series).
Gayle H
