from atama. this is hilarious.
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I, along with many of you, have been keenly following the adventures of Trey in Jordan's regular "Training Blog" emails. For those of you who have missed them until now - I have posted them below. It is a real emotional roller-coaster journey, with cliffhangers and moments of true heartbreak.
Please, if anyone has heard ANYTHING, please let us know. Let's not forget the little guy.
Part 1
I pick up Trey on the way - a white belt who
doesn't drive. I give him rides when I can. He's
a good kid - 20 years old, wants to do MMA.
He needs a good mentor and I talk to him
about dedication, drive, pursuit of goals and
hard work as we drive.
I tell the kid about my mindset, about how
all it takes in one.
"all it takes is one" is a mantra I live by. And it
came to me from a mentor at a very critical
point in my life, actually it saved me life...more
on that later.
I say "all it takes is one match, one tournament, you
can lose a thousand times, but if you tap a good guy,
that's when the magic happens."
He asks about failure and I say:
"Trey, in this game failure is around every corner, but when you
view it like a corrective tool, like a smart teacher
standing over your shoulder telling you, "that doesn't
work - try something else" failure becomes your best
friend, your guide.
He laughs. You don't actually like failure do you, he says.
I don't, Trey, I hate it actually, I say.
But it's grown on me, I say.
He goes quiet for a moment and nods
as if he understands.
We arrive to the school and start the first
session of the day...
Part 2
I see Trey cleaning the common area and ask him how his day went.
"Good man" he says. But I see right through it.
His face is sunken in, and I can see pain in his eyes.
I can tell he's hungry. He doesn't
have much money and when I can I help him.
I buy him food.
I sneak him a twenty dollar bill and
tell him to buy bread and butter. He smiles and
looks around to see if anyone's watching - then
gives me a quick hug.
I leave and prepare for night training...
Part 3
I see Trey, the white belt kid who I mentor in
the hallway, laughing and joking with a few
other kids.
I ask him how he's doing.
"super-fantastic" he says.
I tell him he needs to be more serious.
He says "I'm almost done cleaning - chill out"
I say " DO YOU WANT TO BE A CHAMPION?! " in a stern voice.
I then explain how a determined person is serious about
everything, whether it's cleaning a toilet, or drilling a guard
pass I'm going to give 100% to it.
He say's "yes sir" and walks away.
I was probably too harsh on the kid, but
sometimes I think he needs that.
I can see in his face that he's startled. He wasn't
expecting that from me.
Part 4
I see Trey again after class today
I say "what up man"
And he goes "I got taken off the mat dude"
I say "for what"
He goes "skin issues" and walks away prematurely.
I think I know whats going on I say to myself. Trey doesn't
have a washer at home, he lives with his sister, who is poor.
He's probably been hand washing his gi's. Poor kid. I tell myself
that over the weekend I'll wash all his gis for him.