Meditations on God

Complexity Does Not Equate To Quality
“There is always a market for the highest quality.”

—Tim Ferriss

Complexity is a means of hiding poor quality, not improving it. It is better to start with fewer, higher quality ingredients, to intentionally limit yourself, and to highlight those ingredients than it is to start with a larger quantity of low quality ingredients and to try to make up for low quality with variety and complexity. Low quality does not become high quality simply by having more of it.

Starting with a limited number of high quality ingredients does not guarantee success, however. Simplicity is unforgiving. It gives us nowhere to hide. Simplicity requires us to be humble, to let the ingredients shine. If we have a few, high quality ingredients, the goal is to enhance their positive attributes, to draw them out, not to mask them.

Adding unnecessary complexity to a dish will only diminish the overall quality of the final product. Complexity does not improve quality. It mutes it. More is not better. Better is better.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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July 19, 2019

complexity, essentialism, food, quality, quality ingredients, quality over quanitity, quantity, simplicity
Facing The Challenge (To Who We Think We Are)
Who you think you are is your greatest obstacle to growth and progress along the way.

Mike Stewart Jr and Robert Van Valkenburgh at Kogen Dojo. Photo by Mike Oswald Photography

We all step onto the mats with a certain amount of ego — a self-perception, self-protection, and self-projection — that we consciously or unconsciously hide behind. As we train, if we are being challenged in a safe and healthy way, this holographic image of who we think we are, or who we want others to think we are, begins to flicker and fade, leaving us exposed and in the open.

As this happens, how we respond to the exposure begins to define and shape not only our progress, but also our character, both on and off the mats. If we insist on maintaining the illusion of our power and infallibility, it is likely that we will not last long in this arena. In order to change and grow, some humility is required. We must be willing to accept our own limitations and the help and instruction necessary to overcome those limitations.

If we are willing, we will find many teachers along the way. These teachers may be those more experienced and skilled than us, but we can also learn from the newest, least experienced people in the room. Everyone and every moment has something to teach us. Even as we become more senior and more skilled, we can learn, grow, and change. As long as we remain teachable, as long as we do not take ourselves too seriously, and as long as we do not quit, the possibilities are endless.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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July 18, 2019

bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, budo, ego, gracie jiu-jitsu, growth, humility, identity, japanese martial arts, learning, life, Martial Arts, taikyoku budo
The Guarantee of a Practical Life
If you want certainty, do not choose to live a creative life. If you want certainty, choose instead a life of practicality.

‘Fairy Potato’ by Ana

If we choose a creative life, we do not know what the future will hold. We do not know if things will work out. We do not know if we will earn a living. We do not know if others will find value in our work, if they will be inspired by it, if they will support our efforts, or if they will even notice. The creative path is one of uncertainty.

On the other hand, if we choose a life wherein we deny our creative nature, wherein we choose practicality and stability over uncertainty, the future is guaranteed. We are still not guaranteed to earn a living. We are still not guaranteed to be employed or even employable. We are still not guaranteed to be make a difference, to be be supported, or even noticed. None of those things are ever guaranteed.

If we choose to ignore our creative drive, to mute our inner voice, and to dampen the spark that wants so desperately to become a raging fire, we are guaranteed only one thing. We are guaranteed to not be creative. We will always wonder what could have and should have been, and to regret never having had the courage to give ourselves the opportunity to explore, discover, and express who we truly are and have to offer the world around us.

With creativity comes uncertainty, but uncertainty is the path of possibility.

“In life, so too it is in budo. In budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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July 17, 2019

artist, artistic, budo, career, creation, creative, creativity, guarantee, inspriation, life, opportunity, passion, possibility, practicality, stability
Be The Partner You Want And Need
The fastest way to improve in martial arts is to have great training partners, but the best way to have great training partners is to first become one yourself.

Dwayne Bowie and Ike Haertel drilling technique at Kogen Dojo. Photo by Mike Oswald Photography

In martial arts, paired drilling, the concentrated practicing of specific, often isolated, skills with another person, is an irreplaceable component of any well-rounded training regimen. However, a good, knowledgable partner is essential for the drilling of any dynamic skill. If your partner does not know how to properly respond to your movements, whether by attacking or defending, it will be impossible to train the skill you are working on in a beneficial way that develops realistic movement skills and instincts.

The goal of being a good drilling partner is not to stop your partner from working on his or her techniques, but it is also not to help him or her through them in an unnatural way. Your goal should be to be exactly who your partner needs you to be in a way that best represents the real challenges that he or she will face against a skilled opponent, helping him or her work through the problems that are likely to arise. In this way, you are building your partner up so that he or she will be more successful in the future, when it counts, perhaps in an unfriendly, even hostile, environment.

By helping your partners develop in this way, by being who and what he or she needs for optimal growth and progress, not only will they improve, but so will you. Better partners make you better as well. The more skilled and intelligent your drilling partners become, the more successful you will be against other opponents. You will develop exponentially faster than you would have alone. In this way, the fastest way to improve is by first being a good partner and by helping those around you to improve.

“In life, so too it is in budo. In budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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July 16, 2019

aikido, bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, budo, drilling, gracie jiu-jitsu, kogen dojo, life, Martial Arts, partner, partnership, submission grappling, taikyoku budo
Grappling With Your Hopes And Fears
If you want to know more about yourself, your fears, and your ego, grapple.

Relson Gracie demonstrating angle of attack at Kogen Dojo. Photo by Mike Oswald Photography

Grappling is a form of self-expression, under pressure and against resistance. As a person’s skills develop in any grappling art, his or her personality begins to come through in the way that he or she trains. This is especially true in sparring or rolling (Brazilian jiu-jitsu sparring) when pressure, resistance, and some level of competition are added to the equation. The way that you behave while rolling, the attitude you bring to each round, the things you are willing or unwilling to try, and the way you win or lose are like a mirror into your soul.

When things get difficult, do you turn into adversity or away from it? Do you open up, take risks, and try new things or do stay closed and tight, waiting for a sure thing, relying on what you know already know works? Do you rely too heavily on your strengths and never work on your weaknesses? How do you deal with pressure, both when applying it or when on the receiving end of it? What about fast moving, rapidly changing challenges? Do you face problems head on or do you try to find an advantageous angle of attack? When you are beat up, exhausted, and overwhelmed, do you jump in for another round or do you sit out until you feel fresh again? Is it more important for you to win or to learn?

All of these are personal questions and there are really no right or wrong answers. We are each on our own personal journey and, if we continue to show up, the answers to these questions will change and so will we. The important thing is to acknowledge who we are right now, who we want to be in the future, and to choose the path, the teacher(s), and the training partners that best aid us along the way to becoming that person, and the grappler, we want to be.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

39.073857 -76.547111
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July 15, 2019

bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, budo, gracie jiu-jitsu, grappling, kogen dojo, life, Martial Arts, personal goals, personality, self expression, submission grappling, the journey, the path, the way

Complexity Does Not Equate To Quality

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Facing The Challenge (To Who We Think We Are)

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The Guarantee of a Practical Life

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Be The Partner You Want And Need

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Grappling With Your Hopes And Fears

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