“Be the weird kid.
Be the funny kid.
Be the quiet kid.
Be the athletic kid.
Be the theatre kid.
Be the numbers kid.
Just don’t be the mean kid.”
-Anonymous
“As in life, so too in budo. As in budo, so too in life.”
-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
“When I go to the schools to talk to the kids, I say, ‘Always be open to try something new because it might not just change your life, it could change the world.’”
-DMC
In 1986, hip hop pioneers Run-DMC put out a record single that changed the music world forever, but if it were up to them, it would have never come out. As DMC tells the story, in the mid-80’s, it was common for hip hop emcees to rap over rock ‘n roll breakbeats and the opening riff in Aerosmith’s 1975 song “Walk This Way” from Toys in the Attic was especially popular. None of them had ever actually listened to it long to get to the vocals, however. All they knew was that the #4 on Toys in the Attic made a great breakbeat.
One day, Run-DMC were in the studio recording their newest record, Raising Hell and they were writing some rhymes to go over the “Walk This Way” breakbeat. Jammaster Jay was playing the beat while two emcees, Run and DMC, were threw ideas back and forth. Producer Rick Rubin had an idea. Instead of writing their own rhymes to go over the rock beat, they should listen to the original song, transcribe the lyrics, and rap the song’s original lyrics over the beat. Run and DMC hated the idea until both Jay and Rubin convinced them otherwise.
Rubin then took the whole thing further by actually brought Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry to the studio to record the song with a confused and reluctant Run-DMC. The two emcees went along with the idea, but they knew it would be a flop, especially compared to the single “My Adidas” b/w “Peter Piper.” When the single came out, however, it was an instant hit in both the rap world and the rock world, becoming the first rap/rock cross-over hit in history, pushing Raising Hell to double-platinum status and changing American music forever. No one was more surprised than Run and DMC and they grew to love “Walk This Way.”
“As in life, so too in budo. As in budo, so too in life.”
-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-creator of Taikyoku Budo and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
We have made it. We have enough. Our kids have enough. Thank you. Now let’s do great work.
From the perspective of basic needs being met, food, shelter, clothing, education, etc., my grandparents gave my parents a better life than they had growing up. In turn, my parents gave us a better life than they had and we are trying to give our children the same. When holidays and birthdays roll around, this becomes most obvious. On the material level, our kids do not need anything.
They have enough clothes, enough toys, and enough books and games for an entire village. They have clean, drinkable water on demand, hot water to bathe with, food when they are hungry, and warm beds to sleep in. We live in a time and place where these basic needs are easier to meet than ever before in all of human history. We do not live extravagantly, but we have enough, our children have enough, and I know that we are very fortunate.
With all of their basic needs being met on a material level, and again I am not talking about living in luxury by any means, we find ourselves in a strange position as parents. We have the ability to choose things for our children that go beyond needs. We have the ability to give them time and experiences, the ability to encourage them to be inspired and creative. All of this, that has taken many, many generations to achieve, would be entirely wasted if all we chose were more things, trips to the mall, video games, fast food, social media, and binge-watching Netflix.
We, as parents, as uncles and aunts, and as grandparents, must choose to not waste this opportunity. In no exaggerated terms, it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Let’s teach them how to live.
“As in life, so too in budo. As in budo, so too in life.”
-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
If we walk the path together, we are more than simply travel companions. We are friends. We are family.
A few days before Ike Haertel, head instructor at Kogen Dojo, was going to test for his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) with Relson Gracie, several of us attended a seminar with Relson at our local affiliate headquarters in Columbia, MD. After the seminar, I bumped into a gentleman that I knew through Facebook, a student of Relson himself, Patrick Gaul, and Patrick and I began chatting. Patrick had just successfully tested for his black belt with Relson a few days prior, so he was quite familiar with the test in its latest iteration. I called Ike over and introduced the two.
Ike and Patrick hit it off and began discussing the test, which is a rigorous, highly detail-focused demonstration of self-defense techniques, including defenses against empty handed-attacks such as grabs and strikes and defenses against close-quarters weapons-based attacks, as passed down from Helio Gracie to Relson, Helio’s second oldest son. We asked Patrick if he would be willing to come out to Kogen to help Ike fine-tune his techniques and offered to pay him for his time. Patrick graciously and enthusiastically agreed, and he drove from Virginia to Severna Park on the weekend to work with Ike for a few hours.
It was obvious to Patrick that Ike was ready to test and that Ike had spent a lot of time learning, practicing, and refining the techniques with the help of the Stewart brothers, Mike and Jordan, and Relson Gracie black belt Toney Waldecker. Patrick showed Ike some changes that Relson had recently made and touched up a few details. After training was over, Ike and I thanked Patrick for driving such a long way and being so generous with his time, and I prepared to pay him. Patrick, however, was reluctant to accept payment, explaining, “You guys are under Relson. You are family. I’m happy to help my family,” and, in that moment, a lifelong connection was formed.
“As in life, so too in budo. As in budo, so too in life.”
-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
How can I help you accomplish the impossible and achieve your goals?
“There isn’t enough time.”
“The task is too difficult.”
“There aren’t enough resources available.”
“The timing just isn’t right.”
“It has never been done before.”
“It’s impossible.”
All of these statements are probably true. You can accept them as such and do exactly what you are doing now, exactly what you have always done, and get the results you have always gotten. No one will bother you. No one will push you. No one will question you for waiting until you are ready, until the timing is right, until things calm down a little bit, or until you have more help. You can rest easy knowing that logic and practicality are on your side.
If, however, you insist on moving forward anyway, if you refuse to accept your circumstances as inevitable, if you demand of yourself that you must level up in spite of everything working against you, and if you will not accept what is and what has always been in the face of what can be, speak up. Say something. Do something. If you are honest and sincere, if you refuse to be denied, someone will be watching and he or she will stand with you to face and overcome the odds that are against you. Together, you will accomplish the impossible.
That is leadership.
“As in life, so too in budo. As in budo, so too in life.”
-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Meditations on God 