Having Some Martial Arts Fun

Having some Martial Arts Fun:

 

 

Honoring

 

 

Ba Gua Chuan

 

 

 

Karate, Tea kwon Do and Kempo

 

Shaolin Chuan

 

 

 

Judo, Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo

 

How does it feel to be 40?

Being my Birthday today,

 

I have been asked,

 

"Brett, How does it feel to be 40?"

 

To be honest;

 

It Feels Freaking Fantastic!!!!

 

 

Here are some pictures from

 

The Birthday Morning!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Personal Post

Building off of the last few personal posts, I had a friend of mine that was wondering how I never became an alcoholic?" They asked me, "Brett, it's in your genes. How'd you never become one?" An easy answer actually. I knew that it was in my genes and I knew that I have an addictive personality. So, I never pulled the trigger on the genetics. Instead, I choose never to touch alcohol and choose my addictions wisely. I put my efforts instead into Fitness, Training, Eating Clean, Martial Arts, Gymnastics and Acrobatics, Guitar and that sort of thing. And, I've never once regretted it.

The only reason men fight....

"The only reason men fight is because they are insecure; one man has to prove that he is better or stronger than another. The man who is secure within himself has no need to prove anything with forc, so he can walk away from a fight with dignity and pride. He is the true martial artist -- a man so strong inside that he has no need to demonstrate his power." Ed Parker, father of American Karate, Grandmaster of Kempo.

A personal note, and much peace

A client of mine was talking with me about the personal post I made a few weeks ago and they said, "Brett, it's hard to believe that you are genuinely such a great guy, so truly happy and at peace and so in love with life; based on your past. How do you do it?" First of all, thanks for the compliment =) I told them that yes, my past includes almost drowning, growing up in an alcoholic and abusive household, being molested as a child outside of the household, breaking my back, and numerous violent real world altercations. But, that past doesn't define who I am. The past doesn't exist and it has no bearing on who you are today nor on who you will be tomorrow. Your choices make all the difference. Yes, I may have had a troubled past, buy many had far worse and came out the other end as well. My scars and hard times taught me what I didn't want to be and how I didn't want to live, and showed my a clear path on how to become what I want to become. It taught me how to be a stronger and better persons, and these are lessons that I can forever use to help others find the light at the end of their darkness. They taught me how to appreciate life, and all of the beauties in it. They taught me how to truly forgive and the magic that exists in forgiveness. And they taught my that I can always choose to be happy right now, for no reason at all. Once I forgave all those involved as well as myself; once I chose peace, love, happiness and beauty, everything else fell into place. And I am truly free to become the man I want to become. To be truly happy and at peace with myself and the world, regardless of what's going on around me. And I truly wake up everyday looking forward to the adventure of life, Loving life 100%, and being grateful and blessed for the life that I have, who I am and who I am becoming =) Much love, peace and happiness to everyone. And remember, I can always choose peace, rather than this =)

 

 

 

 

An Artless Art

"Technical Knowledge is not enough. One must transcend technique so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious." -- Daisetsu Suzuki

 

 

 

 

A personal post

This post is a little personal. I always love it when I get comments on how people never see me without a smile, always see me happy and always see me in a wonderful mood. It means that I've come along way. People tend to stare in disbelief then when I talk about my past. I've gone through many periods of darkness. Many periods of intense violence, anger and hurt. But, not only did I survive and make it out on the other side. I also came out a much happier, stronger person. One that's completely in love with life, at peace with myself and the world around me, and unconditionally happy. I've always known that it is my path to help as many others live the lives of their dreams; and the lessons that I've learned, and the scars that I've beared; have only helped me in my quest. Remember, the wake my always trail behind the boat, but it has no bearing on the boat's direction. And, no matter where you are right now, no matter what you're going through, you can not only survive and make it out the other end; but you can find out that the best is yet to come for you!! Much love and happiness to everyone! =)

 

 

 

A little from Seneca

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult." --- Seneca

 

 

 

 

Keep away from.....

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain

 

 

 

 

There is no way.......

There is no "Way to the peaceful warrior." There is only the "Way of the Peaceful Warrior."

-- Dan Millman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The highest realm of the true warrior

Warrior cultures have always followed certain principles based on honor, integrity, respect, loyalty and protection. But what the true warrior seeks, above all else, is peace. The highest realm of the warrior's life then is to become an instrument of pure peace and love. -- Brett Stepan

 

 

 

 

 

 

My way of sendng a message of lvoe and hope to the world!!

I felt the need to send some love and hope out to the world today, ad this is my way of doing it. My version of White Lion's "When The Children Cry." This one is dedicated to all of my brothers and sisters out there regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, political leaning, ethnicity, nationality, etc. or any other way that people try to divide us. We're all one and the same and much love to everyone out there!!

 

Here's the Link to the Video:

https://youtu.be/3XdWO_YSq2k?t=5

 

 

 

Living a truth

In my journey of life, I know that my life's work is to help as many others reach their hopes and dreams and find their happiness, as I can. With that comes inherent risks, situations that make you afriad and can lead to being hurt in many ways. But, the warrior still does it anyway, knowing that it's right. And knowing that helping others create their dreams is always the most amazing reward possible!!

 

 

It's hard to believe.....

Throughout my life I've had the honor and privelage to study a variety of martial arts; from the common like boxing, wrestling, and karate; to the rare like pentjack silat, sombo, and Chin Na; and I love and respect them all. It's hard to belive that it's now been a few decades since earning my first black belts in Karate, Judo and Jujitsu. What a wonderful journey it still is =)

 

 

 

 

Muslce Bound, that truly doesn't exist!

It's funny, in the training world there still exists the belief that strength and muscle mass are somehow mutually explosive to flexibility. That somehow, training for strength and muscle will make you "Muscle Bound." Well, if you do it correctly, nothing could be further from the truth!

Here's some proof!!

 

 

 

People are Strange

People are strange. It's funny, you can dedicate your entire life to the study of fitness and nutrition, health and wellness, performance, and physique development; earning dozens of professional certifications in each. You can have 20 years of experience training literally 100's of people from all walks of life and all ages to successfully accomplishing their fitness, health and nutrition goals; then move them on reaching goals they never even dreamed of. And you can live a healthy lifestyle and follow your own methods to become a damn good living advertisement of the effectiveness of your methods. Yet, there are still so many people, many in your supposed circle of friends and relatives; who have never trained anyone, never studied, and don't even train themselves that truly believe they know better and will literally tell you that you're not only wrong, but that you have no idea what you're talking about in regards to healthy living, training, eating, supplementing, etc. It'll always make me scratch my head.

Despite 8 months away.....

Despite being away from any type of gymnastics and acrobatic training, it was nice to know that I could jump in today and be better than when I left off. Had fun playing with some Straddle Planches, Handstands, and the V-sit to Handstand to Straddle Planche to V-sit combo during my morning today.  Here's the pics of the 1st and 2nd Straddle Planche and the V-sit at the beginning of the combo; and the vids of the 1st Straddle Planche and the first Combo in 8 months.

 

 

 

And the Vids:

 

 

 



 

 

 

Some Classic Poses

Hitting the Classis Archer Pose

 

And

 

The Classic 1-arm Back and

Biceps Pose

 

 

Working the cover model poses

Lol!

 

Working on my

 

 

Cover Model Poses!!

 

 

A golden rule of physical training!

A Great Golden Rule To Remember!!

 

If You Can't Flex It!!

 

 

You Can't Train It!!

 

 

100% True!!

 

 

Haters gonna hate, lol

 

 



The Picture that started it all, Lol...

 

 

 

 

Hmmm....can't believe I'm actually going to say this but Taylor Swift is right, haters gonna hate, hate, hate, lol. Had a few people try to rip me apart for the relaxed pose yesterday because there were no abs in it. So, herre's a few pics from this morning that show, yes, even with crappy lighting and a crappy camera, the abs are still poppin'.

 

 

 

8 weeks into the lean out phase

8 Weeks into the lean out and get as chiseled and beautiful as possible phase, down from a powerful and muscular 205 to a lean and chiseled 175.

Nothing Lost, A Lot Gained

After taking 6 months off from any type of acrobatic and gymnastic training, focusing exclusively on Pure Strength, Power and Mass Building; it's nice to know that I could simply jump back in and be better than I was before.

Here's a quick video of some Back Rolls to Forward Rolls on the High Bar:

And a picture of the first Human Flag of the year.

Always Remember

Always remember, being able to move easily and with grace through full ranges of motion, being flexible and mobile and having a true ease of movement is essential to fitness, health and quality of life!