The desire to ‘make it perfect’ makes complete sense. You want every aspect as good as possible, because having it that way would ensure that the business will run optimally. You want to take pride in your work, and to know that you put in 100% effort, that you worked and worked and worked until the vision in your mind was turned into reality. Unfortunately, this approach simply won’t work.

Perfection doesn’t exist. The closer you come, the harder each incremental step becomes.

A traumatic past left me with anxiety and depression issues as well as a significant amount of pent up rage. With no guidance of how to deal with it, I turned to punching a bag for relief. Luckily for me it started to work, and I fell in love with martial arts.

Eventually I came across BJJ and I was hooked - the social atmosphere, constant learning, physicality and the practicality in a self defence situation all combined to be one of the best treatments for my mental health issues...

A violent conflict is a serious event, you could face psychological, physical or legal consequences for your involvement - even if you didn't "start it'. You need to know what to do post conflict - what to do after a fight.

You need to know how to end a fight quickly: you have been pushed, punched, grabbed or charged at. Maybe a weapon is pulled. What do you do?

You will have to act fast, because the chances of an undesirable outcome for you is increasing exponentially every second.

I often joke with my students that ‘the best martial arts for self-defense is the 100-meter sprint’. But there is a lot of truth to it. If you are not being restrained, just run. Don’t think about it, just get out of there, fast ...

If you want to stay safe it really is simple, do not put yourself in danger in the first place. Obvious I know, but many martial arts instructors fail to emphasize this point. Preventing conflict is the best thing you can do to keep yourself safe.

Adults martial arts classes have been a lifesaver for me in many ways over the years. They have taught me discipline, resilience, and a way to navigate the chaos of conflict, both physical and mental.