Getting ready: Craig Jones has been training hard in the blue basement getting ready for his showdown against the formidable Rousimar Palhares at @kasaigrappling in two weeks in NYC at the Hammerstein Ballroom. That's a very glamorous venue for the outstanding athletes that Kasai has brought together – until then it's the much less glamorous blue basement Mr Jones has shown admirable drive in training and is making rapid progress. There is a sense in which his experience now is also your experience as you battle towards your own aspirations – just on a lesser scale for now. The idea is the same – CHOOSE A DATE AS A DEADLINE FOR A PERFORMANCE- WHETHER IT IS PUBLIC COMPETITION OR PRIVATE gym PERFORMANCE IS NOT IMPORTANT – THE REAL COMPETITION IS WITHIN YOU – CREATE A PLAN TO IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE BY THAT DATE AND EXHIBIT THE DISCIPLINE AND WISDOM TO GET IT DONE. It's a wonderful opportunity for the juniors to train with a such an outstanding grappler and a good daily test for Mr Jones every day in a very leg lock heavy room to test the skills he will need to build and exhibit against such a tough and talented opponent. This is the notion of mutual benefit in action. Remember always that best kind of benefit is MUTUAL BENEFIT. Only then can the relationships needed to build skills and strength over time be sustained long enough to make significant progress in any enterprise in which you take part.
