Looking back at yourself: As much as I encourage students to focus on their future goals and skill development, an important part of that future focus is to periodically look back upon yourself to check for signs of progress. It can be quite a shocking experience to look back at old video of yourself in training. You can learn a lot by looking at old footage and COACHING YOUR OLD self. You will of course see a thousand mistakes – you know so much more now than you did then. This simple exercise will reinforce many lessons you learned and crystallize them in a memorable way to help you recall and emphasize them for future training and development. Here, a teenage Gordon Ryan goes through early leg lock training – rough and untutored compared with his current self – but the basic outlines are there. You can see potential and directions for the future. Learn to see the same potential in yourself – take a look back sometimes to help you steer the way forward
