Path to One Blog

Covid-19 has put each of us and the entire world in a check position. Just like in the game of chess, we must do something to save the king, ourselves. Many families, businesses, and people have been put in a very precarious situation where they are experiencing hunger, bankruptcy and threat to their wellbeing. Even anxiety, depression, other mental health problems and substance abuse (alcohol, drugs, etc.) are rising at an alarming rate because people are not accustomed to being locked down for long periods of time, are not being able to work for their survival, are not able to provide for their families, are losing what they have built or accumulated during their lives, and are not knowing with certainty what the future holds for them, for all of us. It is in periods like this where we MUST be able to adapt and change as required, where we need to see not a problem but an opportunity, and where keeping a positive attitude is essential to their physical, mental and emotional health....

All of our lives we have been thinking in terms of what we own, what we have, what belongs to us, but the real question is, do we really own these things or do they own us? The idea of ownership started since we were born and, for most, continues until they die. Most people spend their entire lives accumulating and collecting possessions like cars, boats, airplanes, houses, awards, knowledge, family, relationships, and so much more. We think we own our bodies, minds, spouses, children, friends, jobs, businesses, plus all the other a million other possible possessions we can have. So, let’s get back to our initial question, do we own these things? Do we own everything that we have been accumulating all our lives? And the answer is resounding “no.” Why not? For one simple fact, “because you cannot take any of these things with you when you die.” If we cannot take these things with us when we die, then we are just borrowing them temporarily here during this life time, even if we pa...

“We are not Masters without students, who are, in the long run, our best masters!” - Mao Although martial arts has been perpetuated as a way to learn how to fight and defend yourself by movies, magazines, advertisement, etc.; and although most students enroll in martial arts with the purpose of learning how to defend themselves; the real purpose of martial arts is to help their practitioners to become better human beings by means of developing their bodies and minds, by learning how to manage their emotions and energies, and by challenging their physical, mental, and emotional boundaries. It is not a sport or a combat sport, nor a fight club or where you just learn to defend yourself or fight. To the contrary, it is a way of life! There is a big difference between sports and martial arts. On the one hand, while physical activity and exercising are practiced in general for health or to overcome some type of sickness or health issue, sports are practiced mostly for competition o...