Dear Mark Hunt

Dear Mark Hunt,

Let me begin by saying, please don’t judge Jesus by the actions of Christians.  We mean well, but we mess up a lot.  I’m sorry for any animosity you have received, that’s not God, it’s our own fear and insecurity.  God doesn’t need us to defend Him.  He is God.  That being said, I feel compelled to share my own experience, I guess I can’t help myself.

No, I’ve never seen God.  He has spoken to me, and I can tell you what He sounds like.  He sounds like undeniable truth.  Like a thought more clear than anything you can think or know for yourself.  Most of the time when I pray (and I hate to publicly admit this), it’s something like chit-chat, a nightly requirement, like the days I show up to the gym, but my hearts not in it.  It’s not that I don’t want to get better, but some days I’m just going through the motions.  But then, there are times when my mind and my heart are clear, and I know I have a direct line.  In these moments He has responded in the most amazing ways.  Maybe that’s not enough to answer your questions, but it’s what I have if you’re truly curious about His existence.

Regarding the authors and the whereabouts of the transcripts of the Bible, I have another way to look at that.  I believe it is impossible to live without faith on some level.  We buy food that is labeled on faith.  We believe that the consequences for lying are so great that companies wouldn’t dare mislead us… We watch the news and accept that there is truth in what we hear… Even the most devout believer in the theory of evolution has to take a leap of faith.  Nonliving matter had to become the first amoeba somehow for the whole idea to work.  Last I heard they still don't have any evidence on that one.

I think believing the scriptures is something like the faith we put in everything else.  You have to interpret information, understand its context, do your own research, and find your own truth.  Just like when I clear my heart and pray, God gives answers.

I don’t know if I’ve helped at all, but I deeply respect you for asking the hard questions.  I’m happy you found the truth.

God bless,

Katie Casimir

www.KatieCasimir.com

Look Where You're Going

What is this power we hold in our eyes that allows us to jump higher, move smoother, and reach farther?  I have no explanation, but I know it to be true 100 of 100 times.  In judo your throw becomes easier if you look in the same direction that you want your opponent to fly.  The power of your punches will increase if you look at your target instead of your opponent’s defense.  If you want to sweep your opponent on the ground, you need to move more than your head in the right direction, you also have to move your eyes.

We must keep our gaze fixed on our objectives and continue in that direction, like the obstacles don’t matter, and they won’t.  Sometimes things don’t go your way and you find yourself distracted. Take a step back, refocus your gaze, and push forward again.  We can’t look at obstacles and expect to succeed.  Just like you can’t focus on your opponent in a fight.  You must respect that they are there, but the only power they have is the power you give them.

Have the courage to look, not at where you are, but where you want to go.  You will go farther.

www.KatieCasimir.com

A Fighter's Love Story

I don’t date fighters. After one terrible experience, and witnessing several others from my perch as “one of the guys” at the gym, I just determined it to be a bad idea.  Fighters love hard, they also tend to be a little self-loathing, unfaithful, irresponsible, and have tunnel vision toward their goal of success in a rough industry.  Not my definition of an ideal partner.  After a horrible argument with my fighter ex, I prayed, with the most open of hearts, and asked God for a good man.  I heard clearly “Get ready.”  I stopped looking because I knew he was coming to me.  The last place I expected to meet him was in the gym, for above mentioned reasons.

When Bendy Casimir asked why I didn’t have a boyfriend, I told him that I spend all my spare time in the gym and I don’t date fighters.  Fortunately his English wasn’t that good at the time.  All he understood was that I didn’t have a boyfriend. It took me about two weeks of interacting with him in training and in passing at the gym to realize that I was totally in love.  $#!t!!! A fighter???  But he was different, and I was different about him.  I asked him on out first date to the WEC, a promotion with which he had recently signed to fight.  I had to ask him through his friend who had better English, I wasn’t sure if it was a date, but I was hoping…  Last October we celebrated two years of marriage.

 

I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject of marriage, but I have learned a few things.  Mostly that having a shared passion is everything.  I can’t imagine my pre-fight mood swings being well received by anyone who has never experienced them personally.  We’ve both gone through times when we wonder if it’s time to quit.  It’s truly a blessing to have someone to believe that you still have everything you need to achieve your goals, and push you to keep going.  He’s not a cheerleader, but someone who really wants what is best for me, a partner.  He studies technique like I study nutrition, we take our separate roles toward the same goal.

Couples that grow and learn together attach the positive feelings of growing and learning to their partners.  I feel so close to my husband when we finish training together.  We have no “teacher” or “student” we work together.  How could I do that with a musician without giving up my precious gym time? 

I think we’ve all made rules with good reason, and broken them for better reasons.  God brought me my split apart in the last package I expected.  It was the only package that was going to work.

www.KatieCasimir.com

Why I Love MMA

I could go on and on about the reasons I love martial arts, in fact I’m sure I have.  However, after training and competing in multiple disciplines, I’ve come to one undeniable conclusion.  Mixed martial arts is on a whole other level of awesome. Here are a couple reasons why:

Tuff-N-Uff August 2010

First, we love the finish. If you pull guard in MMA, you need to do something with it, quickly.  Lay-and-pray (taking top position on the ground and holding your opponent) takes a lot of skill.  However, if you win like that, no one is impressed.  Strategy is important, but if you don’t finish the fight, you’d better look like you were trying.  “Martial Art” is the art of Mars, the Roman god of war.  In war there are no points or advantages, only damage, surrender, victory and defeat.  The whole picture is taken into account, not one spectacular move (unless that spectacular move creates surrender or defeat).

Second, MMA changes rules to ensure the safety of competitors, not to preserve (prevent evolution of) the sport.  There’s no eye gouging, groin shots, biting, etc.  While in other disciplines (some of my favorite, mind you) you can’t touch the legs to get a take down.  Fewer rules allow for creativity and growth, for both the individual fighter and the art.

Also, while we have our own sense of superiority (see above), we greatly value other disciplines.  Traditionally our favorites include jiu jitsu, wrestling, boxing, and muay thai, but we will learn from samboists and judokas.  Got a slick taekwondo kick?  We’ll learn that too. Kung fu, sanshou, kyokushin, if you’ve got skills, we’ve got respect.  There’s no “We do it like this...” because everyone does everything just a little different.  It’s way more likely that an MMA practitioner will say “A karate guy showed me this awesome footwork,” or “In boxing we do this, but if you move your arm here instead you’re safe from the knee.” 

 It’s far from perfect, and can look quite barbaric to the untrained eye, but we are athletes, artists, warriors, and entertainers.  I love that I can learn from everyone, compete in everything, and take what works for me.

www.KatieCasimir.com

Change

If I ruled the world it would be significantly more fantastic, but unfortunately, I don’t.  Well, maybe not so unfortunate.  That would be a huge responsibility, and wouldn’t leave me much time for training, and spending time with my family, which would probably turn me into a miserable dictator, but I digress.

But I noticed the other day that even a small drop in a bucket makes a splash that is just a little bigger.  When I make a change for the better, so does everything around me.  I’ve wondered if it’s just my perception, but something like a clean house is measurable.

So here is my thought for the week:  The only thing you can always change is you.  We get into trouble when we try to change other people, the weather (yes, I’ve tried, but that’s another story), or circumstances, like traffic.  You can change your behavior, you can change your focus, and you can change your outlook.  Gandhi is this: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.” And as usual I agree with him.

Complaining is easy, change is hard.  Choose to make the changes that will make your life better, and you will make the world a better place.  Which is what we would do if we ruled the world anyway, right?

www.KatieCasimir.com

Why Aren't There More Women?

A couple weeks ago my husband was invited to a grappling class at a different gym.  I thought about bringing my gear to see if I could get some work in too, but  I decided to enjoy the rare pleasure of just watching my husband train.  When I saw the average skill level, I realized I had made the right choice.  It was the first and only time I have ever seen a group of guys training and thought “I don’t belong there… yet.”

On the next mat there was a “regular member” class going on.  I couldn’t help but notice the women that were participating.  The four of them were working in pairs.  I could see that they were beginners and kind of girly, but they were trying hard to learn the technique.  It made me smile, but it got me thinking… Why four women in the regular class, but zero in the elite class?  Why are cardio kickboxing classes packed with women, yet I struggle to find reasonable training partners?  It’s the same story in every gym.  Even when there’s “a lot” of girls we’re still only about 20%.  It makes me wonder if the small percentage of women in government, and leadership in general is something they bring on themselves, something they have chosen not to peruse.

I separate myself here because I thrive in the proverbial man’s world.  I always have.  When I was in the 4^th grade I was the girl playing soccer with the 5^th and 6^th grade boys.  They played rough and I loved it.  It made me feel powerful to compete with the boys and earn their respect, even if I wasn’t as good.  The girls were off playing “unicorns” or something. 

This is my experience: Men don’t exclude women, women exclude themselves.  I’m not saying sexism and “boys club” politics don’t exist, I’m saying it’s only half the problem.  I have found that after you push through the initial resistance, men embrace you as the bad ass chick that you are.  They respect you for breaking down barriers, for your hard work, and yes, for your valuable contributions.  Sometimes egos flare, but they flare up against each other too.  It's not personal. 

I think that our society as a whole has embraced the value of female involvement. I’ve been sought out for several jobs as a kickboxing instructor, just because they “need a woman.” The UFC has finally seen the financial benefits of promoting women (thanks to a lot of bad ass chicks who wouldn't go away).   I recently read an article about what companies wanting to hire more women need to do. Yale is even doing studies on how you make this happen. (It turns out you need to have women to get women, preferably in numbers of three or more.)  Doors are opening.

Because I don’t feel this need for other women in my environment, I have a hard time understanding it.  Are women afraid of losing their feminine identity?  Are they afraid of making a mistake and looking weak?  Maybe they just have other objectives for themselves.  Or maybe it’s the Marianne Williamson quote “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

I know that not every woman wants to be a fighter, a CEO, a hockey player, or a war correspondent.  But if you do, don’t let safety in numbers hold you back, ‘cause I need training partners.

Having two other women in training is like Christmas.  Especially when they're as awesome as Karina and Michelle

www.KatieCasimir.com

On Our Fear of Risk

There are certain fights that are burned into my mind.  They are fights that demonstrate an unquestionable truth about humanity.  When Georges St Pierre fought BJ Penn (the first time) I saw two technical warriors, bringing out each other’s best. When Scott Smith and Pete Sell stepped into the cage, it was a display of heart and determination.  In that fight a man defied his physical state to throw one last punch for the finish.   I am currently haunted by a fight that is only a few weeks old, Tarec Saffiedine vs Hyun Gyu Lim.

If you didn’t see it, here's what I saw.  Saffiedine systematically shut down Lim’s offense with wicked leg kicks.  It was a beautifully executed strategy.  What I find so gripping is that Lim was content in the situation until it was too late.  He fought back in the 4^th round, showing he had the tools to win, but his leg was unable to sustain the damage.  He knew he was getting beat, and rather than taking a risk to upset Seffiedine’s structure, he chose to survive the fight.

It reminds me of the story of the Whaleship Essex.  The crew found themselves in three whaleboats, with very limited supplies, watching their ship sink.  It was 1820, so their choices were limited.  They could travel to a nearby island that was rumored to be inhabited by cannibals, or they could head to a destination that was known to be safe.   This trip would take longer than their rations would last, but their fear of cannibalism caused them to choose it anyway.  A few near dead survivors were found two months later by a passing ship, they were never going to make it.  It is in human nature to prefer a slow march to death (or defeat) than to take a risk that might turn out badly.

We settle for lonely relationships because the crumbs of affection we get are better than being alone.  We continue to work unsatisfying jobs that keep us in debt, because we don’t know what else we can do.  We allow our governments to slowly take our freedom in the name of security, because it’s not that bad…yet.  I’m not necessarily saying go quit your job or leave your partner or start a revolution.  I’m saying we need the wisdom to recognize when we are being systematically defeated, and the courage to make whatever change we can.  We need to find intelligent, strategic ways to upset the structure of whatever is defeating us.  Take a risk, create a little chaos, and be prepared to take advantage of it.  We're all gonna die anyway, why not go down swinging?

I want to leave you with one more fight.  Anderson Silva vs Ryo Chonan.  Fights like this make my spirit sing and show that one calculated risk can change everything.

www.KatieCasimir.com