Why Happened to Mike?
The caption to the image above read “Father Time Remains Undefeated.”
It’s the perfect start to what I wanted to share with you today.
First, allow me to admit that I did stay up and watch the whole fight; despite the fact that Netflix did not remain undefeated in it’s attempt to stream it. 
I shouldn’t have stayed up, because I had to teach a 6 hour KMMA mini-camp the next day and was a bit more tired than if I’d gone to bed by ten as I usually do….
having said that, I still taught an awesome camp and also gained the inspiration to create this blog for you from the fight; so perhaps it will be time well invested after all.
The caption about father time, and much of the chatter that I heard around the fight, focused on the fact that Tyson was too old and shouldn’t have returned to the ring.
Well, while I do believe he’s too old for the ring, as am I, I would jump in with Jake Paul, or whomever, for 20 million dollars too.
Just saying; but not relevant to the real point of this email.
This is something I have thought and taught about for quite a while now; probably ever since I hit my forties, and more when I hit my fifties.
There’s no doubt that we lose some of the physical attributes of our youth as we age.
1. We are much better off when we continue training. We just have to train a little smarter as we age. And as Sensei Mike and Ret, Kent, and many of our other elder students prove through their excellence in training, you can definitely still excel at Krav Maga Martial Arts!
2. The statement that we lose some of our attributes as we age is more true for athletes and others that were at their “fighting shape” before… I know others that attest that they are in the best shape of their lives later, as they started training and eating right, resting and other positive habits, plus probably dropping some not so good ones, as they aged.
3. In case I haven’t made this point yet, we should always do what we can and should do to get better, stronger and healthier as we age- and do nothing that we shouldn’t. I coach all of my instructor staff to coach everyone to become their best and do all that they can do, but also that every adult has their own unique conditions, injuries and limitations and that they should also be able to train around that. i.e. train hard, but train smart. We recover slower as we get older, and need to be even more careful about minimizing injuries as we age.
Truth is, I wish I’d had minimized them more in my youth too.
Can you relate?
The real point of today’s blog isn’t about what we have lost though; it’s about all we have gained.
1. Age brings wisdom. We have learned along the way. Some of the lessons were more painful than the injuries by the way.. you may be able to relate here too. 🙂
2. You may have some more time and money freedom to do what you still wanna do, than you did when you were younger. I just spoke to a new Blackbelt Leadership student this past weekend who told me he’s always wanted to do martial arts but hadn’t had the time or money ever before. Perhaps you can relate to this too.
3. God willing you have some family and friends to share your wisdom, and perhaps some of your time and money, with.
Every time I say to myself “I wish I had known” about something that I didn’t know when I was younger, I always follow it with a useful question:
who can I share this wisdom with today?
Speaking of family, my lovely wife just walked in.
I promised her we’d do lunch before team training today…
so I am gonna wrap this up but, speaking of sharing….
there is no better experience to share with your family than the KMMA Blackbelt Leadership program.
Call 813-948-4844
for more information and to schedule your trial.
Prepare To Live; Empower To Lead!
Grand Master Stephen J. Del Castillo
Founding Master Instructor, Krav Maga Martial Arts
TampaKravMaga.com StephenDelCastillo.com
About Grandmaster Stephen J. Del Castillo: Grandmaster Del Castillo is the founding Master Instructor of Krav Maga Martial Arts and has been empowering lives in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties since October of 2000. He is an 8th degree Blackbelt, MBA, author, mentor and success coach, a US Army Veteran and a proud father and grandfather. He is married to Ms. Barbara Del Castillo who helps him run the school. Grand Master Del Castillo began his training in the early 80’s and has high level blackbelts in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Premier Martial Arts and Krav Maga Martial Arts as well as experience in kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do and Jiujitsu. He has high level instructor certifications from BBSI, IKMF, and KMG and has been featured in numerous Martial Arts publications and also Success magazine. He was a competitive sport karate and American Kickboxing instructor until he enlisted in the US Army where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he won an Army Green to Gold scholarship and proceeded to ROTC and the University of Tampa. He was commissioned in 1992 and went on to serve in Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division and then in several other posts in the US until he left military service to pursue his dream of creating KMMA in 2000. Today I continue to train, learn, sow and grow under the mentorship of World Champion Grandmaster Jeff Smith, who regularly visits the academy to help sow into my teams and students as well.
The Krav MagaMartial Arts Headquarters is in Lutz, FL at 1900 Land O’ Lakes BLVD and now our new location in 8836 US 19, Port Richey! Krav Maga Martial Arts serves Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Port Richey and surrounding areas.
See stephendelcastillo.com for more information and to order my book, Developing Your Superpower, Meditations on Mastery, Volume 1.
Also, check us out on Fun4TampaKids & on Go2Karate.com