Imagine if a you played basketball in a local intramural league, and Steph Curry or LaBron James hosted a seminar. Probably not likely. Something I’ve come to appreciate about BJJ is the accessibility of world-class athletes. I’ve had the privilege of attending several seminars and camps where my idols taught techniques, answered questions, and sometimes even rolled with attendees.
I recently took advantage of another seminar with the lovely Kendall Reusing.
I was particularly nervous because no one else from my school was going, and it was my first time training at the host facility. My anxiety melted away once the seminar got underway. As you can probably tell in this photo, she immediately filled the room with incredibly positive vibes:
Something I appreciate about Kendall is her unique perspective on life and mental health outside of BJJ. Something she emphasized was that you better love your life outside of BJJ, because you never know how much longer you’re going to be able to train or compete. I thought about this as it relates to work. How many of us lose ourselves in our 8-5 jobs without thinking enough about our own happiness? How many of us rely on solely on work for a sense of fulfillment and miss out on all the other beautiful things that life has to offer us?
Another point she discussed throughout the seminar was making your presence known. In a literal sense with your position during some takedowns, and figuratively with your presence in life. Part of this is the mindset piece, like taking fear and reframing it into excitement.
As I start to figure out my next steps personally and professionally, definitely going to keep all of her wisdom on and off the mats top of mind! To learn more about and support Kendall give her a follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendallreusing/
kpfled: 