I’ll never forget how impressed I was with was Mike DiCerbo. He was an accomplished dude. A true patriarch. The kind of servant leader who is indispensable wherever he goes.
He was the leader of the Toastmaster club, The Scottsdalians. He once quieted a room of hundreds just the power of his voice and his presence. I talk about him here: A Great Example for How to Live Well Into Old Age
Anyway, what struck me about the dude was that he was no big exerciser. 88 years old, completely with it, walked, drove, gardened, did 40 hour weeks volunteering. Nary a weight in sight.
But he had incredible willpower. And self-discipline.
That’s where I’m seeing things with Jowett. And a lot of the others. Calvert. Hackenschmidt.
But right now I’m studying Jowett. Here is something to consider:
Have you ever been confused by the amount of conflicting and confusing information related to training? Just recently, an enormous Lifetime fitness was built. I must be feeling like Jesus when he saw people worshiping a building and not God. It’s all superficial bullshit.
Jowett clears it all up and starts simply with four exercises and a diet plan.
The four exercises are covered here:
In the 72 Consummate Arts Secrets of the Shaolin Temple, it gives you the amount of years required to gain the skill. Years. Diligent practice.
Likewise, with the Jowett exercises, you’re encouraged to go deeply into the movements and concentrate deeply. The instructions are short, but descriptive enough with clear “do’s and don’t’s”.
When you can request any song you like, get 2 day or 1 day delivery, and have food from all over the world delivered to your supermarket, the days of patience and the deep skill are over.
And so we crave the stimulation, but what we really need is the simple.
The next part of the sequence is breathing exercises:
Four exercises, all which focus on breathing deeply and opening and expanding the chest. The importance of this is that we are constantly hunched over, on our devices, driving our cars, eating, and so on. Office dwellers may not get good air. So this exercise is best taken in the open air and especially in the morning.
You could start with the first four exercises and do them 6-7 days a week for two weeks, then add the breathing exercises. That would be your training for the month.
Honestly, given that it is Christmas and this season is stressful for many, this would be a perfect time to do the exercises. Just these exercises. Nothing else. Stop whatever you’re doing and just do this.
Jowett is a sort of purification. And while these exercises seem simple, the key is in the consistency and the depth of practice and your concentration. Really curious to hear how they go for you. Leave a comment on one of the YouTubes and let me know. I’ll be doing some more of these videos coming up.
Leave a Reply