Evoking My Inner Hero

If you were a Superhero...

1.What would you be “called” (Your Super­hero name).
2.What attrib­utes — phys­i­cal, men­tal, emo­tional, spir­i­tual (what­ever feels pertinent) — would be your strengths?
3.What would be your great­est chal­lenge? Your “Kryp­tonite”? How would you strive to over­come that?What would your cos­tume look like?
4.And how will you apply becom­ing the Hero, in your own life?

I recently pondered these questions as part of an essay contest for the launch of the Clubbell Hero Evolution fitness program. My answers to the questions are below.
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I do not wish to be called Super­man, or Spi­der­man, or Bat­man, or any­thing of the sort. Me? I choose to be FAMILY MAN:

• A man with the men­tal dex­ter­ity to deal with the simul­ta­ne­ous mul­ti­task­ing of a thou­sand parental and spousal duties: clean­ing the laun­dry, mak­ing lunches, pay­ing the bills, and clean­ing the dishes, while main­tain­ing enough “brain mat­ter band­width” and phys­i­cal endurance to be present and engaged with every mem­ber of the family.
   
• A man with the emo­tional and spir­i­tual for­ti­tude and peer­less char­ac­ter to be an out­stand­ing role model for his chil­dren and a rock for his wife when­ever times get tough.
   
• A man who pos­sesses the phys­i­cal strength and prowess to be the ulti­mate fam­ily pro­tec­tor, with the will and abil­ity to van­quish any and all who dare to threaten those whom he holds dear.
   
• A man with the vision to lead and serve in his com­mu­nity with com­pas­sion, vision, and cre­ativ­ity: help­ing those in need by orga­niz­ing food dri­ves, park clean-ups, neigh­bor­hood crime watches, and more.

In short, I want to be a HERO in the eyes of my fam­ily and my com­mu­nity. And a hero needs to have a strong PHYSICAL lead­er­ship PRESENCE that inspires CONFIDENCE in others.

FAMILY MAN is a man with the endurance and longevity to shine proudly in life’s great­est moments:

FAMILY MAN trains now — mind­fully and with an inten­sity known only to other super­heroes — so that some fif­teen years from now he has ample energy to keep up with life’s ever-increasing pace. (I turn 40 this year. Ten or fif­teen years from now I want to play tackle foot­ball with my son, now just one year old. I want to be able to dance with a spring in my step at my daughter’s wed­ding – she turns 5 this month. And I never want to “retire” from the activ­ity I love the most: mar­tial arts. I’ve seen too many of my mar­tial arts seniors have to cut back due to injury, wear and tear of the joints, poor health, or just plain “old age.” THIS IS NOT THE PATH I CHOOSE.)

FAMILY MAN does not hide behind a mask, but he has cos­tumes for every sit­u­a­tion: cargo pants and old t-shirts for paint­ing and spack­ling; shorts and a wide-brimmed hat for yard work; khakis and a but­ton down shirt for the desk job; and sharp-looking suits for romanc­ing the wife. FAMILY man pos­sesses the men­tal, phys­i­cal, and emo­tional flex­i­bil­ity to adapt to any situation.

FAMILY MAN’S great­est enemy is ENTROPY: an invis­i­ble foe who man­i­fests as toys on the stairs and weeds in the lawn. An insid­i­ous mas­ter of dis­guise who unex­pect­edly shows him­self in such ways as leak­ing hot water heaters, bro­ken down cars that rob the fam­ily of vaca­tions, aging par­ents, and the atro­phy of bod­ies that don’t main­tain an aggres­sive work­out rou­tine to build and main­tain strength, endurance, and sup­ple­ness. Worst of all Entropy reveals itself in the com­mu­nity as neigh­bors who do not know or care for one another.

FAMILY MAN faces Entropy wher­ever it appears with grace, dig­nity, and humor.

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This blog is part of the Ultimate Black Belt Test Program, which is an undertaking of The 100., and a part of Emerald Necklace Martial Arts in Boston, MA.

Learn more about Sensei Jason Gould