Why Judo?

When I was in 5th and 6th grade my parents enrolled me in Judo class because I was often the target of bullies (I was one of the youngest in my class and super, super skinny).

Anyway, the first thing they teach you in Judo class is how to fall correctly. This is so you can fall without hurting yourself. You learn how to curve your spine and use your arm to break your fall against the ground.

The second thing they teach you is how to use your opponent's strength and power against them so you can gain an advantage. The founder of Judo was a small man who often had to compete against bigger and more powerful opponents. He developed trips and throws that allow you to put an attacker on the ground and in a weaker position. Even as a tiny 6th grader, I was able to throw kids much larger than me over my shoulder.

The official translation of Judo is "The Gentle Way" and I can see why. In most other martial arts it's all about projecting your power through punches and kicks onto others. Judo isn't really and attacker's sport. You wait for your opponent to come to you and then you throw them to the ground and apply a choke hold until they submit. It's very Sun Tzu in it's philosophy.

As far as finances go. The official line is that you're supposed to work hard, get a high paying job, and project your high status through the various trappings of wealth (expensive luxury car, oversized house, fancy clothes, shiny trinkets and gee-wizbang techno toys). This version of the "rich" is all about consumption and we see it all over our media every day. This is the model of "success" that gets pounded into our consciousness every day of our lives. This is the Karate version of wealth. Unfortunately, this version, the outward "look at how successful I am" is a big reason why American's are drowning in a sea of debt and are trapped in a lifestyle they can't afford.

The Judo definition of wealth is a more "gentle" way. This wealth is about having choices and options. My wife and I made a decision many years ago to value our time over money. We live a modest lifestyle on a modest income, but we have a nice sized nest egg and it gives us lots of options. For instance, I only work 4 days a week (I get a 3 day weekend every weekend!). My wife has been self employed for 7 years running a fitness studio and she only works about 20 - 30 hours per week. We have worked very hard our whole adult lives to limit the amount of debt we have (currently we have zero debt, something that I haven't been in since my senior year of college). We have also diligently saved and invested our money prudently.

This blog is going to talk about our experiences, our strategies, and our challenges of leading a lifestyle that is outside the mainstream. There is another way!

I will be posting again real soon, so come back and check it out!