Altered States Fitness & Karate

Miss Bell and I went on a great adventure last Sunday to scale the now very challenging Table Top Mountain. Turns out I'm not the athletic specimen I thought I once was.
I have done this climb many times without incidence but this time I felt like we were being watched and then I came across this sobering image when going through my photos of the day.
If there was a reason for karate training this is it. Actual violence will never be a thing for most people but having the capacity to respond to violence if ever required is how humans have survived since time began.
Sightings of Australian Drop Bears are rare but these encounters remind us that violence is always present and it can sometimes take us completely by surprise.
Combative training that is peppered with actual reality based skills development changes a person. They hold themselves different to people who are in themselves less capable and less confident with everyday life.
If being equipped with the right skills for personal safety was common place I would wager that society would be a more peaceful place to live in.

If we are really serious it's pretty easy to workout how Karate training prepares our kids to survive in a country where everything seems determined to either kills us or make us submit to some stupid ideology on being continuously saved from having any adventures and taking actual risks. I reckon we need to start a movement to "put the wild back in to the child"

A quick review of my social media pages will quickly reveal how slack I am in the first place with staying engaged with my 'twenty hundred million devoted FRIENDS' (that's a real number that I just made up). And apart from the fact that I do not have some 'smarter than rocks' 13 year old or a foriegn '$5 dollar an hour' virtual assistant on staff smashing out my engagment posts several time a day I have also become increasingly concerned about how I use social media to support my business.

I acknowledge that platforms like Facebook and Instagram somehow continue to be the gold standard way to advertise and communicate, but it has definately come at a cost where we have surrendered our identities, our privacy and our personal lives to algorithms that do not serve us in any meaningful way.

With the rise and rise of AI-generated 'Slop' content, fake bot accounts and identity theft, I no longer feel comfortable sharing anything 'real' online, especially where children are concerned. Chasing likes and engagement are no longer enough to justify the risks.

As a result, any images or videos I share from this point forward may well contain AI modifications designed to protect the identities of my students. The moments captured, the training and the community are real, but I will modify any images that might harm my students, directly or indirectly.

Our mission hasn't changed. We remain commited to serving our members and helping our young people become stronger, more capable and more confident. But increasingly, I believe some things are better experienced in person than displayed online. Perhaps the future isn't building bigger social media followings but rather the future is rebuilding genuine communities again, away from the internet.

Not everything needs to be public.

Something people never get to experience anymore is that feeling of being fully switched on. Modern life has conditioned human beings into comfort, repetition and safety. We sit too much, think too much, hesitate too much and slowly begin shrinking ourselves to fit inside routines that keep us alive but never truly make us feel alive. Combative training interrupts that process.
There is something ancient hidden inside hard physical training that wakes the human spirit back up again. The moment you are put under pressure you can sense it; it’s kind of scary but kind of exhilarating as well. The body tightens, the breathing changes, the senses sharpen and suddenly all the meaningless noise of life disappears. The bills, stress, politics, self-doubt and insecurity all get pushed aside because for those few moments your mind becomes completely present.
That state of being is an important place to be for living but remains out of reach for most people today.
A person who regularly steps into discomfort and controlled chaos within the dojo walls eventually begin to change outside the dojo as well. They carry themselves differently. They think more clearly under stress. They become harder to intimidate, harder to break emotionally and far less likely to crumble when life turns ugly and transforms everyone else around them into pathetic liquid mess. They also find that they have less time for fools.
People often mistake combative training as learning how to hurt others. In truth, it teaches us how not to fall apart under duress.
An emerging tragedy that now faces us today is that many adults have disconnected so far from themselves that they are denying the world of great inventors and innovators, free thinking philosophical minds, tough and strong leaders. They have stopped moving with intent. They stop testing themselves. They stop feeling physically capable. Over time they began existing in a permanent state of low-energy and surrender while telling themselves this is simply what adulthood looks like now.
On a planet that goes out of its way to try and kill us at every turn, human beings were never designed to live as fragile creatures waiting for the weekend so they can temporarily escape their own lives. We were built to move, struggle, adapt and overcome hardship. Combative training is simply a way to reconnect people to life in a safe and constructive way.
Karate just happens to be one of the vehicles I use to carries that message forward.

Most people don’t realise how much a person can disappear from themselves over time beginning with the small and subtle changes that are barely noticed by anyone. Often starting in our youth, we begin to show up with:
• a little less confidence.
• a little less energy.
• a little more hesitation in speaking up.
• a little more stepping back and hiding.
Life has a fascinating way of facilitating a person’s thoughts to either grow and prosper or to shrink themselves away and even helping it spiral out of control. This is actually a Thing!!
The body is a true mirror of our minds and over the years I have noticed with both myself and others around me how the body often reflects the story a person has been quietly telling themselves for years and decades. The unwanted weight gain, the constant fatigue, the social disconnection, the reinforced belief that “I am not enough”.
While this is a story that will sadly haunt many people for entire lifetime, there are also the individuals who finally stand up and tell themselves, “I’ve had it”. This powerful and emotionally charged statement all by itself shifts the biology of a person almost instantly. In that moment, they automatically stand up taller, breath deeper and become intentional.
The statement on its own only cracks open the door. Action is what allows passage through the door if the physical changes are to manifest into reality. To borrow a quote from the late Jim Rohn “Change is simple, it’s not easy, but its simple”. Day one of moving again is always easy because we are motivated, but it is not so easy to stay consistent especially if it is raining and cold the very next day 😊
We don’t prosper on our own, we require community. This is another trait that is programmed deep in our DNA. Go out and become part of a community that places you where you want to be holds you accountable and forces you to keep showing up despite the suck. After a while, in amongst all the sweating, stumbling and trying…. you will begin to reconnect with yourself and put you at the centre of your story.
This post wasn’t really about karate specifically however as I have endured, I have come to value this type of training as a place to start if you want to find that one community that causes you to see that you are capable of extraordinary change.

THE NORMALISATION OF STUPID BEHAVIOUR.
Young people naturally gravitate to sports whose athletes embody discipline, resilience, self-control, were accountable, and were respectful to their fanbase. In recent years a culture where shock value, humiliation, and reckless behaviour are being rewarded with millions of views and instant online fame. This culture has infiltrated sport, and it is changing how young people view their world.
There is sport called “Power Slapping.”
For those who are just now playing catch up - two people stand directly in front of each other and take turns delivering full-force slaps to the head until one is knocked unconscious or gives up. The list of injuries is staggering and includes, broken and disfigured faces, serious concussions, brain bleeds, damage to vision and permanent brain damage.
This is being promoted as entertainment, generating millions of dollars through sponsorships and prize money, and what should concern every parent is not just the activity itself, but the message attached to it:
• the louder the spectacle, the greater the attention,
• the more reckless the behaviour, the bigger the audience the more dangerous the stunt,
• the more valuable the influence.
Young people are not insulated from this spectacle, and they are watching this with an easy social media search. Influencers and viral personalities now shape our cultural standards more than our teachers, our coaches, or our community leaders ever could. The problem is many of these people are not being rewarded for wisdom, character, or contribution.
They are being rewarded for clicks.
We are creating a generation increasingly exposed to the idea that attention matters more than substance, fame matters more than integrity, and spectacle matters more than achievement.
Real martial arts were never built on this foundation.
Arts like karate, jujutsu, boxing, and wrestling, and others were designed to develop discipline, emotional control, resilience, courage, humility, and responsible decision making under pressure.
There is a massive difference between building strong people… and building viral content. The rise of activities like power slapping says less about “sport” and more about a society drifting further away from standards worth admiring.
Maybe it is time adults start thinking very carefully about what behaviours we are allowing young people to normalise.

WE DON’T teach “high-level” competitive Jujutsu here. In fact, I reckon a Jujutsu purist would cross the street to avoid getting stuck in a conversation with a great pretender like me. Whatever!! Given the chance, I would probably corner them and comatose them into a state of boredom by telling them in detail about my buggered left knee.
What we do teach and preach is an original form of karate that developed and evolved waaaaaay, way back before modern karate was even a thing. The concepts were simple and straight forward - situation arises, assess situation, deal with situation quickly and decisively, GET HOME SAFE.
Clearly here in the 21st century, the child version of what I pretend to teach is somewhat watered down from the adult version for some really good ‘Use Your Own Imagination ‘type reasons but the message remains intact.
Alongside the best-known aspects of physical karate training, we also give instruction on basic holds, throws and takedowns, and submissions. In addition to this a major part of our philosophy here is how we educate our young students the importance of keeping our assailant safe from harm.
I fully understand how this approach to self-defence and growth development in kids does not resonate with everyone which is why I am more than happy to promote and guide anyone towards more competitive schools that produce some very good Jujutsu fighters if this is their ambition for themselves or their children. As it happens, I know a really good local Jujutsu school whose young instructor is very passionate and a great teacher of Jujutsu. Just ask 😊
Don’t read this the wrong way, I am not underselling what we do here. I just have a very different idea of what Playground Politics looks like for kids. They only need a few simple tools and strategies to maintain control in situations that give them limited options for negotiation. I also understand that kids don’t need forty-nine positions for great submissions to become someone to be proud of – They only need a few things in their toolbox that gives them the confidence to take on their world with confidence. Isn’t that the point anyway?
Our training isn’t built around fantasy or trophies. It’s built around pressure testing basic concepts, simplicity, and real-world decision making.
Strong. Confident. Capable.
That’s the goal.

It seems like a lifetime ago now but there was a time when I was just brand new to, and somewhat anxious about, the whole Grandparent thing.
With the passing of time, I have become really comfortable with this role in my growing family. Looking back now I have to say that it was all my years of karate training that gave me the skills to think quickly on my feet in times of real challenge and stress.
Luckily I documented some of my experiences so future generations of new grandparents can now have a roadmap to safely navigate this truly magical time of your lives with most of your dignity in tact.

DISCIPLINE OVER DISTRACTION.
Now more than ever, we need to pay very close attention and better manage how our children develop amidst this out-of-control screen time that has become normal life for many families.

Yes… that is a direct shot at the modern-day digital nanny society has tricked everyone into embracing it without question. An entire generation of children now cannot identify with a world before screens.

Also Legitimate research is now identifying serious cognitive, emotional, and social impacts tied to excessive technology use in our young people. Early onset of 'Digital Dementia' is a real diognosis in adults as young as 20 years old.

Basic human biology stipulates that our kids require a daily connection to a real-world that challenges them physically, emotionally and mentally. With all the remaining good quality climbing trees now being touted by the 'Bambi Brigade' as being too dangerous, Karate is clearly the next best thing or at least it should be considered as a good alternative.

For literally hundreds of years karate has been a thing and it has never once changed its marketing message:
Discipline, Resilience, Confidence, Accountability, Respect, and so on…

Karate provides children with real world structure in their lives which is more important than ever in a world that is becoming increasingly virtual.

At Altered States Fitness and Karate, we are not creating elite athletes with flashy moves. We are helping ordinary kids become stronger, more capable versions of themselves — socially, emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Some struggle with confidence.
Some with focus.
Some with coordination.
Some simply need a place where they belong.
Parents who stay the course with us often notice the shift:
✔ Better focus
✔ Better emotional control
✔ More respect
✔ More confidence
✔ Greater resilience
That transformation is why we do what we do.
DISCIPLINE OVER DISTRACTION.