Scott Sonnon

AIM (Always In Motion) to Go with the Flow

February 3, 2012 – 4:23 pm
I was training a young girl for Olympic trials in archery. Half of what she was practicing involved removing what coaching psychology calls "perturbances," but we can just call... excessive movement of the body and mind. She strengthened her structure so that she didn't need excessive muscular action to hold position, just quiet efficiency. She practiced her breathing so that she could exhale and slow her heart rate, and find that space between heart beats (asystole) where body is its most potentially quiet. But not just the least amount of disturbance, she also had to balance the ongoing movements outside with wind and gravity and pressure, as well as those within the body: its constant changing tensions, expansions and contractions. The other half of her training involved finding synchronicity with these movements, their state of flow, and joining it physically and mentally... to let go at the precise moment. No matter the ...

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The 5 minutes which changed my life forever.

February 3, 2012 – 1:18 pm
  It was exactly the moment. I can't believe Erik Esik Melland captured it. I had just fought an opponent while the fighter going for the gold "got a bye". As that 289lbs behemoth was recovering, I had to fight through more opponents before getting to finals (because I had lost fights early on.) 9 fights in 24 hour period. In this photo, I had just sat down from leaving everything on the mat in order to win that fight. What do you have left when you give everything you have, and you haven't even gotten to the hardest part yet??? I was fatigued, dehydrated, catastrophizing if I would lose on live television what it would do to my company's reputation and my family's livelihood, I had a dislocated jaw (you can see it), two herniated discs in my neck, and a host of bruises and lacerations. Then, I realized, I didn't have ...

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Only those who never quit, can truly learn to surrender.

February 3, 2012 – 9:34 am
One Kettlebell coach from Russia, a world champion, snapped at me with a lethal whisper during minute 9 when I was so obviously ready to quit, "You want stop? Go head. Put bells down. And then what will you tell wife when home: "I stop with only one more minute. I am pathetic." Sure, just quit. Go tell her you were weak American." I almost laughed out loud and lost the bells at that point, because either the clock was going to finish, or I was going to become a thumb-tack under the bells. There was no way I was going to stop. I realize that much of the pressure was self-imposed, but in Russia in the mid 90s it was a different world, as the first American with whom many of them had ever met and trained. They didn't know or care about my genetic background. They evaluated my entire ...

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The 4 Tools to Overcome Food Addiction

February 2, 2012 – 1:06 pm
Today a poster stated that I am limiting people's potential because I offer community and coaching support, that people who are overweight "just need to CHOOSE to have self-control." He continued that even if you have an eating disorder, you should "just have more faith in yourself. They can overcome any addiction all by themselves, because they're just deciding to be passionate about the wrong thing." After I offered him sources for a more enlightened, scientific perspective on the biochemistry of addiction, he advised me that he was a part-time ACE certified trained, and an expert. 1. Addictive biochemistry isn't covered in any fitness certification, especially online certs like ACE. Education must be specific. Exercise education is not nutrition education is not coaching education is not addiction education, etc... Be specifically educated in the domain you're claiming to teach, or you'll do more harm than good to others. 2. Addiction requires community ...

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Never give up. Never give in. Always get up. Always get going.

February 1, 2012 – 3:51 pm
I walked into the room but was cut off before I sat down. The proctor pointed to a sign which read 'MENSA EXAM'. She said, "You must be lost. This is the examination room for Mensa candidates. The library reading rooms are down the hall." When I replied that I was there to take the entrance exams, she looked me up and down wryly smirking, "To take the exam, you must pass the online prequalifier, and then register for this exam. We don't take walk-ins." Admittedly a bit offended, I suggested she check the list for my name. She asked for ID. This is going to be a long day, I thought. After several hours of various types of examinations, I submitted my test folder to the proctor. It would be several weeks before I learned if I had qualified for entrance ...

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48% Inspiration, 48% Perspiration, 2% Theory

January 31, 2012 – 12:03 pm
Best criticism of 2012 so far: "My god I cant go anywhere on the net without reading your motivational bu}{$&%t. People outta know you only get people all pumped up about their lives so they buy your stuff. Truth is that if your motivated then any kinda diet or exercise works. You just believe your stuff's the best, but dont tell anybody what your really up to when you get everybody all hopeful that they can do things they cant." It's true that I don't need to advertise my courses in print, radio, television, or even "good ole boy" affiliate networking ponzi schemes. People do seek them out. I do indeed believe my books, videos and equipment are among the best in the industry combining time-tested wisdom and cutting-edge science. I do not deny it. But you're ABSOLUTELY correct that (almost) any approach works once you're motivated to begin and follow-through intelligently ...

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You can be a winner once, but a champion only always.

January 20, 2012 – 8:40 pm
Today's Negative Norman - "If you really want to act like Mother Theresa, then donate all your money to a charity rather than brag about your success. Everybody had it tough as a kid so I'm bored with hearing how ya use all that stuff from your past to "inspire" others. Not trying to be an #^^hole or anything, but shutup with the motivational stuff. Whens the last time you won a world championships anyway, like 2 yrs ago or something? Go the hell out and PROVE your stuff to us rather than preach it, reverend." He's correct. I seek to continually streamline my efficiency in helping others, and shore up the bled minutes and dollars throughout the week which could be better used to improve my ability to serve others. I prefer to be quiet about my charities, for ...

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Love anywhere helps love everywhere. Defining a real warrior athlete.

January 17, 2012 – 8:09 am
Just as Martin Luther King, Jr. pronounced, "an injustice anywhere hurts justice everywhere," so too is its positive corollary a moral imperative for me: love anywhere helps love everywhere. Life taught this message over a very hard road, or perhaps... the harder the road, the more opportunities you're given to realize this truth.  There are some who laugh at this message. And even violently oppose it. To them, I say... You laughed at my dream calling me a retard, a loser, a reject, and used your authority, expertise and credential to claim I would never be worthy of greatness. Though hesitating at every turn, I kept going. When I began to knock down one opponent, challenge and obstacle after another, you scoffed at my effort, dismissing my accomplishments as fluke accident and random coincidence. Though doubting the veracity of each of my achievements, I kept ...

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Where do CST and TACFIT “fit” within MMA?

January 14, 2012 – 3:17 pm
What Circular Strength Training (CST) is all about? The CST system evolved to address very specific failures in modern physical conditioning: Warmup exercises were not specific to preparing the joint and tissue movements in the exercises to be trained. Warmup programs generally involved completely unrelated movements and intentions from the conditioning programs themselves, in the hopes that increased core temperature would safely generally prepare the operational tissue for work. Most programs have ineffective if not completely absent warm-up programs. As in martial art, if you only have 5 hours to prepare for a sword fight, spend 4 hours sharpening the blade. Cooldown exercises were not specific to unloading the tension from the exercises trained. Cooldown programs tend to be entirely independent from the conditioning program itself, and merely designed to stretch used muscles while passively awaiting heart rate recovery. Many programs have no cool-down whatsoever. However, if you do not specifically compensate for ...

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Do you REALLY know what the Warrior Spirit is?

January 14, 2012 – 9:58 am
Two days ago I was asked if I was afraid that the "wrong people" would benefit from training I provide. I replied on my Facebook page that:  There are no "wrong" people, only wrong attitudes. One can have frustration, anger, sorrow, even hate and apathy apathy in one's heart; as each of us faces throughout confronting the challenges with which life blesses us. True training slowly erodes any internal negativity, for only the powerfully-committed Will can overcome the resistance which ego imposes upon development. There are only the "Right" people: our individual growth beyond weakness and ignorance and our collective support to increase our awareness and courage. Love yourself enough to work harder. Then yesterday, a poster stated that instilling positive psychology in physical conditioning 'recklessly ignores the reality that people suck.' No, people don't suck. Attitudes do. And the man who posted the comment needs the approach more than most. Unfortunately, conflict can corrode positive ...

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