If you fail to forge your own opinions and views, you will be the thrall to someone else who does. That's the life of a coward. If you fail to examine the ideas and opinions of others, then you will miss out on important concepts. That's the life of a fool. If you fail to return to your own ideas and opinions and reevaluate them, then you will hold ideas that are no longer true or useful. That’s the life of an idiot. Mental wellness comes from this concept of living an examined life, a “good” life or a life “well lived”. There is no way to do this without using our capacity for critical thought. The stoics, and many modern religions, believe this capacity is what sets us apart from the animals. Neuroscientists agree that we appear to be thje only animals aware that we are capable of thought. (Look up) it is also true that the parts of our brain that allow us to do this are more recent to our evolutionary history and are slower to develop than our “older” parts of our brains. Stoics hold that this critical capacity is the only thing that allows us to lead a good life, because the ability to separate ourselves from our initial emotional responses relies on us thinking things through logically. This is also a key aspect of CBT, a highly successful form of therapy. Instead of being like a bull, led around by the nose by our own emotions, we become capable of stopping, taking a breath, thinking things through and then choosing how we actually want to act in the world. Why does this matter for coaches? If you don't examine and challenge the ideas that sit behind your coaching philosophy, then you just become a copycat falling for whatever the latest influencer or seasoned veteran “coach-daddy” tells you is their answer. Just because they're “successful” it doesn't mean they're right. Moreover, actual coaching is about problem solving the whole individual in front of you. Not copying the latest super secret Soviet training manual shock method some guy claims he based his training on. He probably wears a Punisher rash guard as a tee shirt in public, because his mental development stopped at 12. He is lame. Ignore him.

If you’re a new coach, you’ve probably heard people talking about ecological training, constraints-led coaching, or alive training. It all sounds fancy, but here’s the truth: ecological training is just about making practice look and feel more like the real sport. Instead of drilling moves in isolation a hundred times, we put athletes—especially kids—into game-like problems where they have to figure things out. Think less “copy my steps” and more “let’s play a game where you learn by solving problems.” Why Ecological Training Works for Kids Kids learn by doing and exploring, not by sitting still and memorizing. If you make training fun, game-based, and realistic, they: - Stay more engaged (less bored drilling moves endlessly). - Develop problem-solving skills that transfer to real rolling. - Build adaptability, not just a list of techniques. The Core Idea Instead of teaching “Move A, then Move B, then Move C,” you: 1. Create a small game (constraint). Example: “You’re stuck under side control. Your job is to escape. Top person’s job is to hold.” 2. Let them figure it out (exploration). They’ll try frames, bridging, shrimping, or whatever comes naturally. 3. Guide, don’t script (coaching). You step in with nudges: “What if you use your arms instead of just legs?” Practical Examples for Kids’ Classes Here are simple ways to add ecological games: 1. Escaping Mount - Game: Bottom player starts mounted. Top tries to stay on. Bottom must escape to guard or turtle. - Constraint: Top can only use one arm. This makes success possible for beginners. 2. Guard Passing - Game: Bottom sits up guard. Top must pass in 30 seconds. - Constraint: Top can only grip with one hand. 3. Back Defense - Game: One kid has seatbelt on the back. The other must escape before being submitted. - Constraint: Attacker can only use strangles, no arm locks. How to Coach Without Over-Coaching Resist the urge to lecture. Instead: - Use questions instead of answers: “What worked best for you?” - Use nudges, not instructions: “Try keeping your elbows tighter and see if it helps.” - Keep games short and fun (30–90 seconds, lots of resets).

(Short guide — action items, mechanisms, and the evidence for bone & soft-tissue healing) Quick summary Healing is multifactorial. Nutrition and selected supplements can support cellular repair, inflammation control and bone formation — but they are adjuncts, not replacements for medical care, surgical management (if needed), structured S&C/rehab, load management, sleep and lifestyle changes. Below I outline practical actions, the proposed mechanisms, and the key evidence for bone healing — including where evidence is weak, preclinical only, or experimental (peptides / AAS). 1) High-level action plan (how to think about interventions) 1. Medical triage first — rule out need for surgery / infection / red flags. 2. Optimize the basics — energy balance, protein, vitamin D, calcium, adequate zinc and vitamin C for collagen synthesis, good sleep, and smoking cessation. 3. Targeted adjuncts — consider evidence-backed supplements to support bone and soft-tissue healing (see below). Use high-quality product sources and stop if adverse effects occur. 4. Rehab + S&C — progressive load management guided by clinician/PT to promote appropriate tissue adaptation. 5. Review medications & interactions — always run supplements/peptides/steroids past the treating physician (and consider anti-doping rules for athletes). 2) Nutritional foundations (actionable) - Protein: Aim for ~1.2–2.0 g/kg/day depending on injury severity and catabolic state to supply amino acids for collagen and muscle. - Energy: Avoid prolonged calorie deficit during active repair; inadequate energy impairs healing. - Vitamin D & calcium: Optimize vitamin D status (target labs via clinician) and ensure dietary calcium to support bone mineralization. - Vitamin C & zinc: Support collagen cross-linking and immune function — include vitamin C rich foods and ensure zinc adequacy.Rationale: these are well-established components of tissue repair and bone health (widely supported in nutrition literature).

“The Sol Way” by Sol Brah is a modern self-improvement book built around physical culture, personal discipline, and lifestyle habits meant to create a stronger, healthier, and more capable individual. While the tone of the book is casual and internet-influenced, many of its core ideas connect deeply to lessons found in athletics—especially combat sports—and to broader life skills such as discipline, resilience, and self-confidence. Below are the core principles (the “cliff notes”) of the book and how they translate into both sport and everyday life. 1. Discipline Over Motivation Summary: Sol emphasizes that motivation is unreliable; discipline creates real progress. Small, consistent habits beat sporadic bursts of enthusiasm. In Combat Sports: Every fighter knows that showing up matters more than feeling inspired. Skill development—timing, footwork, grappling sensitivity—comes from drilling long after the novelty fades. In Life: Schoolwork, fitness, personal goals: consistency produces results. The disciplined person controls their direction instead of waiting for the “right mood.” 2. Physical Excellence Builds Mental Excellence Summary: Strength training, good nutrition, and physical health are gateways to confidence and mental clarity. In Combat Sports: Strength and conditioning improve performance, but they also build resilience. A stronger athlete absorbs pressure better—physically in grappling or striking, and mentally during competition. In Life: Exercise reduces stress, boosts energy, and improves focus—habits that support academic success and healthier relationships. 3. Seek Difficulty and Embrace Challenge Summary: Growth comes from stepping outside comfort zones. Hard tasks force adaptation. In Combat Sports: Rolling with tougher partners, sparring when you’re tired, or entering competitions all develop toughness and adaptability. In Life: Challenging classes, new responsibilities, public speaking, or any situation that feels uncomfortable become opportunities to grow instead of obstacles to avoid.

Most people do not choose their foundation. It’s built for them by the standards they were held to, the discomfort they were protected from, and the discipline that was either enforced or avoided in their early environment. Some people were raised on structure, expectation, and resilience. Others were raised on softness disguised as compassion, allowed to quit when anxious, shielded from fear, rescued from discomfort, and praised for potential without ever being pushed into practice. A soft foundation doesn’t make you weak, but it does leave you unprepared for elite standards. 1. Maladaptive Perfectionism: The Illusion of High Standards When you’re taught that mistakes define you, perfection becomes a shield. You stop pursuing growth and start avoiding failure. Excellence becomes a fantasy instead of a process. Elite performance demands the opposite. You must be willing to look imperfect while becoming the best version of yourself. Maladaptive perfectionism creates a distorted relationship with standards When your early environment punished mistakes or made “anything less than perfect” feel like failure: • You chase flawless outcomes, not consistent effort. • You avoid challenges you might not immediately excel at. • You equate struggle with “I’m not good enough,” instead of “this is the path.” • You collapse under pressure instead of tolerating imperfection while improving. You may crave elite standards but have no tolerance for the reality of meeting them. You want the identity without having built the tolerance for the process. 2. Permissive Discipline: Anxiety as the Authority If your early environment let you back down when you were scared, anxious, or overwhelmed, you learned one rule, that emotion decides your limits. In high performance, this rule must be dismantled. Emotion can be acknowledged but never allowed to dictate action. Discomfort is not a sign to retreat, but proof that you’re moving toward greater capacity. Lack of discipline teaches avoidance over resilience