T he following is an article I wrote when submitting for an oDesk job. I got some positive feedback on it, 
and so I thought I’d share it with the rest of the world. Enjoy.
If I could rewind the clock of time, one thing I would do is study one of the martial arts disciplines.
Whenever a young adolescent boy watches a classic Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris film, what usually goes through his head are violent scenes that feature the adolescent boy as the hero. As he roundhouse-kicks his way through gang members and/or communist soldiers, the young boy envisions that while he is rescuing the beautiful girl and his comrades, the national security of the entire country rests on whether or not he accomplishes his mission. However, there is a tiny detail that doesn’t cross his mind, and it is the most important one of all.
That detail is practice. Work. Patience. Discipline – mental and physical. When someone goes to witness a martial arts competition, they feel the intensity, hype, and electricity that is surround a martial arts event. What they don’t see is the months, years in some cases, that go into training and preparing for a match that only lasts for minutes.
What impresses me most about martial arts is the balance it teaches people. Whenever I see someone who has achieved a high status, such as a brown or black belt, they are usually successful in other areas in life, too. There are many who see martial arts as a chance to exert their aggression and take their anger out on people. The real martial arts experts are the ones who rarely use their training, unless they have to defend themselves. These select few are also good businesspersons, family members, and deep thinkers.
The martial arts are known as a discipline, and with good reason. One can be talented in an area, but if they lack the discipline to apply their talent, that is a great shame. I was fortunate to learn this through other means besides martial arts. And even though I’ve gotten older and, as a result, have become busier, there’s still the young adolescent boy who wants to be trained by a sensei. Who wants to be called ‘Grasshopper’.
If anything, a person needs to learn discipline at some point and what cooler way to do it than the arts of the Orient!
One final note. If you are a martial arts expert, and you’re reading this, please don’t take any offense to this. Two reasons:
A) You’re the reason I was inspired to write this article.
B) My limbs are fine the way God created them.
Peace.
Good job. You could have mentioned the wrestling and the football, and the early years of hand-to-hand combat with brother Will. You undoubtedly learned patience and discipline from the first two. Unsure just what you learned from the third apart from knowledge that little Will had sharp teeth. GM