Claim OwnershipWarrior's Way Podcast
Subscribed: 48Played: 1,617
Subscribe
© James Eke
Description
James Eke is an author and martial artist with over 40 years experience. Black belts in a number of systems and a certified instructor under legendary martial art Guro Dan Inosanto and a Jiu-Jitsu student under Steve Maxwell, Eke runs a successful school in Victoria, BC, Canada, The Eke Academy of Martial Arts. A former journalist and a combat arms Army Captain, Eke brings real-life lessons to his training and teaching. Eke is the author of Warrior's Way: A Guide To Lifelong Learning In The Martial Arts and A Wolf In The Woods: Combat Essentials For The Martial Artist.
154 Episodes
Reverse
It is too easy to do the easiest thing and to just follow the crowd. It is too easy to do things superficially. Life, travel and training are meant to be fully lived and experienced.
Reconciliation is all about making peace between the relationships that once were and still remain. The same goes for our relationship with our own selves. We all have a story within us that is epic. Learning about ourselves changes everything.
Whether it is travel off the beaten path, climbing a mountain or volcano or maybe starting a meditation or workout program, doing the things on the border or outside of what makes us comfortable can change everything. Our lives shouldn’t be about living for the couch but all about living a life that matters.
When we stop and think about the past and all those people who have lived lives to pass on the life you have right now it makes us wonder what happened, what they endured and experienced. Becoming and ambassador of your ancestors means looking into the stories, the myths, legends, religions and culture that was so important to them for eons. When you embrace this you start to see your world and your place in it much differently. This is what training is about; digging deeper and learning from it all.
After a dip in a frigid Icelandic lake I have gone from being someone who hates the cold to taking a cold plunge every morning. What is even better is that I have seen a huge difference in how I feel as a result. Experts are saying dipping in water that is less than 15 C can have profound positive impacts on our health.
Iceland was once a heavily forested place but it was victim of deforestation when it was first settled. There is a lot of valuable lessons to be learned about life and how or why we train in that. Nobody intentionally made Iceland virtually void of trees and everything that results from that and in the same way most of us don’t really realize the mistakes we make when we are living our lives. What we need to do though is understand that we are all humans and all make mistakes, judge ourselves and others and live in duality. Now is the time for our planet to start to see things differently and learn.
In Iceland you historically had to be strong to survive and this is still evident today when you spend time in the place. What can we learn from the Norse/Icelandic concept of þetta reddast? How can you train to be less fragile and to embrace all aspects of life?
Let’s take a look at cultivation of a state of mind that sees everything fresh, new and magical. Beginners Mind can change not just our training but the way we live our lives.
This could be the most important episode yet. Let’s look at how rare, how special and how nearly impossible the chances are that you managed to be born — but not just that, that everyone and everything has a life. What does that mean to you? How does that change your life? How does that change how you treat others and yourself? How do we use that to focus our training and our energy?
People are never the enemy, ignorance is. Once we learn this simple truth we can start to make real changes in our lives. The first step is to see suffering for what it is both in our lives and in the lives of all those around us. When we live in this way we live in and perceive a reality that is far different—and one that we need to do something about.
What are you? Why train? Why improve your life? These are foundational questions that you should be asking yourself. The next is, what is suffering and what can I do about it both in my life personally and in the world around me. Training can be a superpower that helps heal, transform and change everything.
The world around you needs help. We all know this. Sometimes this can seem an un-winnable situation but if we train ourselves to turn our anger and frustration towards something else something that blossoms into compassion and kindness we can make a bad situation better — ultimately it can change the world. Engaged and functional training means training for something more than for your own wants and desires it means helping others however you can.
We are in the midst of a ‘mindfulness revolution’ in which everyone seems to be singing the virtues of it to the point that it is becoming a commodity. In this episode we talk about the darkside of mindfulness and what we can do to use it to the true potential of it — and how we can use this radical shift to help not just save our lives but also to save our planet.
In our modern world stress and anxiety are a big part of our lives but if we learn methods of dealing with it, at least some (if not all) anxiety can magically disappear. In this episode we discuss my own experiences and the method I’ve come up with that I use called the DETAILS method, or the ‘lotus grows in muddy water’ approach. By no means is this way of dealing with the ups and downs of life perfectly but it works for me and I use it both as a method of training as well as truly examining this life.
How can visualization change your training? How does the creative spark of human experience drive us on to amazing things? What can we learn from NBA superstars and Tibetan Buddhism to get more from our own lives and training?
Life is change. Life is struggle. Life is suffering. All this is true but we can take this struggle and use it to become stronger, healthier, more resilient and anti-fragile. Learning that the struggle of life can be one of your greatest teachers can build empathy and compassion as well as strength.
This episode we talk about the collective, tribalism and why you need to ask hard questions about the place of both in your life, your path and what it means to follow the Way. The collective can lead to disaster if we are not careful and any path of self-development needs to understand this because in the end, what we truly are always matters more than who we believe we are what what we believe defines us.
What should we do with anger? Sadness? Frustration? Should we channel it into our training? Should we use it as the fuel to get things done? Should we avoid it and bury it completely? In this episode we examine what to do with reactive emotions without letting them drag us down a path of destruction and suffering.
In this episode we look at Growth Mindset and how learning to develop and open mind can not just improve your training but in very real ways can improve your life, your mental health, how relationships and your views about life. What do you know? What don’t you know? What do you not know you don’t know? What is completely outside of your knowledge? How does all of this lead to peace, understanding, compassion and maybe even more?
We are launching Season Four of Warrior’s Way Podcast with something new. This season we are going spontaneous and organic. Episodes will be in a way like we are going for a walk together, unscripted and getting to the heart of things. In this episode we talk about what training is, how we can bring it into our lives and make the magic of training transform everything.
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
Love this podcast, but "Trumps threat to destroy North Korea,......."? You gotta be careful what you say! Please?
Great episode. The story about the the very faithful and humble lieutenant is very heartening. Definitely worth a listen.
Another great episode. I am going to try find these Viking Laws he covered in this episode. Kind of reminds me of the Vikings TV show I used to watch. I really miss that show.
Love your take on the whole age thing.
Amazing episode. I am living in recovery, and lessons like this one are invaluable! Like a beautiful glass ornament hanging in a shaft of sunlight 🌈
I am not a writer, I am not a good communicater, but I do REALLY appreciate what you are doing here. This podcast is a great tool for my recovery. Thanks so much.
absolutly brilliant life changing