Crossfit Masters the Yoda Principles
Recently I went to London to take part in a Secret Cinema event. The Star Wars themed evening, ended with a viewing of the film ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ as the climax to the evenings theatrics. We (over 600 other people) attended the event in costume and met up with other avid Star Wars buffs; all of whom enjoyed the chance to join in an evenings entertainment based around the Star Wars films, (rumour has it that other CrossFit Leyland members where there on another night!).
This cinema experience got me thinking about my Masters blog for CrossFit Leyland. Yoda (Jedi Master) has always been a character that I have identified with (yeah, yeah! no jokes about my: size, grey hair and green wrinkled skin please!). I wrote this blog using Yoda as my inspiration because: “Much to teach CrossFit has Yoda!”
So, I have put pen to paper and you are now going to read my blog called: ‘CrossFit Masters, the Yoda Principles!’ I apologise for the length of this blog, but those who know me; know I like to talk.
So what are the CrossFit Master Yoda Principles?
Well for those of you who have not watched the Star Wars movies (you really should!); Yoda is a fictional character who appears first, in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. Yoda is a Jedi Master as well as a: guide, mentor, general wise old alien and timed served Jedi. He has the presence (although not stature – he is very small) to command respect and hold authority within the Jedi forces. It is Yoda that teaches the young Luke Skywalker to fight the dark side and the Galatic Empire.
In this blog I am also going to take you on a journey (not around the Galaxy sadly, fun as that would be!) No our journey is going to be into the world that is, being a CrossFit Master. We are going to explore together how the Yoda Principles can apply to both the masters and non-masters within a CrossFit gym. I might steal some other peoples wisdom as well as Yoda’s.
Principle One: Use the Force!
Being 43 years old, I have partaken in many sports. Cue name dropping, I used to run with Preston Harriers. I even ran alongside Helen Clitheroe for about 1.5 seconds as she lapped me on the track there one night. I used to swim a mile or two, several times a week. I’ve done rock climbing, abseiling, cross country running, cycling, military fitness and circuit training. I even trained as an aerobic teacher (I know, you are asking yourself how on earth, did Cills teach aerobics. The answer is … badly!) But that is another story for another day, after a few drinks.
Back to the blog!
I have worked in many different work environments too: nursing homes, schools for children with challenging behaviours, prisons, a swimming pool as a life guard, corporate offices, a factory packing soap powder, a double glazing firm, acute hospitals, locked forensic hospitals, community hospitals and probation offices just to name a few!
Why am I boring you with all this, you ask?
Because; it is me, or at least its a part of me! We are all made up of all of our experiences and skills, the things we have done, seen, said and thought about. All of this put together with our bodies, is what makes us uniquely who we are. You cannot re-create that unique set of body, mind and experiences, its just not possible.
I think of it, like having an invisible ‘rucksack’ that we carry around on our backs. In this metaphoric rucksack, you have all the skills, ideas, lessons and experiences that you have picked up each and everyday of your life. You carry them around with you and hopefully you learn from them and you might even re-visit them and use them again.
Throughout my sporting and working life so far, I have trained myself to take a mental look in that rucksack. Whenever I have a challenge or sporting competition to deal with, I will take a virtual rummage through it and think, “how did I deal with this kind of situation last time?” I will ask myself “what skills or techniques do I have, or lessons have I learnt about this type of situation that could be helpful now?”
With practice I have become good at this. I wouldn’t describe myself as a “master” at it, but I am well practised in it, even if only because of the length of time I have had to practice it! I would even go as far, as to say it has now become an unconscious act. I automatically and naturally search within myself for lessons learnt and skills and experiences that can help me when faced with situations.
This is one way in which the Yoda Principles help in CrossFit. I guess you could say that in a way we are “using the force!” You are tapping into your own ‘force’; your own energy, skills and experience. Over time the more you have in that rucksack to call upon, the richer that force will be to you and the more perhaps we learn to rely on it.
I believe that this “force” (or call it whatever you will), is a tool and technique that all athletes use and should use. You don’t need to be a master to have it and use it; (mind you the older you get, I guess there is more and more in there) but that is just a timing thing.
One thing I learnt from Yoda’s quotes in the Star Wars films, is not to underestimate yourself. I think we forget, or don’t even know how much we actually carry around with us that is useful for CrossFit. All your life and work experiences will have taught you things that if you are mindful of them, can be used to help you as an athlete whether you are a master or a younger adult. So that is the first Yoda principle – “use the force, or more precisely” use YOUR force”.
Principle Two: Always pass on what you have learned
CrossFit is a sport.
There is a competitive element to CrossFit of course there is. That said; it is also a community based sport, which is partly why I like it so much. Masters, younger adults and now children are CrossFit athletes. All of which have much to share with each other, remember we all have a unique set of skills and experiences. The younger adults and children have youth that we masters have to some degree lost, but we masters have perhaps got more experience and more in our rucksacks to call upon. No matter what the age or experience of an athlete in CrossFit we will always have something to share and something to learn. My belief is that no-one is discounted from that fact. Even if you only started CrossFit 3 months ago, or you started CrossFit in your forties like I did. We all come to the gym every day with a metaphoric rucksack on our backs. We all have the ability to share something and teach something.
I am not for one minute proposing that we are all coaches (heaven forbid I teach anyone tekkers!) My point is, that we have something to give, something to share to enhance another athlete. Masters will have experience and wisdom that has come with time and arguable they might have a higher responsibility than anyone else within a gym to share that with the others.
Equally, I am a firm believer in not discounting the knowledge and skills of youth. There is a freshness and creativity that comes from younger people that has pulled me up several times in life. I have found many people younger than me, with much better ideas than me!
I see being a Masters athlete, as actually quite a privilege. Sure there are some WODS where I look over at younger athletes who are fitter than me and I secretly say to myself “I wish I was like that again”; but even then, I also rejoice in what I have learnt and who I have become over the years. No lesson, no experience however painful or unpleasant is a lost opportunity to learn something (difficult as that might be). We are all works in progress; and I hope I always will be. I think the day we stop learning, is the day we stop having the ability to change and influence both ourselves and others.
So Yoda’s second principle is: to relish your age, and experience, see it as a gift and be prepared to teach and learn from others regardless of your age or theirs. Much can be learnt from spending time with people who are different from you. I believe this is a good way of looking at CrossFit. I watch people within our gym of all ages, sizes and experience levels and I learn something from all of them.
Principle Three: There is always two, a master and an apprentice
It is interesting to me that CrossFit uses the term ‘master’ for the older adults who do CrossFit! When I was in a running club, we were called ‘seniors’ and I am reliably told that pregnant women aged over forty, were called ‘geriatric mothers’ (bet the person who came up with that was popular)….
Within CrossFit the term ‘master’ is used to describe an age category and not a level of expertise. One usually thinks of a master as someone who has worked at their craft, who has and still does spend time honing their skills and teaching others. In the Star Wars films, Yoda is the master and Luke is the apprentice. In CrossFit, I like to think of the Masters as an age category yes; but more than that. My hope is that within all the age groups in CrossFit, there is the potential for us all to be a master and an apprentice regardless of our age.
Putting the age category aspect to one side as a given. CrossFit will always have people at different skill levels – that is just the natural order of things. Yoda had much to teach Luke because he had been a Jedi for a long time (900 years constitutes a long time in my book). However, Luke proved to have skills and strength that people much older and experienced than him did not have. There will always be older adults and younger adults who have done CrossFit for differing lengths of time. So for me, being a master or an apprentice is not simply an age thing.
A master implies mastery! Someone who has mastered some parts of what they do, or if they are truly awesome all of it! As CrossFit is a fairly technical sport, it is highly likely that you will come across people who have mastered some elements but not necessarily all elements. I find this encouraging but its also frustrating – I choose to see it as a challenge; a challenge to keep going and keep pushing for more mastery. With each skill I acquire the more I become the master I aim to be. Mastery comes at all stages and ages in CrossFit and it keeps happening with consistent practice.
To be able to accept help and advice from competent others, (no matter what their age) is as a strength. Yoda states that a “child’s mind is great.” There is a beautiful openness and creativity which they have, that enables them to freely look for alternative ways of thinking and doing things. It can be something we lose, even as young as in our teenage years. We can fall into ‘I’ve always done it this way’ or; ‘what could you possibly teach me?’ Children or apprentices could well be some of our best teachers!
Principle 4: Feel the fear and do it anyway
One of the really important lessons I have learnt, is to feel the fear and still do it. Henry Ford the car manufacturer reportedly said “whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, either way you’re probably right.”
Many commentators would agree that a large percentage of sport is mental/psychological. Much of what we do in CrossFit is about getting your head as well as your body under control and working for you, not against you. There are hundreds of ways of doing this. In my experience many Masters are often good at this. I do not know if this is an age thing, or an experience thing or what? I guess its a bit of both in reality. However, I have also seen exceptional examples of this in younger athletes. So this suggests to me that this is a learnt skill and the age and experience aspects are a bonus on top.
It comes back to what you have in that metaphoric rucksack on your back. The more opportunities you have to fill that rucksack with skills, techniques and experiences; the more you are likely to be equipped to feel the fear and do it anyway. Therefore, we should take every opportunity to learn and practice. Gym seminars, WODS, competitions, watching others, asking questions, reading; you name it, there are so many ways.
“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” — Yoda
People may think that Masters are no longer competitive or don’t seem to care about how well they do. I do not subscribe to this, I think many Masters are competitive and do extremely well. What I also observe is that some Masters (and younger adults) who do CrossFit make a choice not to be competitive. CrossFit is a great sport for either of these perspectives. In either cases I see that any athlete who can control the fear and train themselves to let go of everything they fear to lose; can often perform better than those who are tied up with nerves and performance anxiety. Whether young or older, I think mastering this part of sport is gold dust to any athlete whether you want to compete or not. Mastering both your body and mind is hugely powerful and effective.
So in summary:
- We have access to our own ‘force’
- We all have a rucksack to fill with all our skills, experiences and techniques from where ever we go
- We can use all of these transferable skills within CrossFit.
- We can always learn and develop more.
- There is scope to teach or learn something from everyone
- A master and an apprentice is always needed; and we can all be both
- Managing both body and mind is powerful
- Being a master is not really about age at all, that’s just history!
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