EP10 Martial Arts Expert and War Veteran Talks About The Fight Within

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“What you're really going to find out about yourself inside of the martial arts and the fight with yourself is...growth always happens in discomfort."—JD Caputo

In this podcast, we are speaking to martial arts instructor and US Army combat veteran JD Caputo. JD shares tips for choosing which martial arts to pursue and understanding the reasons behind your choice.  He also talks about how in learning to fight you need to recognize that you don’t know how yet, and to get your ego out of the way. He talks about not giving into intimidation by what you don’t know, and to realize it takes one step at a time to see growth. 

JD also gives us a glimpse of what it was like to serve in the war against terrorism after 911. He shares his personal journey of grief and pain coming back into civilian life and what it took for him to overcome this emotional battle. He gives an open invitation for any other war veteran to seek him out if they are needing help and to just take one moment at a time.
 

Show Notes:

0:45 JD Caputo shares his background in martial arts and military service.

3:30 Choosing which martial arts to pursue depends on what your needs are.

9:18 Understanding your reasons for knife training or self defense.

11:00 Don’t be intimidated by martial arts when you first start out. 
 

“Go to the seminar, go to that class, walk through the door, don't be intimidated. Everybody was a day one guy, everybody remembers what it's like. Step on the mats, start the journey. No excuses.”

13:35 Don’t expect instant gratification in martial arts.  Stay consistent and don’t focus on measuring yourself against other people.  Just measure yourself against yourself.

16:00 His dad’s mantra for him that got him through tough battles: “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?”

18:40 What it was like after 911, entering the war against terrorism.

23:00 His experience with war and adjusting to combat life.

26:20 Why he got into military service and whether martial arts influenced his decision.

28:40 You can never build a foundation for anything combatively if you’re not willing to accept your frailty.

29:10 Returning to civilian life and how JD dealt with it.

33:30 Why all types of martial arts have healing health benefits.

35:22 Martial arts is about the fight within yourself, in ways that people don’t expect.

37:00 Go inside of yourself to discover yourself; but JD’s not one to force meditation.

41:00 Taking care of yourself and tips on recovery.

44:20 You do not know yourself until you fight.

46:20 The way that martial arts can save people from themselves.

48:40 The world needs more coaches, but you got to your ego out of the way.

50:28 How people can get in touch wtih JD Caputo.

51:30 Urges people to reach out for help when they are feeling suicidal and to get through one moment at a time.

“All I want to express out there is, if you're out there and you're suffering, whether you're military or not, and you're having suicidal thoughts, tendencies, things like that, or you're upset, just stop. Stop what you're doing, take a deep breathe. It's not as bad as you think it is.

I need you to win this moment. Just win this moment. And if you win this moment, we might be able to win the day together. We win a day, we win a week. We win a week, we win a month. We win a month, we might just win a life, okay? Don't make a permanent decision based on a temporary set of circumstances. You're worth it, and we need you here, okay? Just step back from that ledge. It's going to be okay, I promise.”

53:30 Where to get better stuff than Tiger Balm; support Plum Dragon Herbs.

Links and Resources Mentioned:

• https://plumdragonherbs.com/collections/whole-herbs 
• https://plumdragonherbs.com/product-category/dit-da-jow/
• Find out more about JD Caputo and connect with him on Facebook, Instagram or at https://www.modern-pankration.com/.
• Watch for a new video series with JD Caputo, Eli Knight, and Professor Royce Gracie on how boxing and jiu jitsu intertwine together on budobrothers.com.
• JD is currently a coach at the Oromocto Boxing Club in Lincoln, New Brunswick, Canada
• He is also involved with Funker Gaming, a community of gaming veterans around the world and Stack-Up.org, a veteran charity dedicated to supporting the men and women of the military through the use, support and donation of video games worldwide

Connect with Plum Dragon Herbs:

YouTube |  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter  | LinkedIn 

Thank You For Listening!

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Podcast Music Credit:

Motherlode Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/