Pivoting is Part of Your Mastery

Pivoting is such an integral part of your journey towards fitness, self defense, sport, or any life endeavor. During this pandemic, we were all forced to pivot to make it through many new situations in our lives, both voluntarily and involuntarily. The human condition, unfortunately, can sometimes make us believe that pivoting is a negative thing. Pivoting is synonymous with “getting around an obstacle, that I didn’t plan, or want to be there”. But let’s look at it like this. When Michael Jordan had to pivot around all those tremendous defenders of his time, (and there were many of the era) either to score, or even assist a teammate to score, we all sat in awe of such a feat. And even to this day, the highlight reel is the actual pivots, adjustments, and bad situations on the way to the basket, not so much as the score itself. And so now it is our time to pivot, adjust and turn a so-called “bad situation” into a good one.

Here are a few awesome, simple and effective ways to pivot and continue your journey to mastery that you started with us here at Evolve.

1. Remember your rituals and perform them regularly. Whether it’s the warm up ritual where we would do “hop outs”, or running around doing movement strides, and all the various warm ups and stretches, take the few minutes to perform them in your own home or space. As coaches, it is the very reason we set up these rituals. It is for you to take home and maintain them, as they are not much to remember and take only a few minutes a day. “30-50-50!” you probably heard me yell time and time again. It’s 30 push ups, 50 sit ups and 50 calf raisers. I have used this standard since I was 15 years old, daily, whether I could get to my academy or not.

2. Make a game of it. Using our Boxing for Fitness analogy, take your punch numbers 1-8. Pick any numbers out of that hat and create a unique combination. Ex. 1-2-5, or 2-3-2-7, or 1-3-7-2. The combinations are endless and there’s no wrong combination! Work that combination for a set duration of time, say 10 minutes a day, for 3 days. In no time you’ll be looking like a pro.

3. Don’t bog yourself down with rights and wrongs, what’s and what nots. Have fun with the process and the pivots. Do some strides for a few minutes, follow that with your combination work, add what you feel would go well with the combo, like a slip or a half moon. Keep your mind open and fresh.

4. Join your classmates on Zoom to reinforce the progress. You can also snatch new ideas to add to your personal repertoire.

5. Stay consistent. Just like with any “round” at the academy, not all rounds will be the same. Some great, some not so great. But every round leads you to improvement and self discovery. “Answer the bell” and keep moving forward.

Hope these tips help you approach pivots with a beginner’s mind and find confidence and joy in the journey.