Mark Luckey is a black belt Sensei and businessman. While punches in the face are never pleasant, he appreciates their value. His mental fitness coaching, and even this book, revolve around the idea of using resistance for our advantage.
CHAPTERS (CLICKABLE)
• Why punches in the face are good
• Why we get punched in the face
• A punch in the face is better than…
• About Mark Luckey
• Take action
INTRODUCTION
This book is your punch in the face. Because sometimes the best lessons are obscured by the impact of pain. You can thank me later.
Why punches in the face are good
A tingly numbness moved across my face. Blood. Embarrassment. Starry eyes.
“Just hang in there Mark,” came the call from the side of the karate mat. The medics gave me a few tissues and told me not to bleed on my outfit. I tried to regain focus. I was ready to throw it in for the day. The referee told me I had three minutes.
I’d let my guard down as I meandered into this contest and it really hurt. A massive smash to the nose.
Let’s remember this is no world title, not a professional bout; just a stack of committed weekend warriors who are giving it everything. Earlier that day, I didn’t feel like leaving the house, let alone put on my karate gear and get punched in the face.
I was tired and depressed. Increasingly, in recent weeks, my sleep had become disrupted. My time with business partners was coming to an end. The future was not clear. I felt directionless, purposeless and unsure of my next steps. I was becoming distracted and unproductive. I’m a confidence person and my confidence was down.
I didn’t feel like going to the tournament. I didn’t feel like competing. Sitting on the couch at home with a cup of tea, I did not feel like doing anything. It was cold and raining outside.
Don’t log a zero, I thought. Just put in the effort and, if you fail, at least you tried. Learn the lesson. Try again.
Then I got punched in the face.
With blood on my face I steeled myself for the remainder of the bout. Already, some facts became clear. I knew the mistake I had made. I knew I had to move faster. I knew I didn’t want to get punched in the face again.
This is why punches in the face are good.
Punches in the face wake you up.
Punches in the face quickly expose your mistakes.
Punches in the face don’t care about your feelings.
Punches in the face make you move quicker.
Punches in the face make you move to better places.
Why we get PUNCHED in the face
In martial arts we get punched in the face because we’ve let our defences down. This is a gap in our guard, or being too slow to move. Perhaps we’re not attacking enough and simply giving the opposition too much time, energy and inclination to hurt us.
In life we get punched in the face for the same reasons.
A “punch in the face” is any painful setback caused by any oppositional force either human or environmental.
One of the reasons I love martial arts so much is that the lessons can be so clear. The punch in the face leaves you with your ears ringing and your eyes swelling up, but I can use the impact of knuckle on flesh to learn deeper life lessons about who I am and what I’m doing.
In life, the setbacks can be complicated, but can I invite you to see each setback as a punch in the face. This metaphor will help you think of questions. Did I leave a gap in my defences? Did I move too slow? Should I have known this was coming? How did it make me feel? Why? What’s stopping me from avoiding this in the future? Am I not attacking enough? Am I giving the opposition too much time, energy and inclination to hit me?
A punch in the face tells us we weren't ready for that moment. But it doesn't have to be the last moment. A punch in the face teaches us about the distance between us and the challenge
we are facing. Distance is needed to attack a problem, but it also opens us up to risk. In closing the distance to attack, or allowing the problem to close its distance with us, we need to be aware of what our opponent is doing. When we attack a challenge, what’s our timing? As the enemy closes distance with us, how do we time our defence and attack? To achieve this, we need to be present. Aware of ourselves and what’s going on around us.
The more difficult the challenge, the more we step to the edge of our own capabilities and lean into discomfort.
In general terms, in Western society, I think we’ve lost our presence in the fight. The ability to understand resistance in life, and how to defend and attack.
Currently, I think Western society is experiencing one gigantic punch in the face.
Quiet quitting. Job shifting. A lack of dynamism and innovation. Employee turnover. Productivity at record low levels. Generational divides in ways of working. Medicated and overweight nations. I don’t say these things to dwell on the negative (I hate that!) but the worst punch in the face is the one you don’t learn from.
A punch in the face is better than…
Think about it another way. A punch in the face is an unwelcome disruption to your personal environment, but in martial arts it does not mean the end of the bout.
So, for me… a punch in the face is better than sitting on the couch. a punch in the face is better than my feelings - it gives me real data to work with! a punch in the face is better than not reaching my potential. a punch in the face is better than me taking myself out of the fight.
About Mark
Mark Luckey brings a blend of corporate leadership, martial arts and mental fitness practice to individuals and businesses who want to thrive.
He is a sensei, fourth dan black belt and veteran national karate champion who competed internationally for Australia, and also a former chief information officer for a multinational, entrepreneur and qualified for the Obstacle course world championships as a 49 year old. He did all this while being a dad, teaching karate, studying and building a business.
His expertise and lessons can be applied across industries, and he has experience working in such diverse sectors as agricultural, travel and offshore software development. This work involved working across cultures to bring together the right talent and teams to make great stuff happen.
Mark holds a Certificate in Mental Fitness and Health Coaching from Wellness Coaching Australia. He has always loved “optimisation”– fitness, productivity, happiness, growing a business, diet, injury management, being a good family man, time for friends, time for life. But blessed with high energy others say is way too intense he always wondered “gee, what if you could optimise the perfect day…”?
Take action
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