Saturday, July 7, 2013: One of my favorite UFC athletes is a guy named Benson Henderson. He is a current champion in his respective weight class. He is an absolute beast in the Octagon. He is also one of the greatest people you could ever meet. Benson’s has an amazing story to tell. The discipline he has instilled in all aspects of his life, not just training, is legendary by now. Benson recently earned his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He accomplished this in less than 10-years which is even a bigger feat given this is the toughest Black Belt to earn out of any of the martial arts. Benson has a saying that resonated with me some time ago. If you follow him on Twitter you will know what I am talking about. Over and over again he will mention how he “got 1% better today”. I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well. When I look back at the medals I have earned in competition it was because I was consistent in my training and believed in my instructor and training partners. I was getting 1% better everyday.
Recently, I have been challenged with how that translated to life off the mat with your abduction Sam. It’s easy to question how anyone in similar circumstances would find it hard to stay true to who we are and get better 1% every day. Especially when dealing with people who seem to be in the throngs of degradation 1% every day. It would be easy to inject sarcasm after what Alicia, myself and the judge witnessed with our own eyes this weekend. I am not going to do that. As a result, I got 1% better today. I think seeing a child abductor and her accomplices get caught off guard, not having time to formulate another ambush or even rehearse the lies they will try to tell, speaks for itself. The shaking like a leaf because you are overcome with nerves and not making eye contact with anyone, again, speaks for itself. Already knowing the answers to all the questions you were asked and seeing you fumble through them with lie after lie – priceless.
So, not only did I get 1% better today, Alicia, the judge and this situation as a whole did as well.
