“Well, we already worked out today. And my room is clean. And I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. So I’m pretty much all caught up with everything.”
“Really? What about your times tables?”
“My times tables?” I had been hoping he would ask that! I had been studying hard and knew all the tables from one to thirteen by heart at this point. “I know all of them. Every flash card. One hundred percent.”
“One hundred percent? Good. Go get them.”
“The flash cards?”
“Yes, the flash cards. I will be the judge.”
“Okay.” I ran up to my room to get my flash cards. When I came back down, Uncle Jake was pulling something out of his gym bag. It looked like a big watch.
“What’s that?” I asked him.
“A stopwatch.”
“A what?”
“A stopwatch. To time you.”
“Time me?”
“Yes. Time you. To see if you are fast enough.”
“Fast enough? This isn’t a race!” I complained.
“Everything is a race,” replied Uncle Jake with an evil smile on his face. “Give me the cards.”
Hesitating and a little nervous, I handed the cards to Uncle Jake. We sat down at the table.
“Ready?” Uncle Jake asked.
“Ready,” I replied, starting to feel the pressure.
“GO!!!!” He pressed the start button on the stopwatch and held up the first card. It was 5 × 3.
“Fifteen!” I said. He held up the next card, which read: 2 × 4.
“Eight,” I barked.
He held up the next card. He held up 9 × 6, which for some reason, maybe the pressure or the stopwatch, I blanked on for a few seconds. Then I dug through my brain and remembered. “Fifty-four!” I yelled.
“Slow,” Uncle Jake said as he held up the next card.
We went through the whole pile. There were some that I hesitated on, and I actually missed two, but since I corrected them before he could even put them back in the pile, that meant I didn’t have to answer them again. As soon as I finished, Uncle Jake slapped down the last card and pressed stop on the stopwatch.
I raised my hands over my head. “Yes!” I called out—I was SUPER EXCITED that I had gotten every one of the cards right.
“‘Yes’ what?” Uncle Jake asked me. Now I knew from the first pull-up I did that I should never celebrate too early. But this wasn’t early. The mission was accomplished—or so I thought.
“Well, Uncle Jake, I’m excited because I made it through all the times tables. That means I learned. Thanks so much for helping me, Uncle Jake. I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“That’s not true. I only helped you learn one group of numbers; you learned the rest on your own. Once you learned how to learn, you learned on your own.”
“I guess that’s kinda true,” I said, not sure where Uncle Jake was heading with this conversation.
“But you aren’t done yet.”
“I’m not?”
“No. It took you six minutes and thirty-seven seconds to get through the flash cards. You should be doing it in less than four minutes.”
“Four minutes? Really?”
“Really,” Uncle Jake replied. “I want you to know these answers so well that there isn’t any hesitation whatsoever. None. Understand?”
“Yes. I understand.”
Uncle Jake continued, “And that is the way you should do everything—the absolute best you can. Give it everything you’ve got. One hundred percent. That will get you where you want to be.”
And with that, I started studying again, now timing myself using Uncle Jake’s stopwatch. I was GOING TO GET THERE!
CHAPTER 15: TAP OUT!
Today was crazy, unbelievable, nuts, and AMAZING at jiu-jitsu class!
I got to class, and we did the normal warm-up stuff that we always do: run around the mat, push-ups, some sit-ups, some rolls, and all that basic stuff. Then we did our drills where we worked on our basic moves: arm locks and sweeps and the “escaping the mount” position. We were about halfway done with class when a new kid showed up. It was his first day. He had never done jiu-jitsu before.
While we were drilling some moves, I saw the instructor going over the basics with this kid and showing him what jiu-jitsu was all about, what the basic positions were, and, also, most important, how to tap out.
Then it was time to roll. Rolling in jiu-jitsu is when you are sparring against your opponent. It is kind of like a real fight, except without kicking or punching. But you learn pretty quick that on-the-ground kicking and punching aren’t as important as people think. What is more important is being in the right position so you can control your opponent and then, when the time is right, make him tap out with some kind of joint lock or choke. A joint lock is when you trap your opponent’s arm or leg in such a way that they can’t move it and then you actually move it in the opposite direction—the direction an arm or a leg is not supposed to go!
But don’t worry, you don’t hurt your opponents. As soon as they feel the tension on their arm or leg, all they have to do is tap out and you let go. It is all over. It is the same thing with a choke. You put your arms in a position around their neck to choke them, and in a second, they tap out. We also learned to ONLY DO JIU-JITSU IN JIU-JITSU CLASS WITH THE INSTRUCTOR THERE. It is important to have an instructor around when we train to make sure we are practicing safe and effective jiu-jitsu.
I rolled with a couple of the other kids in class for the first two rounds. Then the instructor called to me, “Come on over here, Marc.”
I went right over to the instructor and said, “Yes, sir?”
“Marc, this is Jaden. Jaden, this is Marc.”
I shook hands with the new kid. “Hi Jaden.”
“I want you to roll with Jaden, please, Marc.”
“Yes, sir.”
Then the instructor looked at Jaden and said, “Just relax and have fun. And remember, if it hurts or if it is uncomfortable, just tap and Marc will let you go and you can start again. It’s okay to tap. It just means you are learning. Okay?”
“Okay,” Jaden said.
We walked over to an open area of the mat. Jaden was a little bit smaller than me, but not too much. Just maybe an inch or two shorter. I held out my hand, and we shook hands.
As soon as we stepped back from shaking hands, Jaden rushed at me!! I guess he wasn’t going to relax like the instructor asked him to!!! As he moved forward, he tried to get ahold of my hands and arms, grabbing at them like a giant crab.
I pushed his hands away, and as he came forward, I ducked underneath his arms and easily grabbed ahold of his legs. Then I drove forward like I had been taught, a classic double-leg takedown!
When we got on the ground, Jaden really started going crazy. He was pushing and bucking and squirming around—but he didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know what to push or when to buck or where to squirm. I easily got the position of full mount on him, where I was sitting on his belly like I was riding a horse.
When I got there, Jaden pushed his hands into my chest to try to get me off him. This was something that people who don’t know jiu-jitsu usually do: they try to push you off them—and I knew just what to do when that happens. In an instant, I spun to the side and threw one leg over his head.
I held on to one of his arms with my arms, squeezed my knees together, and leaned back. As I went back, I felt Jaden squirm even more—but it was no use. I had him.
I slowly pushed my hips into his elbow joint, and very quickly, Jaden tapped out! THAT WAS IT! The first time I had ever tapped someone out! YES!
But even though I was SUPER EXCITED and FIRED UP that I was able to tap out Jaden, I knew I needed to stay calm and be nice to him. “Don’t worry, Jaden, it happens to everyone when they start out.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. That’s what jiu-jitsu does. It is like knowing how to play the piano or shoot a basketball—it is j
ust a skill that you need to practice. Once you practice and get good at it, you will be tapping people out, too!”
“Well, that’s good. Is there anything I should have done different?” Jaden asked.
I spent the rest of the class going over some basic moves with Jaden. He was really happy and definitely wanted to learn. And now that I had actually felt the true power of jiu-jitsu, I wanted to learn more, too!
CHAPTER 16: FUELING THE MACHINE
One thing I can tell you about all this training and working out and studying is that it makes you HUNGRY! By the end of the day, I always feel like I am STARVING and ready to eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! And that is kind of what I have always done: just eat whatever I wanted to eat, whenever I wanted to eat it. Until tonight. Tonight I learned SOMETHING ELSE from Uncle Jake! This time about food …
So, like I said, when I went downstairs for dinner, I was HUNGRY and THIRSTY. My mom had made some dinner, but I was in the mood for something a little tastier. So I grabbed a bag of potato chips and poured a bunch onto my plate. Then I went into the freezer, grabbed a microwavable ham-and-cheese sandwich, and threw it in the microwave. They are TASTY! I heated it up for a couple of minutes until the cheese was oozing out of the sides. Grabbing it from the microwave, I opened the plastic bag it was in and threw it on my plate next to the pile of potato chips.
Finally, because I was thirsty, I grabbed a can of grape soda from the fridge and walked over to the table where my mom and Uncle Jake were sitting.
“How is it going?” I said as I sat down.
“Outstanding,” Uncle Jake replied. “How are you doing?”
“Pretty good,” I said. And right as those words came out of my mouth, Uncle Jake looked down at my plate. Then at my can of grape soda. Then back at me.
“REALLY?” he said in a stern voice, his mood changing suddenly from happy to almost angry. I had NO IDEA what he could possibly be mad at me about.
“Yeah,” I mumbled under my breath. “I’m doing okay.”
Uncle Jake seemed to relax a little bit and then said, “That’s surprising.”
“Why is that surprising, Uncle Jake?” I asked him, now truly curious as to why the heck he was acting so strange.
“It’s surprising you can feel okay with all that JUNK YOU ARE EATING!” he barked. I had no idea what he was talking about. My mom nodded in agreement.
“Junk?”
“Yes, JUNK. That is what you have on your plate right now: JUNK. It won’t help your muscles to recover. It won’t help you think clearly. All that junk won’t help you get better.”
I still didn’t understand. “Wait. What? What is wrong with my food? This is what my mom buys, and this is what I eat every day.”
“You eat that every day? AAAHHHGGGG!! How can you eat that every day? And it isn’t the only thing that your mom buys. I got this from the same kitchen you got your food from,” he said as he pointed down at his plate.
I took a look at his plate and had to admit to myself that he was right. He had a salad and some chicken on his plate. And he was drinking a big glass of milk. But I still didn’t understand. “Wait, what’s the difference between what you’re eating and what I’m eating?”
“What’s the difference? EVERYTHING. Chicken and milk have protein in them, which is used to rebuild muscles. They both also contain fat, which is needed to help your body function. And this salad has all kinds of minerals and nutrients that keep you healthy. You know how much of that good stuff is in the garbage you are eating?”
“I’m not really sure.”
“NONE! ZERO! ZIP! NADA! You’re eating and drinking a bunch of sugar. All that does for you is make you sick and drain your energy. You need to get a grip on your fuel intake.”
“Fuel intake?” I had no idea what he meant by this. “What am I, a car?”
“You aren’t a car, but a machine like a car. The food you eat is like fuel. If you put the wrong fuel in a car, the car doesn’t work anymore. So you need to fix that, ASAP!”
“Okay. So what should I eat?”
“You need to eat REAL FOOD. Steak. Fish. Chicken. Eggs. Pork. Salad. Vegetables. Nuts and seeds. Stuff that is real food, not stuff that comes from a factory like those potato chips … or that sandwich!”
“And I buy you plenty of real food, Marc. You just need to eat it instead of the snack food,” my mom chimed in.
“Okay. Okay. I get it. Tomorrow I will start to eat real food, like that.”
“Tomorrow? What do you mean tomorrow?”
“Well, I don’t want to waste this food,” I told Uncle Jake, thinking that he would at least let me enjoy this one last tasty meal.
“Wrong answer. There is only one time to start making yourself better: NOW. You need to start now, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, not next year. NOW. Go throw that food in the garbage and pour that soda down the drain. You need to put the right fuel in the machine.”
“Yes, Uncle Jake.” I looked at my mom to see if she would be upset at this waste of food, but she nodded, yes, go throw it away. I went and threw the potato chips and microwavable sandwich away and then poured the grape soda down the drain. Then I made myself a new plate with chicken and salad, and I poured myself a glass of milk.
When I sat back down, my mom said, “Just to make this easier for you, I’m not buying any more junk food. Just real food. That way you don’t have the option of eating junk.”
“Okay, Mom,” I told her. I wasn’t sure if different food would make a difference. But I did know this: If it was good enough for Uncle Jake, it was good enough for me.
CHAPTER 17: FISH IN THE WATER
I was not ready for what Uncle Jake did to me today. At least I didn’t think I was.
For the past few weeks, Uncle Jake has been taking me to the river every other day. “Swim Day” he calls it. First, I waded in the water. Then, I dunked my head. Then, he taught me to tread water, which is when you just stay in one place and keep your head above water. From there, he taught me to float in the water without moving—which is called the dead-man’s float! After that, he started teaching me how to swim, a basic way of swimming called the crawl stroke. It wasn’t too bad. And I have been getting better and better at doing it. The last few times, I have actually been swimming without touching the bottom at all.
But when I got to the creek today, Uncle Jake said, “Today you are swimming across the creek. The whole thing. And back again.”
Sure, I was feeling all good and comfortable when we drove down. But when he said those words, I nearly had a PANIC ATTACK! Swim all the way across? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I felt pretty good swimming along the beach side of the river. Especially because I knew if things got out of control, I could just STAND UP. But swimming across, once I got about fifteen feet from the shore, I wouldn’t be able to touch the bottom. I would be helpless, just like I was back in the koi pond when I was a kid!
“I don’t think I’m quite ready for that, Uncle Jake,” I told him.
“You are ready. I know. And if you don’t think you’re ready, you better get ready, because you are doing it. Today.”
“But, Uncle Jake…”
“No ‘buts,’ Marc. I’m telling you: You are ready. You are doing it.”
“I’ll drown!” I said. The words kind of just slipped out. I didn’t really think I would drown.… Okay, maybe I did think that a little bit!
“You’re not going to drown, Marc,” Uncle Jake said, sounding pretty annoyed with me.
“I might,” I told him.
“No. You’re not going to drown. You are going to be perfectly fine. I won’t let you drown, and I will be right next to you. In the SEAL Teams, we never do anything in the water alone, without someone watching us. No one should EVER do anything in the water alone. You need to have someone watch and make sure you are safe. It’s called a ‘swim buddy,’ and I will be yours.”
“You will?” This made me feel better. Of course Uncle Jake wouldn’t let an
ything happen to me.
“Yes. I will. I will make sure nothing happens to you. You are ready. Now let’s go.”
“Okay.”
We waded out into the water. I was focused. Very focused. I looked at the other side of the river, which was about thirty yards away. I figured it would take me about twenty strokes to get across.
I looked at Uncle Jake. He nodded as if to say, “Go.” I guess I needed a little more than just a head nod, because I just sat there looking at him. Finally, he said, “Well?”
I said back, “‘Well’ what?”
He raised his voice and said, “Well … GO!”
I looked across the river, looked back at him again, took a deep breath, and lunged forward into the depths. Uncle Jake went right along with me, which made me feel VERY safe and very calm. I knew nothing would happen to me while Uncle Jake was right next to me. I did the stroke just the way he had taught me. IT WORKED PERFECTLY.
I focused on the other side, kept concentrating, and felt the comfort of having Uncle Jake right next to me. The bank on the other side got closer and closer. I started to feel for the bottom with my toes on each stroke. Finally, about five feet from the bank, my toes touched the bottom, and I pushed myself to the bank. I MADE IT! I MADE IT!
I looked over at Uncle Jake and smiled. He flashed a big smile back at me. “I MADE IT!” I yelled joyously. “I MADE IT! I MADE IT! I MADE IT! YEEEESSS! AAHHWOOOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!”
Just as I finished my final triumphant yell, Uncle Jake disappeared underwater. I didn’t know what he was doing, but he was down there for a while. When he finally came up, he was all the way on the other side of the river. I WAS ALL ALONE.
“What are you doing, Uncle Jake?” I called in a loud voice.
“You’re fine!” he shouted. “Just swim on back to me.”
Way of the Warrior Kid--From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL Way Page 5