It Has Begun!

Several years ago I learned of the U.S. Open - the World's Most Prestigious Martial Arts Championships. I decided then that I wanted to compete at that level. I had only recently started over in my martial arts training due to a couple of debilitating accidents and many years of trying to get "back on my feet". After competing in sports for my entire life...and being active and successful in so much, I was told I may never compete again and would probably have severe difficulty with daily activities such as walking, and simple physical mobility.

Therapy, medication, high levels of pain, weight gain, and an eventual drop into depression made it seem like my competetive edge and my ability to succeed in just about anything was a near impossibility. Sure, I was able to fake it for a while and make people believe I had it all together and could still perform at the highest level, but on the inside I was crumbling because I felt like I had lost the battle on the outside.

With the help and support of my family, I returned to Martial Arts as a way to stay moving (however slowly it was at the time) and an attempt to curb any further decline in my physical and emotional capacity. As a matter of fact, my wife and son began training with me, and it seemed like rising to the top again could happen.

The "top" I am speaking of is a mental state...emotional, spiritual, and even physical. Any medals won or trophies for the shelves would simply be icing on the proverbial cake.

I started doing some small competitions and found some success. Still struggling to gain some momentum, I decided it was time to look to "bigger" fields. I needed a high level motivation. I just didn't know what was "out there". Then a friend gave me a flyer for the U.S. Open Martial Arts Championships in Orlando, FL. I thought to myself, this is it...this is the next level I must reach to. I had competed in other sports professionally and at high levels before...I knew deep down what it would take from me to reach back up again.

It still wasn't easy though. I was still battling weight, physical pain, and depression.

My family and I decided it was time to make a strategic life change and put everything we had into living our lives to the extreme...to reaching the top once again. There were people telling us "no way!" and to just forget it. Some of these people should have been our biggest supporters, which made it painful to hear from them.

To say the least, some people are no longer a part of our lives in an influential way. We cut some ties, let some others fall off...and set our sights to where we needed to go.

At what seemed to be the bottom, we discovered we were pregnant with our second son (after 15 years - Michael is our first). It was almost as if God was saying to me, "You can do this! You can win again. I still trust you enough and believe in you enough that I am willing to entrust you with the greatest gift on earth...the gift of another child." My greatest joy in life...my greatest desire...has always been to be the best husband to Holly and the best father to Michael. Now to be entrusted with the gift of fatherhood once again...it was a defining moment that convinced me I could be strong again, I could succeed again, I could win again!

Still, it was a long road ahead. We "retired" from what we had been doing for nearly 20 years, did some traveling and took some time to ourselves in order to re-focus, heal, and set the course for the future ahead of us. (By the way, people still told us we couldn't do it. I had some telling me to just accept my injuries and limitations and hope that medication, therapies, and possibly surgery could help me cope. I had others just write me off as a "lost cause" and as someone who would no longer be at the top of his game. Pffft. See ya!)

So, here I am...looking at the U.S. Open again. I've taken some time to re-center, and have come a long way mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Now it is time to prepare physically. I met someone who is involved with the U.S. Open and they inspired me to take the leap and go for it this year. (I'm not even sure if they know they did...but they did!)

Over the course of the next couple of months, I will be going the distance to prepare for competing in the U.S. Open in Orlando, FL. I have not reached the levels of training in my Martial Arts that I would like to yet, and most of the people at this event will be way out of my league. But I am no longer content to sit on the sidelines and watch and hoping that one day I will be good enough. Good enough or not...I'm in, and I will give it everything I've got. Win or not...that is not my concern. My concern is to be the best I can be right now...today! To have even begun this Quest, I have already won! Everything else along the way will be daily victories, daily joys, and daily shouts of "YES! I can do this!"

This post is the public announcement of my quest, and my hope is that through this blog you will join me on this quest. I will keep this updated and share with you the good and the turbulent.

Perhaps there is something in your own life you need to reach for...be encouraged and know that you can do it. Go for it! Let's encourage each other along the way. If you are going to the U.S. Open this year...see ya' there!

Doug McGannon