We often hear incredible stories of ordinary people who do extraordinary things, and it’s fascinating to think about the trigger that tips people into the extraordinary. This video is from the movie Cinderella Man about the life of James Braddock. Braddock was a heavyweight boxer in the 1920s and 1930s. After a good boxing career, he struggled with injuries and motivation and he left the sport for years, only to return and make a comeback, becoming heavyweight champion after beating the famous and deadly Max Baer. This video captures the essence of his return. Braddock was poor and working on docks to provide for his family in the depression era. During this critical fight against Art Lasky, Braddock is getting beat and his ribs are injured in the fight. After a vicious blow by Lasky (about one minute in to the video), Braddock sees a flash of visions, seeing his family suffering in the cold, going hungry, having his kids taken from him – essentially losing everything. In that moment, a switch is flipped in him. He changes. He shifts from an old, injured, washed up back room fight-club boxer to something more. He finds an energy, passion and determination that makes him more than the sum of his past life decisions and actions. Even Lasky notices the change in Braddock instantly, and he is afraid despite the fact that he is beating him up to this point in the fight. Braddock comes back to beat Lasky decisively, breaking his nose and winning the fight. In his next fight, his opponent comments that this is not the same Braddock I fought and beat last time. Jim beats him decisively as well. At the Martial Way, we train physically, but we are also tapping into a mind and spirit. We are finding something within ourselves to become more than what we were yesterday. Aikido is a martial art that helps us hone our bodies and also strive to find a better, deeper, more meaningful way to be the best of ourselves. We can find the switch that helps us from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
