Why We Imitated The Temptations for 1,200 kids!
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Many of you know that I only fight with hopes of gaining a platform to really be able to affect and give back to society for real. This didn’t just start I’ve had the desire to help others for as long as I can remember. Below you will see a video of me performing as David Ruffin from “The Temptations” to the song my girl in 2002.
I got involved with Young Life Urban Outreach as a freshman in High School in ‘95, by a man who worded for them named Winston Ford who became a good friend of mine. Once a week we would have a gathering called club where we played basketball and others games. They also spoke encouraging words to and had guess speakers.
My junior year I met Vince Gordon one of my best friends and mentors to this day. They would pop up at the high school. The thing I liked about Young Life is that it builds lifetime relationships. I can remember Vince coming to things to support me when member of my family didn’t even show up. Sometimes they would even stop by my house.
He and another one of my best friends Ronnie Crudup Jr., who I got to know through Young Life were two major people that helped me through my tragedy this year! Vince is now Young Life’s Area Director for Inner Jackson. He did different characters to entertain us when I was in highschool. This gave me an opportunity to explore one of my favorite things which is acting and having fun playing characters.
When I graduated I became a volunteer counselor for Young Life under Vince and continued until I moved in 2006. In 2002 I used my vactions from UPS and took extra time off to Volunteer at one of the camps Windy Gap YoungLife in Weaverville , North Carolina that summer. One of my Jobs there that summer was to be apart of the entertainment. This is still one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It is totally manned by donations and volunteer workers from Urban and Suburban communities. It gives the youth the ability to meet people from all over. They also see and experience things that most will never. Its always a wonderful thing to see the hardest kids come one way and leave transformed!!
Anyway check out the video below. I couldn’t dance at all when we first started practicing lol. I don’t start out very talented in anything, but I have been blessed with 3 gifts that seem to allow me to eventually excel in anything I touch. The ability to give my all, work hard, and analyze everything in ways most can’t conceive. So I practiced a lot with the group and I watch the temptations movie a million times and practiced at home before we went to that camp. Vince is the one that says he’s Otis. We also did a performance from Jackson Five, I might post it tomorrow.
Stop Asking Me About A New Years Resolution!!
I’ve been working on a lot of things. I can tell my body is finally starting to really get in shape. Today was the first day that I didn’t feel drained already before my Monday work out. But, I do feel drained now the, morning circuit has snuck up on me.
I use to not understand why people always talk about the New Year and taking off for the holidays. Now I appreciate it!! You know I have been out for a while but these little breaks give me a chance to catch up to or pass the people whose heals I’m on already. People are always talking about the New Year as if it actually unlocks another part of your life. But, the truth of the matter it’s no different than tomorrow. If you don’t take advantage of it you won’t get that time back and whatever you do or don’t do will affect your future.
Someone asked me the other day what are you going to work one in the New Year. I commented that this was a New Year and there are still things that I haven’t gotten to yet or mastered. So can somebody tell me what since it makes to skip past those things on my list because it’s a new year? Truly does this make any since? Think about if it was like that in the school systems. A child does not learn to read in the first grade but you move him on to the second grade just because it’s the next year.
I try to always look at every hole in my life and try to fix them then, no matter what part of the year it is. I just can’t understand why so many people wait to the New Year to try to start fixing things that need to be fixed now. To me it only makes that thing more of a habit that is harder to break. Then once you start to work out or whatever it is you will do in January your body will start hurting. You will think of all the other things you could be doing that you will enjoy. Then you will think hey I got away with not fixing it all this time so I will be fine, and you will quit by the end of Jan or early Feb.
So, I suggest that if you can’t get into the mindset of going full force at whatever it is now, go ahead and just start adding it in a little bit now. Doing this will lessen your probability of quitting, and you will beat 99% of the people you are competing with. If you don’t believe me just ask one of your friends to start trying to work toward whatever goal you all have set for the New Year Now. I guarantee most of them will say we’ll get it done in the New Year and have all type of excuses for it.
Checkout the video below of me learning how to slip punches with ’08 Assistant Olympic Boxing Coach Robert Martin. One of the many things I’m working one now to add to my GAME!!
You May Think I’m Insane Part 2
I mentioned in the last blog from Friday how I hydroplaned making the move from MS to MD. I didn’t tell you the background behind the move. I had visited MD with my best friend and trainer Jarrett Becks at the time, 4th of July week ’06. We both worked at UPS and had scheduled our vacation together so we could travel for training. He had first set up for us to train in Boston. But, I had an aunt and uncle that lived in MD. I thought that if we can find somewhere to train there we could get around hotel fees and only pay for training.
The girl friend I had at the time got online and looked up schools in the area. She found 3 of them and we had never heard of any off them because we weren’t familiar with the area. She sent emails to the academies for us and we decided to go to whichever one that would allow us to train a week for the cheapest price.
Jim Kelly from Lloyd Irvin’s Academy emailed her back with a cheap price of $50 and when we tried to pay told us that we didn’t have to pay anything. The first day I came in Lloyd Irvin was sitting at the front desk about to leave for his 4th of July vacation. He called Ryan Hall and Julius Park from the back to roll with us. They were the only ones there because of the holiday and they both were really good. Ryan Hall put me in so many triangles that I literally couldn’t lift my head all the way up while trying to drive back to my aunts. I was devastated because back home I rarely ever got tapped and I tapped a million times with the same submission.
I was hurt because I wanted to be the best. The rest of the week was fine because the next day that we trained we did striking and I held my own. And In the jiu jitsu classes for the rest of the week even though I wasn’t tapping anyone I only got tapped one other time that week by my good friend Ron Stalling. Now knowing jiu jitsu of course I lost by points but I didn’t know about points I only did jiu jitsu for MMA. In my mind if I didn’t tap I didn’t lose. Lol
That week the only instructors I had were boxing coach at the time Tom Zurita and Jiu Jitsu instructor Danny Ives. They both were so knowledgeable and willing to help us with everything. Tom at the time was also beating a lot of people in the gym in jiu jitsu. I was amazed that the boxing coach could do this and he was cool. He took me and Jarrett to the boxing gym to watch his family member Gary Russell Jr. train whom later became 08 Olympian. Needless to say Coach Tom is the reason I now train at the boxing gym with them.
Anyway when I came home I knew in my mind that I would have to move if I believed the dream that I had months before that I would be the best in the world. This dream wasn’t like a normal dream I can remember the details of it right now. I can’t say that it was but I believed the dream to be from God. I later thought that, it would be the vehicle that I would use to spread the word of God to the masses. I thought that if Michael Jordan had a bold relationship with God how many people would listen and follow him.
The week when I went back home I applied for a community college in Maryland so I could present it to UPS for transfer. I knew that I would never set a foot into that school. Lol I moved out of my apartment and moved to MD a month and a half later. I went to tell my dad bye before I left and he thought it made no since because the week prior I had just found out I was excepted to the PHD program in Psychology with full scholarship and stipend
To make it even crazier to my dad I was leaving tomorrow and my job hadn’t even said they would transfer me yet and I was the #1 belt supervisor in my area at the time. He was fussing and I had just told him that I’m not worried about it God will make away. Believe it or not right after I said that my phone rang and it was a lady from HR department in Maryland telling me to come into the hub in MD on that Friday. When I got to MD the lady didn’t have a position. She called me two weeks later with a position. When I look back on it is was crazy but it doesn’t require faith to do anything logical.
You May Think I’m Insane
I haven’t been blogging a lot lately because I’ve been on the grind. Believe it or not it takes up to 3 hrs on average for me to do it and edit the video. I think I’m just going to start doing it two or three days a week. That way I can use that time doing other things.
I‘ve had another thing to happen recently that has caused me to alter a lot of my training. This has forced me to do a lot on my own. I’m not sweating it because I don’t look at the things that surround me only my goals!! I’ve learned that everything that happens always pushes me closer to where I’m supposed to be, because my steps are ordered. I’ve gotten more done in the last two weeks than I have in years due to injuries and other things. I’m now totally healthy and focused because I’m passed hungry now I’m starving!!
I refuse to settle for anything less than greatness! When I go out I’m always day dreaming and thinking of how it will be when I achieve greatness! I go out to eat and see pictures of Jordan and others and think one day my picture will be up there with them.
When this journey is over and I tell my story people will truly see that this was a faith walk. It takes faith or insanity to go after something when neither you nor anyone else can see how it’s possible. If you could see every road block and distraction that has tried to stop me it has to be faith or insanity. We all will see soon enough! It doesn’t take faith to do anything that looks logical or can be mapped out. All that takes is a plan, hard work, maybe knowing the right people, and discipline.
They started the first day driving to Maryland 4 ½ yrs ago and have yet to stop but neither have I! Leslie my girlfriend at the time made the drive with me. On that drive we hydroplaned badly across a major busy highway into the median almost going into the other side of the highway. She was screaming! I was totally calm holding one are across her chest to protect her and the other on the steering wheel while in the air. When we stopped she was afraid and crying. I comforted her and told her that everything was going to be ok because I have to go to Rome. She knew I was referring to the story of Paul in the bible. No matter who or what came against him he would still make it to Rome because God was with him. I got out checked the car and drove about eight more hours to Maryland with grass stuck all over my car.
Leslie talked to my mom after this and told her how calm I was through it giving her more details and that she had never seen anything like that before. I remember my mom on the phone saying who don’t get afraid when something like that happens something is wrong with you. I tried to explain to her that I had faith and believed that God was with me and nothing could kill me until I fulfilled my purpose. My buddy Jim Kelly use to always jokes at me about stuff like that, saying stuff like every one put their seat belt on except for Marshall because he can’t die because he’s on a mission for God Burp!!!!hahahahaha.
Most people look at these T.V. ministries and prosperity churches and get the wrong picture. They think that nothing bad will happen to them and that all they have to do is name it and claim it and they get what they want like magic lol. I don’t know where this came from because it’s not true or in the bible. A matter of fact Christ said to truly follow him comes with a cost. One cost was that you must suffer and bare your cross as he did.
So, I know that many things will happen that I won’t understand that will even make me wish death or kill me but I also know that he promises to be with me every step of the way and everything that I lose here on his behalf will be given back multiplied. So when I lose something I’ve learned to say thank you even though it doesn’t feel good, because it only means a supersized upgrade is coming eventually. I’ve seen this happen so many times. People will always account it for something else but I’ve learned not to care if they don’t see, because if they don’t it’s because they didn’t want too!
She Walked 60 miles At Age 64!!!
I truly believe that most things in life are mental. Ms. Rose Irvin is one of the strongest most consistent people I have met. What you see is what you get. Her personality and swag is like none other and she is full of wisdom and always willing to share. She recently walked 60 miles at age 64! She doesn’t look or acts like your typical 64 year old woman! You will see it in the video below for yourself.
Ms Rose’s sister died of breast cancer two yrs ago. At her sister’s funeral she was praying that the Lord would give her something that she could do to make a difference. She has also lost four friends to breast cancer and an aunt. Ms Rose’s sister was a nurse and had a mammogram done because of a pimple on her breast. The mammogram didn’t detect the cancer. As the pimple remained on her chest she decided to get it checked out and it was stage one breast cancer. Sad to say it progressed to be fatal.
This time last year she was still waiting on what she could do to make a difference. She stated that God came to her during the snow storm last year. She was stuck in her home for three weeks. He told her that she could do the walk. She later went to the cardiologist and told him that she wanted to do the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk. Her doctor scheduled monthly EKG’s to monitor her to make sure it was safe for her to do. Each month the test got better. Her son Lloyd Irvin Jr. set up a training program for her. It consisted of cross training, yoga, walking and personal training with the academy’s Women’s Boot Camp Director Alyshia Branson.
She achieved one of the greatest accomplishments in her life on October 8th 2010 when her friend dropped her off at the national stadium. Ms Rose stated that she knew the Lord was with her because she didn’t have any complications or blisters after the completion of the walk. She could have easily walked more. It was amazing to see her dancing right after the walk which you will see in the video below.
Ms Rose is a blessing to many! She is always helping others in so many ways. She is and advisor and a mother to anyone who is blessed to be in her presence. Ms. Rose handles the business side of Lloyd Irvin’s Martial Arts Academy along with the after school program. She truly runs a tight ship!! I’m sure you have heard of horror stories in other after school programs, but she doesn’t even allow them to leave the room without supervision. So many parents bring their children there for her disciplining strategies along with the Martial Arts Training with special emphasis on education.
Myself and even parents have stopped in our tracks when she is correcting a child, an immediately think I’m not a kid and she’s not even talking to me. Even though we know, we still find ourselves sitting down and zipping it! lol She has that effect! She believes in telling the parents what they need to here and not what they want to hear. I am a witness to this myself and she always ends with “And it is what it is.” That’s why I say it so much. I got it from her. Lol
When you think of Lloyd Irvin’s Martial Arts Academy many will think of Jiu Jiutsu , MMA or think the First American team to ever win a World Title in Jiu Jitsu. Few will know that Lloyd Irvin Jr. came to her 14 yrs ago with his dream. She went to church prayed on it, got an answer and gave her last and a T.V. tray to use for a desk. Lol One of Lloyd Irvin’s favorite sayings is “Hard Work Will Always Beat Talent When Talent Refuses to Work Hard” It’s no wonder why he likes this saying and why he works so hard.
I could go on and on about her but have typed so much already Enjoy the video below, If it doesn’t inspire you to do something you have a problem lol!
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