Book Intro (Preface)
By Fiona Taylor, 1992 Olympian, mystic, coach and former World Champion Windsurfer

“The board glides smoothly across the water.
Under my feet the board feels light and responsive. It is purely an extension of me,
there is no resistance.
The sail is an extension of my upper body. It feels comfortable.
The rig feels right. It responds effortlessly to the increase in wind.
My body feels lean and strong.
I love being on the water. I love being here.
I have an inner knowing of all that is today. I am at home on the water.
The wind, the waves and the water are my friends.
I am at One with them.
Unity. No hesitation – just inspiration
A feeling of Lightness of being.
Joy, a rush of energy as I accelerate in a 3 knot gust………
Whee. I am free.
The six minute start signal is about to go.
My timer is set for the 6 minute count down to the start.
It is about the wind and me.
There are other boards around. I know who they are, and I know that I know this place better than them and I will win this race. There is no doubt whatsoever.
My focus is on just being in the moment..
I am not thinking.
I am just feeling. Everything feels surreal, my focus is not on any ‘one thing’ but simply being at one with all that is.
Intuitively I approach the line. I have already chosen where I want to start.
No one is in my way. I have claimed my starting position.
As I look up wind towards the top mark, the wind has remained steady. I have a race plan and I just know. I am just in the now moment.
Bang – the start gun, with four pumps I am off the line with a clear start.
I am fast, I feel fast as the board glides up wind……………
My focus is on being at one with the wind, as I round the top mark first.
My focus is on feeling light and at one with the board. I am so far ahead now that I can still sail completely free, me and the wind, without needing to protect my position from the windsurfers behind me. This race is mine. I knew it was before the start……
I love windsurfing……I love just being out here on the ocean………..”

This was the natural state that I was in when I was spending every spare minute of my day at Davey’s Bay Yacht Club as a young teenager.

In 1983 I was a 12 year old who spent her entire summer either in the water swimming, snorkeling or in boats. My dad had introduced me to sailing as a young girl and had thrown me into a sabot which is about 7 feet in length with a small sail. It is the first boat usually that kids learn in. My sister and I used to call them ‘bath tubs’. Dad bought a sabot for my sisters and I to sail in and we called it ‘Bubbles’. Bubbles was a sturdy, heavy and slow sabot.
I was the middle child of three girls and my older sister Anna was three years older than me, so she got to steer the boat, and I was the crew. I have a vivid memory of dad sending us of to sail in Sabot Week at Frankston Yacht Club when I was 9 years. The first race Anna and I spent arguing and fighting on which way to go and who was better at steering the boat. We were so engrossed in our own chaos that we had no awareness of the rest of the fleet.
After some time a rescue boat drove up to us as told us that the race was finishing (as all the other boats were finishing) and that we had better head back to shore. We had not even made the first mark yet because we were absorbed in trying to get our own way in our boat. After that I realized that I really was more suited to sailing on my own, and was much happier that way, being my own person and making my own decisions.
Soon after that when I was 12 the sport of windsurfing came along and it was the ‘new thing’ to do. In 1983 and 1984 more and more people at the yacht club and other clubs started windsurfing and there was soon a regular weekend windsurfing race that was attracting more people than sabot sailing.

Our good friends the Gold’s lent me their windsurfer and gave me my first go at it. I could hardly reach the boom when I first started, and as a 12 year old I had to use the adult equipment with larger sail, as the manufacturers had not yet made boards for kids. My fierce determination allowed me to overlook the bruises, cuts and sore hands to keep on trying to pull the sail up out of the water. I eventually did, thanks to the support from those on the beach who egged me on. The first time I managed to get going and glided along the surface of the water I was on a high. I only managed to go 20 meters before I fell off, but that was enough to get the feeling of it. I was hooked on the thrill of windsurfing across the water on my own.

It used to take me a long time to pull the sail out of the water because I was small, but once I got it up and going it all felt so natural to me. I had a natural feel for the board and the wind and by the end of that summer it just seemed to ‘click’ for me and I could sail in all directions, go where I wanted to go, and more importantly get back to the beach! I lost count of how many times I fell in, crashed, dropped the sail or got stuck out at sea needing to be rescued. One thing that worked for me was that I did not have any fear of the sea. We grew up 200 meters from the beach on the Mornington Peninsula and I learned to swim at an early age. In fact I felt more at home on or in the water, than on the land.
At the end of that summer mum bought the family our first second hand windsurfer. But you can guess who used it most of the time. My poor sisters, mum and dad had to really work hard to get me away from it, and actually have a chance to use it. Soon all my friends and I at the yacht club were having fun, mucking around on windsurfers, trying new things, new tricks and racing against each other every weekend.

I am eternally grateful to the wonderful support I received from the members at Davey’s Bay Yacht Club. Everyone was so supportive in helping me learn to windsurf. Very shortly after I starting racing I started to win the races. Men and women of all ages entered. I vividly remember sailing towards the finish line and I was coming second. Another guy Ashley was winning the race and he was about 50 meters ahead with only about 200 meters to go. The finish line was just inside the cliff face where the wind started to shear away and get gusty. I naturally kept an eye on the wind and where the next gusts were coming from. I could see Ashley sailing a bit too close to the Cliff, even though it was a more direct route to the finish line. But there was less wind in there, so I decided to stay in the gust a bit further out, and then turn towards the finish line inside the cliff at the last minute. This paid off and I passed him and won the race. He had not seen me coming and was quite surprised to see me pass in front of him. There was no doubt he was stronger than me and had good windsurfing skills, but I was able to read the wind better on the day. I rushed home and told mum that I had won the race. Her comment was “Gee darling, were you the only one in the race?”

Such faith I thought. But mum and dad soon realized that winning the race at the club was a weekly occurrence for me. I then moved on to race the regional clubs and in those days 120 windsurfers would turn up to race, people of all sizes and abilities. I ended up winning those too, to the surprise of all the strong guys with the latest and fastest equipment. But again it was my ability to read wind shifts that enabled me to win the races. In the early days, a lot of the people who started windsurfing did not come from a sailing and tactical background with knowledge and understanding of the wind and so they could not quite work out why I used to win, even though I was 13 and they were 25.

From the beginning I always windsurfed with the guys and always aimed at beating everyone. Because of that I never saw myself as weaker or lesser ability by being a girl. And in the old days men and women raced together, but they were scored individually, so that you could be the ‘first woman’ or ‘first man’. When I was 14 I had the opportunity to compete at the Australian Windsurfing Championships in Adelaide. Mum and dad decided to make a family holiday out of it and we drove over to Glenelg in January that year. I had recently placed third in the women’s event at the State Championship but the Nationals were a little more daunting and the ocean waves at Glenelg caused me to come to grief on the downwind legs. Anyway, I met some wonderful fellow competitors who I became friendly with and I placed 8th that year. From 1986-1990 I won several Australian Open Championships. During that time I would go out and windsurf around all on my own as training and I had no coach or lessons or feedback from anyone. I just went about it on my own and did well, won and never really analyzed anything about my performance. I watched and learned and just did what I always did, felt how I always felt and had an unquestionable knowing that I was the best out there and that I would win.
And I did. The space I was in when I raced was like being on auto pilot, I felt the wind, I felt when to tack or turn; I did not have to ‘think’ about it.

In 1988 the International Yacht Racing Union had managed to include Women’s windsurfing as a Full Medal Sport to be introduced at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. The men’s windsurfing event had been included in 1988, and the sport was an exhibition sport at the LA Olympics in 1984. In 1988 I was studying for my VCE (Higher School Year 12), in my final year of high school and I was ranked number 1 in Australia. I made a decision then that I would go the 1992 Olympic Games.

During my final year of High School I was windsurfing after school each night to train up for the World Youth (Under 19) Championships in Spain in July that year. I had been selected to go, and the whole trip was funded by the Australian team. It was my first international event and the standard was very high. There was a team coach which was new to me, as I had never had a coach before. He was a nice guy but mainly focused on the boat classes as he did not know much about the Mistral Windsurfing Class so he left David, my fellow male counterpart, and me to do our own thing. David was a brilliant windsurfer and he won every race at the Youth Worlds and I only won one, to finish 6th overall. I returned to Australia, back to homework and the world of school.

On finishing high school Mum and dad at the time were concerned that I get a proper education and not be side tracked by this ‘windsurfing thing’. But nevertheless I convinced them that I would travel for a year overseas, compete at some events, work and have some fun before I return the following year to start University.
My first event after high school was in Palermo, Sicily. It was the World Windsurfer Team’s Championships where they have two men and one woman from each country. We made the final against the Sicilian Team and there was much cheering going on from the side lines for the Sicilian Team. A floatilla of boats came out to watch as we raced the best of three races. It came down to a grueling last race win, whichever team won would win the event. I was coming ahead of the Sicilian girl and all I had to do was cross the finish line and we won the regatta. However, the Sicilian team wanted to win ‘at all costs’ and Alfredo decided to sail downwind and try and stop me from crossing the finish line before Giarda, the female member of their team. Team tactics can get pretty nasty, especially in Sicily where the race committee did have a reputation for turning a blind eye to what was going on. There was much yelling as Alfredo came down and literally pushed his boom into my head to try and knock me off. In the end I dropped my sail unable to keep my height towards the finish line and Giarda crossed in front of me. It was pretty obvious to all the other teams and the jury boat that Alfredo had broken a rule. After much commotion and yelling, in Italian and English the protest flag went up. We had no choice but to protest. After two hours of testimony the jury awarded us with the win. This was a good start to my first campaign over seas winning the World Team Windsurfing Champs. From 1985 to 1999 I won a total of seven world windsurfing titles in the Windsurfer and Mistral Classes and thirteen Australian titles. There were many times where I felt in the zone and in my magic, where winning was effortless and enjoyable.

But there were times, particularly from 1994 onwards where I lost my magic and sense of feel. I had illness, injury and chaos which I could not pinpoint the origin of and the flame of my inspiration went out. By the time I retired in 1999 I was angry and exhausted feeling that I had never actually realized my dream of Olympic Gold, particularly when I knew I had the desire and the natural ability to achieve it.

On retiring from competitive windsurfing at the end of 1999 I launched myself straight into a corporate sales role. It was the first time I had been a full time employee in the corporate environment. During my windsurfing years I had run my own event management business and had been self employed since I was 17 so I was used to being my own boss. Within a year I realized that I was not suited to working for a large corporate and decided to go back and do contract marketing and sales work instead.

Up until this point in my life I had always lived with clarity of purpose. I made decisions and had the determination and drive to make them happen. But in 2000 and 2001 every thing I touched seemed to fail. Within 12 months my personal relationship finished, my health had deteriorated significantly and I had clients who failed to pay me which sent me into to the red financially. My stomach had swollen up, I had pain in my pancreas and liver all the time, my face had bloated up. I was now twenty kilos overweight. I felt terrible. My self esteem hit the floor. Financially I worked one sales contract after the other trying to play ‘catch up’ financially. I worked seven days a week. As a result I burned out completely – emotionally, physically and spiritually.

During this time I read every book I could find about health, psychology and spirituality. I attended workshop after workshop: including Qi-gong, emotional freedom technique, heart coherence, quantum physics, sacred geometry, spiritual manifestation and emotional intelligence. I was spending over twenty five hours a week on research. I was desperately searching for answers.

I then went to a doctor who practiced western and eastern medicine who threw the book at me. He told me that my body was shutting down. He said I was a toxic waste dump. My lymph system was not working efficiently. I had a build up of cancer cells in my body. He wanted me to go on his strict diet and have treatment each week at his clinic to get me back to health. At the time I had no money to even pay for extra vitamins, let alone weekly treatment. I was under huge stress and as a result had begun to drink too much alcohol. For a period of 8 months I had buried all my pain in drinking to numb myself from feeling.

When I left the doctors clinic that day, after he threw the book at me, deep down I knew that even if I did everything he told me to do it would not have made any difference. An inner voice told me I had to find the answer at the spiritual level. I felt that I would slowly die if I did not find the spiritual answer. And I felt so exhausted at the time that I did not really care if I did die. In fact at the time all I wanted to do was to curl up in bed go to sleep and not wake up.

My search continued and I went to a naturapath healer who did a chakra balance on me and helped clear my body at the astral level. This seemed to help me for a short while. Very soon after this I went to Sydney to meet a French lady who had a new electro-magnetic machine that could bring your spirit back properly into the body. I was willing to try anything at this stage. When I arrived at her clinic I held on to these two metal handles and she said my spirit was eight metres away from my body. In other words I was not spiritually grounded and balanced. Somehow she brought my spirit back into my body. Within two minutes my lymphatic system started to gurgle and move. I went to the loo about ten times that day emptying fluid. I certainly felt more grounded after her treatment.

But still a deeper part of me kept searching for answers. My stomach was still bloated and I still had constant pain in my pancreas, like a knife in my back. A year before I had prolapsed a disc and had a knee reconstruction to mend my ACL that I tore snow skiing. I had never felt the same since being on anti-infalammatory drugs for my prolapsed disc. These injuries had also caused me to lose confidence in my physical ability to exercise. As a result I had lost all the fitness I had taken for granted in all my years of windsurfing.

Finally I met a metaphysical counselor and mystic Yvonne Evans who also worked as a corporate coach in Melbourne. In one session with her she cleared my energy field (aura, mind field, at the astral and spiritual level). Immediately after she cleared my energy field my hips shifted back to their correct posture and the pain went from my pancreas.
She told me to rest afterwards and I went home and had the deepest and most restful sleep I had had for a long time. A week later I had the first mystical experience that woke me up about the nature of the soul and past lives.

I was sitting in a coffee shop with Yvonne and we were talking about what could be the cause of my swollen stomach. We had discussed much of what had happened to me in this life including several operations I had had as a baby and child on my small intestine. (At four weeks old the doctors cut out one fifth of my small intestine because of a cyst. I then had plastic surgery on the scar tissue that spread right across my stomach when I was eight.) The answers didn’t seem to reside in this life time. Then out of my mouth came “I think I have been stabbed in another life.”
Yvonne, being a mystic, was able to tune into my soul story and access the relevant information at that level. She said that I had been disembowled on a battle field as a soldier. I immediately felt a shiver up my spine as I saw flashes of this past life. I went home and went to bed. I felt exhausted. For over two hours this past life trauma was released from my memory at soul level. My body shook and trembled and contorted as the memory was released via the physical cells in my body. This is called a physical catharsis. All I could do was surrender to it and consciously allow it to happen. Meanwhile I had the visual images and memories of being disembowled. It was not physically painful, but extremely overwhelming and exhausting.
After I released this memory my body literally morphed. My stomach went in three inches, all the aches and pains I had been feeling for two years disappeared. My face changed back to its normal state and I felt spiritually grounded for the first time in over three years.
The physical change in my body was so profound that my neighbour saw me the next morning and couldn’t believe the instant change in my appearance. This was when I realized that if we change at the mind-field level, in this case at the level of the unconscious – the soul, then our body can change instantly. A friend of mine had also done this herself when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She tuned into her Soul Self to get the answers. She received the answers and released the energy (in the mind) that caused the tumour in the first place. She went back for an x-ray a week later and her brain tumour was gone.

I had read a lot of material including books by Dr. Valerie Hunt from the Bio-energy fields foundation and Professor William Tiller, head of materials science at Stanford University who all confirmed that mind precedes matter. I had read that we create our own reality with our thoughts and our feelings. But it was not until I connected with my Soul did I realize the truth, that yes, we create reality. The good, the bad and the great.

(Quantum scientists have confirmed since the 1920s that we create our reality. Spiritual mystics and teachers throughout time have told us that we in fact create our own reality. The mind/body/spirit and new age movement have repeated over and over again that what we think about, we bring about. It is only when we connect to our spiritual intuition do we realize the truth of this. The rational mind, or ego, cannot fathom that we create our reality.)

From this point on I was able to reconnect again with my spiritual intuition and inner guidance from Soul. I was able to wake up to all the unconscious themes that had played out for me in my windsurfing career. I realized that I had caused, or allowed in the chaos, illness and so called ‘bad luck’ at the unconscious level when I competed in windsurfing. I was responsible for it all. There was no such thing as bad luck.

During this time I had started to facilitate workshops on reality creation and transforming unconscious themes that were holding people back in their lives. My mystical abilities returned and I was able to assist others to heal past lives that affected their current reality. (A mystic is someone who can access information at the level of the Soul whilst remaining grounded in physical reality. Information at the Soul level vibrates at a higher frequency than the information we receive via our five physical senses.) I realized that two in three clients had deep Soul themes playing out for them that originated from another lifehood (or past life). Once we healed these deeper themes their reality would change instantly. They would be free of pain and fear.

My clairvoyance, clairsentience and clairaudience returned and I was able to communicate with the Arch Angels again. I had had this ability as a child but had lost it in my teens. This enabled me to help people heal physical ailments together with assisting them to intellectually understand the origin of their pain and crisis. I could vibrate them up so they could access this information and transform it to higher awareness.

I had read as much as I could find on emotions and emotional intelligence and one of the people who discussed emotions in a way that I understood them, and had worked with them, was Dr. Valerie Hunt. She too had helped people heal past life (or lifehood) themes. She understood the nature of emotions held at Soul level that were deep and profound and shaped all other perceptions and behaviour. In her book Infinite Mind she shares over forty years of research into the human energy field (the mind) and the spiritual nature of who we are. She stated that emotions were the organizer of the energy field (the mind). Her work greatly appealed to me as it blended the scientific research together with the spiritual, eternal, nature of who we are.

I realized that you could not change limiting beliefs, that resided at the subconscious and unconscious mind, by using the power the conscious mind alone. I discussed this with two friends who were both NLP experts and hypnotherapists who had also done the deeper spiritual healing work on themselves. They both agreed that you could not heal these deeper themes without going first finding the cause of the theme – the origin of behavior.
You could use self affirmations until the cows came home but they were not going to change unconscious behaviour. Traditional psychology also did not discuss the nature of ‘past lives’ or the fact that we are multi-dimensional in nature. And most psychologists assist people from the perspective that they are victims of their reality, rather than the fact that they create their reality. So they treat the symptoms rather than the cause.

After healing my own Soul themes I was finally free from regret and the disappointment of never attaining my dream of Olympic Gold. I thought about all those athletes who had retired from sport never having realized their own dreams. If only I had understood and healed my unconscious themes (beliefs and emotional wounds) whilst I was at my peak in windsurfing. What could I have gone on to achieve if I did not have sabotaging behavior?
I thought about those athletes that have ‘accidents’, ‘illness’ or keep coming second when they have the ability to win. If these athletes healed their own unconscious beliefs they could change their reality and performance quickly.

The times when I had won in windsurfing I realized were the times when I was physically, emotionally and spiritually coherent. When I felt in the flow where everything felt easy; I was spiritually connected. My mind was present and I was more in a feeling, rather than a thinking state of mind. To me being in the zone was a spiritual experience.

In 2004 I decided to write a book about the nature of ‘spirit in sport’. Rather than simply sharing my own story I wanted to speak to other athletes about their own personal experience of the zone. I was intrigued as to whether or not other athletes felt that the zone was a ‘spiritual experience’.

After speaking with other athletes I realized that each of them had their own understanding of how the mind works; their own relationship with their own mind, the Self, spirit, and a higher source or God. Some athletes referred to the zone as being fully prepared and doing the training necessary to win. Others suggested it was when they were able to mentally focus without chatter in their head. Whilst other’s shared that their experience of the zone was more a spiritual or an out of body experience.

In my book ‘Spirit in Sport’I share some of my experiences and those of fellow world and Olympic Champions about the zone in sport. There are times where I share my story from the perspective of me the windsurfer and there are times that I put my ‘teaching hat on’ and share it from my perspective now – Fiona the mystic.

From the perspective of an athlete I realize that all we really want to do as an athlete is achieve our dreams, whether it is to win, be top three or top ten. As an athlete I was totally focused on my training and competition schedule. I would plan for four years ahead, each Olympiad.

Whereas today I can look back in hindsight and have the luxury of seeing my windsurfing career through the eyes of my own Soul’s evolution. I understand the nature of Soul purpose, divine timing and the spiritual lessons I needed to learn.

Which leads me to pose the following questions:

What makes athletes great vs just good?

Are we pre-destined to be great, or do we become great?
Why do some people have more chaos than others?
What are our own spiritual lessons to learn in this life?
Can we change our destiny?
Can we fast track our evolution?

These are all questions that all of us ask at some point in our lives. Are the great athletes throughout time born to be great or is it by pure chance that they are great?
If we view our life through the eyes of the ego self, or rational mind, we do not know. But if we connect to our Soul Self, our bigger story, we are able to feel our divine truth and Soul purpose, whether it is to be a great athlete or simply be a competitor and learn along the way. If we take responsibility for our own reality creation we can transform any unconscious themes that are getting in the way of winning much faster than if we deny we have them.

From the perspective of our Soul we choose the story of our life before we incarnate. At our highest level of play we choose the major events and wins in our sporting career and any chaos that we experience. Chaos provides the experience to learn and grow. For without chaos and challenge the ego experiences very little growth in consciousness.

We all have a bigger story, a divine Soul purpose with spiritual lessons to learn in this life.
Sport provides a play ground for this learning, growth and self awareness.

I postulate that the ability to experience the zone in sport, and reproduce optimal states of performance over and over again, relates to a person’s level of consciousness. The more spiritually evolved we are, the higher our consciousness level. The more we can access power at the universal/spiritual level the more we can access the zone.

This brings us to the nature of authentic power vs force. When I personally accessed the zone state in my windsurfing I felt ‘spiritually powerful’, like I was connected to All that Is. In my book I have written about this as being Authentic Power as opposed to force where we feel we are forcing things to happen. Authentic power feels effortless.

When we compete with pure desire from the Soul and spirit we not only achieve greatness in sport we live a fulfilling and rewarding life.

I share my story and those of 15 other World and Olympic Champions in my book ‘Spirit in Sport. The book is for fellow athletes, sports coaches, psychologists and the sports fan who want to discover the ‘missing pieces of the puzzle’ in performance.

Fiona Taylor
March 2007
www.barakaya.com

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Ryan Sheckler’s shirtless chest is not the only thing he can boast about. The fact that famous X-Games champ Tony Hawk has high praises for him is a proof that he is not just some kid whose skateboarding dream came true by chance. Definitely, he is not only made to do it; He was born to.

Even before learning to recite the alphabet, skateboarding prodigy, Ryan Sheckler has already been jazzing up his playtime, practicing some skateboarding moves instead of playing with the usual safe toys for kids. He got into the sports as early as 2 years old when he first caught sight of his father’s board. Curious and inquisitive, the would-be world champ learned to ride and consequently, executed more complex moves with his dad’s board.

Ryan grew up harnessing his talent through his dad and mom’s support. His parents provided him with all the gears he needed, and even went as far as setting up his own ramp inside their home. All the support paid off when Ryan Sheckler’s name in the sport spread like wildfire. To say the least, he was already winning competitions and earning contracts with big sponsors at an early age of 10.

In early 2003, Ryan Sheckler went to go pro, and once again proved that he deserved the popularity because of his seamless skills with the board. He won Rookie of the Year during the Vans Triple Crown and Gravity Games, and topped the X-Games Street competition, winning another gold medal to his credit.

Because of the feat he has achieved as a skater even before turning 20, Ryan Sheckler has achieved the respect and admiration of known pro-skaters in the world. In 2005, he bagged the gold in the AST Dew Tour. He was also awarded Athlete of the Year by AST. Sheckler proved his talent two more times when he won the same competition for two more consecutive years making him the first skater to ever achieve such prominent winning three times.

Now, Ryan Sheckler’s pictures and merchs are all over from commercials on TV, apparels, and on the internet. He has been an endorser for many sports companies, and with his amazing built, looks and talent, he has been idolized by teenagers, as well. Proofs of his training were showcased when Ryan Sheckler went shirtless for a skateboard deck company. Since then, he has already cast his name on stones as one of the hottest athletes on the planet joining the ranks of Michael Phelps who also bared his chest for sponsors and products that he endorses. As this skateboarding natural talent turns 20 next year, the world is all eyes on the future ventures he is about to make and records he is destined to break.

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Champ Bailey was born on June 22, 1978 in Folkston, Georgia. Although most people know him by the name “Champ” his real name is actually Roland. His mother gave him the nickname early on in life thanks to his many athletic achievements. It is safe to say that she was dead on when thinking that Bailey would be a great athlete in one sport or the next. Since his early playing days he has always been one of the best players on the field.

After a successful high school career Bailey went on to play at the University of Georgia. While playing for Georgia he became known as one of the top defensive players in the entire country. Opposing teams rarely had the chance to throw the ball on Bailey. And if they did it usually ended up as an interception.

In the 1999 NFL Draft the Washington Redskins selected Bailey with the seventh pick in the first round. Although many people felt that this was a bad choice, the Redskins were in much need of an outstanding cover corner.

Before the 2004 season got underway, Bailey was traded to the Denver Broncos. This trade was imminent, and both parties saw it coming long before the trade actually took place. After the trade Bailey signed a seven year contract worth approximately $63 million.

Bailey has been named to the All Pro Team on three occasions, and has also made the Pro Bowl team for the last seven seasons. This has solidified him as quite possibly the best cornerback in the league.

With a high level of athleticism and a good feel for the game, Champ Bailey has always been a great player. It is safe to say that he still has several more great seasons left in the tank. As long as the Broncos have him playing on the defensive side of the ball they have a good chance of winning!

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Even though the list of talented athletes is endless we have attempted to group together who we think are the best athletes of all time, we initially thought 10 was a good even number but after great thought we decided to be brutal and whittle it down to a meagre 5 names!

We should point out that these names are in no particular order; they are all as great as each other.

Muhammad Ali, born in 1942 Ali is a three time world heavyweight champion and the only boxer to have won the linear heavyweight championship three times, in his 20 year career he fought in a massive 61 fights, 56 of which he won and for a magnificent ten years he remained undefeated.

His deserved place in our top five sporting champs is only illustrated by the fact that he has been awarded ‘Sportsman of the century’ by both Sports Illustrated and the BBC.

Pele, playing national football at the tender age of 16, Edison Arantes do Nascimento has been a top athlete from a very young age. FIFA recognises that Pele has scored 1281 goals across his entire career, however for many of his time playing in Brazil goal scoring was not recognised therefore this number is no doubt significantly higher, either way FIFA consider this figure as the highest number of goals achieved by any one player.

Golfer Tiger Woods, deserves a place in the top athletes for the fact that he has won 65 official PGA Tour events, an additional 22 individual professional titles, owns two team titles in the two-man World Golf Championships-World Cup, and won the inaugural FedEx Cup playoffs. In 2008 he became the first golfer to win four PGA Tour events five or more times and is the first person to win a PGA Tour tournament on the same course seven times, and the first person to win two tournaments at the same golf course in the same season.

Lance Armstrong, this cyclist deserves a place on this list not only for being the only person to win the Tour De France seven times but for also being a survivor of cancer. He developed testicular cancer in 1995 which then spread to his stomach, lungs and brain, after extensive hospital care he made a full recovery after which he went on to win the prestigious tournament a total of seven times. His dedication and bravery has been recognised by the over 50 accolades and awards he has received since.

Michael Jordan, noted as being one of the greatest basketball players of all time and a global icon for the NBA around the world. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.12 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press’s list of athletes of the century. He will be eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

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Champs have many positive qualities and many characteristics that set them apart in a class of their own. Lets’ understands the 6 secrets further.

Six Secrets of Champs

1)         Picking up overall intensity: Champs display awesome aggression by playing to potential.

The full force of their abilities is unleashed through a high level of concentration and attentiveness.

2)         Maintaining a business-like attitude and consistency: A single-minded focus on playing the game right, a professional approach to competition and maintaining a high level of quality, and excellence in performance

3)         Displaying rare composure: Incredible fortitude, rarely show emotion or fall prey to. Are determined, and have the ability to fight, despite difficulties encountered on the mat

4)         Handling pressure, surmounting any crisis: The ability to withstanding pressure and surmount a crisis is the true mark of a champ. The experience and knowledge built up over the years provides the necessary mental strength to handle pressures.

5)         Seizing the moment of opportunity: Champs can accelerate the pace, use intuition and instincts to guide performance, and anticipate moves in advance. Champs don’t drop their guard at any stage.

6)         Adhering to training, both mental and physical: Sustaining the mental preparation process and strengthening all aspects of preparation regularly despite the star status; no complacency no matter how many championship titles have been won.

Besides these secrets of champs that make their game stand out, it is also important to understand the mental framework of a champ to gain insights into their approach to the game.

Mental Framework of Champs

The preceding segment on the secrets of champs gave us insight into the match behavior of champs. Let’s now take a look at the mental framework of champs.

• Champs enjoy challenges and never shy away from them.
• Champs constantly challenge themselves to greater heights.
• Champs don’t think about winning all the time.

They are not preoccupied with thoughts of winning. They focus their thoughts on playing a good game and tackling their opponent effectively. The message from this is: if you let go of the need to win and instead raise your mind to a higher state that is performance driven, then your chances of triumph increase.

• Champs focus on putting on a truly magnificent performance.

The pure aspects of the game interest them so much that you get to see game techniques and tactics that are incredibly awe inspiring. And when they win, it’s often truly deserving.

• Champs have leadership qualities.

A champ in grappling or combat athletics may not participate in a team event or ever captain a team. Even if all the encounters are one-on-one, there are certain leadership qualities that go into the mental framework of a champ.

A champ’s mental framework blends in the following leadership qualities that convey a distinct winning attitude:

• Champs like to take charge
• Champs like to be in control of the game: they strive for the upper hand
• Champs have courage
• Champs are astute and display a combination of shrewdness and wisdom
• Champs have an underlying confidence
• Champs believe in themselves
• Champs are humble enough to learn from mistakes
• Champs have adaptability; they listen to other’s views and are open to ideas and suggestions on improving their techniques
• Champs have a self-awareness of their strengths and weaknesses
• Champs willingly ask for feedback

These leadership qualities that a champ embodies bring out a cutting-edge game performance. It is a mental framework that is used to being at the top of the heap, but humble enough to constantly learn and improve.

• Champs are extremely dedicated to the sport.

Champs have an almost fanatical interest in grappling and combat athletics. This dedication goes beyond motivation or passion for the game to a feeling of complete lifelong commitment.

Think like a champ

When you start thinking like a champion, your mental approach is different and your performance will most certainly scale new heights. If you want to follow a career path that is similar to top grapplers and combat athletes in this field, you have to imbibe their qualities and consciously work on your thoughts and behavior. Your mental framework has to undergo a transition from being a run-of-the-mill grappler or combat athlete to one who truly knows how to excel.

Winning Edge of a Seasoned Player

Those who’ve spent a significant number of years in the sport and weathered innumerable matches and tournaments are often referred to as seasoned players. They are highly accomplished at the game, have been champions of many a high-profile title, and have a lot to teach to upcoming grapplers and combat athletes or new entrants.

This article was meant to be a guideline on how to develop your thinking along the lines of front­runners and winners in grappling and combat athletics. It is meant to give some direction on how to shape your thinking and mindset to reach the highest levels as a professional grappler or combat athlete.

http://www.lloydirvin.com

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For the most part, people seem to value their lives. Some feel they are really important and their existence is completely necessary, while some others like living but aren’t to worried about their eventual demise. I never really put a value on my own life, though if you read my previous blog you might think I walk around with a pistol in my mouth. But friends there is a distinct difference between recognizing you have not accomplished anything and not wanting some more time to try and get things done. Luckily, a couple weeks back, I was able to see just what kind of price I put on my own livelihood.

More… It was just another Thursday evening. Because I can’t let go of my college days, I found the need to hit up a local watering hole. Like most college kids, Thursday night is the time to usher in the upcoming weekend by drinking large amounts of alcohol and convincing yourself that even though you have to work the next day, it’s Friday, and for some reason that means it doesn’t count.

When I first moved to LA back in the summer of 2004, one of my favorite pastimes was to head down to Champs sports bar on Thursday nights for some team trivia and 50 year-old eye candy. Sadly, Champs ended their trivia night thus leaving a huge hole in my social schedule. About a month ago, we learned that champs had reinstated their trivia night. So, without much hesitation, I decided it was time to return to my stomping grounds that filled my life with purpose. Play trivia, win a $60 bar tab, and then get hammered for free. But this night, would not be like the trivia nights I had come to love…

“We haven’t had trivia night for three weeks”. That sentence from Ronda the bartender stung deep. Apparently, the beginning of football season signaled the end of trivia night. But since we were all there, we decided to hang out anyways, order some food, down some pitchers, and play some bar sports. Now champs may not draw an A-list crowd, but it will bring in Hepatitis of the A variety. However, it has one of the most exciting games in the history of the planet, shuffle board. A long wooden table covered in a saw-dust like substance that acted as lubricant to slide steel-like pucks back and forth. This was truly a game for the man who can’t participate in competitive athletics, that’s where we came in. It quickly became an obsession amongst the group, and like anything pure, we found a way to make it full of trash talk, cursing, and sexually suggestive language. It was that game we were playing, laughing, shouting, and drinking. Then, it happened…

“Oh come on!” I had just slid my shot right into the gutter, a real amateur move, bush league garbage. Then, a girl yelled and sprinted across the bar and out the front door. I instantly felt bad as I egotistically thought I startled the young lady with my outburst. If only I had been right. Quickly behind the fleeing female were two men, both wearing ski masks, both holding hand guns. Now my first thought was, “ok, whose birthday is it”. It seemed very practical in a bar like Champs that someone would stage some stupid event like that to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. Once again, I wish I had been right and the two men weren’t escorting in a cake with candles, instead they brought a gift of anger, profanity, and the threat of violence.

“Everyone on the #@*&-ing ground! Nobody (expletive) move!” Yeah, they meant business. Instantly, I and my three friends ducked down behind the shuffle board table. Now I’m kneeling down with my head lowered looking at my friends Tom, Osa, and Steve. We send each other glances of “is this really happening?” Yes, it was. Luckily for us between the robbers and ourselves was a long counter that ran along the shuffle board table and cut the bar into too rooms. This kept us out of sight from the robbers as long as we were on the ground. Once I realized we were dealing with a serious situation, I started to think that the thieves didn’t know that on the other side of the counter were 4 young, but unhealthy men in their mid 20′s. I thought they would come around the corner, be surprised by our presence, and all hell would break loose. So I did the only thing I could think of to keep them from panicking, I hid my wallet. Yes that’s right, for some reason I thought, “Well they’re not getting my cash and credit cards,” and so I slid my wallet deep under the shuffle board table so it was concealed between the counter and the gaming table. I then peered over the shuffle board table so I could see the robbers; it was half an effort to make myself known, half an effort to get a look at these thugs.

The one guy had a massive hand gun. Looked like something Eugene Tackleberry of Police Academy fame might have as a side arm. It was so big and shiny silver that my first impression was that it was a fake. Then my second impression was, who cares if it’s fake, Champs sports bar, which was probably full of criminals anyways, was not worth a slug in the chest.

Now we’ve all seen movies where people are put in situations like this. And we like to ask ourselves, “How would I respond in a situation like that?” We like to think we’d be like Arnold or Chuck Norris and take down the bad guys. That’s what I thought, and that’s what I did. I crept around to the opening of the two rooms, I knew if I had one of my friends be a distracter, I could get the drop on them!

REALITY: I stayed knelt on the ground hoping they didn’t come into our section of the bar. I was an idiot and realized if they came person to person and I didn’t have my wallet on me, it was going to cause more trouble than good. And let’s be honest, it’s not like there’s much room left on my credit card, and there’s sure as hell nothing in my checking account on the ole’ debit card. So why in the names of Christ’s under shirt, was I trying to hide my wallet and cause problems? I laid low and hoped it would all be over soon.

Steve and Tom stood up and announced their presence, the thief told them to stay still, I waited for him to turn his back to them, and then I pounced. He went down like a sack of potatoes when my 6’5″ 230 lb. frame crashed down on him, I turned his gun against him and pistol whipped him into an unconscious state!

REALITY: MAN, are these guys ever going to leave?? Just take the register cash and get out! I thought about reaching for my cell to dial 911, but I didn’t know if they would come around the corner and see me dialing, it didn’t seem like a worthy risk. I mean after all, they didn’t have a woman in their sights, right?

The other robber got a girl in his sights. He grabbed her and put the gun against her head. I told him the jig was up, to just leave the bar and run away, leave his dead beat partner behind. It was then he pushed the woman out of the way and raised the gun to me and fired a shot. I anticipated this move and fell to a knee. His bullet went into the popcorn machine and led to an explosion of kernel’s and hot oil not seen since my tragic circus mishap of 1989. I returned fire, landing a shot in his knee and shoulder. I didn’t want to kill the man, that would be an easy way out for him. He was going to do time for this injustice!

REALITY: “Alright everyone, they’re gone” We stood up and looked around. The bar patrons were a little shaken up, but the only physical injury was an older gal took a knock on the head from one of the perps. Soon the police arrived and interviewed all of us. We told the police the whole story, his reply “well if you didn’t think they saw you, why didn’t you get the drop on them?” I kindly told the officer I wasn’t risking death to save $200 out of the champs register. He understood. The owner showed up and that’s when I felt the most traumatic pain of all. “Everyone who has a tab going, it’s on the house, nobody pays tonight!” I had settled my tab 10 minutes before the robbers showed up! (Insert expletive) I couldn’t even get free booze out of the ordeal, but at least I had my health.

The police arrived and congratulated me on doing a great service to the community. Apparently these men had hit up many places, but walking into my bar was the end of the road for their hack operation. I received an accommodation and award from the city, as well as interviewed by local papers and news stations. My story was going to make a best seller and a must see Hollywood movie they said. My life had become valuable in the shadow of this thievery.

REALITY: My life didn’t flash before my eyes. I wasn’t even really nervous throughout the ordeal. I was thinking about whether or not West Virginia covered the spread that night. After talking to the police we hung out in the parking lot. Ronda said the robbers took her $80 in tips. The four of us all threw in some money to replace that sum; after all, she’s the one who had the gun in her face for the majority of the time. It wasn’t a Hollywood ending, which is ironic, since it happened in Hollywood. Instead, it ended with Steve and I sitting on the couch, still a little nervous, but not stressed. We consumed a couple cocktails to take the edge off and laughed at some of the moments of the experience.

No, I’m not a hero. It never really occurred to me to even try to be one. I thought briefly about how we might stop them, but you know what, who the hell cares if they’re robbing Champs. They robbed us by not having trivia! Take their money, what do I care. The place is a hole in the wall! Even Bruce Willis would have just let the criminals do their thing. I suppose by choosing that course of action, or no action, I found I do put some value on my own life. It’s not much, but it’s something.

I still drank the following Thursday. I won’t let them deter me from that. The day I let a couple of So-Cal thugs, pulling of the most cliché robbery in history, keep me from booze, is the same day I recognize Alabama as a state in the union. Robbers may have made me keep my head down, but they’ll never keep my glass from going bottoms up!

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