Episode 310 - Mr. Donivan Blair

Mr. Donivan Blair is a martial arts instructor and practitioner from Texas. He is the bassist for the rock band, the Toadies.

No matter what the task is, the skill, whatever, anybody can do anything if you practice it. It just takes drive and perseverance.

Mr. Donivan Blair - Episode 310

How often do we hear martial artists start their journies when they see a martial arts movie as a kid? We do get that a lot and our guest today is not that different aside from one thing. Mr. Donivan Blair is a first-degree black belt in taekwondo, an author, and a musician who plays bass for the rock and roll band, the Toadies. Mr. Blair had an ADHD when he was a kid and martial arts helped him with that. He and his brother turned to music and made it a successful career but never leaving the martial arts. Mr. Donivan Blair's journey to the martial arts has definitely helped him on his journey as a musician. Listen to find out more!

Mr. Donivan Blair is a martial arts instructor and practitioner from Texas. He is the bassist for the rock band, the Toadies. No matter what the task is, the skill, whatever, anybody can do anything if you practice it. It just takes drive and perseverance.

Show Notes

You can buy Mr. Donivan Blair's book here and check out the Toadies'Facebook and Instagram at @thetoadies.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKbk7BPXBa4[/embed]

Show Transcript

You can read the transcript below or download here.Jeremy Lesniak:Hey everybody thanks for tuning in, this is whistlekick martial arts radio and we're back another episode. Today's episode 310 and were joined, I’m joined by martial artist and musician Mr. Donovan Blair. If you're new to the show maybe you don't know my voice I’d love you head on over to whistlekickmartialartsradio.com check out the other 309, wow, crazy number of episodes that we've done. On Mondays, we do a conversation interview episode with someone from the martial arts community, on Thursdays we have more of a topic driven show sometimes I’m joined by a guest or multiple guests as we focus on something singular. Might be a topic that's driving me crazy recently or it could be something that one of you wrote in and said when you think about this? But through it all, twice a week we bring you the best martial arts content we can because we are traditional martial artists and we wanna share that with all of you. Of course the other thing that we share is all the stuff that we make whistlekick.com from protective equipment and training accessories to fun and functional apparel, it's all in the name of the traditional martial arts the thing that brings us together all over the world, a lot of us and martial artists are great people. I think so that's why do they show, that's why I have the best job in the world. There are a lot of martial arts books out there and some of them a really good, some of them are really bad and I hear from a lot of you as you read through these books will it was from a listener writing in talking about a book that today's guest comes. This listener found the book and they said you know here's this guy who's martial artist and a musician and maybe you want to have him on the show. Well, fast forward and we do have them on the show and I have to be honest this was one of my favorite episodes ever. I had such an amazing conversation with Mr. Blair, I was engage we would just we had fun and I think you can hear in his voice too hopefully it comes through in mine. If it doesn't I’m telling you point-blank, I had a lot of fun but that doesn't mean that we didn't get into some great stuff, Mr. Blair was open and authentic and talked about his life and challenges and the ways that music and martial arts connect for him and I found it fascinating. So whether you are a martial artist are not a musician or not, I expect that you're going to take something from this episode. So without any further ado, here it is.Hello Mr. Blair,Donivan Blair:Hey Jeremy, how are you doing?Jeremy Lesniak:I'm doing great how are you?Donivan Blair:I am ordering barbecue a typical Texas thing to do.Jeremy Lesniak:Did we get times crossed or you running late?Donivan Blair:No sir, not at all. I was just my wife like taking a run by, we’re trying to not eat too much at night so were just kinda, I try to like stick to just protein you know so I was grabbing something on the way home is it. I just got out of my class like oh crap so no. I was [00:03:54.21] I had my phone ready to go so we could  talk and stuff like that definitely yes sir how are you?Jeremy Lesniak:I'm doing great. I'm doing great you know, I appreciate you doing this this is been looking owner to chatting with you yeah. I've only been to Texas a couple times but it seems like barbecue is almost a religion in Texas is it fairDonivan Blair:It is. Oh a hundred percent fair and when I went vegetarian for years and it killed me, I could not take it was just like those going against being a Texan yeah but I mean, I can do it now I know how to do it and it’s not hard but it sure does hurt.  Where were you in Texas? Where did you visit?Jeremy Lesniak:Well we used to have a warehouse in Rockport until you know HarveyDonivan Blair:Yeah. Who you work for?Jeremy Lesniak:Whistlekick. This is for our product division. The podcast is a I mean, to be really blunt you know it's part of your marketing, you know it's a fun part of our marketing but you know the way it started we kinda started looking around saying you know maybe there's a podcast we can sponsor and we had a couple conversations with people and it just wasn't a fit and I actually reached out to a good friend named Glenn and Glenn was scheduled to post the podcast like we had conversations and meetings we're ready to go, and then Glenn a big jerk that he is went and had a stroke and he nearly died and say that now, I could say that because he's been on the show episode two you know I brought him right away and he's a good friend and you know he has no problem that I pick on him. But yeah so I you know picking up the mantle so to speak and it's been a life altering to say the least.Donivan Blair:It’s just a lot of fun to do I hear so many people rehashing much fun doing it and you get to meet so many different people, you get to and it’s kind of just your new point you can do your show about whatever you want you know and you’re not worried about you know, it’s just better than normal radio, it better than normal shows up so I think people get addicted to it like my younger brother Zach is addicted podcast. He's just addicted to them you know, and he's always telling hey you should listen to this podcast, listen to this, like god Zach I don’t have time for this I’m not a millionaire like you, okay?Jeremy Lesniak:There are so many good ones, you know were in a point now where there is so much great media. Between movies and music and  just it's so easily accessible that I almost feel guilty. People come to me and say have you watch the show or this movie or this podcast like I’m full, I don't have more, I don’t have more time.Donivan Blair:I know, I don’t have enough time [00:07:07.29] hours of the day for me to check out all the great stuff. I am kind of the mind that like you said, it’s that amazing I will find it eventually you know. That’s just kind of it tends to happen to me that way you know. But my brother has to take everything now, listen to all of it right now you know so it's like Jesus, I got a day job you know, you don’t,Jeremy Lesniak:The thing I find interesting about podcast and a musician you may find maybe you've thought about this too, audio format you can consume audio while you're doing other things. It's the only format that you can do that with you can't watch movies or yeah while you're driving you can't read a book in less it's become an audiobook.Donivan Blair:Yeah which is I think why audible had become so prevalent to people you know that's another one my brothers addicted to and I love that and were actually, TG my cowriter and I are in process of doing an audiobook for even if it kills me, were pretty stoked we got some really cool ideas for but I love that but I still love reading a book taking my time you know. I mean I’m a kindle nut, I love kindle app, I love my iPad and reading it on that but I still love just going to library and picking up a good book, you know. So it's kind of helped me in that regard it saved me on the wear and tear my bookshelf I’ll tell you that much, the kindle app. Oh my god it was bad but thank you for calling me about this I appreciate it thank you.Jeremy Lesniak:Of course. So we have a decision to make at this point and that is whether we consider the start of the episode the start of the call with this great back and forth on something we share with the listeners and of course they would hear this part as well, are you good with that?Donivan Blair:Yeah great perfect.Jeremy Lesniak:Yeah I mean, there's so many stereotypes with being from Texas you know, but they’re stereotypes because they’re true cocky people we do say ya'll a lot we do love barbecue and Mexican food. I could eat Mexican food literally every day you know and so the stereotypes aren't true but a lot of them [00:09:42.03]Donivan Blair:Well you know, the Mexican food is something that I understand and while we do not have what I’m sure you would term good or maybe even authentic Mexican here in Vermont, I still need it three to four times a week.You're in Vermont?Jeremy Lesniak:I am.Donivan Blair:I've always wanted to go to Vermont because the silliest reason, I love the Newhart show the 80s and the bob Newhart show. It was set in Vermont and then that theme song I just love it. Henry Mancini did and like the I believe the scenery on in was Vermont so I was always thinking like I wanna go to Vermont check that out you know so.Jeremy Lesniak:We're gonna have to circle back around to the listeners understand you know a bit about you but since we're on this bit of a subject, there is an amazing venue in Burlington, Vermont that if you guys okay to tack onto a tour. It's one of those that I think a lot of acts will schedule and because it's small, I mean for us it's not small but it's small yeah on and we went through this really bizarre stint where we were attracting a lot of relatively large acts in this fairly small space and you know I heard some of the act say you know were here because it's fun. Years ago wu-tang did this mash and massive national tour big hip-hop guy from the 90s and the two dates in Burlington. It was the only nice stop on the tour that they did two date snow here in Vermont and the show, at least the day I was there at the show was packed.Donivan Blair:You know I say I can kind of speak from that perspective is there are those certain towns that you know the venue isn't too huge and your money may not be fantastic because it’s not a huge thing but you don't care and it reminds you why you play. Like oh, we know people that the people of that town love music, we know it's going to be amazing, we know that venues great, we know the staff is fantastic, where gonna get fed amazing, we're just to have a great show who cares let's go play. There's certain places around the country that you just fall in love with look forward to going to play you know. I’m on the east coast like in Ashville, I love playing Asheville there's so many small little towns like just beautiful little southern town like that and up in the northeast as well just like can't get up there and play because you have just really great crowd and it is just a lot of fun and it's like people they don't take music performances for granted like they do in probably san Francisco or new York especially you know our Boston or somewhere. So and that's not to denigrate any of those cities you know I love playing all those cities but I’m saying certain other towns might you have a better appreciation for when acts come to town you know what I mean?Jeremy Lesniak:It's a culture thing and you can see the same thing about martial arts schools or just you know, groups of martial artists or martial arts competitions I mean whenever you have a collection of people, the culture that they're going to have can so dramatically affect the energy coming off of it and I don't think there's a  profession that understands better than musician. I mean I’m certainly not a musician but I’ve talked to enough, I have enough friends who were musicians that I think I have some semblance of what it's like for you.Donivan Blair:It's kind of taking that energy, that's what musicians can do and I think going into the competition that I’ve been. I've been doing a couple of jujitsu competition haven't won any so let’s make that clear hadn’t won one but I’m going to learn and get better. One competition is almost equivalent to 10 class you know, and you learn so much about what you could’ve done, should have done, your heartbreak and it's the same as a gig. I remember my first gig, I did okay my brother and I did but we are just feeding off of it the energy of the crowd all hundred and 50 of them you know but we didn't care. That's we were there for and we eventually learned how to take that energy and siphon it and use it you know, use our powers for good not evil you know. You learn how to take that from other people and throw it back at them, good and bad. I have a lot of crappy crowds and you take that bad energy and you feed off of it you throw it back at them so they get the oh okay. This is a conversation between the crowd you know so many audiences think that you're there for them like, it don't work that way you're here for me, I was going to do this anyway. You know, and some of that's competition like I was going to go on roll with someone try to pull off a triangle choke on anyway you know, you're just here you know what I mean? I think musicians in that regard have a little bit of an upper hand when it comes to competitions because we know how to take that energy and use it to our benefit. You know, quicker than most people do. A lot of people would take some, I talked to a lot of our friends, at my school and it takes them a while to get used to that raw [00:15:37.06] of energy that they have at these competitions. You know, and I’m usually calm [00:15:44.05] I mean, I’ll get the nerves you know but not so much to some people who I’ve seen just go off to the side and puke you know which is a natural reaction they're so nervous, they want to do good they wanna do that they don't wanna get choked out you know and the same thing as the show, you don't want to play a bad note or much like me we are playing lollapalooza the toadies where 2008 and I was in front of 80,000 people were going on right before me and my I was during the bass part two away our song hold on one second, had to kiss my wife hello I apologize Jeremy.Jeremy Lesniak:Never apologize for kissing your wife hello.Donivan Blair:We've been together 25 years so we've got it we know we're doing. So we're at lollapalooza and it was that the space break down in a way where everybody seems long and stuff and my ear went completely out. In front of 80,000 people I was freaking out it was any performers worst nightmare you know and I had a tech that just landed on my gear and started screaming at me keep playing for the love of god keep playing. Well, he corrected it you know. So it was I just those kind of things you don't want that to happen but when that stuff happens you have to know how to you get past it you know so go for it.Jeremy Lesniak:I am I’m dying to start drawing correlations between martial arts and music and I bet the listeners out there are nodding your head as I’m saying that they want me to go there and I want to go there but we need to get a little bit of context we talked you know, last nearly 15 minutes or so a lot about music and we certainly alluded to your martial arts training but we haven't got enough context that we can start drawing some solid lines between those two parts of your life. Which from what I’m gathering are two pretty big pillars and in who you have become who you're looking to become as we move down the road so can you roll back a little bit and tell us how you found martial arts?Donivan Blair:Yeah when I was kid like growing up in the 80s my brother and I were just, we were hyperactive we both had add you know and we are just literally all over the place and we had gotten turned on to martial arts movies you know. Chuck Norris ninja movies and we saw guys all dressed in black with sword throwing stars and were just like oh my god I want that, that's what I want to do. You know if you see Chuck Norris just turn around and do a spin kick at someone's nose that you want to do with your life, you know. So, we grew up in that era when those movies were so huge I mean, like much like today kids are growing up with the MMA UFC so that's what they wanna do you know so it's kind of the same thing it's just that that was our UFC pretty much. You know, we love wrestling as well so we just loved anything kind of I don’t wanna say violence but just something that took a lot of energy and exercise and you know those kind of things so our my parents decided to enroll us in a, I recall in a karate but it was tae kwon do and we ended up doing really well. We kind of gravitated to it fairly, fairly quickly and that's all we did, we did better in school after it because they would tell us if you don't have good grades you don't get to go to tae kwon do. Oh crap who that it is we better do good, we finally had a focus in our lives you know which is all needed. And that's kind of what I think a lot of people don't think kids that suffer from OCD they just need to focus instead of 80 million things give them one thing the focus on it will change their lives. You know instead of you know all of these medications that you could give them, give them purpose that's kind of a cure-all for OCD it's really help my brother and I know but that's a whole different point and subject. I'm sorry add I was saying OCD and add I apologize. I have OCD too.Jeremy Lesniak:What you meant was clear from the contextDonivan Blair:Yeah, our attention would just go all over the place and once we had tae kwon do like wow we didn't have this anymore, like you know we were able to focus on things and it just kinda became our life like working on kicks with one another blocks and strikes and things and going to class bowing and bowing out and learning are forms working and we advanced fairly quickly you know and almost got to blue belt but times became a little bit hard you know, to no fault of my mom and dad's own just certain layoffs and stuff like that they couldn't help and that had to go by the wayside you know and I think right after that we turned into, we started playing guitars and bass and that took over from martial arts you know and then that was 30 years you know is 30 years now you know.Jeremy Lesniak:So what happened after that 30?Donivan Blair:Oh well just the whole time I had, I love the finish things that’s where the OCD comes in. I have to finish things like him I start something I have to complete it so I had I would just see people going to class and different schools and different towns you know sometimes you be playing at venues and there would be martial arts schools next-door I would see guys my age with white belts on and just kind of envious of them and like wow look at the guts look at the hairy one's on that guy he didn't care, he's start over now he's going, he's doing this you know regardless if he gets hurt or not he's gonna see what happens. I just always wanted to have enough time off to do that because, you know just always playing are always on tour going to make a record with this band or that band or  you know never had been able to push myself enough to do it and finally I just said, I’m done I’m gonna give this a shot and finally went back to a tae kwon do school. I mess room with a couple of other styles but nothing seemed to sit and I knew I needed to go back to tae kwon do I don't want to say finish because you never really finish in a martial art in a black belt is not the ending, that's just the beginning enough to me it is but I always wanted to get a black belt in tae kwon do before I could think of doing something else. And when the band had decided to take a about a year off and I kinda told myself like well this is it it's now or never. You know I’m not getting any younger, I’m only getting older I’m still spry somewhat I have a little bit of life left my limbs so I need to give this a shot you know or kinda you put up or shut up or are we able to curse on this briefly I can say a phrase that my mom taughtJeremy Lesniak:If you feel about it off you got exactlyDonivan Blair:My mom would always tell people to get off the pot but you know. It’s kinda basically how I felt about it and I needed to do that and start over and I’m really glad that I did.  I think it changed me in so many ways all of them positive there's not been one negative that's happened since I walked in that school you know even though I’m not there anymore it still made me away better person better husband, better person overall you know and is just kinda continued or I’m still trying to be good and shaping and I still taking a lot of lessons in using those that from my master [00:24:40.07] he taught I use every day you knowJeremy Lesniak:So here you go now we can start drawing some points in between these two pieces of your life  and the first thing I want to ask you, do you think that your success as a musician has anything to do with that stint in martial arts as a child?Donivan Blair:Yes, I do. Because it taught us had a focus for once. You know it taught us if you want to learn how to kick well you got to practice so we had to sit there in our room but brother and I both shared a room and we would just practice or kicks over and over and over again. Roundhouse, straight kick, you know, high kicks, double jump kicks, you know we practice our blocks over and over and over again and same thing with our forms and our parents would push us, they're like listen, you guys need to get out there and you need to practice and you can't just, you know, first month or so we were just wow this is great and then we wouldn’t practice and my dad would look at us and go hey why aren’t you two practicing? That will be fine, that would be fine, no you won’t, practice you need to go practice. So dad instilled that in us and once we started doing that we saw improvements in our performance. So it was just kind of the first, kind of an early major life lesson. Well, if you practice it something you will get better at it no matter what it is and kind of how I look at everything no matter what the task is the skill whatever, anybody can do anything if you practice it. It just takes drive perseverance and which is a tenet of tae kwon do perseverance. You just had to work at it hard. Didn't mean to come easy you know, my take forever sometimes it could be faster sometimes it might take over really long time more than you want but you will get it. And that was the first time we learned it so by the time we started attacking guitars and bass, we already had that instilled in us that knowledge of well we just work at this over and over and over again are scales our modes, you know everything we will get better and we did. I think if we had not done martial arts in the beginning, I don't think I would be able to have been musician you know or had been able to be, I don't wanna say a great musician cause I’m not, but I wouldn’t be able to be, I advanced fairly quickly as a kid, I believe because of tae kwon do what I learned from it.Jeremy Lesniak:You may not put the label great on you but you are a high level musician and a professional full-time musician is that is that accurate?Donivan Blair:Yes I would say professional, full-time. I still when I’m home I still like to work you know just being at home all the time not doing anything drives me nuts. We got fairly easy year so yeah one of those but yes I would say professional to an the extent.Jeremy Lesniak:So we'll kind of sidestep the issue of whether you have you call yourself great or not we don’t have to go there. So this gives us an idea how you know, we kinda got one direction on that line how your martial arts impacted your music and let's, let's reverse let's go the other direction. When you restarted your endeavors in martial arts, how did your experience as a musician impact you're training.Donivan Blair:Well I think it went full-circle cause there's lessons I learned with martial arts and attributed to music I had to put right back to it cause it has been so long since I had done it you know. I had to kind of, I was past the point of sitting down in working on scales and working on this you know with music in regard to that. You know I was beyond that it would just be kind of learned the song, do it and then go you know you get to that, I hate to say master but that's kinda the only thing I can think of I would think that's when someone masters anything they don't really have to give a lot of thought now I’m not Billy Sheehan, I’m not one of those guys that can tap on the bass or any of that but as far as simple rock bass line, what I’ve done sure I’ve mastered that you know. And how I play administered that whole part of that you know but I look at masters using the different contexts and to be some just power technical bad ass in the bass guitar you know, john Entwistle I’m not. So but you know what I’m talking about as far as facility goes in learning and using it sure so it was taking those lessons and going right back to tae kwon do I knew I had to go back and really apply myself cause it was not gonna come to me easily at all and it did not, it took a long time, long long long time to get even adequate at it you now. I think it took about probably a year and a half before I even kinda felt comfortable with what I was doing so yeah. I just I like the fact that it kinda came full circle for me you know. I had the lessons that I learned when I was a kid was coming right back to me and still helping me 30 years later .Jeremy Lesniak:What was sent first class back like? What was going through your head?Donivan Blair:Sweaty. I was thinking like wow I am really second-guessing this. I hope I made the right move here, just because it is just so hard, I mean I had then in shape but nothing like that at all. But I apparently I write about this in the book I was in better shape than I thought you know I was actually handling my own with everyone, with the conditioning and things because I had been working out a lot and trying to run and jog and things and you know, I wasn't I hadn't you know gone into a slothfulness or anything like that but I wasn't what I wanted to be so once I got there it was very hard the first half-hour and then after that I kind of thought well not dead yet, let’s see what happens here and at the end of the class I got in my car, I didn't die. Okay. I'll go back you know. So it was just the point of I conquered that first-class past that it is just putting one foot in front of the other you know I think after that initial class just meeting people and being an older guy, I was the oldest there, getting over that shyness cause I’m pretty just going into a room with people and pretty shy. I can, I love nothing more than  able [00:32:10.22]  that's why I play bass that’s why john Entwistle is my hero. Cause he didn’t move didn't do anything he let [00:32:17.21] Townsend do all that. I've always had my brother Zach as my foil like you want to see pyrotechnics let him do it I’m gonna stay over here and do my own thing, he's more than happy to do that you know. But so, it was just getting over that initial shyness and I think definitely doing that help me break out of my shell a little bit.  It's hard though and I went home and took a really long hot [00:32:52.12] bath which I kept doing every night and I’m probably gonna do in about an hour.Jeremy Lesniak:Those are good, those are helpfulDonivan Blair:I have to yeah I just left class right before you called so it's a yes I need to call it an old manJeremy Lesniak:What are the things that I love talking martial artists about is the ways that they use that skill set and talked about how those lessons from your instructor still permeate every day for you.Donivan Blair:Yes yeahJeremy Lesniak:And you talked about being on stage at lollapalooza your gear going down but you know here you have the frame of mind to it to keep going and granted use of the tech was yelling at you keep playing but and I’m sure that your experience as a musician was a large part likely the largess part of that of why you're able to keep going. But I’m getting yes you have some other stories that you could reflect on maybe share one with us where was your martial arts skill set that allows you to keep going or go around or overcome or whatever it was just something hard that you're willing to talk about?Donivan Blair:Well yeah it's been, being on tour a lot there is, you meet up with let’s say lot of drunkards and people who you know more than slightly inebriated unfortunately and sometimes they would try to push their way backstage they want to meet the band they wanted to do this they want to do that, or you're just outside in these bigger yeah those like south St. In Philly you know or in new Orleans, any kind of place it after hours it's just bumping, its hopping, there's people everywhere, there's drunk people yeah and a lot of times, a few times on tour I run into people guys who have been little bit too aggressive you know with we try to get backstage with my band or with me or what they say and old me before I went back into martial arts used to just become 36 crazy fists yeah I just something what snapped my head, I would you like a thing and then I would just start so throwing fists. Now I’m not saying I won these fights, I’m just saying I started throwing fists you know and now I have found that after you know, obtained my blacked and do a martial arts at this point, I don't go down that road anymore even with the arguments with people. I just don't do it I can control my temper my anger that really is this something that I want to go in the violence, no I’m in a sit here and talk to this person or I’m just gonna walk away. I'm not going to engage them I will not do that you know and arguments with anyone, it doesn't matter you know I have I think I have a better ability to, I would say most martial artists have that you know, a good ability to just talk people down or just the ability to walk away, because you know when your brain you can finish this, you can do this and you might be able to harm that person and it's not their fault you know it's yours. They are inebriated but you know they’re under the influence of something you know they're not of their right mind you are and you also, not only are you at your right mind that you also have skill set we could hurt them. So how does that prove that you are an awesome person? That's not a martial arts teaches us it teaches us restraint you know and that's been a big help being on tour. I know how use that whole calming myself down a lot with people unfortunately but I’ve never hadn't yet had to resort to violence with anyone you know it's either just talk people down walk away you knowJeremy Lesniak:It's good and you know I think quite often we talk about winning fights, self-defense as martial artists and as far as I’m concerned the superior thing to that even is not getting into the fight in the first place.Donivan Blair:Exactly yeah and that's the best part you win. You know, they might think in her hand I know you walked away ha-ha I win,Jeremy Lesniak:Both people can win it’s the only way to get people can winDonivan Blair:Exactly they have no idea on these things. So it's like well it's and I don't I’m not a drinker, I’m straight edge either side I had the really low tolerance for people that are drunk getting in my face and just being into some things I said I can't take it you know, so it's but I feel for those people because they, they're not of their own mind that they're not in control of their actions. Yeah they were when they put the bottle to the mouth that many times when they knew there yet really screwed up, but well okay how am I big man you know beating up on this person that's their reaction time slows down, they don't know what's going on the big man me, you know what I mean? So you're right, I don't I don't respect people that do have that ability and use it all the time wow okay you beat up on people, of course you did. You are blackbelt in this or a purple belt or a brown belt of course you'd beat them up. There's just nothing to prove in that regard I don't think.Jeremy Lesniak:Is it fair to say, maybe in reading between the lines something is not there but did you have a temper? Would you say you were an angry person?Donivan Blair:No I think, I don't think I’m angry person or thing just as a kid picked on a lot so you tend to, I don’t know, it’s just kind of a defensive mechanism you know in high school and just [00:39:23.08] kid so I got picked on hello lot. Never would start fights just finish them though you know. And I write about this in the book as well and if someone hit me or try something with me I would always fight back and then I would more often than not you know get beaten up by someone bigger than me and go home and I would be kind shameful just kind of bummed and embarrassed that I lost the fight and I was talking to my old man, he would go well was that faster than you? Yeah is he bigger? Yeah to take any of it – no sir good boy don't take people - that's what our parents taught us you know, so I think it kind of turned in is that just not taking – you know but before I learn martial arts again you know, I kind of figured out you know what it's okay if you take this person's - it's not going to kill you. You have the you have the ability to really harm this person who cares if you take it you know it's just getting older and getting more mature and figuring out that that leads to nothing of violence leads to nothing. You know who cares of this person pushed who cares if he did this as they did that just kind of a life lesson you know and hard learned with bruised knuckles and stuff like that you know what he knows but nothing I’m proud of. And again it's not like I was a bruiser, I never walked away from a fight but after it I would kinda just feel kind of like I don't like the name engaged in violence with that person you know. Even if you win the fight that person wins, if you were able to start striking them they still won the fight because they manipulated you into hitting them you know because of what words? Come on, we all have to be better than that I think specially these days, in this day and age.  Too many people that words get the best of them and taking it into all kind of arguments and things it's just words. You know so I’ll get off my high horse on that.Jeremy Lesniak:No, I don’t think you're on a high horse and I think you know, what I’m hearing from you is that you're talking about a bit of your journey a realization that you had a third option. You know, kinda early on it was fight or you know be the lesser person that the person picking on you was trying to get you to feel like and so there's a way to disengage that most of us as martial artist many of us even as non-martial artists start to understand as we get older and certainly not everyone learns that. When did you realize you had that third choice? That you could step away and not feel less?Donivan Blair:I think it was at a few, one of our tests for one of our belts I can't remember which one, it was later on and it was then I went on tour. It was the ability like you know in tae kwon do we break the work you know and these boards that we were breaking were [00:43:00.18] they were not send boards at all and one of my tests I had to break one with a roundhouse kick I had to break one with a sidekick. You know, a jump kick, the tornado kick and in a weird way doing that with my seat like my god I can harm someone with these, you know. That's kind of realization its different to make [00:43:29.29] you know. I'm not a very strong man I don't have big muscles anything like that, so I don’t really have a lot of space and the damage that my [00:43:40.05] could do to someone but the seat though, you know you hit someone correctly, you can break their jaw, snap their neck,  so many things you could do. You can just break the chest, you can break ribs that's kind of a responsibility on your shoulders you know. And so you go home from a test like yeah I broke all these boards but wait what if those were bones what if that was a human being? It's kind of a weight that people need to take on and think about seriously you know. And I think right after that after one of those tests I’ve gone on tour and you know, someone was in my face trying to yell and try to get me in an altercation this test is fresh in my mind and I was just thinking about it, wow, I could seriously do some damage to this person and that is just not worth it and then I walked away and that was a big step for me you know, whereas normally, I would usually get hot, super-hot under the collar and you know, and I felt that but unlike the other times I just start whatever, didn't do anything calm down and in my head I was you know letting him yell and I was thinking in my head like well if he does this I will do this and react accordingly and I can take him down the ground and in this very quickly and swiftly and it won't be that much harm to him that's what I’ll do. So I think it was just able to teach me that kind of calm in the middle of the storm you know that's what I think the best thing martial arts do. A lot of us can't help if we get angry quickly you know it's just what we do with it ,we can either I engage with it we can let it shape us and move us or we can tell her to calm down we can take control the situation. That's what martial arts is best for his being able to control of the situation but you have to take control of you first then you take control of the situation. It’s as long answer I apologize.Jeremy Lesniak:Never apologize for the long answers or the tangents they are a hallmark show. I've a saying that doesn't show up too often on the shows usually you know before or after it's the best stuff is on the edges yeah that's why I’m pretty hands off my interview style I just I just let the guest go innate they talk themselves into wonderful wonderful content and I just sit here and sometimes have to remind myself hey you're not just listening to this, you have to participate too... Especially when we have some who's just blowing my mind or telling you an amazing story or a sad story or something it is like, you know hear I am, the tears were rolling down my face I have to pretend that I’m not a blubbering mess. There's some episode suddenly comes through I didn’t do a great job of hiding but that’s OK.Donivan Blair:That's good I like that.Jeremy Lesniak:Tell us about your training looks like now.Donivan Blair:Oh well after I had done tae kwon do, I got my black belt and I had, I was searching I had actually got kind of there is a review of my book recently in a tae kwon do magazine and the reviewer he didn't like the fact that early in the book I talked about black belts that leave once they get black belt thought that was kind of bs how would you ever want to do that? And then I ended up doing the same thing and he cannot call me on it and I like that I like that he call me on and I knew that was going to happen because I thought, we left it in the book to show progression you know because you just you grow through martial arts no matter what. You know and I like tae kwon do like it's just so physical especially with the hips, my hips were killing me constantly. My body was breaking down my knees were killing me, my joints are killing me from all of the spinning kicks and stuff like that and I wanted to continue martial arts, I just didn't know what I wanted to do and I have a really, really, really, close friend really like one of my closest friends, [00:48:17.26] in chad smith that runs attached to shop here called American vengeance and my wife and I go to him for tattoos. And we were talking and he goes, man you need to come to jujitsu class like you do jujitsu. Yeah, he had just gotten his black belt from [00:48:35.07] who started service any jujitsu nerds like myself out there will probably know what I’m talking about and chad was Guto's first American blackbelt. So he kept talking to me about this news like almost religious to say like, where I almost didn't want to go to my appointment because I knew he was in a hound me that jujitsu and not shut up about it like oh god you know. And finally I was like you know what, I’ll give it a shot what the hell you know why not? So I went to one class and I’ve been ever since and it's been the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life hands down. Know if ands or buts.Jeremy Lesniak:Why?Donivan Blair:It is just the physicality of it for one, all it's way more physical than the training I did for tae kwon do but my body isn't broken down as much you know it's made it stronger earn more flexible, more resilient in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life enough just to conditioning aspect of it is insane and whenever you're rolling with someone or sparring, you’re lifting another human you know? Or you know you're figuring out your body weird ways. It also retrained your mind, says you're coming from a kicking martial art like myself it's a mind blow it's taken a long time for me to just get it a basic slim grasp of it, of the basics of that I’m still grasping you know? There are people that started with me, actually there is a good friend of mine and Colby that started I think pretty much the same day as me. He got his blue belt the other day because he got gold at worlds in long beach and I’m just, I could not be proud and happier of him. You know it's just really cool to see your training partners do that. It’s a big accomplishment he got his blue belt in a year and a half so it's just insane and to see that and I’m sorry going back to your question it's just my training is, I will probably do 2 miles, jog a few miles a few times a week, I try to keep up with my body strength and just do a lot of body weight. I don't want to add any weight on to me you know, not too much I just you mainly push-ups and triceps dips things like that as I do anything with weight it’s with the kettle bells. You know and the majority of it is just doing class, classes is just kind of the best training I can do. I'll do that for times a week and our school we really believe in conditioning. Sometimes when I don't want to believe in conditioning we still have to do the damn conditioning you know and it's pretty straight, pretty hard-core about 10-15 minutes at the top the class constantly then we learn techniques and drills and then we roll you know and it's pretty hard-core which is why I’m really sore right now. But it's the it's addictive especially if you pull off something cool. I've had a couple weeks and just down weeks not really doing anything and just questioning why I started jujitsu tin he first place and then last night I pulled off a really cool move like oh okay, I’m gonna stick with it. And that the other thing about it that I love the most is the openness with everyone. It’s just, it's like I’m sure everyone else does jiujitsu who listens to this knows it is like a brotherhood, a family you know there's this person right on top of you trying to strangle the crap out of you and take your head off and if they do it you get up and congratulate them like that was amazing how did you almost break my arm again? Show me. It's just the, that’s kind of on the things that I’ve stay is just the family atmosphere, everybody is just so supportive of one another it's nothing like, oh you couldn't do that maybe next time, you know in a completely denigrating thing they’re those kinds of people don't last in jujitsu, they're definitely don’t last in our school you know it's you have the support of everyone or get out you know and doesn’t matter how bad you are or how good you are to everyone there kind of on the same level because you show up and train that’s the thing. They don't care why your training if you get tapped out 50 times or if you end up tapping people 50 times it matters that you just show up and train that's it. Past that well see what happens you know it's kind of like the equalizer walking in the door and locking on the mat that's all anyone asks so it’s kind of then one of the coolest things ever to happen to me, you know so I’ll chad a lot for thatJeremy Lesniak:Nice. Now you’re calling it jujitsu but I’m hearing Brazilian jujitsu is thatDonivan Blair:Yeah I’m just I’m saying jujitsu just being said is Brazilian jiujitsu, our professor is actually Guto’s brother Gary LeMay campos his nickname is seco and he and guto and Andrei bilbao, Andre and I think guto started [00:54:47.29] there with them and so we're kinda learn the stuff from the tap you know. Straight from the Brazilians and they're hard-core.Jeremy Lesniak:Yes they areDonivan Blair:God let me tell you, but I love it there's no watering down at all. You know they don't allow any of the other instructors to water down you know we got a pretty really good school is just in the small little panhandle town of Amarillo. Yes so we're pretty happy with itJeremy Lesniak:I forget where I heard this you know, I would give credit if I click but my memory is failing me, when we talk about martial arts traditional martial arts we tend to talk about striking art stand up parts of majority of people are involved in something like karate or tae kwon do and that's something that you can practice on your own. We talked about that it at the top of the show, but when you talk about grappling arts it's hard to practice on your own. You need another person and you need that flow back and forth, you talked about it that you can use this word but I heard it in your voice to joy of pulling off something for the first time rolling with another person and I’m wondering if for you you're seeing the tie with music that I am. Because I’m probably not going to a show to watching one person play.Donivan Blair:You know what, I love you don't like that and that was a struggle for me doing this because you're right with this tae kwon do if I didn't go to a class if I was just tired like okay I really don't feel like going to the class tonight but I what I will do, will go in the garage and I will do this many kicks, I work my form this many times, I don't feel like leaving the house I’m exhausted but I do need to work out and that's my OCD talking. You know so I could [00:56:55.18] my blocks on my kicks, my forms in about 30-45 minutes and I felt pretty good with myself like okay. Didn't go to class still worked out, I still work on my technique. With this I have to class if not there are things you can do it you can buy a good dummy, I bought a dummy that I can do certain drills with, I had a shed in the back of my house that I matted out. Not a great match that some mats and on Sundays a couple of the guys from my class will come over and we'll just do drilling you know for about an hour or hour and a half will work on things, but in that shed I will work on basic things like bridge, bridges, [00:57:41.28] certain drills that I can do so well but it it's taken a while to get to that point where I can work on this by myself and feel okay. I think that's why people want you to just go train that's where you learn you know. At my first class we did all of it, we did the conditioning and again I thought I was gonna die and we did some, we learned some technique then we did some drilling. Now lot of classes a lot of like first time classes in schools they you wait for about probably 3-4 months before you start rolling. They want to make sure that you had techniques down correctly which is not a bad practice at all you know. Thing is, just everybody does it different but at my school I noticed look alright let's roll so I was like thank god I’m just gonna watch. So I’m stepping off the mat and chad the guy that got me there put his hand on my back and he was where the hell are you going? Oh you guys are rolling, I’ll just gonna watch he goes, [00:58:53.03]  I don't know what I’m doing was neither did we, get on the mat like oh my god and I just got murdered over and over and over and over again. You know and that's kind of where you learn though, you get your hours and on the mat, you can drill you know there's a saying that drillers make killers and that's correct but if you don't utilize it correctly in rolling, you'll never gonna get it you know. So I still have a lot of problems with things I could drill my ass off and I can get the technique great then when it comes to actual real-time application and rolling just goes out the window. Like I forgot what I’m supposed to do here you know so it's yeah, the with that time on the mat hours and hours and hours that it's the same as practicing skills, same as practicing kicks, it’s the same as everything it's just a different way of doing it. I can't go often work on a triangle choke on the dummy that much, you know it's kind of hard you know it's kind of hard. I have to do it in real time with someone that's fighting back it isn't going to let me do it. That's the point yet to see that you're trying to figure out your body where it's supposed to be and it's really hard. It is like you know, just putting the right puzzle pieces together at the right exact time. I kind of I liken it to jazz you know it's a lot of other martial arts are pretty much straight you know you're gonna get a kick, you know you're gonna get a punch or a block with this you have no idea what you're gonna do. You know, it's kind of according to your body shape, how you like to do things, are you exposing are you more of the you know a person that likes to just stand there put pressure on people there's a guy that I roll with a friend of mine named Tyson has probably 5'3-5'4 blue belt and I think I outweighed him by about 25 maybe even30 pounds and I cannot beat this guy for the life of me. No matter what I do he's got, his technique is insane and his pressure is perfect you know and it's the game he plays. He is not fast ,he takes his time and god help you when he's ready to put it on you. You know it's that something about it and you look at his body style you wouldn't, well he might be fairly fast, nope you could be mistaken he puts all of his pressure on you and he knows has double it up at the wrong spots on your body you know. And it’s like kind of like how it is, it's where you're going you're kind of like jamming with someone you know, you don't know what to do come up with just going to start and you'll end up somewhere at the end of it. You know that's what I think I like most about Brazilian jujitsu is it's the closest thing to music that a martial art could be you know. It's you pick your style and you go for and then that person will react accordingly with their style you know they might be playing heavy metal and you're playing jazz, see what the hell happens in between you know. Either [01:02:24.03] you know what I’m saying? Is that's yeah it's pretty neat it's pretty cool thing.Jeremy Lesniak:We've talked about your book a few times already today and this might be a good time for the listeners to know more about the book that you wrote and I think most importantly why you wrote it.Donivan Blair:Well I kind of, I just a huge book nerd, huge book nerd. I've always got my face in one, I’m reading three at any time you know if I’m reading one book that's not enough, I got to have others as backups in case that was boring you know, I have always just wanted to try my hand at it kind of the same as with tae kwon do our jujitsu I at least want to try things. If I fail, if I fail at it, okay the only real way I fail is  if I don't try you know I mean? So with the book I was just trying to think if I could pull it off and my wife kept telling me you should really write I think you'd be really good at it and it would do well and I tried to prove her wrong but again she was right so if somebody did want to put it out it turned out okay. She was right again. And I just kind of, I started with an article with a tae kwon do magazine they had said hey if you have an idea for a column, send it to us you know let us see what we think, if we like it will publish it so I had an idea for a travel log because being a touring musician and working out I didn't have the options that everybody else does, they can go to their ,they can go to their going to go to all the time they can go to the academy they can do whatever. The people who were traveling musicians businessmen even, a traveling salesman, what else can we do you know? Go to different ones of course but it's kind of weird, and it’s kinda hard so it was just kindness about that, could travel log is seeing different towns in trying to figure out cool places to work out. In a hotel room or in a parking garage or kind of wherever you are and find a place to work out and they like the idea and they ran about four of those and then they stopped it. I don’t know why but to narrow it down we're not gonna run these anymore which is fine and I kind of just got a wild hair up my butt wand it was like you know, I wonder if I could try and turn this into a book of some sort. So I started looking up on how you do I guess it would be called like basically a demo tape for publishers you know what that would be. And you had to write certain amount of pages tell them the market would be you know, who would go to and things like that so I kind of I did my homework on it. I did about 35 pages and I sent it to a few publishers and why naa got back to me immediately and David [01:05:44.01] he liked the idea and he took me to tg and we went from there. They really like it they have been 100% supportive still kind of a dream come true it sounds  kind of corny but it is yeah to be at lifelong book nurse to actually hold a book in my hand that I wrote you know. For other people to buy it that I don't know and actually get something out of it is one of the cool things I’ve ever done you know it fills me with so much happiness and joy you know. That's like, I don’t know, it's actually hard to explain you know which isn't a good thing for a writer.Jeremy Lesniak:There are some things that defy words mean when you get right down to it, emotions are pretty hard to express with words so I’m not gonna fault you for that.Donivan Blair:That's how much I love books and love reading. I mean, actually I would, if I could make a good living as library and I would give everything up to the library and be surrounded with books all day long I promise you this. How much I love books so to actually have written one and added to that is just it yeah I can't express in words you know. And even have people read it and would like it and email me and contact me and say how much they liked it or a lot of people have said hey I don't know who the hell your band is and I don't care or a couple people said I didn't know your band was Andy heard it I didn't like it but it really like the book. Okay. Alright that's cool and some people aren't even martial arts fans they’re music fans of the band and they end up liking it getting something from it. So just the fact that people have read it and enjoyed it and got something from it, just been a huge joy to me you know just makes me feel really good.Jeremy Lesniak:That's awesome and of course in a moment we'll talk about where folks can get the book but you know, were starting to wind down here and noticing the time but I want to try and construct this almost triangle between the book and music and martial arts. I can see where there you know one, you know where your martial arts might have helped you with the book may be you know persistence, I can see where be the creativity of music helped you with the book, but I want you to put in your words and you were there things as you are writing this book that you said you know obviously the subject matter has to do with both of these other passions in your life but were there again tools you pulled out your toolbox. Were you said you know you know this part of the book is happening better or I’m doing something that I’m really proud of because of my training in music or martial arts .Donivan Blair:Oh yeah. I think it just goes back to that lesson I learned as a kid that came from tae kwon do is persistence and practice. You know it's practice literally does make perfect, but I applied that with music and I applied that with writing you know I had to I would take times where I would just, I didn't beat myself over the head with things. It wasn't coming to me, I had enough I guess my life being a musician you go to inspiration for as if you need to be creative listening to other kinds of music to get inspired to write or something like that. So I will just kinda take a break and learn and start reading other authors that I just love like David Sedaris or henry miller or Ernest Hemingway or people like that even Anthony Bourdais. Anthony Bourdais taught me a huge lesson reading this is his books are like word porn to be quite honest and they gave me a good idea of what I wanted my book to be and that I don't care what he's talking about I could care less about [01:10:04.20] or his me someplace or how the hell this gets done or whatever. I love how he described it you know how his passion came through the words he used. I think with really good writing it doesn't matter the subject matter. I mean, someone like David Sedaris, he writes about again about the Monday, you know his life if you look at it is interesting to a point it's kind of boring though the things that he goes into and talks about but it's the way he does it you know that keep you rooted. I wanted to just reread that so I really struggled with that I would have to sit back and look at it, [01:10:46.08] going to create another for whom the bell tolls or anything you know. Hemingway I’m not, everybody's okay on that end but I wanted it to be interesting something I would reread over. It's only reason I make records, am I gonna listen to it another five years and got a smile yes cool then it’s worth it. The same with this, is it going to give me the same kind of zing and they could crack up is when I read these other authors cool. If it did that then I went with it you know if not and it seemed too written you know then I would just end up trashing it and tg my cowriter felt the exact same way with me. I got lucky being able to work with that guy you know can see had exactly the same ideas as I did he would be able to push me when I was just completely tired I’d come home from you know, there'd be days I would work then go to class to train and then I would have to be up in another 2-3 hours writing. You know sometimes I just did I do it I was exhausted and he would be like listen you can't not do this you got to get after it. You know, and no matter if I did it and it wasn't great, I’d have to redo it again until it was. We set a mark for ourselves I could stand there and I think we headed on all the chapters you know, we knew what we wanted to ahead of time like once it started shaping up, we were able to see it wow this is what it's gonna be. But it was all things that I learned from martial arts and you know, that I took to music you know but I think everything began with me in tae kwon do. Kinda circuitous route there but sorry about that.Jeremy Lesniak:No again please don't apologize that was great stuff so tell the listeners where can I find this book?Donivan Blair:As far as bookstores go if you're like me and you just love to go to bookstores, Barnes & noble also books a million I don’t know if you guys have that up to the northeastJeremy Lesniak:We don't. We don't but were more than a regional podcast so I’m sure somebody listening somewhere says I know where that bookstore is.Donivan Blair:I know that is yeah that's kind of the major bookstores, it’s also independent and things like that and obviously amazon you know you can get it from there or a kindle you know. Because I’m such a kindle I went ahead and bought my own book for kindle just to have it for prosperity. Just like this is awesome and I believe like I said were going to be releasing an audible version of it within a year I hope so hopefully early next year will be releasing an audible version and we're gonna add really cool things it's not just going to be some guy reading the chapters you know it's kind of the four disinterested voices it's either to be tg or myself or we might I think we’re going to enlist other people for their voices. I think my brother might play the voice of my dad in it and stuff like that so we're gonna have a lot of fun with it make it a cool listening experience not just a book on tape type thing you know.Jeremy Lesniak:I look forward to being able to check it outDonivan Blair:Definitely, as soon as we get it, I will send you a link to it.Jeremy Lesniak:Oh please by all means.Donivan Blair:Done.Jeremy Lesniak:And now if you want to get a hold of you over social media you know, other websites, I’m assuming the band has a website that you might want to share you know this kind of take your time to plug those things and of course will drop them in the show notes anyway that might be new to the show whistlekickmartialartsradio.com is were put all that stuff.Donivan Blair:Okay and they can go to the thetoadies.com  or they can check us out with Instagram and Facebook. Myself also please get a hold of me on face book and if people want to message me or send me anything please send me a message. I don't respond to quickly to the friend requests, but messages I do that's how I had the pleasure talking to a lot of people. They will just message me and then we'll just can correspond from their yeah so that's kind of the quickest way to get a hold of me to say you like the book or you use it is toilet paper. Either one is okay yeah you know.Jeremy Lesniak:That would be really expensive and horribly uncomfortable toilet paper and I think someone would really have to hate the book to do that to themselvesDonivan Blair:Hey I know that he was being honest like man, I use this thing is toilet paper well it's your dollar buddy you can do whatever you want with it. Thank you for your honesty also you know.Jeremy Lesniak:Wow. Yeah and coolDonivan Blair:You know that I got to, go ahead yes sir.Jeremy Lesniak:No please finish because were winding down I don’t want to cut you off.Donivan Blair:I was just saying I prefer people being honest, I have had quite a people that said they didn't really care for it and that's fine. I like people being honest with me if I asked them. I have asked a few people what you think, this part and that part and there is this you know cool, but I have had a few people ages rollup on the you know what I did like about your book like no I didn't ask so, keep it to yourself. If I ask unload on me, get it to me you know both barrels I don't care but if I don't ask you know. But I do welcome anyone to get contact me if they want to hold a correspondence and time that they think you know.Jeremy Lesniak:One of the things that I have to remind myself as whistlekick grows is were taking on more projects releasing more products and having guest, sometimes controversial guests on the show is that if were making everyone happy, were probably not pushing the boundaries. When you think of the music that plays in public places where people are trapped you know elevators or coffee shops, it generally tends to be pretty mild pretty water down and yet you don't see a lot of people to say you know what I love about elevators the music.Donivan Blair:I like this course I like discussion and opinions enough that's only how you can better yourself and people need to figure out is there's just differences of opinion and you can have discussions you can have discourse was people intelligently you know and in the area I live it's different from where I was raised in Texas, it’s a different part of Texas where I was raised in my household and I’ve been able to have really good discussions with people that have opposing views than me you know I learned that in this town you know how to listen to other people and have great conversation and great discussions and listening to people. I think you're right, if people aren't going to have a really good opinion on it then it's probably vanilla. You know anything I do I would hate for people anyone ago it was okay, you know I liked it. I would rather someone go I hated and this is why cool I provoke a reaction from you know, an honest reaction. That is what good art should be art music writing as you provoke a reaction not that's okay. You knowJeremy Lesniak:I could not agree anymore.Donivan Blair:That does nothing I mean as a musicians and I’m a writer I want people to have a good gut instinct about what they read if I write it and if they hate it, awesome. Tell me you hate it why did you hate it why did it instill in you that you hated that much that I’ve read things I hated then I just don't want to ever read it again or ever see it again or anything like wow. But that's pretty good you got that much of a reaction out of me.Jeremy Lesniak:yeah it doesn't mean that you’re not better for it.Donivan Blair:Exactly I’ve learned from it you know and it doesn't mean that it's some stuff that other people just love like okay long that's a difference of opinion that's fantastic but you know does that make this bad that I hated it no. It makes it even though I hated it made it great that it instilled that kind of a reaction in me you know. It's better than anything that's what I read that it was pretty good that sold 16 million copies or whatever. I think if you get that much of the just a gut instinct from something in you hate it or you just love it that's great art no matter what it is doesn't matter.Jeremy Lesniak:Sure you been so open today's been so great at sharing so much and I’m almost guilty to ask you for just the tiniest bit more but I always ask the guest as we go out what parting words would you be willing to share with everyone?Donivan Blair:Oh well I would say for martial artists gesture for anyone, put one foot in front of the other. The only way you fail is if you don't try that's kind of the only thing I have learned in my life you know. I don't think you fail if you don't complete something that's fine you have to try stuff. You have to try it if your life is something that you believe in you know, attempting something and maybe not completing it that's not failure or doing well at it that's not failure. Sitting on your thinking how I should do that and never doing it that's failure you know that's death to me.Jeremy Lesniak:Now that you've listened I’m going to guess that all of you out there know what I was talking about in the intro, great conversation with an authentic open person who just had such great stuff to share and I hope that the fun that we both had come through for each of you. Thank you Mr. Blair for coming on the show. I hope we can connect in person at some point maybe you'll even come play a  show with the toadies in Vermont, I’ll be front row. If you want to check out everything we talked about today get some photos we got links we got all kinds of great stuff over on the show notes page at whistlekickmartialartsradio.com no hyphens no punctuation no spaces no silly stuff in there. You can find all of our products on whistlekick.com you can find some of them on amazon and you can get a hold of us social media we are at whistlekick you can email me directly jeremy@whistlekick.com and hopefully you'll be back for the next episode. I appreciate you, I appreciate your time, I appreciate all of your support. So until next time you train hard, smile and have a great day.