#905 Flowing with Kristi Yamaguchi

On this episode of the Bruce Lee Foundation takeover of the Bruce Lee podcast for the month of May, which is A-A-N-H-P-I month and Mental Health Awareness Month, we are talking to Olympic Gold Medalist author, philanthropist, and life long advocate for youth and literacy, Christy Yamaguchi. Christy Yamaguchi is, you know, a name that I think any of us who were around when she was competing in the Olympics and forward since that point, we all know her name, we all know her grace, we all know her ability and her competition chops, and I know I have been astounded by her and I've had the good fortune to meet her several times and get to know her a little bit and she is just a lovely human being. She really has this dedication to service that was instilled in her by her parents, which you will learn about in this episode. After competing in the Olympics and winning the gold medal she went on to a professional career in skating, touring with stars on ice and she talks about that transition from competition athlete to professional performer and what that was like, and then from there about how growing her family led to writing children's books, which led to a love of reading and wanting to pass on that gift to others through her nonprofit, always dream. Always dream is an early literacy and family engagement program that gets kids reading early and works with the whole family to engage in coaching great readers and family reading time. It is an amazing thing that she has accomplished and she's an amazing human being. When I asked her what her latest passion was, you will be excited to discover that it is very much in line with what we at the Bruce Lee Foundation are all about. So I will let you discover that as you listen to this episode. I have been blessed to be able to support always dream foundation in some very light ways. I am fortunate and blessed to have this conversation with Christy and I hope that you feel you are fortunate and blessed to listen to her, to learn from her, to get some tips from her on how she approaches life and to understand what she loves about her culture and her expression. So join us in listening in to my conversation with Christy Yamaguchi. Welcome to the Bruce Lee Podcast, a podcast about Bruce Lee's life and philosophy. Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast where my guest is the amazing Christy Yamaguchi. Christy, thank you for being here. Thank you, Chef. It's a big honor to be here. Thanks for having me. The honor is mine, truly. I am so pleased you're here and I can't wait to talk to you just about you, about your life, your process, your work. What is sort of like your favorite and never in this moment right now? If you have a favorite. Interesting. Yeah, it's hard to pick one. There's just there's some great things happening all over. Obviously my passion right now is the work of Always Dream, the nonprofit founded back in '96, a long time ago. So there's always exciting, fun, new things happening there. Tell everybody a little bit about Always Dream. It's a foundation for early literacy, right? And why was this your passion and what moved you to create this organization? Yeah, so it's actually started back in '96 shortly after the Olympics and my parents are always very community-minded, always doing volunteering in the community, doing something, church, school, whatever. And they were always about giving back. So after the Olympics, they said, "You know what, you've been so fortunate. You've been able to pursue your dream now. It's your turn to give back. Like what are you going to do?" So at 20, you know, it's like, "Oh, yeah, what is that mean?" Like, "What can I do?" And I think after touring, after the Olympics with a professional tour are the beneficiary of the tour was the Make a Wish Foundation. And that was kind of my first hands-on experience with a nonprofit organization and working with families and just really seeing the change that you can have on, you know, a person's day, a person's life, whatever, and that really inspired me. So yeah, I thought about doing something for children and underserved communities and helping them pursue their dream, whatever that is. And, you know, it's all about embracing the hopes and dreams of children. And, you know, for the first 15 years, we were very small organization. We helped a lot of different organizations, kind of under the radar, smaller ones. But in 2012, we really focused and narrowed our focus in the early childhood literacy. So we started a new program under always-dream called Always Reading. And it's all about putting books into many children's hands as possible. So providing the resources and knowing that 60% of low-income families do not have age-appropriate books in the home, I think that stat blew me away because I think my favorite time with our kids and favorite memory was reading to them at bedtime. And that special bedtime story time, they would pull out their favorite books, we would read, and to think some families don't have that opportunity. It's kind of heartbreaking. So really wanted to provide the resources. So our program provides the literacy resources, books, hard copy books as well as books on a digital tablet. So they have access to 40,000 titles. But then I think the really important part of the program is we also provide a book coach who is a always-dream employee, and they work with the families on creating a literacy-rich environment at home. So helping them find time in their day, it's hard. It's hard to find time and energy, right? To sometimes sit down and just read to your child. But also literacy strategies, you know, how to engage with them with the books, how to ask questions, and just get their interest going because at 3, 4 and 5 years old, they're not reading. So we want the families to read to them or with them, and that creates really the foundation from which their their education's built on. So hopefully getting them off on the right foot. So by the time they're 1 second and 3rd grade, they're ready to read to learn. Yeah, yeah. Well, I remember when my daughter was young, there was a teacher at her school, or somebody I can remember exactly who, who said to me that really reading is the most important foundational skill in some ways more than like math and that sort of stuff because we engage with reading in everyday life all the time. And that if we feel comfortable reading, then we're much more able to facilitate our own growth and our own process just by being able to read forms and instructions and all sorts of things let alone like the richness that books, fiction, and you know, not fiction books can bring into one's life. Do you find that that is true? Yes, absolutely. And that's completely our belief too. You can't learn math, science, history, if you can't read or even if you're not reading at grade level, that all comes from their prescriptions, you know, road signs, everything. It's just essential and you know, unfortunately if a child falls behind in their reading skills and they're not reading at grade level by the 4th grade, their twice is likely not to graduate from high school and that kind of perpetuates poverty, unemployment, yeah. cities, counties, base their jail cells based off of their fourth grade reading levels in the area. So it's, um, well, it's a critical, critical skill. And, you know, you have to develop that love of books that love of reading, because sometimes it could be scary, you know, especially if maybe the parents don't read or English is their second language. So we really try to meet the families where they are in California, our programs by Languils, English, Spanish. We also work with families in Hawaii. So we include a lot of, um, Pacific Islander content there for them and some native Hawaiian language books as well. Yeah, it's really just reading is so joyful and it can be, but when it's scary, it's, you know, you want to change that perception for, or, you know, hopefully they don't get that perception. Right. And they're supposed to be told. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I know for me, it's like every person, every child has their different rate at which they read and time in life when they really hook into it. But it is that early establishment of the idea of reading, because I for my daughter, for a minute there, I don't know what grade she was in, but I was like, Oh, she's not a big reader like she can read, but it's not loving to read. But then at some point, it just sort of clicked. And so I think it's always really interesting. And I think it came from those early years of like when she couldn't read, but I could read to her. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. And sometimes it's maybe the subject to, you know, I mean, I remember my brother, my mom was so worried like, Oh, you know, he doesn't really like books, but he loves basketball. So the teachers like let him read a book about basketball. So the book about like Michael Jordan or something. And that's all he wanted to read like over and over. And the teachers like, that's okay. At least he's reading, you know, so there's actually another little girl in our program, who the mom's like, Oh, she does like reading, I can't get her interest. And then they found a book about Taylor Swift. The Taylor Swift effect is everywhere, right? And you know, and she obviously loved the story and reading the book about Taylor Swift. And then from then on, just found other books and was interested to learn more about either other people or other subjects. So when they're really young, like choice is also really, really important. And you know, I remember for myself and I know for my daughter, there is that gateway book. There's that book. It's just the right book. It's just the right subject or it's just the right story that grabs you. And it's such a like pathway in right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it can be who knows what it is, but totally exposing them as much as you can is like the two. Totally. Well, I think it's interesting what you said that you have book coaches. I think that's so fascinating. I think coaching is such a sort of pervasive thing now more than ever, I think, like, they're all different types of coaches, like typically the word coach, you think of athletics, right? Of course, you come from an athletic background, but they're all different types of coaching. And I'm curious as as an athlete and as someone who also provides book coaches, like what to you is the value of an amazing coach? What can an amazing coach do that like for to help you in a way that maybe you can't do for yourself? Yeah, I mean, I think it's providing insight, right? To their experience, their knowledge, and providing just learnings. I think it's if you're open to hearing new ways of thoughts and possibilities and trying it, then, you know, I think you discover so many different things. And light bulbs start going on right here and there. And that's always exciting. See, whether it's in athletics, whether it's in life coaching or whatever, and you know, with our book coaches, for sure, they share literacy strategies that I think as a parent, even I didn't really know, like when you're looking at a book, here are some great questions asked because when you ask questions, it's really creating more that critical thinking with the child and developing vocabulary and comprehension. And you don't realize that when they're like three, four, five years old, like, oh, you know, they're making connections in their brain, but the book coaches are one, you know, supplying these incredible resources and the knowledge they have. But then, you know, there's also a little bit of accountability. They're tracking, you know, because our program is primarily on the digital tablets, they can see how many books they're reading a day, a week, what books they're reading, how many minutes they've spent reading a certain book. And, you know, all this data is collected and, you know, it helps inform us on how the family's doing. We share that data with the classroom teachers. So they can also see how their students are doing and how much they're reading at home. And if there's a drop or no reading going on, the book coaches do reach out and they have, we have a little protocol of just like gentle nudges to kind of get them reading again. And or like, how can we help you? And sometimes it's like, oh, I can't find my charger. Okay, we'll send you a new one. But it's like, oh, I got logged out or how do I log back in or can't find a book and we help them search for a book that maybe they're looking for. So all of the support and encouragement, you know, we always kind of relay it to, you know, you can buy a gym membership. But if you don't go use the gym, what good is it going to do? Spraying or, you know, it adds a whole other level of accountability and you're going to show up. You're going to be pushed. You're going to learn new things and, you know, train safely and effectively. So that's how we compare our book coaches is like really guiding our families. Yeah. You said something interesting because I mean, you know, you are a pre-eminent athlete. You have national international titles, gold medals, hall of fame, you know, all of these things, right? Like, and I thought it was so interesting. You were like, yeah, and I was 20. You know, and I'm curious like, you know, obviously you did more passage of 20, but just, you know, all of that gold medal and all of that, right? Like that was at a very young age. And I'm curious for you like, how do you feel that your athletic training informed your life and how you move through the world? I think you talked to any athlete and they'll just agree that, or, you know, even say there's so many life lessons, right? You learn as an athlete and, you know, even from your dad, right? It's just, it's so many parallels in just life, you know, teaches you so many things like resilience and not giving up, setting goals or having a direction and going towards that direction. And even though I didn't really have the traditional education growing up, you know, I went through high school graduated, but you know, I didn't do have like the social life or what are all the different clubs or, you know, nowadays I have all these key classes. I'm like, whoa, I'm so smart these days. Right? But you learn other things, right? And, yeah, I start traveling internationally very young at 14. So, exposed to different parts of the world, different cultures, you know, understanding that and really creating friendships and just understanding of, you know, the world, I think, at a young age. So, you know, I think being able to experience that has helped me transition, you know, past that athletic focus into this nonprofit work and just other areas, I guess, even being a mom, for sure. Yeah, well, and I'm curious about that, like that transition, right? Because when you're an elite athlete, obviously that's not something that you can maintain at that level for your whole life. Was that a difficult transition for you? A little bit. I mean, I think skating we had, especially at 90s and early 2000s, we were very fortunate to have a very robust professional platform for figure skating. You know, we competed. I was done competing by, you know, 1992 at the age of 20, but I was able to join a professional touring show. You know, we toured 60, 70 cities a year and we had professional competitions, what's, you know, really good price money. So, we were able to create a career after. So, that transition was great. Like, it was what I had dreamed of, is kind of why I started skating. It's like, I want to be like, shows, whatever the Olympics, like, whatever that is. You know, but I wanted the tour and, you know, see the world, see the country and perform. So, that was really living out the dream. And then, you know, after touring, I, or the last couple years that I toured is when I got married and then once I got off the road, I was ready to start a family. So, You know, my transitions, I think I feel lucky, but I think for the typical Olympic athlete, it's really tough because your whole life, your job was really just training and preparing for the Olympics. And sometimes athletes are 20 mid 20s, 25, 30 years old and that's all they've done. And then after that, now what do we do? So the US Olympic Paralympic Committee has been really great in the foundation with a Paralympic and Olympic Committee is really dedicated to health, got transition for athletes because, yeah, maybe not, don't have the degree or don't have the idea of what to do next, but taking those skill sets that they have really developed as a world class athlete, you know, helping them translate that into the real life and what comes next. So yeah, yeah, no, I would think that would be really important and because, as you say, and as I witnessed in my own father, right, it's like that kind of physical excellence has many gifts that are not physical, right? Like they're mental, they're energetic, they're, you know, just knowing how to use your body in a particular way can also translate well into other ways of applying discipline and all of those sorts of things, right? Yes, yes, definitely. I mean, it's like the discipline, the focus, all of that is we can apply to anything. Yeah, yeah, and it sounds like that you definitely do. I mean, you have, I mean, it's beautiful that you had this organic transition into professional skating and that how long did you skate professionally? About 10 years. 10 years. And did you love that more than competing? Oh, yeah, I absolutely loved it. I mean, competing was thrilling and, you know, I wouldn't, I wouldn't have been able to have a professional career if I didn't compete. And, you know, that's just kind of the process, the steps, right? And obviously, the Olympics did become the dream, like just to be there, just to represent the country and, you know, proud moment. But then I was really excited about post-the-lifax, right, of the possibilities. And, you know, I was just so lucky to join a tour called Stars on Ice and it was founded by probably the greatest entertainer in our generation of skating, Scott Hamilton. Yeah. I mean, I've never seen someone get a standing ovation multiple times in every night that he performed. I mean, he just was the epitome of the entertainer, right? And so being able to join the tour that he created, other professional grades, cataractin wit, torval and dean, you know, I mean, just legends in the sport, I learned, I got to continue learning from them, right? And transitioning from that competitive, like, oh, I'm focused. I got to land this, jump, land this, land this, and then into like, oh, now I have to perform. Now I need to grow and entertain as well. So yeah, so that was a fun time. And the cost was losing, too, you know? I mean, it makes me think about, for my father, there's a huge difference in like being a martial artist and doing action films. Like they're very, it's the same set of motions in a way, but also not. But it's the key difference between competing and performing. I mean, obviously you're performing when you compete, too, but entertaining, I should say. Yeah, I think, you know, when you're competing, you're focused on those, I don't even know, when I competed, it was nine judges, right? So you're focused on those nine judges. And okay, what, what is going to please them? What are they going to like to see? What, what can I do to make sure I get the marks from them? What I like and then I want as well as the audience, you know, obviously you got to be well rounded and figure skating technically and artistically. But then as a professional, you know, we had pride in keeping up our technical abilities. But then, you know, there's a lot more freedom. Like back when I competed, there were no vocals allowed. But when you turn professional, all of a sudden, it's like, wow, I can skate to invoke. Okay, cool. I'm going to do that though. That was my first like program when I toured stars on ice and people were just like, whoa, like, here's the young Gucci and a Boostie and Skate and Vogue. That's, you know, during fun, I'm like, but this is actually more me than the classical kind of put together, skater, you're used to seeing. You know, there's just a lot more freedom. And then it's your projecting to 15,000 people versus just the nine sitting at the side of the ice. Yeah. Well, I love that notion of just a little bit more freedom, right? Like a little bit more freedom of expression and getting to be who you really are, rather than like having to fit in a more constructed box. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. But so back to discipline, I mean, you have created this amazing organization, Always Dream, which has been around for many decades now. And you've also written children's books. Did that come out of building this literacy organization? Kind of the other way around. I think the books, yeah, our kids were four and six up the time the books came out and, you know, he'd age and just really wanted to create something that they would like mom to read to them. And after those books, I was fortunate to be able to do a book tour and visit many schools, libraries, read to kids and just be exposed to that world. And, you know, I loved it. And I loved seeing the excitement on kids' faces. Like, it can be as rowdy and crazy and then as soon you start reading a book to them, they just sit in there like, they want to hear what's the story is. What comes next? And it was very cool. So I think that's when I started to dig into some of the literacy statistics in our country, realizing how critical reading books to your children are early on was. So, you know, it all kind of just came together kind of at the same time. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I see. And so do you have more books in you? Are you? Yes. I'm hoping. Yeah, I actually just talked to my new editor and we're throwing around ideas. So I'm still kind of waiting here back from her to kind of see like, oh, okay, we kind of like this direction. Want me to go there? No, we'll see. Yeah, I definitely want to keep doing children's books. It's been a long gap, you know, COVID through through me off. I can't wait. Oh, after COVID, after COVID. And I know it's been a long time since COVID. I just, I mean, we're still all having PTSD from it. So not really. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, writing children's books is art. Did you find it can naturally to you or did you really have to research develop, learn? Yeah, it was, it was a different learning curve for sure. The first book, Dream Big Little Pig, I did work with a writer, right? So that was helpful to kind of get the idea of the structure of a children's book. Because you know, it's a children's picture book. So not your writing, but you also want to allow the illustrations to help you tell the story you do. And then I did the second two books on my own. It's a big world little pig and then cares kindness. And it was hard because I had specific stories I wanted to tell and little life lessons kind of embedded in them. And I just tend to be too wordy. So it's like my editor would come back and say, oh, yeah, cut this down, cut this down. So I mean, you realize how hard it is to bring across a message in very few words. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing about children's books, right? It's like you have to convey a story. And the pictures, right? The illustrations are a huge part of being able to forward that story without words. Yes. Yeah. And it kind of sets the mood too. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well good. So maybe more children's books. Hopefully. Yeah. Hopefully in the next year or so. Another book. We'll see. Yeah. Well, this podcast episode is releasing in the month of May, which we know is a N H P I month and also mental health awareness month. And so I'm curious. You must be very busy during the month of May. Yeah. It's been more like that. I think in more recent years. Right. Yeah. Really nice to see the celebration and the community to really come together and celebrate, you know, our heritages. You know, I think particularly. Asian cultures tend to be more quiet about their heritage or accomplishments or whatever, but I think it's great to be able to celebrate it and to expose more people to what they mean to the world, mean to our country and the customs that people enjoy, but maybe not understand. So it gets busier and I think it's great and a nice way for people to kind of reach out to each other and just to be more open to learning. Yeah, for sure. What is one aspect of your heritage that brings you a lot of joy? Hmm, that's a good question. I don't know if anyone's ever asked me that before. It brings me joy. The easy thing is just to say food, right? There's just every culture centers around food. I think that's always the source of comfort, joy, anytime you think of celebrations, like in Japanese culture, lunar New Year, as much, every week celebrate with everyone else. But the big day is actually January 1st. And I just remember growing up like both sides of the families coming together and there just be a house full of people, everyone bringing some traditional Japanese dishes and good luck dishes, eating certain foods, January 1st, you know, always having that, being really, really good memories. Yeah, that's interesting because I was actually just thinking about that not too long ago. I was talking to somebody about lunar New Year because obviously it's just passed not too long ago. And talking about how different somebody is asking me, do you say lunar New Year? Do you say Chinese New Year? And I said, well, I mean, obviously my background is Chinese, but I say lunar New Year because more than one culture celebrates the New Year. It's not just the Chinese culture from an Asian. And I was thinking about it, I'm like, do they celebrate lunar New Year in Japan? You don't hear about it as much. Yeah, you don't. I don't think they do. I mean, I don't know this for sure. It's obviously not for the Asian. But I do know the January 1st is really the big day of New Year day for Japanese culture. Yeah, well, one of the things I was saying because January 1st is obviously the New Year for everybody. And I was thinking about it just this past January when it changed over. And I thought, you know, because sometimes in my mind, I'm like, oh, January 1st, it's sort of like, I mean, I know it's based on physics. It's like how many days it takes for the planet and the sun and all of this. But it is kind of an arbitrary date. And then I was like, well, it's not because it's grounded in nature. And I said, and also one of the things that I'm coming to really love about January 1st is that it's kind of one of the only global agreements that we have. You're human. You know, it's like the New Year. Yeah, you're right. And we need more global agreements. Yes. Don't be for sure. Yeah. We have always keep that in mind. It's possible. January 1st, everyone. New year. Yes. For sure. So mental health awareness month. I mean, the work that we do through the Bruce Lee Foundation and the work that you do through always dream is really about establishing a certain amount of confidence, right? And foundational skills for youth that helps them to move forward in the world in a better way. And I'm curious, do you have any practices like for when you get stressed or for when you are challenged in some way that you turn to that have been good tools for you? Yes. I mean, from skating days, you know, we didn't have a whole lot of knowledge of sports psychology or mental health back then. But, you know, my coach was very progressive and very wanted to provide a lot of resources to our students. So she actually did regularly bring in the sports psychologist for her students to work with like every few years. She would bring someone in and, you know, they would teach us some coping skills, especially, you know, in a sport you can prepare as much as you can. And you can be ready physically. But if you go out there and you're not mentally prepared, it's just that's the difference really between maybe first and second place. So, you know, it was 90% mental when she get to the competition. So, you know, she really understood that and she tried to give her students everything they could, the tools. So I did a lot of visualization and I think anyone can use this in their life. They're preparing for something really big that they're anxious about visualizing how you see it going, right? So, it was really, really, really difficult to do. So, I think it was really difficult to do that. I think it was really difficult to do that. For some reason that calmed me down and I felt sleep right away. I think it was my mind at ease like, okay, I can do it. This is what my plan is tomorrow. So, I think seeing that in visualizing, it helps you believe it as well. Breathing, I think, is so key. Also serving on the Governor's Advisory Council for Physical Fitness and Mental Wellbeing here in California. So, we focus a lot on breathing and centering. For all of our meetings, we do some kind of centering exercise. So, I think kids in school are starting to learn a little bit about that and how it calms you down. It really brings your heart rate down. It actually makes you focus a little more. And then, sometimes I kind of laugh when I became a mom. And then had two toddlers running around. I was like, you know, people are like, how do you do it? And I'm not a mom expert at all. But, you know, I found that sometimes I would like, this is back in the day where we actually read magazines. We didn't have tablets or anything like that. But I would take like a magazine into my closet because it's really the only place that I can have quiet. Like, I would be leaving my kids alone. And I'm so in it was watching. Or I knew they were fine. But I would just go there for like 10 minutes, have my own space, read a magazine, read a book, or whatever it was. I mean, I'm sure people would just go in there with their phones now or whatever. But, you know, and it would just be enough to recharge. And I think people need to remember to do that every day, whether it's the first thing in the morning. Give yourself five or 10 minutes somewhere where it's just you and what you want to do. Drinking your coffee, like taking a walk, you know, getting outside, I think is the best equalizer. You know, just nature is magical. So, and it just, I think it does so much positive for your brain. Oh, for sure. I think what you said about recharging is so important because we tend to be in a society where we burn out before we recharge. Like we reach burnout. And that is the signal for recharge. And it's like, no, no. Yes. You need to, you want to take that time every day or as much as you can. So that you don't reach that point, right? Yeah. No, definitely. Yeah. Well, and I think what you said is important to an important reminder, which is that, you know, these are your tools. These are the tools that have worked for you in different situations. And that there are a huge variety of tools, right? So like you would go in your closet and take 10 minutes with your magazine, which I totally respect. You know, and, and maybe that's what works for you. And maybe it's, you know, going for a walk for someone else or getting the phone or meditating or whatever it is, right? Yeah. And that it's important to understand what things work for you and not to just, because I, I see a lot of people sometimes say like, "I'm not meditating is good for me. I have to meditate." And it's like, but I don't like meditating or it's hard for me or, you know, and it's like, well, there are lots of other things you can, you know. But on your favorite music, whatever, you know, what works. Yeah. Get up and dance. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You are also on dancing with the stars, right? Oh, yes. Yes. That was a fun time. Yeah. You need to do it. Maybe you should do it. Oh, no. It's so fun, it really is. It's exhausting. It's like a thing. Yeah. But, yeah, they're just a really great group of people and they really do all they can to get you dancing and having fun out there. And, yeah, that was crazy challenge for sure. But, it's a fun time. It sounds like you like a challenge, which is, that's true. I think, yeah, if I'm ready for it, it took me a few months to, no, maybe not a few months, like a month to agree to do the show. Because I wasn't sure I was up for that challenge, but I think challenges are good in life. You need to kind of step off the curb sometimes and be like, oh, can I do this? You know, it's always nice. I think it keeps life interesting. And, yeah. It stretches you. I imagine that things that you learned about yourself or that you grew in a certain way, just from having that experience. Right, right. Or, even if it just brings you joy, like joy is fortifying to us. No, definitely. Yeah. I do have to tell you what my new challenge these days? Oh, yeah, let's see. Let's come through. Hey, hey. (laughing) Yes. Well, that is a challenge. Yeah, it is a challenge. And, I mean, as far as talking about the mental side of life and everything, I didn't realize how much I had kind of let that side go until I took a self-defense class with my kids. Yeah. It was great. It was, you know, five week thing and learned some great stuff. I wanted them to feel comfortable before they went off to school, you know, on their own, that they could, they had some self-defense tools in their belt ever needed. But then I realized, oh, I'm not gonna remember any of this if I don't keep it up. So I actually signed up to continue on with some classes. Okay. And I realized right away how my mind was not connected with my body anymore. Like my whole life, it was, right? Like I would learn choreography. I would, you know, be able to perform with the music and then also I couldn't remember what I was just taught 10 minutes ago and how to do it and what the name of it was. (laughing) And I was like, oh, this is like that. I know I'm getting older, but though, I was like, I think this is a good challenge for me. And you realize how much martial arts is the whole mind body spirit in-- It is. How connected it is. And yeah, I just felt really good doing it. And it's a constant challenge every time. There you go. But in a good way, in a good way. Yeah, yeah. Are you studying a particular style or is it mostly still basic self-defense? Yeah, so the style is called Bacfudo. So I think it translates to system of the white tiger. Oh. The, yeah. So yeah, he, Grandmaster Richard Lee, is the founder of the system. So he, I know, studied back in China and, you know, ironically, that school is like 10 minutes from my house. So it's very convenient. And that they compete internationally, like I don't, but, you know, his top people in the system do. Yeah. So it's amazing to watch them, like the brown and black belts and how they move. And, OK, I don't think I'll ever achieve up to that level. But, you know, it's great to see, you know, try. What's the thing ever? You never know. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, I really do believe in martial arts training. I mean, and that is what we do through the Bruce Lee Foundation is we empower you through martial arts and mindfulness. Because in my experience, martial arts training is very body mind spirit connecting. And it teaches you how to be in your body, how to utilize your energy, how to focus your mind in positive and enriching ways, and deal with your own emotions that come up because martial arts is, I mean, you know, it's punching and kicking and stuff. And it's a lot of sort of movement that can unlock a lot of feelings inside of you at the same time and to maintain your skill as you are moving through all of these different experiences. So I believe that it's just a great thing. You don't have to become a black belt. You don't have to, you know, any of that. But just to have that experience, I think, is really grounding. And really confidence building. Yeah, no, it absolutely is. And you see that. You see that even in the kids' classes when they're coming in and, you know, they're confidence building. And, you know, even some of the young teenagers who are teaching some of the little ones and the confidence they have, it's really incredible. But yeah, I would totally recommend it, you know, to anyone out there, any level, you know, we're-- Any level, any level. Salt class and you're learning no matter what level you are. Totally, totally. Yeah. Well, I hope that you're enjoying it. You're enjoying it? Oh, yeah, definitely. No, I've been enjoying it. I'm in my fourth year of doing it. So-- Oh, wow. Yeah. Yes. So it's not like brand new. You've been doing it for a minute. Yes. I've been doing it for a minute. And yeah, I'm hopefully testing to go up to the new belt level that we'll see. Oh, it's-- I don't know. I feel like doing you the next time we talk, you're going to be like, oh, yeah, I have a black belt now. Oh, no. I'll be probably 80 years old. I can have a-- That's OK. [LAUGHTER] Well, that's awesome. That's awesome. So I like to wrap up the podcast by asking all of my guests to share some piece of wisdom or some lesson or some thing that you have learned in your life, that if you could just wrap it up like a gift and give it to someone else, what might that be? Oh, I think it's all about setting your compass, setting your direction, right? Knowing where you want to go and believing in it, like really having that belief and determination behind where you want to go. Because everyone's facing challenges. Everyone, life is hard, right? It's not going to be an easy, smooth ride. There's going to be challenges, bumps, obstacles to get over. And don't be afraid of those. Those are making you stronger. You can't have success without failure. And keep that in mind. And use that to motivate you. But as long as you keep your compass, your eye on that, your north star, anything's possible. Yeah. No, I love that. I mean, my dad said goals aren't always meant to be reached, but they give you something to aim at. And it's sort of like, so if you always have that thing that you're moving toward and you're willing to fail and learn from your mistakes and fail and learn from your mistake, whether your trajectory shifts at any point in time and the goal changes doesn't matter. Yeah. It's more about like you just keep going toward whatever feel, whatever that thing is, right? Yes. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Kristi. For being a guest, please everybody check out the show notes, learn more about Kristi, how to follow her and engage with her, and learn about always dream and support always dream. They do such important work. And I'm really grateful that you had the time to sit down and have a chat. Yes. No, thank you, Shannon. It's my pleasure. And yes, it's been a fun chat for sure. I've learned a lot too. So that's what this is all about, right? Exchange of information and ideas. And together we will make each other better. So thank you for being here. I look forward to seeing you again. I know our paths cross every now and again. So hopefully, thank you. Yeah, hopefully soon. So all right. Well, thanks everyone. That's the episode. And thank you, Kristi. And we'll see you next time on the Bruce Lee podcast. Bruce Lee Foundation edition. I hope you enjoyed that conversation. Again, if you want to support the work of the Bruce Lee Foundation and help us to continue to build out amazing programming and expand our amazing programming to empower youth, mental wellness, through martial arts and mindfulness. You can do that at Bruce Lee Foundation.org. Just hit the donate button. We appreciate your support. We appreciate you listening to these amazing and remarkable human beings. And we thank you for being amazing and remarkable human beings as well. [Music]