No Shortcuts

While the new year technically began a few days ago, as far as training is concerned, it feels like 2026 really starts today.

I feel happy and quietly excited to still be here, still training. At the same time, I’ve begun to notice just how many people are selling online courses in a style not unlike what I intend to create.

Watching their Facebook ads has been unexpectedly useful. What stands out almost immediately is that the words matter very little. If the images — and more importantly, the movement — don’t feel real, I lose interest fast. Poor basics dressed up with big promises are impossible to hide. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

So what am I learning?

Movement matters. Production matters. These courses can’t just explain ideas — they need to feel embodied. They need structure, rhythm, and intention. Almost like small films, each with a beginning, a middle, and an end that actually earns its place.

Anything less than that feels hollow.

It’s good to realise this now. When the time comes to film, I won’t get endless chances. It will need to be done properly, with care, patience, and investment. No shortcuts. Luckily, my past life has given me the filmmaking skills and the eye to see what’s missing. Now I need to match that with deeper understanding of movement and practice.

It feels good to start the year focused.

Monday was a good day. Nothing remarkable happened. I simply enjoyed learning a new form under the winter sun. The light felt warm, almost familiar, even as the movements themselves felt foreign.

I worked through the sequence slowly, noticing how much quicker my body understands these days. Not perfect — never that — but more receptive. I don’t take that lightly. Small progress still counts.

Now I’m watching the coaches train. They are exceptional, yet they still show up every day. Still drilling, still refining, still repeating the same fundamentals.

Whether they train to improve, to understand more deeply, or simply because this is what they do hardly matters.

The message is clear enough.