My Sifu is talking to me. In the roar of the crowd, I can't hear plus there's this roaring, weird roaring going on in my ears. He's got my face like this and he's talking really close... I can't hear him. It's so loud in my head, and my knees are literally shaking.
The bell goes and I turn around and it all disappears! Now, I fought… I've seen the video, but I entered such a profound state of flow that I was not conscious of what I was doing in the Canadian national championships in my weight class, kick-boxing.
That started an almost fifty year obsession now. What the heck happened? Where did I go? How could I do so well if I wasn't present?
It wasn't until I took public speaking training that started to push me into those pressurized situations over and over that I was able to see. It was the adrenaline! It was the norepinephrine in my body that opened the door to flow.
That's why I love public speaking. It's a lot easier than trying to get in a ring and fight somebody who's trying to knock your head off! That feeling of flow is so delicious, of being fully self expressed… Of not even knowing what's gonna come out of your mouth next and yet it's good.
You have to practice a lot and you have to practice under pressure.