PrintI’ve been an insulin-dependent diabetic for over 30 years. The journey has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, and through it I have learned that sometimes adversity is our greatest teacher. By viewing adversity as opportunity, people can discover their true selves and reach their full potential in life. My name is Joel A Levy. I am a teacher, a mentor, and a coach.
As a lifetime martial artist, I simply can not imagine my life without the martial arts. I have always loved martial arts, even before I began to study it. I even remember the first book I ever bought on martial arts. I got it at my first grade book fair in the early 1970’s. Today I hold several ranks in the martial arts, and have been inducted into several Martial Arts Halls of Fame. I am a recognized Grandmaster of Kickboxing, American Freestyle Karate, and of Continuous Full Contact Karate. I also hold the rank of 6th Degree Black Belt in the Superfoot System under living legend, Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace. In addition, I am an internationally certified Executive Protection Specialist, and an instructor at a top bodyguard training camp.
At the peak of my athleticism at the age of 27, due to severe diabetic retinopathy, I became blind in my left eye. This was a gradual process, which involved 18 laser surgeries, three vitrectomies to attempt to reattach a detached retina that just didn’t want to stay on, and one cataract surgery, just as a bonus. My physical prowess, and everything that I had worked for had become severely compromised. Because I could no longer see things coming from my left, I could no longer compete in the martial arts at the level to which I was accustomed. My whole world changed. I literally felt that without the martial arts I was going to die. I had to figure out a way to stay involved.
By that time in my life I had already earned a Masters Degree in education. I was a teacher in the New Jersey public school system. In the midst of my frustration over what I believed I had lost, suddenly my focus changed and I realized what I had gained. It was then that my ‘true self’ revealed itself to me. I realized that I was born to teach, mentor and coach others. I understood that for me, the expertise I had gained in the martial arts was only the preparation for what was to really be my path. I decided to open a martial arts school, and pass on what I had learned to others.
From that point forward all of my training and everything that I continued to develop on my own was no longer about me. It was about making my students live up to their own potential, and hopefully become better than me. I began thinking of ways to present information and material differently. I wasn’t just going to teach the way I was taught. I decided that I would continuously innovate new and creative ways to help my students become successful, and to show them the unlimited potential they had inside.
What I didn’t realize when I first opened my school was that it would be so much more than teaching physical skill. My new role, so much more important than being a competitive martial artist, was to be a Life-Coach to others. Martial Arts just happened to be a great vehicle.
There’s an expression in Japanese that kind of puts it in perspective. It states that a Sensei is a thousand fathers. It made me realize that I would become a Coach and a Mentor to many. In that role, I would teach that the martial arts aren’t just about technique, but the quality of your character. I knew I had the opportunity to have a positive impact on people’s lives. To help them discover their true selves and reach their true potential through their training.
After the doctors told me that my left eye would be permanently blind, and that I could no longer participate in any contact sports, I went through various stages of anger, and depression. When I was done feeling sorry for myself, I realized that to go forward, I had to find the advantage in my adversity. As soon as I began to search for what was good about my situation, I realized that if I just shifted my focus, I could pour all of my energy into teaching and do it my own way. Essentially I had to allow myself to die as an athlete in order to be completely reborn as a coach. The best part about doing that was, I knew that my gloves were hung up for good, so there was nothing more to prove. My new focus was to help as many other people as possible become the best that they could be through ongoing training in my academy. Deep inside, I knew that I could train other martial artists to be better than I was, and even better than I may have been. That became my new focus, and my new passion.
Make no mistake about it, adversity will come in everyone’s life. When viewed in the right perspective, this is often the turning point where people discover their true calling. For that transformation to take place, one has to decide that adversity equals opportunity. As strange as it may seem, to recognize that opportunity, one must be genuinely grateful for the adversity, with full faith that opportunity will appear.
Once you discover who you really are, and what your unique purpose is, you are ready to begin. Your job is to develop yourself to the best of your ability in the thing that you love to do and for which you are naturally inclined. That thing can become your particular area of genius, because nobody will do it quite like you.
To complete the circle, you must now use this talent in the form of useful service to others. If you are as lucky as I am, or make the conscious choice to do so, you can even make your living at it. The greatest thing is that through helping others, you will continuously improve yourself.
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