We have had a good summer. The NBA finals (granted they ended just before the summer started) were riveting. There was badassitude aplenty. We watched two very good teams, with very determined players who each wanted a piece of that championship trophy, go hard at the each other and leave it all on the court. We were satisfied, as should everyone else have been, that Kobe, Rondo and all the Lakers and Celtics were badass.

Then came the world cup. We started off thinking the usual suspects, the stars of the big European teams and leagues would dominate the competition. Were we ever so wrong? For many of them, if you did not know who they were before the opening game, you even knew less about them by the end. Rooney and the entire England squad, Ronaldo and the entire Portugal squad, the entire Italy squad, the entire France squad were notably forgettable. Unknown kids from Germany, Uruguay, Ghana, shone the brightest. Totally badass. The vuvuzelas were, love them or hate them, unforgettable. Yes we have had a great summer.

But now, we are starting to think about the next NFL season, the next NBA season, the premier league, La Liga et al. We are considering some ideas for all of you to show your badassitude in the next season. More to come. Watch this space for more.

For now, join our page on Facebook and lets put our heads together to do great things. Here is how:
How to join our BadaSSitude page on Facebook:
1) Go to our Badassitude Fan Page on Facebook
2) Click “Add to My Page’s Favorites”
3) Click “Suggest to Friends” to the left
4) Invite all your friends
5) Click the “Share” button to the lower left
4) Select to share with “Everyone” and Click “Share” to complete the process.

We were looking around today, and talking to some badass friends of ours. We were talking about organizations that give assists to the community. One of the guys started getting passionate about the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. We had heard about the organization before. In fact, at the time we decided to start the BadaSSitude assist campaign, it was one of the causes we felt we would need to highlight at some point.

The Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization has a rather simple mission. In their own words, they “… help children realize their potential and build their futures. We nurture children and strengthen communities. And we couldn’t do any of it without you.” Such concise clarity is one of the greater marks of badassitude you will find anywhere. It’s a great call, an awesome call for an assist. You can find out more about the organization by visiting the Big Brothers and Big Sisters website. And you can help build a large community of volunteers by visiting our Badassitude page on Facebook.

How to join our BadaSSitude page on Facebook:
1) Click here to Go to our Badassitude Fan Page on Facebook
2) Click “Add to My Page’s Favorites”
3) Click “Suggest to Friends” to the left
4) Invite all your friends
5) Click the “Share” button to the lower left
4) Select to share with “Everyone” and Click “Share” to complete the process.

A guy we know, a smart guy, himself a real badass, saw our post from last night and he dropped us a note. His point was a rather simple one – he asked that we must encourage people to provide an assist for a cause in a very specific way. We agree. So today, we want to encourage all you badasses out there to get involved at some level in youth mentoring. There is something about youth mentoring that is truly badass. Truly rewarding. A very satisfying assist for kids that we know could use as many assists as they can get.

A mentor is defined in the dictionary as a “trusted counselor or guide”. A mentor is usually order, always more experienced and he or she helps and guides another individual’s development. We particularly want to urge youth mentoring. There are a very large number of young men and women who need support and guidance in their lives whose lives could benefit tremendously and change if they received a solid assist, guidance and counseling from an older more experienced, committed person – a badass willing to share the wisdom that informs their badassitude.

Good mentoring demands more than just good intentions. It is serious business. It involves the challenging task of creating new trusting relationships in a very short period of time and it could require training. It calls for a self assessment that looks deep inside to see what and how much you have to give. It could require a back ground check and probing questions. The mentoring relationship created with the mentee will almost always have to end or change very dramatically. It will require that you adapt and adapt. But all these challenges are things that make a badass. All this that is needed to be a good mentor is what badassitude really truly is.

So we are making a call for mentors. We are urging youth mentoring. Join our Facebook page and lets share how and where we can all help. And bring a friend. Bring all your friends.

How to join our BadaSSitude page on Facebook:
1) Click here to Go to our Badassitude Fan Page on Facebook
2) Click “Add to My Page’s Favorites”
3) Click “Suggest to Friends” to the left
4) Invite all your friends
5) Click the “Share” button to the lower left
4) Select to share with “Everyone” and Click “Share” to complete the process.

Today we take a moment to ponder a side of badassitude that we have not often spoken about. Among many things, we believe that badassitude describes the desire and commitment to do better, to shine as an individual. We also believe that badassitude describes the desire and commitment to do better, to excel and shine as part of a team. Badasses live in communities, are employed in workplaces, have families, go to schools etc., etc.

In the next few weeks and months, we will try our absolute best to push, cajole and convince all to focus on giving the community an assist – a badassitude assist. We will focus on giving a assists to the larger society, a commitment to bring out the badassitude a.k.a. the best in others in their daily lives. Helping, getting involved is as true a measure of badassitude as there is. We want our badass friends to join us on Facebook and create the biggest group of badasses that ever got together anywhere, to spread our wings and share causes that we want to help with and are assisting with. Bring a friend. Bring many friends.

Here is how to join our BadaSSitude page on Facebook:
1. Click here to Go to our Badassitude Page on Facebook
2. Click the “Like” button
3. Click “Add to My Page’s Favorites”
4. Click “Suggest to Friends” to the left
5. Invite all your friends
6. Click the “Share” button to the lower left
7. Select to share with “Everyone” and Click “Share” to complete the process.

So Spain finally won the world cup. Definitely badass. With all the talent they had on the field, one would have been forgiven for thinking that it should have been easier. Their badassitude took a little bit to show but show it did. Netherlands gave it a good solid try. They worked hard, they were tough and rough (the high kick by de Jong to Alonso’s solar plexus comes to mind). Very badass. You could not miss their badassitude. Hey, it was the world cup final. You bring it all and leave it all on the field. In fact to this fan, the Spaniards cried and protested one too many times for my taste.

Both teams had great chances, Robben had the 2 most open chances in the game and failed to put the game away both times. Iniesta got a clean one and he put it away for Spain. His quality is beyond belief. On a side note, hopefully Fabregas came to his senses from spending a month with a bunch of Barcelona midfielders, each of whom was clearly preferred and started ahead of him. His choice is a simple one – warm the bench at Barca or become great at Arsenal. Looks like an easy choice to me.

Earlier, we shared our thoughts on the Lesnar v Carwin fight. For many unsophisticated viewers, and even sophisticated viewers with a very strict standard for ending a fight, Carwin should have been handed that fight with a referee stoppage. As it happened, the referee allowed the fight to continue and Brock, having played possum for the entire first round, knowing that Carwin had never gone past the first round, came back in the second round, still fresh and submitted Carwin.

Brock Lesnar is 6’3”, 265 pounds of pure unadulterated badassitude. Carwin is one of the very, very few fighters who match up reasonably with Lesnar physically and with regard to talent. The difference is in the natural conditioning capacity, fitness and endurance. Lesnar is a freak of nature who is incredibly big, incredibly strong, fast, tough, very well conditioned. And that is before we start talking about his fighting chops. He really is a badass. But we know badassitude. If you have more of it, and you are smarter, you will win.

So how do you beat Brock Lesnar? Here are a few ideas:
1. Like we pointed out, Lesnar is a freak. That means that in a fight with this guy, bring your lunch. You cannot go in thinking that you can end the fight quickly. Your conditioning must be exceptional. Be ready to work.
2. Your stand up defense must be impeccable. Lesnar is so strong that a clean or even semi clean shot at your chin or any area in that neighborhood is game over. You cannot allow him a clean shot at anything above your neck.
3. Give him something to think about. We have noticed that this guy does not think anyone else can hurt him. He comes at his opponents with little concern for their power. We think if an opponent gave him something to think about, he might come out with more caution. We like spinning moves. A well executed spinning back kick in the bread basket might tame his advances. Heck, well timed and higher, it might even end the fight.
4. Good, solid martial arts techniques win every time! Keep your eyes on every single possible move of your opponent. Keep an eye out for your opponents’ weaknesses, think about how to exploit those weakness and move very, very fast to exploit the weakness.
5. If you have Lesnar on the ground, and you have a dominant position, THINK SUBMISSION HOLD. Don’t waste your time trying to pound him into submission.
6. Be efficient. Go back into your martial arts arsenal. Think through all the years you have been taught near lethal techniques. Find a few that fit his style of attack and use them to put him to sleep. The only hits that will affect this guy are the surprise, clean martial arts hits that are effective for their effectiveness and efficiency, not brute force because he owns that arena.
7. When on the ground, whatever you do must be part of a bigger plan to submit him via a hold. You must not expect to pound him into submission. You must think submission hold.
We like our ideas. What do you thihk?

We watched the Lesnar v Carwin and we were so surprised at what we saw from Lesnar, we decided to take a moment to think about it. Lesnar played possum for the entire first round so effectively, everyone with half a fighting IQ thought that the fight was over. In fact, one could argue that the referee should have stopped that fight in the first round. And we think it is a legitimate argument. Having said that, these guys are so big, so strong, so wound up and determined to fight, that the only fair way to stop that fight had to be when someone either submitted or was fully knocked out. But we still don’t like how Lesnar lay down for an entire round even though the amount of punishment he took deserves a couple of points on his man-card.

So we got to thinking: How do you beat Brock Lesnar?

We have some thoughts….