Matt Abrahams

It is.

But they are able to switch in and out of that in a way that is hard for me and certainly hard for some of the people I work with.

I enjoy the question.

Thank you.

I don't often talk about my martial arts.

I've been doing it over 40 years, and it's very much a part of who I am.

And I absolutely think what I've learned in the martial arts have helped me do better at what I do, and I think what I do has helped me be better in the martial arts.

There is a presence and a connection that you need to have to do martial arts well, especially when you're working with somebody else.

It gives a kind of confidence,

that I know I can handle myself in circumstances I don't expect to be attacked, but I know that in a situation where things go sideways, that I can have some presence about myself.

And that confidence is invaluable in everything I do.

And martial arts is really a form of communication.

I'm observing what my opponent or that my training partner is doing.

I am trying to connect and anticipate the next move, but not get locked into it.

It really trains your brain and your body to be responsive and to be open.

People focus a lot on the martial, but the art side is really what, as I get older, is what really attracts me.

Art is about expression, style, connection.

And that to me, as I've matured in my training,

has really become this new wealth of knowledge.

You know, somebody say you've been studying the same thing for 40 years.