This weekend, the gym I co-own hosted a seminar with kettlebell guru Steve Cotter. The event was great, and brought in fifty or so folks, ranging from a Navy SEAL and a member of the New York FBI Swat Team through to a couple in their late 60’s.

One thing I’ve noticed about the people our gym, and seminars like this one, tend to attract, is that they’re actually really, really humble and friendly. It’s something I noticed, too, in the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts fighting. Take Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, who’s a member of one of our sister gyms, and a world MMA champion. And also an amazingly nice guy.

He’s a strong contrast with a lot of Tae Kwon Do or Aikido black belts I’ve met, who seem proud to proclaim themselves the second coming of Bruce Lee. Or with the body-building mooks at most Gold’s Gyms, who do their best to condescendingly freeze out any less steroidal folks unfortunate enough to walk into their facilities.

In both of those situations, as there’s no reality check on performance, it’s easy for folks to start eating their own dog food, believing they really are as good as it gets. But in a mixed martial arts gym, anyone training is all too aware that, on a given day, some guy with no formal training but a natural right hook might walk in the door and knock one of the most seasoned fighters onto their ass. And, similarly, at CrossFit NYC, the top ranked finisher of a workout one day might the next place ‘DFL’ – dead fucking last.

It’s a good reminder that, in real life, no matter how good you are, there’s always somebody better. And no matter how well you do some things, there are others at which you, in short, suck balls. It can even keep a self-aggrandizer like me from believing his own hype. Which means it’s, undoubtedly, some strong – and hugely beneficial – medicine.

[I haven’t really been pimping out CrossFit NYC on this site, as the gym has been growing almost faster than we can handle without any outside effort. Still, if you’re looking for a great community, the most effective and efficient way to get into world class shape from wherever you’re starting, or just a quick route to looking hot in a bathing suit, stop on by.]