EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to our 12 reps feature. In each appearance of 12 Reps, our coaches, writers, and occasional guests will be answering the same twelve questions each time. Go “into the locker-room” with them and get to know our coaches and writers a little bit better!
12 Reps With Fitness and Martial Arts Coach Eric C. Stevens
1. Who was your first coach and what did he or she teach you?
My first coach was my little league baseball coach Jim Booth and he taught me to treat people with compassion and respect. He taught me to smile when I play.
My first coach in the martial arts was Sifu Mark Bryant who taught me that breathing is the most important thing and that words have only the power we give them. He taught me how to take hits and get back up.
2. Who is the coach you most admire?
Sifu. Vince Lombardi. Coach K.
3. If you could have a superhero power, what would it be?
To fly.
4. What athlete, dead or alive, would you most like to talk with?
Jackie Robinson. Ali.
5. When did you know that coaching was your calling?
In 2001 when I sought out my true calling. I took nine months off to soul search and ended up training and helping others. My calling is to love and create, and hopefully inspire and motivate others in the process.
6. What is the best and hardest part about being a coach?
The best part is helping others achieve their goals and dreams and the hardest part is watching some fail or come up short. Also, babysitting is a highly overrated part of coaching.
7. What is your favorite physical activity or exercise?
Boxing, running, and cycling – can I choose three?
8. What is your favorite “cheat” food?
Baked goods and French fries.
9. What is your biggest accomplishment?
Having the courage to try and face my fears.
10. What do you bring to your students/clients that is different than other coaches and programs?
I believe that the body follows the mind. It’s not popular or necessarily profitable to talk about our fears emotionally. However, the key to our success on the field, in our bodies, and in our health and wellness begins and ends with tough questions and being able to face them. To that end, I find it increasingly necessary to speak truthfully and with love and compassion in doing so. I am a coach for the passion and purpose of it, but I am ultimately only interested in truth.
11. What is you favorite quote?
“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” – Jim Morrison
12. What was/is your favorite sport and why?
Boxing. I love the rhythm. It has a beauty and savageness. It’s full of paradox, just like life.
Click here to read articles from Eric.
If you missed any editions of 12 Reps, be sure to check out our archives. You never know who we might talk to and what might get said!
