What You Do When Your Back Is Against the Wall

At the hapkido studio, three of the four corners had windows or mirrors.

If you broke them, you got teased. You got ridiculed. And you had to pay for the replacement.

A good rule, I think.

Yes, I had to pay for a broken mirror once.

I have no memory of how much it cost, so it could not have been that much.

But there was one corner, the northwest corner, that was all cinderblock wall.

And as upper belts, we loved maneuvering our training partners into that corner.

Because they had no way out.

You could pummel them to your heart’s content.

You knew you were not going to break anything. Except your training partner. Cue evil laughter.

But that was what we were there for.

And you knew if the tables were turned, your partner would do the same to you.

That was how we made each other better.

In that corner.

Because in that corner, you had only two options.

Fight your way out or roll over and cry uncle.

The hapkido version of the BJJ tap.

It has taken me a long time to learn to tap.

Even though they have been telling me for almost three years.

Set your ego aside. Tapping is part of it.

But I still have that old hapkido chihuahua mentality.

The one that wants to fight its way out of the corner.

The Corner Ukraine Is In

That is where Ukraine is right now.

As a country, they will not roll over and tap.

They are in a corner on their own.

Sure, they are getting help from NATO.

And sometimes, when there is good leadership in the US, the US helps them too. But they cannot depend on it.

They are facing gross violations of their sovereign rights and autonomy. And they have decided to fight their way out.

So much so that they have completely changed how war will be waged. Forever.

Ukraine has brought what I used to play as a paper and cardboard tabletop wargame to reality. I remember playing G.E.V. and Ogre from Metagaming back in the late seventies, early eighties.

I do not remember exactly when.

But it was over forty years ago. And now it is here.

Autonomous warfare.

​Ukraine launched an autonomous boat to unload operator-controlled land craft while having air defense cover with airborne drones. Both guided and self-guided.

And Ukraine needed some way to deal with Russian aggression.

In the process, they brought us into a brave new world.

The Difference Between Struggle and Response

So many people struggle.

And the reason they struggle is not because of the conflict.

We all face conflict.

We all face challenges.

The reason they struggle is because of what they are willing to do to overcome them.

Most people cry.

They blame.

They hope someone else will save them.

They do their best. Even when their best is not good enough.

Warriors and leaders do whatever it takes.

They elevate themselves far beyond what anybody ever thought of them.

And in the process, they change the world.

Ukraine will win.

Eventually.

It sucks that they had to deal with this in the first place.

But that is not the question anymore.

The question is what are they going to do about it.

And they are answering that question every day with innovation born out of necessity.

Hard Times Create Hard Men

There is a saying.

Ukraine is in hard times.

They are being forged in a fire most of us will never understand.

And they are becoming hard.

Capable.

Inventive.

Dangerous.

They took the constraints of their environment and turned them into weapons.

They had less firepower than Russia. So they built drones.

Cheap.

Disposable.

Effective.

They had less air support. So they built autonomous fleets.

They had fewer soldiers.

So they multiplied force through technology.

They did not have the luxury of doing their best and hoping it would be enough.

They had to do whatever it took.

And that meant inventing new ways to fight.

New ways to defend.

New ways to survive and win.

That is what happens when your back is against the wall.

You either break or you become something new.

The Tabletop Game Made Real

When I was younger, I played wargames.

Tabletop strategy games with cardboard counters and hex maps.

G.E.V. and Ogre were about autonomous combat units.

Giant tanks. Hovercrafts. Drones.

Fighting wars where human soldiers were supported by machines that did not need to eat or sleep or morale checks.

It was science fiction then.

It is reality now.

Ukraine proved it.

They launched an autonomous boat from shore. That boat carried an autonomous land vehicle. That vehicles were covered by operator-controlled aerial drones and self-guided drones.

Some guided by operators miles away. Some operating on their own logic. Attack protocols baked into software.

That is not the future of warfare. That is the present.

And it happened because a country with its back against the wall could not afford to fight the old way.

So they invented a new one.

What Are You Willing to Do?

That is the question most people never ask themselves honestly.

Are you willing to do your best and hope it works out?

Because that is what most people do.

They try. They hope. They wait for conditions to improve. They wait for someone to save them.

And when it does not work, they blame the circumstances.

Or are you willing to do whatever it takes?

To invent new methods. To test new systems.

To fail and adapt and fail again and adapt again.

To keep pushing until the problem breaks or you do.

Warriors choose the second option.

Not because it feels good.

Because it is the only option that actually works when the stakes are real.

Ukraine is not doing their best.

They are doing whatever it takes.

And that is why they are still standing.

And that is why they will win.

The Corner You Are In

You are in a corner right now.

Maybe not the same corner Ukraine is in.

But a corner.

• Maybe your business is failing
• Maybe your marriage is breaking
• Maybe your health is gone
• Maybe your career has stalled
• Maybe you feel stuck in a life that stopped serving you years ago

You have two options.

The same two options I had in the northwest corner of the hapkido studio.

Fight your way out or tap.

Most people tap. They accept the situation.

They tell themselves they did their best. They blame the circumstances.

They wait for someone else to fix it. And they stay stuck.

A small percentage fight their way out.

They invent new methods.

They try things nobody else has tried.

They take risks nobody else is willing to take.

They fail more than everyone else because they are trying more than everyone else.

And eventually, they break through.

That is the difference.

Not talent. Not luck. Not circumstances.

Willingness.

The willingness to do whatever it takes instead of whatever feels comfortable.

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

Ukraine did not invent autonomous warfare because they wanted to.

They invented it because they had to.

That is how breakthroughs happen.

Not in comfort.

In crisis.

When your back is against the wall and the old methods do not work anymore and you either invent something new or you lose.

The same applies to your life.

You will not invent a new version of yourself while you are comfortable.

You will not build new skills while the old ones are still working.

You will not take real risks while the safe path is still available.

You change when you have to.

When the corner is closing in and the only way out is through.

When doing your best is no longer enough and you have to find a way to do better.

That is where growth lives.

In the corner.

With your back against the wall.

With no excuses left and no one coming to save you.

What You Do Next

It sucks that life is unfair.

It sucks that you are getting your ass kicked.

That is not the issue.

The issue is what are you going to do about it.

Are you going to cry? Blame? Hope someone else fixes it? Do your best and call it enough even when it is not?

Or are you going to fight your way out? Invent new methods. Test new systems. Do whatever it takes until the problem breaks or you do.

Ukraine is in a corner. They chose to fight.

They invented autonomous warfare. They changed the world.

You are in a corner too.

What are you going to invent?

⚔ The Dojo Drill

Today’s training:

The Endurance Drill

Do one physical activity you usually avoid.

Walk. Run. Lift.

Build resilience.

📚 Leader’s Library

Book I recommend this week:

​​​Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink​

Why?

Because if you don't take ownership for your life, you are giving your power away, making you weaker, more stupid and less successful.

P.S. Know a martial arts gym owner who’s stressed about money or student numbers?

Do them a favor: send them to The Leader's Dōjō, my website where I help owners get more students and keep them longer with simple systems.

One forward from you could change their gym: The Leader's Dōjō​

Chuck