Sunday, June 19, 2016

HOW GODZILLA MADE ME A BETTER DAD

A Die Mighty Manifesto           
By Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner
OS Lead Instructor, MFF Coach, Master DVRT, Master RKC

The Die Mighty philosophy and my life as a coach wouldn’t exist without my kids. My daughter and son are the reason I train. I train to keep up with them. I train to live long with them.

I train to be a role model for them.
My kids know that strength is important on a bigger scale than muscle growth or fat loss. Being strong is a state of being, a philosophy and way of life. They see that lifestyle in me and that makes me very very happy.

How do you think your kids see you? I don’t ask that to shame or judge. Hell no! I ask because I believe as parents, we are obligated to continually better ourselves for our kids. Is there something you want to change? Well then, what are you waiting for? Now I don’t mean we need to be perfect, I’m a galaxy far far away from perfect, but I do believe we should never settle, always be curious and always progress. We should always strive to be STRONG PARENTS!
By now you know that Godzilla is my spirit animal. My all-time favorite Godzilla film is 1967’s SON OF GODZILLA.

This film is packed with Kaiju (giant monsters), scientists messing with the weather and takes place on an exotic island. Most importantly, the movie has a few choice parenting lessons of Godzilla teaching his son Minilla (also known as Minya). The scene of Godzilla teaching Minilla how to breathe atomic breath struck such a chord with me at a young age and resonates with me to this day. Godzilla demonstrated how to perform a skill and let Minilla try on his own. Finally, offering some tough love, Godzilla stepped on Minilla’s tail triggering him to nail his first full-on atomic breath. Godzilla rewards his son and then promptly takes a nap. Solid parenting!
Godzilla also seemed to instill a sense of independence in Minilla. The son of Godzilla would often have to fend for his own but dad was always there when things got rough.

At the end of the film, Godzilla holds Minilla close as snow overcomes their island. That scene still makes me teary.
I know it sounds crazy, but I apply those lessons to how I teach my kids.

   •I try to teach while letting them learn for themselves
   
   •I’m teaching them to be independent.

   •They know I love them and I'm there when they need me.

In turn, my kids are bright, caring, well behaved, curious and respectful.

Of course there’s much more to parenting than watching a Godzilla flick, but inspiration is inspiration. Simply by reading this, you’re already invested in being a better parent. Sadly, we have all seen some mediocre to crap parenting from others. I ask again, is there something you would change?
I want to live an incredibly long and healthy life. However, I take comfort in knowing that if I were to die tomorrow, my kids will already be far greater than I ever will. I take pride in my role as a strong parent because I choose to make changes. I choose to be strong. I choose to DIE MIGHTY!

How about you?

Happy Father’s Day to all of my fellow dad’s (and mom’s that rep the dad role)!

Thanks for your time!

-Fury
#diemighty


Along with creating Die Mighty, Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner is a trainer at Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC and is an Original Strength Lead Instructor, a Master RKC Kettlebell Instructor and a Master DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training Instructor. Through his leadership roles, Fury travels throughout the U.S. and internationally to teach. Fury has also written for Mark Fisher Fitness, the RKC, DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training, Bodybuilding.com, Details Magazine and his own site.

He’s also a big Godzilla fan.

Want to dive deeper into Die Mighty? Fury is available for online training and is teaching workshops.

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