From Issue 93 — The Stress Test
Kagami With Garnett Strother
Kagami is the mental martial artist approach to communication, a way to yield the power of language and hone it as a skill, training your mind the same way you would train your body. When we’re little, we’re taught how to read words in order to understand what they mean but we’re never really taught how to decipher the deeper layers of language. The way to do that is through the art of listening, listening is the gateway to the kind of communication that unifies our world with that of others, helping us understand the people around us, as well as ourselves.
How did you embark on this journey?
As a life-long martial artist and personal trainer who has worked with a variety of clients over the past 20 years, I’ve learned that we all really just want two things: to better understand who we are and to be understood by others. I wanted to offer this book as a set of tools to help others take a look within their inner selves by examining what lies beneath the surfaces that we show others.
What can I expect to learn from Kagami?
Kagami touches on many aspects of communication but focuses mainly on listening because it’s the most powerful phase of communication. I break it down into five pillars, each packed with a set of tools that teach the reader how to be a masterful communicator. The five pillars are: openness, mindful listening, mindful feedback, recalibration and coalescence. Each of those pillars prepares you to achieve the ultimate goal of communication: creating a harmonious, unified world.
Is this something you’ve always wanted to do?
Absolutely. Most trainers and coaches were former athletes who can no longer compete so they settle for training rich people for money. I have always wanted to be a sensei. When people ask me what my favorite ninja turtle was, I would lean towards Mikey like everyone else but in my heart of hearts I’ve always been splinter.
How did your upbringing impact your writing of this piece?
I was a very sick child growing up. I had bad asthma that would attract viruses, whenever I caught a cold, it would go down to my central nervous system, leaving me paralyzed from the neck down. Being that sick does something to you when you’re young. It’s not something many people understand, so you spend your life doing one of two things. 1. Become a hero that makes sure that no one goes through what you have gone through. 2. Become a villain that forces everyone to go through what you went through so the world finally “understands” you. I chose the first one because I wanted a better world for my kid Ares.
How did being a parent impact you and your body of work?
Nothing commands you to listen like being a dad. I’ve been a dad almost longer than I’ve been anything else. I had my daughter when I was 17 years old so I’ve been on the self improvement/ personal development tip for quite some time. That’s what you have to do in order to become a good role model.
Kids do as they see, not as you say, so it was important for me to show my kid what was possible despite being from a single parent household myself, dropping out of high school to support her while being homeless. But I refused to give up and I was able to provide her with a better life, that has always been my main sense of motivation.
What is your goal for this book?
My goal has always been to help as many people as I possibly can while I’m still here. Trauma by definition is a stuck point caused by an event that drastically changes a belief we once held. I believe my book will help people move past these stuck points and empower them with the ability to understand themselves as well as be understood by others.
When can we expect Kagami out?
It will be available by the end of the summer.
Garnett Strother is New York City’s top personal training and life coaching professional.With over 20 years of martial arts and personal training experience, Garnett brings a refreshingly unique take on the approach toward getting in shape and leading a better life. He is passionate about introducing clients to how fitness is more than a fixture, more than an hour a day. How each move is interconnected to your daily life and instrumental to your mindset. Every client that walks through his doors gains an upgraded perception of what personal training is. Together, you will create a grounded, disciplined, personal technology that is coded to you.
