Today Is Our Anniversary (I Love You Traci!!)

June 30th

Today is our 7th Anniversary. It seems just like yesterday when my son was born and I was training and studying at the Olympic Training Center. Now the Ph.D. is finished, my son is 3 and my wife and I are chilling in Cocoa Beach by the water. It’s weird.

I still remember what life was like when we lived in Columbia, Maryland and we used to have this coach that had a permanent divot in it. It was the worse coach ever. If you slept on it, you were guaranteed to have a hurt back upon your awakening. We laugh at it now and just thank God for the ability to continue to believe and continue to achieve.

Life has been something else, but I’ve definitely looking forward to spending more years with my wife. I never believed in that soulmate stuff when I was younger, but now I do. It’s amazing to love another person like this. Its different than how you love your children. Your children are your own flesh and blood, the relationship is a different level of tightness. Your spouse is your best friend, your confidante and the protector of your secrets, your shortcomings, your emotions and your biggest fan, supporter and encourager. The relationship is symbiotic and loving, while maitaining a constant ebb and flow of emotional highs and lows. Its weird but I love every minute of it. I love my wife, Traci, to the point where sleeping alone without her if I’m on a trip or she’s away at a conference is uncomfortable. I can be fully dressed and feel naked because it’s like I don’t have her there.

I know you don’t read my emails to hear all the sappy stuff, but when I come to you, I come with everything. I want you to know that I have a wife and a son. That I really am into fitness. That I believe in eating healthy. We go to church most Sundays. Afterwards we eat at Cracker Barrell and I eat the double meat breakfast which is all protein. I really love coaching and prefer training in the gi than without the gi and some other stuff that I’m sure you already know about me.

So that’s that.

I also wanted to let you know that I appreciated the emails that many of you sent concerning anniversary ideas. Because I was crunched for time, I took your ideas and mixed them all together and am staying at a hotel in Cocoa Beach that has free Salsa dancing lessons on Tuesday night and a free Jazz on Wednesday night and am staying in a room overlooking the water and ordering room service. I’ve already had two pieces of chocolate lava cake with ice cream. Tonight at 10pm the wife and I are headed to the gym…..DEFINITELY!

I also wanted to let you know of some new things that are coming up very soon…* I will have some 1 day and 2 day seminars in Boca Raton in the months of October, November and December on various topics. I will have some special guests as well.

* I will have some 2 day seminars in October/November in Melbourne, Florida. You can fly directly into Melbourne via Delta Airlines. It’s gonna be great

* The release of Morote Gari is here today >> http://www.MoroteGariDVD.com << href="http://www.thebodyweightworkout.com/">http://www.TheBodyWeightWorkout.com it costs absolutely nothing and will provide you with some great ideas for your personal fitness plan or for your clients if you train othersWith that being said….Thank you for your time and take care.Much Love and Respect,

Rhadi Ferguson, Ph.D.

P.S. If you do judo, bjj, or sambo, you MUST get this right now >> http://www.MoroteGariDVD.com

Lil' Rufus's Tire Workout With Daddy

Rhadi Ferguson, PhD, CSCS
2004 Olympian
4-Time National Judo Champion
JUST "GOOGLE ME!!"
http://www.rhadiferguson.com
http://www.TheStrengthAndConditioningKing.com

Introducing...Dr. Rhadi Ferguson

From the desk of Rhadi Ferguson, Ph.D.

On March 2nd at the time of 1:58pm I successfully defended my dissertation and was provided with the privilege to put the letters"Ph.D." after my name and "Dr." before it.

At this moment I can tell that I'm still somewhat numb.

I've been in school for a looooooooooonnnngggg time.

As a matter of fact, I can recall studying into the wee hours of the morning in Sydney, Australia while attending the 2000 Olympic Games as an alternate and training partner. I remember that it was around the same time when I was beginning my studies in the Masters of Arts of Teaching program at Howard University. It was the first of many late night international rendezvous that involved books, a desk and a couple cans of Coca-Cola Light(the European version of diet coke).

I can recall living at the Olympic Training Center and having to decline many offers to go out and hang out. It wasn't because I didn't want to, it was because I couldn't. My day was jam-packed with training, preparing, studying and developing papers which had to be submitted at the end of every quarter. It was a brutal existence. I can still recall what it was like to leave the tatami area in Spain after practice at one of the roughest training camps in the world and going straight to the Internet cafe while everyone else went into their room or to the beach to play.

I still remember the nights where I stayed up on the computers at the Olympic Training Center and went directly to the weight room with no sleep and working off of nothing but desire and espresso!!

I have plenty of stories for you but none quite hit home as much as the time I was doing my comprehensive examination. For my comps at Capella University I had 4 questions which I had to answer and each question was 15 pages a piece. And the questions as well as the entire submission had to fit a certain format which the university requires. Well, as I was finishing up my first 3 questions and getting ready to start my 4th question I heard my wife say, "Oh!" I said, "Oh what?" She said,"Oh! I'm having contractions!" To which I replied,"Oh." I not sure if my "oh" was the preamble of an"oh s---!" or an "oh no!" or an "oh, I guess we better go."

But I do know that I was feeling somewhat"oh"-ver whelmed. Well, the due date for my comprehensive exam was already set and it was about 3 days away. I can recall being in the hospital room tapping away on my laptop while my wife was in labor. I think the nurses thought I was the most insensitive father-to-be in the world,but they didn't understand that if you don't pass your comps YOU are OUT of the program. Period, end of story. And that was not an option. Needless to say, I finished but question 4 was not one of my best and I was given a onetime rewrite which I had to resubmit in 72 more hours. Staying up all night at the Olympic Training Center was definitely good practice for what I was going through. Needless to say, I passed and then began the dissertation process.

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The Doctoral Journey
===============

I can clearly say, without hesitation, that the journey to the Ph. D. was THE MOST DIFFICULT and one of the most fulfilling times in my life. There are numerous people that I need to thank as well as a number of people which I need to apologize to for, as my former wrestling coach Dr. Cotton said,misplaced anger.

It was certainly tough and certainly a thought provoking experience. I can clearly remember the day which I decided to pursue a Ph.D. I was attending one of the best graduations in the country, bar none, every year.That is,of course, the graduation at Howard University. And I saw the Ph.D.'s walk onto the stage to receive their degrees. At Howard, out of the thousands of students in attendance, ONLY the Ph.D.'s get to walk up on the stage to receive their degrees. And I remember hearing the name, Jorielle Brown. I couldn't believe it. I scrambled to get my hands on a program and searched through it and sure enough there was her name. I attended Howard during the same time Jorielle did and I couldn't believe that she was walking across the stage and receiving her Ph.D. I began to ask myself, what I had done at that point which was so significant. I couldn't find an answer. At that time, I was pursuing my Master's Degree and I had won a couple of National Championships and missed making the Olympic Team.

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Statistics....
=============

Statistically speaking....

This is an excerpt taken from the website
http://www.bankjr.com/teachers/tDoc.jsp?subject=FACS&doc=ProSports.html

Planning on Pro Sports?
Do you really have a chance of becoming a professional athlete?

Many students today believe they have a career in sports just waiting for them as soon as they get out of high school. The reality is that only 2.9 percent of all senior boys playing interscholastic basketball will go on to play in the NCAA. Only 1.3 percent of senior males playing in the NCAA will go on to play in the NBA. The chances of a high school senior boy who plays interscholastic football eventually being drafted by the NFL is approximately nine in 10,000 or.09 percent.

These statistics are startling considering that many more than this percentage plan on becoming a player in the NBA, MLB, or NHL. Many students don't realize how few athletes really make it in today's world of pro sports.These statistics are not only for basketball, but the chart below lists the statistics for Football, Baseball, Ice Hockey, and Soccer.

Check it out.

Estimated Probability of Competing in Athletics Beyond the High School Interscholastic Level

Student-Athletes
Men's Basketball
Women's Basketball
Football
Baseball
Men's Hockey
Men's Soccer

High School Student-Athletes
549,500
456,900
983,600
455,300
29,900
321,400

High School Senior Student-Athletes
157,000
130,500
281,000
130,100
8,500
91,800

NCAA Student-Athletes
15,700
14,400
56,500
25,700
3,700
18,200

NCAA Freshman Roster Positions
4,500
4,100
16,200
7,300
1,100
5,200

NCAA Senior Student-Athletes
3,500
3,200
12,600
5,700
800
4,100

NCAA Student-Athletes Drafted
44
32
250
600
33
76

Percent High School to NCAA
2.9
3.1
5.8
5.6
12.9
5.7

Percent NCAA to Professional
1.3
1.0
2.0
10.5
4.1
1.9

Percent High School to Professional
0.03
0.02
0.09
0.5
0.4
0.08

Note: These percentages are based on estimated data and should be considered approximations of the actual percentages.

(c) The National Collegiate Athletic Association

Now PLEASE understand this. The probability of becoming an OLYMPIAN is less than what you see on the chart.

With that being said, in 2002, after completing my Masters Degree, I thought that it would be very important to place a go a that is somewhat more achievable in place.

I said, somewhat more achievable because attaining a Ph.D. is no walk in the park either, but it sure is a better bet, statistically speaking, than putting all of your eggs in the "I hope to become an Olympian" basket. It certainly is sad to see many athletes who strive to make an Olympic Team and then when they fall short they have nothing except the fact that they tried. It seems as if no one ever explained to the them that the likelihood of them becoming an Olympian is super super slim.

Therefore, I urge and even implore many of the clients that I coach to attend school. When its all said and done, being an Olympian is great, but being an Olympian with a Ph.D. is better. And if you don't get the Olympian title, by all means please make sure that you go to school. It's a better bet than saying, "I want to win a Gold Medal in the Olympics." I'm not saying that you should dream big. What I'm saying is that you should dream big and also live realistically.

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Thank you
==============

As with many of my emails or blog posts, this one probably isn't going to be politically correct, but, I gotta do what I gotta do....

I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for providing me with opportunity to achieve greatness in spite of the times when I definitely didn't deserve it. I appreciate Him for allowing me to be when I couldn't understand who I really was. I also appreciate him positioning people in my life who were able to help me, push me, inspire me, and propel me towards each goal that I have had the opportunity to pursue and attain. I write this email in awe of Him and humbled by His grace and mercy.

I would also like to thank my wife, Dr. Traci Ferguson, whose loving care and tenderness allowed me to pursue a goal which put more than somewhat of a strain on the family. I appreciate the times when she picked up my slack in terms of my familial responsibilities because she recognized my educational pursuit as an investment and something that would provide a household standard of excellence for our son, Rufus Alexander Ferguson.

I would also like to thank my parents, Rufus and Stephanie Ferguson for their untiring love, unwavering support and their many nights of fasting and praying.

I want to also thank my son's Godfather and my brother from another mother, Dr. G. Stewart. He is beyond inspiring,beyond exemplary and THE TRUE definition of the word FRIEND. His place in my life cannot be underestimated, reduced or disrespected. He is...... (I don't even have to finish the sentence because that's how solid my main man G.is. He just is....)

I would also like to thank so many of you that have prayed for me, supported my business endeavors and even those who have hated on me for no reason at all. I'm in the process of trying to acquire more haters because that is one of the true measuring rods of success. :-)

Take care and thank you so much. I will post pictures of my graduation in the near future on my facebook page. If you are not on Facebook, you need to get on there IMMEDIATELY. I am listed under "Rhadi Ferguson". Send me a friend request and I'll take care of you. Or you can just follow me at http://www.twitter.com/rhadi and I will keep you up to date on what's going on in the life of the Ferguson's.

Thanks again,
Rhadi Ferguson, Ph.D.
2004 Olympian
4-Time National Judo Champion
BJJ Black Belt
http://www.rhadiferguson.com
http://www.MoroteGari.com

P.S. After my I graduate on the 13th of March I am going to have a HUGE sale on a new judo product that you are going to absolutely love. It will be absolutely AMAZING.

Check Out Lil Rufus Training With Daddy

Nice Drop Seoinage.



http://www.TheJudoCrusader.com

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year
==============

Surely you know that many people didn’t make it through 2008. If you are reading this you should count it as a blessing to be here. Some were not as fortunate.

What does this mean?

Does it mean you are lucky?

Well, in my opinion, it means that you are here for a reason and that you still have some work to do on this earth.

It is my suggestion that you find out what that noble, honorable and good thing is and the things which are subsets of that and get to work on it.

Please take this time to really look at your life and what it is that you want from it.

Don’t make any New Year’s Resolutions, just do the right thing as often as you can.

If you are little bit heavier than you would like to be, please make quality decisions about your life and your health and stop making excuses.

I believe that the cartoon below says it all:



================
On Another Note
================

If you see something that needs to be done, don’t wait for someone to ask you to do it…. Just do it.

If you see a piece of paper on the ground, pick it up as if it were money and put it in the garbage can as if the garbage can was a bank.

If there’s a light on that is not in use… turn it off.

If there is a way that you can help someone, try to help them.

And in the converse, if you can pay for a service, then do the honorable thing and pay for it. Don’t try to ask for handouts all the time.

And don’t complain about how much something costs. If it costs too much for you THEN ITS NOT FOR YOU. My pastor told me that. If it was meant for you to have it, you’d have it.

When you are going through something difficult, smile. You’ll be surprised how it will change your outlook of the situation. And even if it doesn’t, you may just inspire someone else.

And most of all – don’t forget to Love. Love those around you, love those who are not around you and love the people who you are glad aren’t around you.

Take care and have a blessed and prosperous 2009.

If you have any questions about the New Year or if you are interested in giving your input before my next upcoming tele-seminar on how to make 2009 Your best year ever, then please visit http://www.AskRhadi.com and submit your questions or input.

Happy New Year,

Rhadi Ferguson

Christmas at the Fergusons

Greetings:

I know many of you like to take a "peek" inside of my home so here you go.
Check out the video....

"Christmas at the Fergusons"

You will laugh some and be surprised that we are pretty traditional in our approach to Christmas.

So here you go



Take care and have a Great New Year.

Rhadi Ferguson
http://www.RhadiAndTraci.com

She asked, “What Happened to the Coloreds?”

=============
Introduction
=============

It’s pretty difficult for me to express the great joy and gratitude that I feel concerning Barack Obama's win.

The gratitude that I have is for individuals like my parents, Adam Clayton Powell, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Kwame Toure, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharton, Jesse Jackson, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and countless others who were visible and some who weren't. Upon the backs of these individuals Obama was able to become President of the United States of America.

I can honestly say that a vote for Obama was not a vote for democrats, nor a vote for your particular platform; it was a vote for the healing of America. Believe it or not, one of the biggest problems that we have in this country is racism. It rears its ugly head at the best of times and at the worst of times. And it began as a historical part of the foundation of our country. Internationally it is one of the sour spots about the United States. Fortunately, on the 4th of November we were able to take a step in the right direction in order to heal ourselves. I can only imagine what would have taken place if McCain would have won. I truly think that it would have set race relations back about 50 years in this country and the rioting would have been sad and terrible.

==========
A Community
Organizer
==========

I can remember at one time when Sarah Palin and the Republican Party were making fun of Barack Obama for being a community organizer. Well, I can tell you this. That is exactly what Obama did in his campaign. He organized communities on a National level.

I never got involved in any campaign and really wasn't doing anything in this one until about 2 to 3 months ago when my friend and mentor Winston Williams called me up and asked me, "What have you done for the Obama campaign?"

I replied, "Nothing."

And he said, "And you think that's okay? Bro. you graduated from Howard University and you can read and write and vote because people made a sacrifice for you and were willing to die and they didn't even know you. They died before you even existed in order to improve your existence. You owe them."

I am definitely paraphrasing our conversation. But I am here to tell you that I took about a 15 minute tongue lashing for which I had NO REPLY. I immediately got of the phone and did the thing that all good husbands do. I immediately started verbally chastising my wife and asking her, "What have YOU done for the Obama campaign?" I did this right after I gave an online donation so that I could have the 1-up on her because I figured if I was feeling bad, that I shouldn't be alone. :-)

All joking aside; though Traci and I got active immediately and we made sure to get our son Rufus involved in the process.

We attended voter registration drives, debate watching parties, rallies, we did community canvassing (knocking on doors), held up signs on the street and drove people to the polls to vote.

When Barack Obama won, I felt empowered. I felt like I had accomplished something great. I can remember what Winston said when he told me, "What are you going to say when your son asks you about what you did during this time history. Are you going to say that you didn't do anything except for vote? That is EMBARRASSING!"

And he was right. That would be embarrassing.

I was so glad to get my family involved in campaigning for Obama that I couldn't even tell you how it makes me feel. http://tinyurl.com/6yd9kz

==============
Elizabeth Straight
==============

One of the highlights of my campaigning and canvassing experiences was Elizabeth Straight.

Elizabeth Straight is 92 years old and she is originally from Long Island, New York. Her New York accent still fights its way through her southern experiences so that you know her roots.

She moves very slow and deliberate, but she's very sharp. She has a very bad case of arthritis and she has some Katherine Hepburn type of movements in her senior age (her head shakes from side to side quite a bit). She is very talkative. I think it’s because she doesn't have anyone around her all day and she really wants some help with some things around the house.

Well, here's my story.

While canvassing in a trailer park community, I knocked on the door of this one trailer. And low and behold Elizabeth comes to the door. She is somewhat apprehensive, but I guess she reasons in her mind, "Really, what in the hell can I do." And then it seems like she relaxes, especially after I show her the flyers that I have in hand.

I said, "Good afternoon ma'am, my name is Rhadi Ferguson. Have you voted today?"

She said, "No. These two colored gals were supposed to take me but they couldn't so I didn't go. I don't have a way to get to the polls."

I said, "Ma'am I can take you to the polls if you don't have a ride. Do you have your ID and voter's registration?"

Elizabeth replied, "Yes."

I said, "Okay, I'm going to get my car and drive it around. I'll be right back."

Now Elizabeth walk with the aid of a walker and it took about 2 to 3 minutes to get her from the steps of her home to the door of my car. I had to be super careful because I did not want her to fall at all.

After getting her to the car, I had to help her sit down and then physically put both of her legs in the car by taking hold of each leg and guiding it slowly into the car one at a time.

I then work my way to the driver's side after wiping my brow from building up a good quality lather of perspiration.

Then we headed to the polls.

But wait.

I asked Elizabeth, "May I see your ID and voter's registration."

She showed it to me and it read republican.

No problem. I'm doing my civic duty.

Elizabeth said, "I'm a republican but I'm voting for Obama today. I'm just tired of all this and I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be able to vote for a colored man for president."

And she gave the cutest smile even though some of her "pearly whites" weren't so pearly and some of them had retired from years of long service.

When we arrived to the polls, the people were helpful and they were kind of taken aback. Because I clearly didn't look like I was a medical professional who was helping her and we definitely didn't look related.

At the polls one lady asked Elizabeth, "Is this young man with you?"

She smiled and said, "Yes."

During our conversation to the polls, I found out that Elizabeth had not eaten all day because she was waiting for the "colored gals" to take her to the polls and she said that if she ate she would have to use the restroom right away and that she needs to be at home for that.

So while she was going into vote and I was parking before meeting her inside, I called my wife and let her know that I had a friend coming over for dinner :-)

So Elizabeth finished voting and I got her back into the car and we headed to my house and that is when she asked......

"What happened to all of the coloreds? They used to be so nice. Now all I see on television is shooting and killing and robbing. When I was growing up we used to walk by a colored neighborhood everyday and they were so nice. What happened?"

Now, here's one of those situations that you really didn't plan for when you woke up in the morning.

I replied, "Elizabeth, the colored, ahem, I mean African Americans are good quality people. Most of them are like me to be honest with you. It's just that the ones that you see on the news are the ones that they want to show you. My wife is a doctor and a great mother and she hasn't been on the news yet. We went to great schools, we pay our bills on time, we help out people in the community, we donate money time and services, but there are no reporters following us around about that. That's just how it goes. The media is trying to create an 'angry black man' image that they want you to feed into and also they want you to be scared of people like me."

Then the truth came out like she was given some truth serum...

She said, "To be honest with you. I was scared when you came up to my door because I just don't know what to expect from the coloreds, but you are a nice colored man and the two colored gals who help me out are nice too."

Well we finally arrived at my home and Elizabeth was happy to meet my wife and my son. My son Rufus gave her a big hug and she just smiled. I asked her if she liked fish and she put both of her hands together and said, "I just love fish. We used to go fishing all of the time when I was a little kid.......... " (Believe me when I tell you that the story was long, but I'm glad that she had someone to tell it to.)

After she finished eating, she complemented my wife on her cooking. We took a picture and talked some and then Traci, Rufus and I took her back home.

>>>> http://tinyurl.com/6j4oth <<<<< closing ="="="="="="="="="="="="="" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">

RhadiFerguson
*** GOOGLE ME!! ***
2004 Olympian
4X National Judo Champion
World Class Strength Coach
http://www.Rhadi.com
http://www.TheStrengthAndConditioningKing.com
http://www.Rhadi.tv
http://www.CoachFerguson.com
http://www.TheTotalBodyWorkout.com
http://www.TheBodyWeightWorkout.com
http://www.MaximumDBTraining.com
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