This may not sound so cool now, but as a kid it was always fun. You only had to work a few hours, then the rest of the day you could wander the midway, play on the tractors, or visit the other exhibits. When you spend that much time at a fair, you get to see all those sales presentations repeatedly.

Even if you have never been to a county or state fair, you are familiar with these types of sales pitches. They are the guys using a knife to cut a tin can in half, a shammy to soak up an entire two-liter bottle of pop, or demonstrating a blender that can also crush ice.

I mention this because it was at the state fair that I first saw someone issue what the martial artist call rootedness. This sales pitch was for a set of shoe inserts, or arch supports. With the arch supports in, the guy could not be pushed around, even by a couple of really big guys. But with them out, he could be pushed all over the place. He would even get a pair of arch supports for someone in the audience and try to push them around with the arch supports in, and then again when they were out.

(Another segway and then I will pull it together, I promise.) Recently; we started using Direct TV instead of cable (both a mistake and a good thing). The first thing that struck me about Direct TV is the huge number of channels dedicated to nothing more than commercials. One of these is for an exercise program called P90x.

The sales pitch for P90x is that in 90 days you will transform your body and get back in shape. (When you have watched as much late-night television as me, you recognize that this is not a new sale’s pitch.) The commercial includes lots of video of people sweating and hurting as the instructor takes them through their paces.

Within a couple of days of noticing the 90 day exercise program, I noticed another one that promises the same results in 60 days. Of course, there is the usual array of devices promising the same type of results as the 90 and 60 day programs, but the bared midriff models on these commercials seldom break a sweat.

There are many charlatans in the martial art worlds that are trying to sell you a lethal advantage, or a magic power that will make you invincible and able to withstand the force of many men, or throw others away like a piece of paper.

Others like to sell you on the arts physical characteristics, how brutal and hard it is. By practicing this or that art you will be get in supreme shape and be a true warrior.

What I want you to be aware of, is how many of these sales pitches have in common with those sales booths at the fair, or commercials on Direct TV.

I have seen an increasing amount of martial art teachers and students turning to programs like the 90 and 60 day programs sold on Direct TV to “get in shape” and then claim that shape—or use it as an advantage—in their martial art program.

It is a good idea if you plan on spending many hours a day teaching the martial arts, or participating in fighting competitions (you need that kind of effort to be a warrior). I would accept this practice from any teacher that is honestly sharing his escapade into these other fitness programs. The problem with this approach, is that you will suffer from energy dispersion.

Energy dispersion is what old master Zhang referred to when he created Taijiquan. Remember that he was taught in Shaolin before he created the “softer” art. I suspect that after 90 days in the P90x program you will be in better shape. The effort indicated in the commercials is extreme, and I have no doubt that if you honestly make it through the program you will feel great about yourself.

What happens on the 95 and 100th day? Well, according to the old internal martial art masters, you will get sore, you will be tired, and you will not practice. When you do practice again, you will injure yourself. Provided of course that you did not injure yourself during the 90 program.

So if you feel the need to pump up your ego with one of these programs, I guess you should go for it. But, I want you to be aware of the consequences, and realize that for less effort, and a few more minutes a day you could walk a few more circles in the fixed postures, stand in San Ti, or do a few more push-ups.

The door that is used does not stick shut, and the hinge will not rust. Nuff said.