About
When people find this site, they usually assume martial arts has always been part of my life.
It hasn't.
I started training when I turned 40.
By then I had already lived several different lives. At eighteen, I packed up and moved to Hollywood because I thought I was going to make it as a rock star. Like a lot of people chasing a dream, I discovered that reality has a way of changing your plans. Over the years I worked construction, knocked on doors selling steak & seafood, learned sales, and eventually found my way into digital strategy after my sister taught me how to code in my thirties. I've spent years helping businesses solve problems, build systems, and think more clearly.
None of those experiences seem connected at first glance, but looking back I can see that every one of them was teaching me the same lesson. Reinvention isn't something that happens once. It's something you choose over and over again.
Martial arts became the next chapter.
I didn't walk into a dojo because I wanted trophies or because I had always dreamed of earning a black belt. I walked in because I wanted to challenge myself in a way I never had before. Starting as an adult is a humbling experience. You're surrounded by people who move better than you, know more than you, and have years of experience you can't shortcut. Every class reminds you that there are no hacks for becoming competent. You simply keep showing up.
Over the last several years, that simple decision has changed far more than my ability to defend myself. It taught me patience when progress felt slow. It taught me to ask better questions instead of pretending I already knew the answers. It reminded me that confidence is usually the result of competence—not the other way around.
Somewhere along the way I realized that these lessons had very little to do with punching and kicking.
That's where the idea of Te Before Jitsu came from.
In the literal sense, the phrase reflects a practical approach to self-protection. In Okinawan martial arts, striking often creates the opportunity to control, throw, or restrain an attacker. But over time the phrase took on a much broader meaning for me. It became a reminder that function should always come before appearance, that experience matters more than theory, and that the first step is almost always more important than waiting until you feel ready.
That philosophy reaches well beyond the dojo.
Whether you're learning a new skill, changing careers, rebuilding your health, writing your first book, or stepping onto a training floor for the first time at forty-five, the principle is the same. You don't wait until you're confident before you begin. You begin, and confidence slowly catches up.
That's why this website exists.
You'll find martial arts here, because that's part of my life. You'll also find stories from the road, books, strange places throughout New England and beyond, lessons from business and sales, conversations about discipline, and the occasional appearance from my dogs, who have become my favorite travel companions. At first those subjects may seem unrelated, but they all circle the same question: How do we keep becoming more capable human beings?
I don't have all the answers, and I'm not interested in pretending that I do. I'm still learning, still training, still writing, and still finding new roads to explore. If there's one thing I've learned over the last forty-five years, it's that the people who continue to grow are usually the ones willing to remain students.
If you've found your way here, there's a good chance you're one of those people.
I'm glad you're here.
Wherever you go now is up to you. Explore the following:
Adam Lamagna
Adam Lamagna
Adam Lamagna
Adam Lamagna
The Te-Before-Jitsu Code
Follow the Road Zero journey