Know Thyself: What Ancient East Indians Can Teach You About Being a Badass in the 21st Century

The Fight I Was Never Meant to Win

I used to wish I had a different body.

Not in the insecure, teenage way.

I mean a deep, frustrating wish—like when you’re training hard every day and still getting outmuscled by guys who eat garbage, never stretch, and somehow dominate.

In my early martial arts journey, I trained with guys built like tanks—short, thick, explosive.

Meanwhile, I was lean, long-limbed, and fast.

I was the “smaller” guy in almost every sparring session.

I thought I needed to “bulk up” to be a real fighter.

So I forced more food, trained heavier, tried to train like them.

I was fighting a war against my own biology.

And I was losing.

After my second-degree black belt test, I was nursing sore joints and self-doubt when my instructor said something I’ll never forget:

“You’re not built to stay “in there.”
Stop trying to be someone you’re not.

You’re fast, precise, and elusive.

That is your power.”

That hit me in the chest.

I maxxed out, at the height of my training, at 5’3″, 135lbs., 3-4% bodyfat, going against guys that usually outweighed me by 50-80lbs. or more.

That’s like a flyweight going up against a lightweight or welterweight or maybe even a middleweight!

I was trying to be a bulldozer when I was built to be a blade.

That’s when I learned one of the most powerful lessons in life and leadership:

You don’t win by becoming someone else.

You win by becoming more of who you already are.

Funny thing is, ancient East Indian wisdom figured this out 5,000 years ago.

The Forgotten Power of the Ancients

The Western world likes to flex its muscles.

Power, technology, productivity, abundance—it’s impressive.

But if you look back through history, the East was mastering the inner game long before the West figured out plumbing.

One of the most fascinating systems from ancient India is Ayurveda—a 5,000-year-old science of life and health that’s still practiced today.

Ayurveda recognized something we’re only now starting to rediscover in modern performance science:

You’re born with a natural set of strengths and challenges. Stop fighting them. Start aligning with them.

It’s a system rooted in awareness, balance, and personalization. It teaches that each person has a unique combination of energies—or doshas—which align closely with what we call somatypes today:

• Ectomorph (Vata)
• Mesomorph (Pitta)
• Endomorph (Kapha)

Once you understand your type, you can train, eat, work, lead, and recover in a way that amplifies your gifts and stabilizes your weak spots.

This ancient knowledge?
It’s your secret weapon in the modern world.

The Three Types: Ancient Doshas, Modern Badasses

Let’s break them down in a no-BS, warrior-tested way.

​​

---

Vata – The Wind Type (The Creative Sprinter)

Light-framed, fast-twitch, high energy. You’re sharp, quick-thinking, and you thrive on variety. But you get cold, dry, anxious, and you burn out fast.

• Superpowers: Speed, creativity, agility, innovation
• Weaknesses: Inconsistency, nervous energy, burnout

Modern Role: You’re the disruptor, the flash striker, the rapid-fire creative. Your edge is movement—but you need grounding and structure to stay in the game.

---

Pitta – The Fire Type (The Warrior Commander)

Medium build, intense energy. You’re focused, driven, competitive—and when dialed in, you’re unstoppable. But too much fire? You burn yourself and others.

• Superpowers: Discipline, leadership, intensity, logic
• Weaknesses: Anger, impatience, overheating (physically & emotionally)

Modern Role: You’re the tactician, the hard charger, the closer. You thrive on pressure and performance. But your lesson is balance. Learn to cool down without losing your edge.

---

Kapha – The Earth Type (The Enduring Guardian)

Heavy-set, stable, calm. You’re loyal, strong, and emotionally deep. But without challenge and movement, you get stuck—mentally and physically.

• Superpowers: Strength, stamina, compassion, dependability
• Weaknesses: Slowness, stagnation, emotional heaviness

Modern Role: You’re the rock. The foundation others lean on. You finish what others quit. But you need fire and wind to stay moving. Comfort is your biggest threat.

How This Changes Everything

Here’s what modern society does wrong:

• It worships one type of success.
• It sells you one kind of productivity.
• It pushes one model of masculinity.

And if that model doesn’t match your nature, you feel like a failure.

You’re not.

You’re just fighting your wiring.

The guys who succeed long-term—on the mat, in business, in life—are the ones who figure out who they are, and build from that.

Ancient warriors didn’t become great by copying others.
They became legends by going deeper into their own way.

​

Your Personalized Path to Power

Here’s how you can use this ancient wisdom—starting now.

1. Identify Your Dominant Type

Are you naturally lean and fast, intense and focused, or strong and steady?

If you’re not sure—no problem.

Here’s a simple ayurveda assessment quiz.

---

2. Train the Right Way

• Vata: Build strength, slow things down, create routines.
• Pitta: Prioritize recovery, creative play, and breathwork.
• Kapha: Move often, challenge yourself, avoid over-comforting.

Train to amplify your type, and balance your challenges.

---

3. Work and Lead Accordingly

• Vata: Short, focused sprints. Lots of variety. Rest days matter.
• Pitta: Structured projects, clear goals, periods of disconnection.
• Kapha: Long timelines, purpose-driven tasks, external accountability.

Don’t steal someone else’s system. Build yours.

---

4. Fuel and Recover the Right Way

• Vata: Warm food, grounding rituals, quiet evenings
• Pitta: Cooling foods, nature time, light-heartedness
• Kapha: Stimulating food, social energy, movement

Recovery is not a luxury—it’s part of the grind.

Putting It On the Mat

In 2003, I was visiting Cairo and struck up a conversation with an Egyptian Aikido instructor.

I was curious, still searching for my own way, and we ended up walking through the city talking about martial arts, spirit, and energy.

At one point, I asked him something I had been struggling with:

“How do you know which path to follow when there are so many?”

He stopped, looked out over the Nile, and said:

“You must learn the nature of your own river.

Some rivers rush.

Some carve slowly.

But if you try to move like another river, you’ll only drown yourself.”

I’ll never forget that.

Because it’s true in combat.

In business.

In love.

In life.

Every man has his own rhythm.

His own nature.

Your job is not to change it—it’s to channel it.