Coming into 2026, I have two big things on my plate.

1. SnoreBuds
   • Preorders opened during Black Friday and 1st deliveries are scheduled to go out in January.
     • 2026 Plan: Learn how to run ads to scale up sales
2. The Human Diet
   • I’m continuing to write The Human Diet. Part 1 is (mostly) available.
     • 2026 Plan: Write Part 2 (here’s a preview) by blocking out 1 day/week to just write.

Once SnoreBuds and The Human Diet are chugging along, I’m also planning to go much bigger into making content. YouTube. Instagram. TikTok. LinkedIn. Facebook. All the places. The content will focus at the intersection of Meat-Sleep-Teeth. My previous modus operandi of haphazard posting will become scheduled and consistent. What exactly this will look like is still TBD.

I also have many other personal and professional goals around health and fitness, family and friends, and fun and adventure. I have another drawing in the works and plan to make some music. I’m going to continue writing the Saturday 7 and doing pediatric dentistry. And try and find a way to balance all this.

All this preamble to say, my 2026 Challenge will be a challenge. A challenge to fit into a busy schedule. But it’s something I’ve wanted to do, wanted to learn, and I fear if I don’t do it this year it will probably never happen. So without further ado…

2026 Challenge: Learn Krav Maga

If you’ve never heard of Krav Maga, it was created by Imi Lichtenfeld as a practical, reality-based self-defense system. It was originally developed for the Israeli military to train soldiers as fast and effectively as possible.

What drew me to it was its core philosophy that closely aligns with the 80/20 principle (Pareto principle). By narrowly focusing on the most effective and realistic techniques (20%), you can achieve maximum results (80%+) in minimum time. It does this by borrowing the best techniques from various martial arts like boxing, BJJ, and wrestling and blending them into a system for fast, effective self-defense.

Why do I want to learn Krav Maga?

I don’t know. Maybe there’s some kind of primal desire to have the ability to defend oneself and one’s family. For me, it also adds a layer to my health and fitness passion, as a practical application beyond the vanity of just bodybuilding (which I still love :). But it’s not for sport. Krav Maga has no rules or competitions. The focus is purely on survival and neutralizing threats.

My Krav Maga Plan

From my research, it seems possible to gain basic proficiency in ~50 hours…as in being able to reliably handle common untrained attacks and thus be significantly harder to victimize. Obviously, more is better. But I like the 50 hour goal. It’s simply 1 hour/week. It’s a floor, not a ceiling. I can do more, but not less. So that’s the plan.

In 2026 I’ll do 50+ hours of Krav Maga.

I’m going to start with online courses to gain familiarity. Then find and join some classes in the area. Sticking with the theme of the 80:20 rule, at least 20% of my time must be in-person training (10+ hours). That’s probably not enough, but if you have a problem with it, we can fight about it at the end of the year!