SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Defeat Is An OpportunityFiled Under: Instruction

Sometimes life just beats you down, and that’s a good thing. Don’t get angry, don’t seek revenge, just deal with it in a positive way. Some guys just don’t get good until they get defeated. It takes a lot of mettle to rise from a loss. The physical and emotional breakdown and rebuilding process is tantamount to a great fighter’s spirit.

Now don’t take it the wrong way – you want to take on tough competition, but you don’t want to fight out of your league just to get pummeled. I think that’s Kimbo’s story – he had some internet fame and was hyped up and pushed to compete at a level that he’s just not ready for (Team Xtreme Couture agrees). He probably could make himself a good fighter but needs to crescendo into the sport.

When you get defeated, you need to make an important distinction: did you lose because you were doing the wrong thing (attempted putting square peg in round hole: double wrist control jujitsu vs. ground and pound wrestler) or you just didn’t do the right thing hard or well enough?

If you are in the first category, you have the opportunity to expand your mind and kill your egoist blind-spots. It takes time to gain the conscious awareness of how to modify your fighting style mid-competition. It’s easier to watch a fight on video and comment, “Oh, I should go for an arm bar here,” or “I need to throw more straight punches.” Seek out a good trainer who can help craft drills for you that focus on pattern recognition and adaptive counters. Cut back on your athleticism when training and focus on keeping a calm, open mind. Train your mind to be flexible enough to flow beyond what you normally do and take advantages of opportunities as they arise. Be like water.

If you’re in the second category, it’s time to channel your frustration. Step up your game by being more disciplined in your exercise routine and what you eat. Focus on the “boring” repetitions that make you a good fighter. Drill the same move a hundred times. Avoid over-training and injury, but push yourself. Limit the number of new moves you learn in favor of perfecting the basics.

Bottom line: Be thankful you’ve been shown how to improve your game. Defeat is an excellent tutor.

Tags: Philosophy

The Biggest Fight Of Your LifeFiled Under: Instruction, Uncategorized

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

- Siddhartha Buddha

Your biggest roadblock as a fighter is you. Laziness, assumption, arrogance, fear … all of these are personal battles for you to win. Even if you don’t ever beat the heavy-weight champion, when you have mastered yourself you have lived a full life.

The wise Chinese strategist stated,

Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

- Sun Tzu

Getting to know our enemy – our competition – is pretty straight forward. We watch videos of their fights, learn who they train with, what gym they work out of, etc. We put the pieces together to get a pretty good idea of who they are. Also, if you’re serious about your craft you get to know your opponent on a deep level when you fight.

In a way, you learn a great deal about yourself from an intense confrontation. However, as “enlightened” mixed martial artist, you should think of your character as a fighter being revealed during a match rather than discovering it as you compete. You should already know that you’re hardcore – you’ve trained well, shored up the weaknesses in your game, polished your strengths. The higher the level you train and compete at, the less you should have surprises on your end.

Those who gain mastery of martial techniques are good fighters. Those who master the inner game in addition to the physical are great fighters. It takes discipline of body, mind and spirit. I won’t lie. It’s a tough fight. But even if you do hold the title belt, if you haven’t conquered yourself all the victory isn’t enough. It’s a hollow success covered with puffed pride.

Know thyself.

For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.

The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.

- Plato

Tags: Philosophy