Martial arts philosophy and thoughts pertaining to the mental side of Martial Arts
Hey all, just a quick note – I closed down the www.martialfighter.com/forums for about 6 months. It was ruthlessly attacked by spam bots and spammers. I ignored it for a while, but now it’s back in full swing! I installed some new protection to keep spammers OUT!
Check it out here:
Combat Martial Arts Forum
I fought my first pro-MMA fight on July 18th 2009.
I lost my first pro-MMA fight on July 18th 2009.
This post is a long time coming, informing the “world” of your experience(s) training and fighting in the cage was something I wanted to do, but it would have been a cooler story if I won… at least from my perspective.
I’ve been involved in jiu-jitsu, grappling, MMA training for years and teach a Japanese style of Ju-Jitsu called: Kobukai Ju-Jitsu. Martial arts and being a good martial artist is a part of who I am. Anyone who has read this blog or has met me knows that “martial arts living” is what is important to me, not being a fighter. There is a difference. One main difference is that I view fighting as an opportunity to improve myself compared to just fighting to “beat someone’s ass”. So when the question of Why Fight was asked by others AND myself, I actually made a list, because it was a question that continually creeped into my mind – “Why the fuck are you fighting?”. My answers being:
The real question is did I fulfill the needs to fight? Did I do what I wanted – and in short the answer is yes and no. I’ll explain in a minute.
Before I can go into the details of the fight, I would like highlight another big hurdle I decided to take on while I was training. When I first decided to fight, I was tipping the scales at 260lbs (give or take a few). About 2 years ago I weighed 250lbs, but was in extremely good powerlifting shape. I slacked a little, ate too many grinders, drank too much booze, and didn’t train as much. I looked into the mirror (yes there is a picture) and decided it was time to get rid of this crap, but at the same time, I said “I am ready to finally fight”. I have been TALKING about it for years and knew I had the skill, but in my mind, I just needed to drop the weight and everything would fall into place. And that was flaw #1. I concentrated too much on dropping weight, compared to actually preparing to fight. More on that later, but first, here’s some fat ass before and after pictures.
My nickname was “The Bear”. The first picture I look like a fat bald bear (I just shaved my chest for the chest tattoo) and in the second pictures I look like a hairy pale version of a bear that once was.
The training for my fight was great and crappy at the same time. I greatly enjoyed the actual training part of it. Literally training everyday can be a blast – when you’re feeling healthy and in great shape. But at some points, I was dealing with a lot of weight-loss related issues. Since I focused so heavily on losing the weight, I had large problems with lack of energy and dizziness. My caloric intake was so low, and the lack of carbs during this very heavy training schedule caused problems. If I was lightly training or just training to train, I would have been fine. But since I was trying to train so much and often, I had problems. This caused me to take more days off then I wanted AND hindered some training sessions as well.
But overall, I learned a lot about fighting during that time. It was like putting my martial arts skills in a microwave. I became a better grappler, striker, in better shape, overcame some personal issues with sparring and striking, gained some new friends, experienced some great training, and overall I improved. And THAT is one of my main goals when it comes to fighting
I would ask my buddy Oz Pariser (4-0 Pro MMA fighter) constantly about what it was like preparing, waiting, getting your hands wrapped, entering the cage, etc when it came to fighting. I’ve been in his corner for every fight and have seen it on the outside looking in, but never experienced it myself. The mental side was actually one of the biggest hurdles for me. I tattooed “Conquer Your Inner Fears” on my chest as a reminder to myself to face your inner demons and challenges. The mental side of fighting was a big challenge to me. I can’t describe it really, maybe you would just understand. Its just difficult knowing that you are going to walk into a cage and face another man who wants to “beat your ass” just as much as you want to beat his. Overall though, I really wasn’t worried about once the fight started, I just hated the waiting and was not looking forward to it.
In high school I was a HORRIBLE wrestler. I think in my whole 2-3 years of wrestling I won maybe 5-6 times…. horrible. I had a big problem with competing. I was never the strongest, I couldn’t put it together on the mat, and my techniques went out the window. I’ve competed in grappling and small other fighting stuff since then and have done fine, but the MMA fight was a big deal to me, it was a chance to beat that losing feeling and finally put it together and win.
The mental side of the fight was almost more important to me then the fight itself. Getting into the cage and fighting was actually the fight
When I first realized it was about to really go down, was getting my hands wrapped. Then I knew… holy fuck did I know. My mind switched – but it was overall a good switch. Instead of being overcome by fear and not wanting to fight, I was able to convert the energy and realize that this is my body and mind preparing itself. As long as I keep positive and in a conquering mindset, then I am good. And that’s what I did. My mind stayed on fighting and winning, and I let it do its thing. I didn’t try to convince myself it wasn’t going to happen, or try to hide from it – I let the emotions come, but I drove.
OH FUCK I FORGOT MY CUP!!!!
After my warmups and getting ready (man that flew by) I had a good sweat and was ready to go! We are told to walk to the door to get ready to enter. I’ve got my best friends, my training partners, some family, and instructors all with me ready to make my entrance. It feels good looking at them and knowing they are there to support me. Felt very good. As they’re talking to me, telling me how I am going to win, how it’s going to be great and how I’m going to beat some ass, I adjust my nuts and realize – I forgot my cup! We are supposed to make an entrance in seconds! Oz takes off running and has to make it through a crowd of people back to the locker room to get my cup…. man that kid is fast! Focker gets back in time, but he didn’t want to put the cup in for me…. so much for best friends! HAHA!
We walk down to the door – I hear Bobby (opponent) entering the ring and now it’s my turn. Shinedown – Sound of Madness: that’s what I’m waiting to hear. BUT I FUCKING CAN’T! Music is too damn low! I want a big ass entrance! I’ve got 47 people who are in the stands to see me and I want that fucking entrance! Well, I didn’t get it. I walked out and then it’s a blur!
It’s finally here – now it’s going down. I’ve got my memories of the fight and I’ve seen some of the video of the fight. This recollection is a combination of it both.
First – we touch gloves and my game plan was to clinch with him and take him down. He also had the same gameplan! So we don’t even exchange punches and we’re in a clinch against the cage. We’re fighting for dominance, but I feel like I am in wrong position. I want to throw him, body lock him, take him down, but I’m not getting the position I want and I’m not finding my sweet spots for the takedown.
I remember we break off for a second, and I throw some strikes – those felt good, and maybe I should have tried to continue to strike, but instinct is taking over, and for the past 10 years of fighting, my instinct has been to clinch and takedown. So we’re back in the clinch again
My head is low I want a bodylock, I want to control his hips, I’m not finding my positions again. I think I catch a knee to the eye, or something big hits me in the eye. I instinctually drop for a shitty single leg takedown and fail. Why I did this? Who the fuck knows? I never go for a crappy single leg
Now I’m in the turtle position, he’s over me raining down punches. I know he’s doing damage, but I feel ok, and that was somewhat of a confidence booster at that point. “I am ok”. I am unable to capture an arm to roll him which I like, or go for a kimura, but I end up transitioning to half guard. SWEET! I love half guard!
I’m in half guard, I got an underhook, this is perfect! I am going to sweep him and win! To get deeper, I take my other arm and underhook his leg… did I just expose my face for punches? Yup! Fucking instinct. I love half guard sweeps and sometimes I underhook their leg to get deeper or to setup. This is fine for grappling, but in MMA, bad idea. It exposes your face.
He’s punching and taking advantage of the situation and I lose my good half guard position. I am flat on my back and defending. He is able to trap my arm over my head while I am defending to setup the head and arm choke.
I look at the time and think I can survive. I’m breathing heavy, I can survive. Then the spots start coming… I tap out.
You can tell by the pic, that my eye got NAILED! I ended up getting another tear in my cornea. That’s the 3RD TIME on the SAME EYE! – annoying.
Immediately after I am feeling a wave of emotions – most notably, how the hell did I lose, how could this happen, I am ashamed. I know most “normal” people say that being embarrassed or ashamed about fighting in the cage is stupid. To them and to me (when others have lost), I don’t see them as bad fighters or look down at them. I admire them for fighting. But, it was / is very hard for me to accept the fact that I lost in front of all my friends, training partners and family.
When I think about if I accomplished my goals or fulfill my reasons on “Why Fight” – the most important ones were fulfilled, why others still need to be “taken care of”.
I’ve learned a lot about myself and a lot about personal growth during this time. I’ve learned MMA fighting is a very exciting and challenging venture. I’ve learned other things that are really hard to describe. This one particular fight has made small subtle changes that I feel, but are hard to express. All positive though. Honestly though, the most important thing I learned was that when you face a challenge, whether you win or lose, it is always a good thing. I think I said it before – this challenge was actually getting into the ring and fighting. That’s what I set out to do. Did I expect to win – most definitely. If I had won this fight, I don’t know what would have happened. The real question is, would I have learned as much? Because I lost, it’s like the worst has already happened. I got hit good, I got choked, and I lost. But, because those things happened, I know SO MUCH more about what I need to do and how I need to get there. Who knows what would have happened if I won and decided to fight again? But this loss is really a win to me now. I’ve won because I’ve learned so much during this journey and more about were my path is in front of me.
Lastly, what I offer you hopefully is some inspiration. This story is obviously not about how “great of a fighter” I am, but actually as a way to inspire others to face a challenge in front of them and “go for it”. I cannot tell you how good it feels to actually face something that is “monstrous” in front of you. It will change you and only for the better.
When people look at me and ask why I spend so much time training martial arts or going to the gym, I look at them and think “How could you NOT want to do those things!!!” I know most people are not like me, but how could you not get excited by pulling up on a huge deadlift or nailing a perfect half guard sweep, or burying someone to the mat with a big harai goshi… freaks.
I really do understand that most people do not like extensive martial arts training, or extremely heavy weight training, but there is gotta be SOMETHING that they love to do… right? When I look at people who are just content at letting life slip away, I thought they just “sucked at life” and I had to accept the fact that 95% or more of the population is content just doing NOTHING. I drives me up the wall, but I was willing accept their suckiness.
Read the rest of this entry »
These are a compilation of techniques from top UFC Fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Shonie Carter, Joe Lauzon and WEC Champion Razor Rob McCullough. These techniques are essential for MMA and can also be used effectively in a street combat situation. All techniqes shown are high percentage MMA and Street Fighting Techniques.
Last night was packed at ju-jitsu, we had 10 guys plus a new student. Sempai Steve was there as well. Steve is a Judo blackbelt as well as a Kobukai Ju-Jitsu blackbelt and is EXTREMELY good on the mat. There were 2 brown belts and 2 black belts (myself included) that all worked together to go over our brown belt techniques. It has actually been a long time since I’ve worked on those techniques… And last night it showed. It was a combination of having a shoulder injury / surgery recovery / being overly concerned about shoulder / needing a refresher that all caused my techniques to not be as crisp as I would have liked them and remember them being. I keep telling myself that things will eventually come back, I just need to heal and get back to regular training.
I ended up having a “decent” roll. Obviously I favored my shoulder, but overall it went fairly well. My hardest thing is not reverting back to old fighting methods. During newaza I really want to challenge myself and try new techniques and “positions” or variations of positions… especially guard. I think this is a key point for any grappler or fighter. Its great that you have favorite techniques or having go-to techniques, but challenging yourself and forcing yourself to learn new techniques can only help you improve. We do this a lot by restricting a certain person from going for their favorite technique, or telling them they can only finish using BLANK submission or you can only do BLANK technique. So if you’re a triangle choke guy, you are restricted to only finishing in a knee bar. Or if you sweep a lot from guard, you’re only allowed to go for submissions in guard.
I rolled with Jake (toughest lawyer) and Normal Dave. Jake and I went one and one for footlocks. It was a good roll! I haven’t rolled with him in a long time, and he’s gotten a lot better. I love getting knee on stomach and transitioning to whatever from there. He knows this, and was doing an excellent job last night keeping me from it.
The roll with Normal Dave was more of a play session. I wanted to try some different stuff and I wanted to let Dave try and execute different techniques. Dave is a yellow belt and progressing really nicely. We call him Normal Dave, because we have another Dave in class who is a GIANT. 6′4, 300lbs and not fat. INSANELY strong, yet extremely nice.
I learned from this class and the past couple classes that I need to be patient, and I need to realize that I am not where I was 1-2 years ago. It has become mentally taxing to not be able to do certain things, and not execute proper techniques. This is especially true when you are in a room of people underneath you (belt wise) and they look up to you for proper direction. I know that in a few months I will be right back to where I was, but when you think about it, that actually puts me behind. Everyone else as been progressing while I remain “stale”. Very tough to deal with.
Sometimes when I drive into work, I just turn off the radio and let my mind wander for those 30 minutes. I think about my goals (far too many to count), finances, the internet, and martial arts. Most of the time my mind wanders towards my “martial arts and strength goals”. Where I would like to be, what I would like to accomplish, and how I am going to get there.
There a few factors which cause my mind to go there a lot….
I run a Ju-Jitsu class at a Kyokushin School in Cromwell, CT. I have very small student base because there is really no advertising done and I do it out of passion. I don’t even get paid 
. Last night I was fortunate enough to walk into the class to see 2 new students! I have a total of 7 people training! Unheard of in my small little place in the ju-jitsu world. Both of the new students were interesting, one more so then the other. Both were very eager, and both felt like they had something to prove. They had to tell me of their past martial arts experience and they both felt the need to somewhat show off.
I can understand that new students are nervous and it is a “fighting” class where men need to be men and try to assert themselves as the dominant person, but there are just certain things you should not do and ways you should not act in a martial arts class, whether you are a new student, or a returning one.
I have been training martial arts seriously for a little over 10 years, and off and on for about 15. I do not consider myself a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter. I consider myself a martial artist and a ju-jitsu “artist”. You can read a little bit about me here: http://www.kobukaijujitsu.com/resume.html (I’m Matt). I do have a great deal of experience with MMA though. I have worked with a lot of MMA fighters. I have helped prepare them for fights, and have even cornered for them. One of the things I am starting to despise, as MMA gets more popular, are people pretending they are MMA fighters. I understand with every main stream sport this happens and I think it’s actually great that MMA is getting this popular. The thing about it is, MMA has “Martial Arts” in it’s name. I don’t think these wannabe tools fully understand the meaning of that. Martial arts is just not about beating up other up. Its a unique experience that can only be had by actually taking the journey. When I see or hear these things (this is a list of actual things I have experienced in my years of training), it frustrates me a little. But the reason it frustrates me is because of the way I experienced martial arts and that these people just don’t “get” what its really like to train and be a martial artist.
So, here is my list of 10 ways to know if you are an MMA Tool, enjoy!
Read the rest of this entry »
I recently discovered that one of the guys I train with Trey has a JuJitsu Blog, conveniently named JuJitsuBlog.com I recently read a post there:
Camaradie talking about the martial arts class, laughing and having respect for one and other.
One of the things I love about martial arts training and particularly our school is the people I train with. I stated in a comment on Trey’s blog that I have always felt that the best friends you have are the ones you fight. Two of my closest friends are people who have fought and trained with extensively. My friend Mike and I met in a boxing ring. We were told to go in there and beat the shit out of each other. We had never met and barely even said hi. It was one of the best fights of my life and an all out war. And from it a mutal respect was formed and a great friendship. My best friend Oz and have been training and workout partners for years. We have pushed each other to become stronger and better, we have fought great battles, and we have grown together as martial artists and friends.
I really think the backbone of these friendships is respect and honor. Its hard to say exactly what causes this to be formed. All I know is that it is formed and I can’t WAIT to get back to training!!!!
Side Note: I recently had shoulder surgery for a torn LABRUM, NOT labia and a bone spur. About that labia…. When I first found out about the torn labrum I was going around telling people I had a torn labia….. Caught a lotta flak for that one.
But, I’m out for 6 weeks. Tuesday will mark only 3 more weeks to go, then back in action.
Take a moment to watch this brief video (you must watch the end to appreciate the significance).
This video reminds me of a famous Thomas Edison quote. In his words, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
I’ve seen truth in these words at all levels. I know professional fighters who have starred in main event title fights on national television who still doubt their ability. The physical talent is there, but the mind is still trying to hold them back from reaching their true potential.
The mind is certainly powerful. There is no denying this fact. Unfortunately, the mind’s power can work in both directions. The mind can either propel you forward or hold you back. More often than not, the physical talent and potential is present, but the mind prevents the athlete from moving forward.
There are times when you need to turn off that little voice inside your head. Turn it off and go! Don’t think about what you can or cannot do. Just go. Think less and do more. Challenge yourself. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.
As mentioned in the past No Excuses article, I often see athletes who constantly search for a new and better plan. If something isn’t going right, they rarely take personal responsibility. It must be something else, right? Wrong! Often times you simply need a reminder of what REAL work is all about. Hard work is interpreted differently by different people.
For a combat specific example, we occassionally call for additional rounds of sparring when the athlete thinks he is in the final round. For example, the athlete believes he is sparring 6 rounds, but we may call for 8 or 10. Initially, you may be mentally conditioned to assume that you are fatigued in what you believe to be the last round. When you are forced to “suck it up” and continue however, you’ll often surprise yourself (and realize that you have more gas in the tank). Clearly, this isn’t something that the novice should attempt, but as you climb the ladder, you need to do more than is expected of you.
Ross
