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Potential
Potential.
Interesting word.
One definition by Webster’s Dictionary has it as: capable of development into actuality.
Lemons into lemonade.
As a martial artist or fighter, I’m sure you’ve heard the word referenced to you before.
You have great P…O…T…E…N…T…I…A…L as a fighter if you keep practicing.
But why do some fighters ignore the last part of the sentence – “IF you keep practicing.”
Why do some up and coming fighters think that their potential can carry them through?
So you have success as a beginner, that’s no reason to stop practicing. Keep in mind that those that have a rough time at the beginning often put in more hours of hard work and practice to get better and in the long run, might be better than someone who has it easy in the beginning simply because the latter is more active. Once you stop and everyone else continues, you’ll find yourself behind.
I’m noticing that some fighters are starting to believe the hype that’s being fed to them at the beginning of their careers. That’s what I think contributes to not wanting to practice. Don’t get me wrong, encouragement and self-confidence is great and essential to become a fighter but to think that you’re the greatest fighter in the world and that you don’t have to practice because you’re that much better than everyone else is a receipt for you to get hurt in the ring.
In traditional martial arts, it’s been loosely called “BHT” or “Big Head Time.” The time where you think that you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread because you think you know it all because of your early successes.
But what a lot of them fail to remember is that it’s the beginning. Whether you’ve been practicing two months or two years, you’ve only begun to scratch the surface of martial arts.
We all go through it but we continue to practice and soon realize that we didn’t know as much as we thought. We are able to live up to the martial arts mantra.
Martial Arts Mantra: You must be able to leave your ego at the door.
You can be as flexible and strong as anyone in the world but if you don’t train your body and mind through constant practice, knowing just isn’t enough when you step into the ring. Knowing what to do and being able to do it are two different things. You need to be able to apply what you learn and that only comes through practice.
Let me say that again – that only comes through PRACTICE!
You can practice sparingly for a fight but the person you’re fighting is probably taking it very seriously and has trained hard and often. Need an example, remember Mike Tyson versus Buster Douglas.
Did I mention that by missing practice, you give others the chance to catch up to your level if not surpass it.
I’m not even going to get into the scenario where the day you missed practice is the day you should have gone because that’s the day they taught the technique that could have helped you win a fight.
Now, I’m not saying that these are bad people. I’m just saying that they need to learn that they need the help of everyone, even people who are not as good as they are. By practicing with everybody, good and bad, this will help the fighter see different scenarios that is only a benefit. Everyone can teach you something. Don’t let your ego and your so-called potential blind you to the truth.
What truth you might ask?
Well, let me tell you, potential is great but you need skill to back it up. And skill only comes with practice, practice and more practice. So, if you are one of those fighters who think you don’t have to practice, just think of all the true champions in the fight game - 95% of them are very humble and treat everyone the same.
Why?
No EGO! And they practice extremely hard.
I have interviewed the top fighters in the sport of MMA and I can’t recall any of them ever mentioning that when they started, that their potential carried them through. But they have mentioned that it took hard work and hard training with many different people to get them to the top.
Potential.
As
a fighter, you can’t base your whole career on it. Just remember, no
matter how good you get, there’s always somebody better. But with
practice, practice and more practice, at least you can live up to your
potential.
(7/26/03) |
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