Fight Geek

Miletich Fighting Systems

Pilates Gone Wrong

Hardcore Knockout

Training Mantras

I often talk to myself when I'm training; a word of encouragement from somebody I respect never goes astray ;) I don't ramble on or anything like that. I tend to bark out short sharp phrases of encouragement—training mantras. My favorite mantra I picked up from my Muay Thai coach a few years back:

Train hard—fight easy.

I don't know where I picked up this next mantra, but it also reeks of Muay Thai:

Conditioning is your best weapon.

My latest mantra is an adaption of one of Chopper's famous sayings (see video above). This matra is concise, encouraging and funny—though you may have to be Australian, and loutish, to truly appreciate the humor:

Harden the f*ck up!

The Jab

Raised in the Ring

Choking in Sport

Here's an excerpt from a post by Jonah Lehrer. It's about choking in golf, but I think the jist of his argument is also relevant to fighting.

Why do golfers choke? The answer reveals some important elements of skill learning and the unconscious brain. Look, for example, at putting on the golf green. When people are first learning how to play golf, they are given straightforward advice about putting. They are told to take their time, concentrate, and carefully think about what they are doing. They should assess the lay of the green, calculate the line of the ball, and get a feel for the grain of the turf. These beginners then need to start contemplating their putting stroke. A good put depends upon an intricate sequence of movements: square the hips, lock in the shoulders, plant the feet, take a straight backswing and apply the necessary amount of force. All this thinking can be a bit overwhelming. For an inexperienced player, a golf put can seem like trigonometry played on a lawn.

But all this thinking pays off, at least at first. Sian Beilock, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, has shown that novice putters hit better shots when they consciously reflect on their actions. The more time they spend thinking about the put, the more likely they are to hit the ball in the hole. For these beginning golfers, putting is like a puzzle. It's important for them to think about the put so they can avoid making obvious mistakes.

how to put - they have memorized the necessary movements - spending more time analyzing the put is a waste of time. Their unconscious brain already knows what to do. It automatically computes the necessary variables, and settles on the best putting angle. In fact, Beilock found that when experienced golfers think about their puts they actually hit worse shots. "We bring expert golfers into our lab, and we tell them to pay attention to a particular part of their swing, and they just screw up," Beilock says. "When you are at a high level, your skills become somewhat automated. You don't need to pay attention to every step in what you're doing."

Beilock believes that "choking" - say, for example, a professional golfer missing a six-inch put on the 18th hole - happens when experts begin to consciously scrutinize their unconscious movements. This extra analysis disrupts their reliable autopilot. Cracking under pressure is really just a symptom of thinking too much.

K1 Max: Buakaw's Boxing Lesson

Congrats to Andy Souwer for winning K1-Max this year. I'll post more about the whole event later. I just had to get a post out on Buakaw's loss to Masato in the quarter finals.

I feel very clean inside. Masato's victory released a torrent of pent up Buakaw resentment that's sat in my gut for a year now. It's not that I dislike Buakaw—I still think he's the most skilled fighter out there, despite his loss. It's more the fact that the Buakaw fanboys have been way to confident (and vocal) in his abilities. And they've been particularly dismissive of those foolish enough to voice reservations about his absolute perfection as a fighter. (It was made doubly hard for me, as I'm an ardent devotee of 'John' Wayne Parr, and Buakaw has all ready beaten him once—albeit in a less than definitive fashion.

Well, the shackles are off. Masato showed the world Buakaw's deficiencies; I'll get to those in a moment. But first things first—an indulgent gloat aimed at my coach—a Buakaw fanboy.

:)

I repeat:

:)

Ah, that felt good! Now, back to the fight. What have we learnt about Buakaw?

• His defensive boxing skills need some serious work; he ate some serious fist in this fight. Masato put on a boxing clinic.
• Either his corner's stupid or he was off with the fairies: why would the best kicker in the game fight on the inside for most of the fight? Despite getting knocked on his arse in the first round, I think he still could've won by staying on the outside.
  
• He can lose his game by getting knocked down: he was a different fighter after getting spanked to the ground in round one.

I think Masato has shown an effective game plan to CONSISTENTLY beat Buakaw.