What makes a real fighter
By Abel CarvMMA and boxing are two very tough competitive, yet popular sports. Many people both young and old, male and female indulge themselves in watching the fights. All fighters from both sports, though they come from different backgrounds, should have some things in common. I'm going to give my humble opinion on what make a real fighter. First off, YOU do NOT pick the sport. THE SPORT PICKS YOU. Nobody ever wakes up one morning and thinks to themself, "hey, I'm going to be a mixed martial artist." You should have a natural progression into the sport whether you needed an activity to get in shape and occupy your mind so you picked one art and that led to learning others, or maybe you were bullied and started learning how to defend yourself but fell in love with the sport, or perhaps you got into the sport as a way to connect with family memebers or be apart of the family legacy; all those are good reasons to get into the sport, but doing it just to do it is unacceptable. Second, boxing and MMA are real. There is a difference between having a personality and being a character. Having a personality is mabye having a grudge fight, maybe fighting for revenge, maybe drawing on personal trials or tribulations during a fight, possibly have a spiritual connection like the Buddhist monks, or even being in the zone only during fights. You are not a character. Nobody fights for the darkside, nobody is going to draw power from the darkside, nobody is going to descend Super Saiyan in the ring or cage, nobody fights for goodness or what's right, nobody draws phenomenal abilities from the fans, and nobody has super powers. Yes it is good to build and hype the fight, maybe have a little animocity or have an issue to settle, but keep it real. The sport needs to be kept pure, not sell out just to draw in fans. Third, fighters are one big family. We are the new age carnies. We look out for each-other and police ourselves. We don't need the commissions to tell us to get in line, we should be able to do this ourselves. We shouldn't be lying, cheating, or stealing amongst each other to go up, we should help each other in the ring, cage, and life. Nobody but us completely understands us. Not the promoters, even if they competed at one point of time, they have lost touch. Not the fans. Not even our families. Only we know what it's like. Fourth, training is essential. We need to be able to give the best show each and every time. The fans give hard earned money for the tickets to watch us fight and that's what they came for, to watch us fight. They didn't come to watch us hold each other on the floor. They didn't come to watch us give up due to exhaustion. They didn't come to listen to the entrance songs, hear the interviews, or win some raffles. They didn't come to see a 12 second knock-out or submission. Although maybe they think they came to see a big name draw, they really came to see fighters deliver. Some fans may be there because they like a veteran fighter or hometown hero, but if you can't perform at the level that the fans are expecting or used to seeing, you are stealing their hard earn money. You may love the sport, and that's cool, but when it's time to hang up the gloves, please do it, or if you aren't in the proper condition for a match, don't take it, only compete when you can deliver. Fighting is not the only thing you can do for the sport if you love it. You can manage or train fighters too, maybe even promote, but please do not steal from the fans by giving them something less. Last, but certainly not least, remeber where you come from. You were not born successful. You didn't just appear at the top, you had to work for it, so though you maybe already there, you need to progress to stay there. Nobody becomes great over time. Fedor didn't become the "The Last Emperor" overnight, GSP didn't become "Rush" for having one fight, and Anderson Silva isn't known as "The Spider" for one move. Everyone great has paid their dues and still does, they also have all lost. Without losing, you cannot learn or see your holes, whether you lose in a match or even in a sparring session, you also need to make mistakes to learn from them. Remebering where you come from also means acknowledging your lineage. There would be no Anderson Silva without Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Pedro Rizzo, there would be no Nick Diaz without Cesar Gracie, and there would be no Karo Parisyan without Gokor Chivichyan. Nobody is self-taught or self learned for the sport, you may have put in all the work, but you had help. Pay respect to it. Not everyone agrees with my philosophy, and I'm sure I left out alot of important things. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, this is just mine. Please let me know what you think and give your opinions in the forumn below. Thank you! |
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