The Fight

The Fight

    What is fighting, and more importantly is what is fighting to win? Every so often we get someone through the doors of our Dojo that is truly dedicated to their misconceptions of the martial arts, fighting and all that is involved. These people often reinforce the idea that many just want results without doing the correct work or putting in the time to make it second nature.

    Let’s look at what fighting is. In simple terms, fighting is an attempt to control someone else. Winning, or surviving a fight is controlling someone else. When we understand this, we know that someone that can’t control themselves will never control someone else. How can you tell the difference and tell when you are making progress? First, become coachable. Learn how to close your mouth and open your eyes and ears to what the instructor is saying. Don’t attempt to add anything and don’t ask any questions before trying. Second, Drill what is shown. Get in as many reps as you can with, or without a training partner. Third, after getting 30 plus reps you may have questions. This is the time to formulate intelligent questions and get clarification. Fourth is don’t try to win at practice. If you are trying to win at practice, there is a good chance you are not understanding the drill. Doing this will eventually leave you devoid of serious training partners.

    If you are training at a Dojo where you think people have skill, leave your ego at the door and trust the process. Remember that you don’t need to understand everything immediately and many things will connect over time and make perfect sense. Treat your training partners how you expect to be treated. Remember that even the highest-ranking instructor started as a white belt and understands any confusion you may be having.