Issue 089
June 2012
Blood is just part of the job description, whilst sweat is nothing more than a byproduct of exercise – but the tears, they’re for real because life inside the cage involves a tsunami of human emotions. Welcome to the world of professional MMA;
As referee Marc Goddard raised the hand of the new UFC lightweight champion in Japan in at the end of February, the reactions of combatants Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar were at polar opposites. Despite slugging it out for five intense and agonizingly close rounds, the decision sent one soaring into the stratosphere and weighed down on the other like a death penalty.
As new champ Henderson pointed to the sky and breathed a huge sigh of relief, a wave of positive emotion ran across his body. He’d succeeded. He’d beaten his demons and was finally the champion of the world… Yet, just three feet away Edgar’s world had collapsed on top of him like a deck of cards. His head and arms sagged to the floor with so much despair he almost toppled over his own feet. He’d lost the thing that mattered most in his professional life, something he’d fought and trained so hard for. His UFC lightweight title was gone.
There are few things in life that tax human emotions as much as fighting. When one person challenges another in hand-to-hand combat there is nowhere to hide, both physically and emotionally. Life as a professional fighter can be lonely. Long hours of roadwork, a stunted, sober social life and sleepless nights brought on by excessive pre-fight agonizing can lead a fighter to suffer mental anguish.
Mastering the mental side of professional sport is often even tougher than the physical. Every gym on the planet can lay claim to at least one fighter that has the skills to perform but is unable to lay his own mind to rest when the heat of competition is turned on.
The cage has hosted some incredible moments of unbelievable emotion over the past decade, from the grief stricken to the most euphoric, demonstrating that the sport of mixed martial arts is genuinely one of the most testing human endeavors available.
TEARS FOR SOUVENIRS
The title ‘heavyweight champion of the world’ inspires images of the ultimate alpha male, a man’s man who defines masculinity… Perhaps, new UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos missed that memo; following his victory over Cain Velasquez live on Fox in November the man with the greatest prize in sports started blubbing like a schoolgirl. ‘Cigano’ couldn’t possibly hide his emotions as the realization of achievement hit him as suddenly as the overhand right which ended Cain’s reign, and he burst into uncontrollable tears inside the Octagon.
OUT OF CONTROL
Phil Baroni and Paul Daley own perhaps the two most high-profile incidents of out of control cage rage moments. At UFC 45 in November 2003, ‘The New York Badass’ lost it when referee Larry Landless stopped his fight against Evan Tanner prematurely. He punched the third man – resulting in a four-month suspension. And Daley was dropped by the UFC all together in May 2010 after letting his emotions boil over, leading him to strike Josh Koscheck after the final bell at UFC 113 in Montreal.
SWEET SENTIMENT
With retirement circling over his head like a starved vulture, a career-saving guillotine submission over Ryan Bader meant Tito Ortiz’s emotion-filled gravedigger victory routine at UFC 132 was one of the most incredible moments of 2011. For five long, hard years Tito fans waited to witness what was once the most recreated celebration in fight sports. And, by topping it off with a cage climb to boot, the emotion of the occasion certainly wasn’t lost on the UFC legend.
DECENT PROPOSAL
After knocking out Joe Riggs at Bellator 43 in May last year, former WEC middleweight Bryan Baker invited his girlfriend Megan Vargas into the cage and proposed live on national TV. Thankfully she said yes, crowning an incredible period in the career of a fighter who six months previously had been battling chronic myelogenous leukemia. There wasn’t a dry eye left in the house, or the cage!
HEART AND DESIRE
Georges St Pierre crashed to his knees after TKO’ing Sean Sherk at UFC 56 and begged for a shot at the welterweight title. With the microphone clasped between his praying hands, GSP cried: “UFC management, give me a world title shot, please. I want that belt so bad…”
7 CORE SKILLS OF MENTAL STRENGTH
Seth Kaplan is the founder of Elite Performance Coaching, one of the most renowned mental performance coaching consultation companies in North America. Here are Seth’s key skills for unleashing your full potential.
1 Motivation
Kaplan says: “Motivated people are successful, and successful people are motivated – in all domains of life.”
2 Confidence
“Confidence is the number-one mental skill associated with elite performance. If you believe you can do it, you have won half the battle.”
3 Positive mind-set
“Adopting a positive mind-set enhances your ability to persevere through challenges.”
4 Effective thinking
“Effective thinking allows you to find opportunity and possibility within adversity.”
5 Focus and concentration
“Intense focus and concentration are key elements of ‘The Zone,’ which is the highest mental state for performance.”
6 Energy management
“Effectively managing energy allows you to unleash your full potential and promotes optimal wellness across the lifespan.”
7 Visualization
“Visualization is a primary component of mental strength. Just 15 minutes of mental rehearsal per day can elevate your performance on the field, in the classroom, in the workplace and in the bedroom.”
Getting a grip on your emotions
Few things in life are more emotionally taxing than fighting. FO provides some essential tips on controlling your mind, body and spirit when the cage door closes.
You blink heavily in an effort to flush the beads of sweat from your eyes as the hot cage lights burn down from above. Your chest feels so tight it’s like you’ve got a 10-ton weight upon it, whilst inside your heart pounds to the rhythm of the wildest techno beats. Your arms are as heavy as logs and your legs feel like your feet are encased in slabs of concrete. You’re forced to blink again…
Now the ring announcer is screaming your name as the hoards outside the fence reach fever pitch. The noise is overwhelming, and your stomach rolls over for the 50th time. Meanwhile, across the canvas, your opponent is snorting and pacing like a wild animal. He looks so confident…
You start to remember how much effort it took to get here, this is not just another spar but a fight for the title. The last 12 weeks of camp begin to weigh down on you, seemingly to the point of exhaustion. Your loyal coaches, hanging over the fence behind you, now feel like they’re all perched on your back. Their weight of expectation is causing your body to tremble…
Now you’ve completely forgotten your game plan. Were you supposed to come out swinging, or feel this guy out? What if he catches you on the chin with his first punch? What if he takes you down and sinks in a submission before you’ve even had time to compete? How will the fans react if you get rolled over? What will your family and friends think of you then?
Then a voice in your head pipes up, ‘You can’t punch,’ ‘Your jiu-jitsu is weak,’ ‘Your cardio isn’t there.’ Doubts fire in from every cell in your body. What are you doing here? Why are you doing this? Then the bell rings and it’s time to touch gloves and fight… Are you ready?
WORDS
Repeating certain ‘trigger switches,’ words directly associated with success and positivity, is a sure-fire way to maintain focus. Words like courage, determination, victory, calm, can drive a fighter forward into battle. Former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten used to pen the letter ‘R’ onto the back of his hands when he fought. It stood for ‘rustig’ – which means ‘relax’ in Dutch. This was just another form of using words as triggers to maintain focus.
HEART RATE
Your body is designed to react to your thoughts, so when put under pressure the body naturally starts preparing for competition: it dumps adrenaline and charges the heart rate so we are in the ideal state to compete. However, being tense forces the heart rate to shoot up and the consequences can be catastrophic. The doors open to panic, fear and loss of concentration. By staying relaxed and in control we remove the tension from the body, allowing you to move freely and connect better with your strikes, takedowns and submissions.
COMMITMENT
‘He’s not got the stomach for it,’ actually makes no sense at all, as true commitment comes from the heart not the gut. And we’re not just talking about bravery heading into the final round of a title fight. When you’ve lost the previous three, without commitment you wont even get to the fifth! Commitment is about dedication as much as it is balls. It’s having that desire to train more, learn more, diet properly. That has to come from the heart, from the soul. You either want it or you don’t.
BREATHING
In through the nose, out through the mouth. Controlling your breathing is vital in order to take control of your mind and your body. Concentrate on the rhythm of your breathing and take slow, deep breaths to center your thoughts and reach a calmed state. Negative emotions will only suck the breath from your chest, so stay calm, breath deeply and rise yourself above the situation. One tip is to use the walkout music or the chanting of the crowd to ensure you’re breathing under control. Let the bass line be your guide and try to fill your lungs with every breath.
FOCUS
Performing under pressure is the key to success for any professional athlete, and the better you can do the basics when it matters most usually results in the most success. When the heat is turned up, a number of voices can invade the mind, competing for top position – which more often than not leads to confusion and hesitation. Orchestrating all of these inner voices into one crescendo of thought will bring about a clear vision and single focus. This also allows you to overcome any doubt when the going gets tough because there is an inner drive to succeed.
CONCENTRATION
The only way to perform under pressure is to think in the present, as thoughts of, ‘What if,’ will only inhibit performance. All that matters is the here and now, and that goes for what may have happened in the past as well. Nearly getting tapped out in the previous round means absolutely nothing if you’re still in the fight heading into the next stanza. Learn from what has gone before, but never dwell on it. External distractions have to be washed away also. The crowd, the commentary team, the opposing corner: all must be ignored to ensure you don’t lose energy to negative thoughts. Concentrating on your performance is the only way to stay mentally strong.
