Issue 051

July 2009

When hungry fighters ooze self- confidence it’s a lethal concoction, turning winners into living legends. If a fighter has an ounce of self-doubt, it’ll rear its ugly head for all the world to see… and the man on the other side of the cage from you. 

Today’s fighters employ a variety of tactics to get inside their rivals head and create self-doubt. Pre-fight hype is plagued with trash talk, fighters blurting on about how lame the other fighter’s style is and how much damage they’re going to inflict, yada yada yada. If you pay heed to this crap, self-doubt creeps in. Thoughts can become your reality, which is a big problem. Self-confidence is your ‘eye of the tiger’. It keeps your head in the fight and stokes the raging fire within, so protect it.  

In the Octagon, what separates the men from the boys is the ability to cage self-doubt and unleash the inner beast. Fedor is the best on the planet at doing this. He exudes a calm confidence, is unaffected by adversaries and remains eerily neutral throughout the ritual of battle, even when he’s dropping bombs and manipulating limbs. Admittedly Fedor is unique, so much so if clinical psychologists got their hands on him who knows what they’d come up with? To some it comes naturally, but self-confidence can be improved upon and harnessed just as fighting ability can, with awareness and hard work.  

Self-confidence is commonly defined as the sureness of feeling that you are equal to the task facing you. This sureness is characterized by an absolute belief in your ability to make the guy staring at you take a nap. Some fighter’s confidence is so palpable you can almost reach out and touch it. Researcher’s state self-confidence improves your overall performance, increases physiological thresholds, floors any negative emotions and intensifies the will to win.  

“When you’re as great as I am, it’s hard to be humble” – Muhammad Ali

Performance is the strongest contributor to a fighter’s self-confidence armory. The fundamentals of training and physical conditioning are the basis for building a strong physiological and psychological defense for a fight. Without the right foundations you’ll crumble. Stay grounded in reality though – your fight level should always mirror training and current performance. Overconfidence grants you a backstage pass to see the paramedics.  

Training With Winners reinforces your self-confidence. If you belong to a good stable they’ll nurture your fighting ability and will avoid throwing you in the deep end. They understand it’s a delicate, intricate and lengthy process to build a fighter. If you match or aspire to the qualities of your brethren, it reinforces a very powerful bond and mutual respect. If you happen to have prized fighters among your ranks who’ve worked their way to the top, it evokes the reaction ‘If they can do it, so can I.”  

Visualization is a useful tool to boost composure. By creating multi-sensory images in your mind of the possible scenarios you may face, you’re actually prepping the psyche for potential eventualities, allowing you to work through them calmly and systematically. Visualization is no substitute for the real thing, but it can help you keep a cool head in tight spots as you’ve already played them through.  

Body Control if left unchecked can knock the wind out of your sails. A series of primitive physiological responses present in all humans will kick into overdrive when you step on a mat or enter a cage. In this case it’s all self-inflicted, which means you can prepare for it. When you feel the butterflies in your stomach, your legs fill with lead and your heart is playing ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC, think of it as a dose of A-class steroids from Krypton. You don’t know it, but all your senses have become razor-sharp, enabling you to fight at your optimum. All the blood is diverted to your muscles, while non-essential systems are shut down. Surface wounds bleed less as blood vessels constrict. The quicker, deeper breathing brings more oxygen into the blood, and this helps the muscles to work faster. When the leather starts flying, you’ll hit harder, sprawl and shoot quicker, dodge faster and pound like there’s no tomorrow.  

Focus is a skill that can be honed. Learn to keep your attention fixated on nothing but the task at hand because, at its core, MMA is a simplistic art; two men pitting their mind, body and soul against one another – two men enter, one man leaves. Filter the insignificant and things that are out of your control: “Who will I fight next if I win?” “What if lose?” “How much do I get for the next fight?” “Why are they booing me?” You can’t control these elements, so let them go, it only clouds focus. If you’ve prepared properly and trained to the best of your ability, you can ask no more of yourself, it’s time to let nature take it’s course. Your tools are primed and sharpened, they’ll do the talking.  

Positive Self-Talk enhances positive thought processes. Try to conjure non-cheesy ‘pep’ statements to get you going, such as “I’ve sacrificed a lot to come this far and lose. It’s not an option.” Evaluate your tools: “I know I’m quicker, more explosive, I have knockout power and a superior ground game.” The words ‘knockout’, ‘power’ and ‘superior’ are all mental cues. Playing them over in your mind ups your tempo and can supercharge your confidence. A good time to let these loose is right before you hear the magic words “Lets get it on!” My favorite quote is from Michael Bisping when he was on TUF 3: “There is no way he’s taking this away from my kids.”  

Emotional Control is the last line of defense before the cage door shuts. It relates to how you control combat-specific mental blocks, such as pre-fight anxiety, fear control and our arch nemesis, self-doubt. Take control of your thoughts and make them work for you. If you hear the monkey opposite you talking trash and banging his chest, think to yourself, “What does this have to do with the fight? He’s trying to get into my head, which indicates he’s probably on edge about going toe to toe.” You can almost taste his fear. Unite this thought process with your mental cues – “My grappling is slick” – and visualize yourself winning. If you don’t take the bait, your opponent’s mind wanders. Now you’re in his head – lights out!  

Training the mind is like training a muscle group. It’s requires lots of reps and different weights to stimulate growth, strength and power. You are your mind’s master, so rein it in, as it’s the most ruthless foe you’ll ever face.  

Joe Bell is a sports psychologist / exercise scientist and recreational mixed martial artist. Specializing in fight psychology and calisthenics