Passion Not Self-Glory Will Drive Your Success
When I first began martial arts in Buffalo, NY over four years ago, I had little idea of where martial arts would take me in life. I just remembered thinking that if you learned a few moves, a couple submissions, and gave a little effort than you would become a Jiu-Jitsu expert. Well yes and no. Within my first year of training, I quickly went from training two times a week to five or more times a week, when I began training at my current gym Buffalo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Through all the aches and pain, mental frustration, self-doubt, one thing always continued to drive my commitment towards Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. Passion. The moment you began to view your training as a chore, the passion will fade. Passion has to manifested from within. Nobody can convince you to have it, but when you are able to cultivate it by whatever means nessecary, then it is yours to guide and carry you on the journey. You must fall in love with Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Wrestling, or MMA , if you wish to make serious progress. It can never be about satisfying the ego. The ego will only block you. You must carry on, because you love being on the path of discovery. To work through the puzzle of Jiu-Jitsu endlessly , revealing bits and pieces through study and mat time, without any crippling and inhibiting desire to race through it, is the way to make progress. Progress does not come over night.
At Buffalo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I learned that cultivating passion will keep you on those mats. It allowed me to seek and drill the techniques that will fit into your game and defeat the competition. To be willing to commit all your free time and entire days to training, not because you want to prove something to others, but because you crave it.
Take it One Day at a Time
When I was training for my first MMA fight, it became instantly clear that there was much I did not understand. My legs became black and blue, because I did not know how to check Muay Thai round kicks, my wrestling was weak when I was worried about defending my head from punches instead of takedowns, and my Jiu-Jitsu had to be modified to deal with strikes from the guard. When this happened I felt a sensation of being overwhelmed. "How could I possibly learn what I needed to learn within the time frame of a few weeks?"
The fights were in my own backyard just a few miles north of Buffalo and all my family and friends would be there. Backing out was not an option, so I did the only thing I knew that would give me a shot. I had to embrace the grind. MMA is tough. It is among the toughest sports in the world and filled with athletes whose wills simply do not quit. There is a whole galaxy of techniques and opponents to worry about . All the techniques can not be learned. It is impossible. A fighter must find his A game and force his opponent to the fight the fight that you want. Little by little my game improved and a strategy for the fight presented itself, revolving around getting take downs and avoiding a boxing match.
I won , but the lessons of the training camp were the most important part of the experience. I learned MMA can look and feel brutal, but it is possible to win if you truly love what you do. To dive in heard first in Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and blend it all together in the cage, is to make art. To embrace the sport completely is to be one with it.To be a fighter in a blue collar city like Buffalo, you must have the passion first. The rest will come naturally.
Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Wrestling, MMA in Buffalo, NY
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