This is for all those guys that say they want to be fighters. If you train to get in shape, or because you like gym camaraderie, the following isn’t directed at you.
“I can’t train today because I am sore, have a cold, hyper extended my elbow, have a headache, my knee hurts…” Come on guys, training injured or not feeling 100% is part of the game.
Work through the minor injuries and discomforts. How the hell are you going to be able to hang with a guy who is willing to sacrifice his body to become the best if you won’t train because you‘re sore?
Hell, I am 40 years old with a neck injury, two bad knees and my shoulder and hip dislocate whenever the hell they feel like it, but I still train and can outlast most of the guys in class. Actually, let me correct that; there’s not a person in class that can outlast me.
So when my fighters tell me they can’t train because they’re gassed or hurt I don’t want to hear it. Period. End of sentence. Shut up and get on the f’ing mat. Now.
My friend Max Bishop had a heart attack a few months back and died, yeah, that’s what I said: HE DIED. But the doctors were able to bring him back. It’s only been about two months and he’s already back teaching at his gym.
Now Max has the ultimate trump card. Can you imagine when one of his guys tells him that he has to sit out of class because he sprained his ankle? Max is like, “I died and I’m out here, get your ass back on the mat.”
Now there are the occasional injuries that you do need to take time off for and let heal but they are much rarer than most guys think. Most of the time you’re just being a pussy. Push through it and train. If you’re training just for fun, then that’s a different story, but if you are a fighter, pain tolerance is a major part of the game. Suck it up; stop looking for an excuse not to train.
If you find yourself coming up with excuses all the time, then maybe it’s time to look into yourself and see if you really want to be a fighter… if you have what it takes to be a fighter.
Anyone can learn technique, but you can’t learn “heart”. If you don’t have heart then you will never be a real champion.
“Heart” is the single biggest factor I look for in fighters. I am confident in my abilities as an instructor and in my instructors’ abilities, we can teach a guy all sorts of ways to hurt someone, to win, but we can’t teach heart.
It’s the single thing that every instructor searches for in prospective fighters. Without it, it doesn’t matter how technical the guy is, how good the guy is, against someone with heart he will always struggle, and eventually lose.
Conditioning is another thing that you have to work on. I’ve seen guys with much better skills lose to guys that are in better cardio conditioning than them.
Once a fight goes into the 2nd round, the better conditioned guy is at the advantage. Conditioning and heart are an unbeatable combination. Conditioning is something we all can achieve.
Most schools do 5-15 minutes of conditioning, but at SSF Submission Academy we treat conditioning as a priority.
Every class at SSF has a minimum of 30 minutes conditioning, and then conditioning is brought in various ways throughout the remainder of the class.
Some days we will work an entire class on conditioning and rolling/sparring. Running on a tread mill or a few miles a day isn’t enough.
Fighters or wannabe fighters: there is no excuse for gassing out, giving into pain, or well, like I said, just being a pussy. Shut up and get on the f’ing mat.
By: Ron Dayley
Ron Dayley is a trainer, manager, promoter, and owner of SSF Submission Academy. He is the author of ProMMA.info’s popular “Coach’s blog” which is published about once a week or sometimes more often if he needs to vent. You can find previous editions of “Coach’s blog” in our archives.
Great post!!! I totally agree man!!!
at SSF the kids train just as hard, in most cases they run out of class time before they run out of steam. We have a young girl who fought jiu-jitsu for 6 x 3-minute rounds non-stop against 3 male fighters who were either 3 or 4 years older then her who rotated in and out against her. She had tears coming out of her eyes but refused to quit or leave the mat because her team mates were out there fighting as well. How many of you could do 6 back to back 3 minute rounds, no-breaks, giving up 25% of your body weight to your opponents who are fresh and remain a threat the whole time! Throw up, man up and get back on the mat because those kids are coming for you when they are old enough. Fighter Rule# 1: someone is training harder then you!
Great Article!
This is very true, conditioning is a huge part of the mma game. We’ve seen this time and again from many UFC events like Tito Vs Forrest for example. It was a split decision because Tito did do a lot of damage but gave the whole third round away to Forrest because he gassed out. When your conditioning sucks , even if you’re a wrestling or a muay thai prodigy you’ll get your ass kicked by a better conditioned guy. Oh, and speaking of speaking prodigies I honestly believe that BJ Penn could have defeated Matt Hughes at UFC 63 if he had not gassed out.
This is exactly why condditioning should be a top priority in every mma training program. Thanks for the article coach Ron.
I guess if you can come back after dying…. well, what can you say to that?
I have 4 fights and 3 wins, all ammy. Ron, you are spot on in your thoughts about training and conditioning. My introduction into mma was strictly fun and for the commraderier that helped me relive past glory in my life. Day 1 I weighed in at 235lbs, trained hard, had a blast. The first year went by so fast and before I reliesed it, I was traing for my first mma match at 185lbs. Cardio was through the roof and I walked through my first to matches wanting more and beleiving I was invincible. Fight #3 I started to feel the mat toe, tweaked knees and sore everything! Training like a pussy for 4 of the 6 weeks I had prior to this bout. Starting out strong in round 1, delivering the beating of a lifetime to this kid! Before I could relize what happened, I was on my back gasping for air, thinking of ways to end this punishment I had been receiving. I’m not tooting my own horn, but a fighter without heart would have given in and tapped or made himself open to punches or submissions, just to stop the beating. Back to the point! With conditioning, I Finnish this fight in the 1st round. Without heart, I lose in the second. Again, Ron, you are deadly accurate with your statments.
Some of you know that I work at SSF and if you listen to Coach he will take you far.
I’ve seen the work he puts into his fighters first hand. It’s a family once you prove you’re serious about training to Ron and the Team.
For sure man – lots of guys want the quick fix, but the key is consistency and effort!!
if you are a fighter or fighting, definitely heart plays a major factor aside from Skill.