Tougher Than Nails

For those of you curious about MMA, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y1sEVxwg5I. It's a little long, but it's a really interesting video on the mechanics of the sport. The video really drives home the fact that these athletes must be like finely tuned machines to get the conditioning and strength needed to be a good fighter. Ironically, the physical intensity of the sport makes it mostly about mental toughness. An example from one of my crazy morning sessions this week:

It was the last minute of a 5 minute sparring session- the second and last round. Sparring is extremely exhausting; I can't even think of another physical activity to compare it to. Your muscles are tense the whole time, it's very difficult to control your breathing, and your mind is racing trying to remember everything you've learned while your heart is racing trying to keep up with your mind. I had already been training hard for about two hours, and I was running out of gas. My body was starting to tingle and my eyes couldn't focus on anything, but my sparring partner kept throwing punches. In any other situation, I would have thought I had nothing left to give and would have just stopped. Yet, when someone is attacking you (whether it be maliciously or for training purposes) you can dig deep and keep going. It took everything I had to keep my hands up, and everything I didn't know I had to counter back with a few knees and punches. Granted, I use those terms loosely; I was so tired that they probably felt more like love taps. Just the fact that I didn't collapse surprised me. I can honestly say that I did not know I had that last minute left in me. After the buzzer sounded, I took a minute to recover. Once the feeling of imminent death passed, I felt great. I felt empowered knowing that I pushed myself as far as I could go, and that next time I will push myself just a little further. Being an MMA fighter is being able to dig deeper than most people are willing to dig. It's being so mentally tough that your mind forces your body to work when everything else is telling it to shut down. There's something incredible and almost profound about harnessing this power of your body.

From the start of this week, I've focused a great deal on skills. I finally realized that working on too many things at once makes you crazy. I started out my by picking two skills and focused on mastering those skills in every drill. It's all about muscle memory, so drilling the same thing over and over again is the key to success. This week, my archenemy was a little yellow ball. It's a small speed ball that helps you learn how to move your head when punches are coming at you. Using it looks easy, but I can't keep track of how many times it clipped me in the cheek or I hit the ball at the wrong angle and lost the rhythm. I've spent countless minutes (surely adding up to hours) trying to beat the ball, and I still have a long way to go before I make it look good. That said, I have noticed an improvement on how I evade punches. Maybe, just maybe one day, that little yellow ball will be my friend.