Quote:
Originally Posted by Nobski
Just a simple Q. What, in your opinion, is necessary for one to become a champion?
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Meet up with a great group of guys who have a flexible mindset about training, and train with progressive resistance on high percentage moves. Invite various instructors in to do seminars and clinics and to help you work on your game - a great organization for that is Straight Blast Gym. They make it a requirement that you bring their coaches in several hours a year to wrestle and box with you, and to watch others wrestle and box with you, so as to establish where your game is at, and where you want to focus your time.
Then make use of that group of guys anytime you can. Train lots of sparring with less focus on focus mitts. Train lots of live time in the clinch both setting up throws and setting up strikes. Train lots of live time with takedown defense. Train lots of live time in groundfighting both with and without gi, and with and without punches. Be willing to travel and pay for instructors in other states to bring your game to the pro level or to pay for them to come to you.
Bring yourself to a superior level of conditioning. Strength is always important, but endurance is king in the fighting sports. Cycle in and out of a) strength endurance programs such as circuit training b) strength training - loads of squats and deadlifts and other big mover exercises c) anaerobic conditioning - high intensity interval training such as hill sprints
Always work the part of your game that you HAVEN'T developed the best - keep expanding into areas where you don't feel comfortable - if your clinch sucks - train it. You told me you came to train with us because you want to concentrate some on your boxing/hands game. That's the idea.
And then finally, train with progressive contact at non-injury levels. Then, as you get some skills, begin training once a week with a heavy level of contact. And make sure the guys in your gym have good hearts, and all care about you developing a better game as much as they care about developing their own game.
It doesn't hurt to be a friendly, kind person in the process. Most of the high level fighters I've met are friendly individuals with healthy attitudes and motives behind their actions. They tend to recognize one of their own rather quickly and help one of their own anyway they can. I haven't met many fighters that act like the guys on the UFC reality show.