motivation

[Michael Wright]

sometimes, when I've had a bad day/week/month, i find it hard to pack my gloves and go to the gym to train.

Whenever I feel like that, I watch this video:



...but I don't wear lycra shorts

[Tant01]

That guy was a phenom. The year he made the cover of SI as the youngest HW I've thought of him as the guy I'd like to fight.

Always want to know how I'd stand up to the very best (toughest, hardest hitting, baddest ass on the block). I can't imagine trying to hit him or take even one punch but I could sweep him. Knock him on his ass with a good low kick and choke him out. (in my dreams)...

Whatever inspires you, eh?

[Michael Wright]

I've always thought of him as the guy I would never, ever, want to fight.

[Mike Brewer]

I'm kinda like Tant on this one. There's some part of me that always wonders how I'd manage against the tougher guys in the world. I don't give myself great odds against any of them, mind you, but I have always gotten much more out of the competitions and sparring matches I lost than the ones I've won. I really enjoy working against guys who are better than me and pushing myself to new limits. You just can't do that with people who can't keep up with you.

[Tant01]

Originally Posted by Michael Wright

I've always thought of him as the guy I would never, ever, want to fight.

Awe C'mon MW....?

Search your arsenal, you know you could take him. I would NEVER step into the RING with the man but if I met him in a dark alley... He's all mine.

The worse that could happen is a great story about how I got KO'd by Mike... LOL

Seriously admire(d) that guy... In some respects he is (was) a benchmark by which to measure skill...and ferocity!

[Michael Wright]

Good points, thanks.

You have to remember that I can't box worth shit yet, so thats why the video motivates me.

[kingoftheforest]

When I'm having a bad time in my life training is what gets me through. I get my equipment and just go all out. On the bag on the road work lifting weights.
I concentrate so hard on going farther and harder than I ever have before that all the bullshit just fades away.

To fight someone like Tyson I'd just have to keep telling myself "He's only a man, he bleeds like a man he gets hurt like a man!."

All the way to the I.C.U. I'd tell myself this

Training is what gets me through the mundane bullshit that is life. And life is training for me. If I could get a job that paid the bills training I would. But alas such is life.

Get what you can by your own hand! And take it while it's here.

[Mike Brewer]

Originally Posted by Michael Wright

Good points, thanks.

You have to remember that I can't box worth shit yet, so thats why the video motivates me.

I still think that the young Cus D'Amato-era Mike Tyson was truly an unstoppable machine. If he'd stayed on track and not bought into the Don King "Whitey's out to get you" routine, Tyson would still be champ in my opinion. He had speed, power, and elusiveness you just don't see in heavyweights, but it all went away after the Rooney, Atlas, D'Amato team scattered (D'Amato, of course, dying) and Mike got brainwashed into thinking his biggest strength was his power.

Guess he turned out ot be a great case for keeping a good head on your shoulders, and for having a good team in your corner.

[Liberty]

Originally Posted by Michael Wright

Good points, thanks.

You have to remember that I can't box worth shit yet, so thats why the video motivates me.

Predictably, nothng motivates me to work out more, or longer, than the sound of Bruce Lee's battle cries in Enter the Dragon. I don't know, must be that something primal the guy had tapped into, and which he brought to the screen. But I hear those battle cries and I'm pumped - I mean, my adrenalin immediately kicks in and I'm ready to take on the world!

And as that cools off I follow it up with stuff like Van Halen's - "I get up! And nothing gets me down. You got it tough. Ive seen the toughest soul around. And I know, baby, just how you feel. You've got to roll, oh, oh with the punches to get to whats real."

Hey Michael, just curious; you say you can't box worth shit - what would you say you are good at, martial arts wise. Not your favorite, or preferance, as in that other thread, but what you'd say you excel in?

[Michael Wright]

I'm only 32 Lib so its hard to say what my strengths are yet, and I certainly don't excel in anything. I would, to try and answer your question, hope that I'm a pretty good teacher.

[Mike Brewer]

And far too modest for anyone to base an answer on that bullshit assessment of his own skills.

Michael is a solid all-around fighter. He judges himself against the world's very best, which is why he says he's lacking. Fact is, I would bet that he rates very highly in terms of skill and ability in most areas of fighting, and that he's an even better teacher still.

[Liberty]

Originally Posted by Michael Wright

I'm only 32 Lib so its hard to say what my strengths are yet, and I certainly don't excel in anything. I would, to try and answer your question, hope that I'm a pretty good teacher.

In other words (and to gladly contradict Brewer's "for anyone to base an answer on" - oh what fun) you're hoping you're good at helping others to better themslves somehow. Nice. For, other than healing, what could be greater to excel at?

Michael, I expect you and I will not always see eye to eye. This one here, however, is not one of those times. May I continue to learn from your example. Thanks.

[Michael Wright]

Lib, the only thing you will learn from my example is how to end up single, broke, and damaged at 32!

There is a lot of false humility in martial arts, phoney martyrs walking round saying how lowly and unworthy they are, when really its just a probe to attract attention and compliments. I might be one of those, sometimes its difficult to honestly assess your own motives.

When I say that I don’t excel at anything, I guess that opinion is based on 16 years of having my arse kicked by everyone around me. In fairness to Mike’s point yes they may be at a very high level, but that is who I chose to train with, so its the only reference point I have. From my point of view the assessment of my worth is not based on modesty, its just based on how hard I have always found, and continue to find, the reality of my training to be.

But anyway, this thread was about a different Mike, so lets get back to those lycra shorts.

[Liberty]

Originally Posted by Michael Wright

Lib, the only thing you will learn from my example is how to end up single, broke, and damaged at 32!

There is a lot of false humility in martial arts, phoney martyrs walking round saying how lowly and unworthy they are, when really its just a probe to attract attention and compliments. I might be one of those, sometimes its difficult to honestly assess your own motives.

When I say that I don’t excel at anything, I guess that opinion is based on 16 years of having my arse kicked by everyone around me. In fairness to Mike’s point yes they may be at a very high level, but that is who I chose to train with, so its the only reference point I have. From my point of view the assessment of my worth is not based on modesty, its just based on how hard I have always found, and continue to find, the reality of my training to be.

But anyway, this thread was about a different Mike, so lets get back to those lycra shorts.

Okay, but just this last thing - one martial brother to another. After he had made it, Lee kept a pair of broken eye glasses near his desk. To remind him of how often he'd not even enough with which to pays his bills, or feed his family. To help him maintain some sort of perspective. We have both been blessed that the man kept on with his JKD's development up until the day he died.

By the way, I don't believe you were wearing your heart out on your sleeve, so much as being the you we regulars on here have come to know and respect. In fact, I don't even believe you were being humble - just wise enough to know your own shortcomings (oh if only Mike were like that too - hah! ha!)

Interviewer: Marlon, you and Olivier, you've been called the greatest actors in film history... Of all those characters you have researched, played and watched others play, if you had it your way and could come back in life as someone else, who would you come back as?

Brando: err ... well... I'd have to say Ralph Cramden (Jackie Gleason: The Honeymooners). Just your ordinary everyday caveman... doesn't have a clue but doesn't know he does... pisses and moans but doesn't even know he does - no thought, no fuss no muss, no complications.

Okay, now about Mike - Tyson, that is...

[Mike Brewer]

The biggest training motivators for me have been the guys at the gym. I am often wowed and humbled at the dedication of a lot of the guys I train with. At this stage in my life, training has taken a real back seat to other concerns. My work doesn't require the same sharp edge that other jobs have, and I quit actively competing years ago, so there's no daily need to be on that razor's edge. Still, I train with guys who live there the way I used to. From time to time, one of them will give me a pointer or make a comment, and it'll leave me absolutely speechless. Great guys, all of them. They're in the gym when I walk in the doors, and they're still training when I leave. I don't know if a single one of them even owns a pair of jeans or a "going out" shirt. They are always in sweats and handwraps. I can remember my training being that all-consuming, and I remember the leaps and bounds I grew by during that time. I can see it even better watching them.

And Liberty, there's absolutely no point in me being all self-effacing and such. Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to rate myself very, very low on the scale of ability and talent. But the humble thing is done to death in public. I'd rather go for the comical overstatement than the kow towing and head hanging humility routine. I've got no illusions about my own ability or skill level, and I know I'm well equipped to handle most anything I'll ever get into. I know where I stand in relation to others. The people I really have to worry about are most likely my training partners and friends, and the ones that aren't? Well, they'll probably never even notice me or see me as a threat. So with that being the case, who cares?

I can't help it if I'm this charming, talented, and good-looking. It's just the hand I was dealt.