I've coached. I've trained. I've competed. I've fought. I've won. I've lost.
And all these things come with a hefty price. For the life of one that competes in sports is one of an emotional roller coaster. The "lows" are accepted as are the "highs". What is not accepted from the athlete, the crowd, the coaches or fellow competitors is incompetence.
There's No Excuse For Incompetence
Sometimes winning or losing is a thing of chance and happenstance. Sometimes things, fortunately or unfortunately, "just happen."
But what does not just happen is incompetence. Being incompetent is a choice. It requires you to bypass professionalism and look the other way. And this starts early in ones Mixed Martial Arts career.
Because I've recognized this as a coach, when I became a Mixed Martial Artist I did not want to make the mistake that I've seen so many people make and I don't want you to make it either.
If you coach, train or know someone who does Mixed Martial Arts, you should pick up the phone and call them, or email them and text them after reading this piece of written articulation. What you are getting ready to read is one of key elements in order to be successful in Mixed Martial Arts.
Here's What I Learned From Ali
The closest thing that we have to in order to look at Best Practices in a pugilist sport such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), is boxing. It's been around for a long time and is very well established. And the best boxer of all time is probably not a bad person to study or analyze when it comes to best practices. I believe this so I took the time and studied Muhammad Ali closer than I ever have before. As a matter of fact I re-read his book released in 1975, "The Greatest: My Own Story."
On page 5 of that book Ali speaks about what a prizefighter must have in order to be successful. He speaks about how a prizefighter needs to be two people and in two place at the same time but cannot. He talks about the importance of having someone that thinks like you in terms of your goals and your aspirations. He speaks of one finding the "other self he needs."
With this information I knew the missing link to most MMA preparation. The missing link to their fight camp. And the missing link to their preparation. They are missing someone to engineer the process of the preparation, coaching, and training.
WARNING: If you look at preparation in a myopic, small-minded sense, you are going to miss this richness of this article. Preparation is EVERYTHING that happens all the way up to the time you walk into the cage or ring to fight.
Unlike football or any other major team sports, there is no "Head Coach" in Mixed Martial Arts. Each coach's job is in flux in terms of importance depending on the needs of the fighter or the skill set of the next opponent. So saying that one is in "charge" is difficult. And trying to be the person in "charge" as the athlete sounds great, but you can't see things clearly.
Therefore, what is needed is a Team Engineer.
The Missing Link: The Team Engineer
A gentlemen by the name of Winston Williams is the best Mixed Martial Arts Team Engineer ever. And you should get someone like this. If you are going to be successful in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts you need someone that asks and demands the following from you:
1. Your training program
2. Your dietary schedule
3. Your daily mental training strategies
4. Your sleeping schedule
5. Your gameplan and plan of implementation
6. Your post weigh in meal, the time of its execution and the times of the subsequent meals before fight time (including the breakfast and lunch on the day of fight)
7. Your CELL PHONES (give them up and hand them over)
8. All of your interview times and schedules
And some other stuff that will just take too long to mention. But the key is this. You NEED to have someone who UNDERSTANDS the sport like you do or better. Someone that thinks like you, but is smarter than you and someone that can invoke the respect of the other members of your Mixed Martial Arts Team not by words but by deeds - by their ability to work.
Do NOT get this person confused.
This person is NOT a manager.
This person is NOT a coach.
This person makes sure that EVERYTHING runs as it should and better.
In your camp or on your team. You definitely need striking coaches, grappling coaches and fitness trainers and strength coaches. And you ALSO need a Team Engineer. Those people are all ingredients. Your Team Engineer is the Master Chef!
By Dr. Rhadi Ferguson PhD
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5715224
Thank you for reading this article :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment