A YCP is a Young, Cocky Punk. These are the testosterone junkies in their teens or early twenties who think they are next best thing in MMA to the triangle choke. They spar with a misguided fury, anger without a cause and see the sport of MMA as a tool in his unstoppable climb in the ladder to be the consummate alpha male. Do you know of any YCPs in your MMA club? You probably do since they’re pretty common and easy to spot. They often may spend inordinate amounts of time lifting weights at the gym or gulping down all sorts of junk supplements which active ingredients he probably couldn’t pronounce to save his life. He usually has a lot of tattoos of three-headed dragoons, misspelled words and other ridiculous drawings inked by his pothead tattoo artist friend which are suppose to make him look more scary. He thinks that anyone he can tap out or knock down shouldn’t be seen in the same mirror with him when he admires his chest girth or sculpted abs. Yeah, the YCP, you know who I’m talking about.
The YCP stands for someone who is impatient, places value on blind aggression and brute strength over skill and strategy.
Enuf’ on the YCP. The archenemy of the YCP is the CMP, the Competitive Mature Practitioner. He is fully functioning member of society who earns his keep, usually works a nine to five, but still kicks ass in MMA. The MCP knows the most important muscle you have to train to improve in MMA is the brain muscle (okay, the brain isn’t a muscle but you get what I mean). He knows his limitations and recognizes his advantages, and keeps on finding new ways to improve his game. This man has paid his dues and won’t stand for crap from anyone, including YCPs on a testosterone high. He’s got nothing to prove and is confident in his abilities.
For the MCP, martial arts is one of the many aspects of his stable and productive life. He may be past his prime years as a physical specimen but continues training for the love and commitment to the sport, personal fulfillment, the betterment of society, the quest down that road to self-actualization and all that jazz. He keeps is cool at all times and is the best next thing in life after paying off the mortgage, world peace and a well-executed omoplata.
The role of the CMP is to put the YCP in his place. It’s his job to show them MMA is not a fight between two screaming baboons going all out on each other over mates and yams but an intelligent game of skill and strategy, a battle using one’s full mental and physical tools to his advantage, the ultimate form of physical chess.
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