Who Do You Actually Fight in Combat Sports?

Combat sport fighters are often portrayed as fearless man-machines programmed to bulldoze over anything that comes their way. In the ring or cage, fighters win by trying their best to destroy their opponents, the more brutal the better. This gives a lot of people the impression that combat sport fighters are accustomed to getting what they want, and are ready to punch and kick their way out of problems. They are therefore preferably kept at a distance in everyday life.

In fact, as a neighborhood mixed martial arts fighter or boxer, you’re less likely to be called out for jumping the queue at the cashier in the local supermarket and you’ll probably have an parking slot others will avoid in front of your apartment. No one would want to mess with a fighter and get a knuckle sandwich for breakfast. This impression people have of fighters is not surprising. After all, what kind of human being would voluntarily expose himself to beatings and injury for no apparent reason except for the sheer joy of it, and perhaps money.

Of course, people are scared of what they do not understand (and can break their bones). And understanding combat fighters like you baffles the layman. They may ask you:” Why do you do combat sports?” and maybe, if they dig deeper, the question becomes “Who do you actually fight in the ring or cage?”

It’s time to put on my philosopher’s hat.

Some fighters fight because it is just the natural path they follow in their way through life. Others simply fight for the fun of it. Others practice combat sports to lose weight or stay fit, as nothing like combat sports will keep you in top overall physical and mental condition. Each fighter is walking down his own path.

Despite their varied reasons, there is a single thread common for all types of combat sport fighters and practitioners. This thread is as true as for those with triple-digit professional fight record as well as for those who have just soaked their head gear with the sweat of their first training session. It is the courage to fight one’s own Self.

I’m a working man and I have full-time job. Having a steady nine to five that pays the bills has its advantages, but it has a lot of disadvantages too. As with any modern workplace, stress and insufficient physical activity can pull you down – and keep you down. We working men are all aware of this. But not all people are ready to make the decisions to take their life in their own hands and challenge the status quo. The decision to practice combat sports is already the first fight won.

The motivation – the primal urge – for a cathartic and exhausting physical activity that will bring us closer to our vision of an improved self is another fight won. Not everyone has it, or can will it out of the depth of their gut.

Actually, these are a kind of precondition or “undercard fights” for the main event – You versus Yourself.

The main event begins when you enter the gym. You come with hand-wraps and gloves on your hands. And yet you still carry some baggage with you – the stress and fear and worry that you dragged from the outside world like rabid monkeys clinging on your back. You have to shake them off. And sometimes they best way to get rabid monkeys of your back is to ignore them till they go away. But you are ready.

Combat sports can bring you to the limits of your mental and physical endurance, to the verge of collapsing into a quivering heap of sweaty jelly on the mats. Many times you are just a step away from giving up.

But when you survive this, you start fighting the real fight.

You spar with your opponent to cast your own tears and fears away. You get to know them and then you fight them. You may win or lose – it no longer matters. Your courage and confidence will grow in your chest. It first pulls you along. Then it pushes you on. It becomes the goal. It becomes the love of the fight. It becomes the prize.

You then proceed with fighting your weak points. You become aware that you may be just as weak and human as anybody else, maybe even weaker than most. You have to fight to develop your skills by exposing yourself to where you are weakest and get stronger there.

There’s another fight. There is that part of our personality that would rather give up the whole idea and look for a hot tub with a bag of potato chips – that lazy rat ass bastard! But that other part of you – that good ol’ bastard called gumption and his “get-it-done” attitude – threatens to kick you in the nuts to keep you rocking. You listen to the right one. So you move on.

At sparring sessions, you must train yourself to think fast and to react fast; otherwise, your sparring partner will dish you out some painful lessons. You must fight to rein in your mind and learn to recover your sharpness and wits fast when your concentration breaks. And break it will. You get focused and you stay focused.

Combat sports gives you a more powerful operating system. Using it to your advantage is another part of the fight. This is especially true for the working man. You will have a superior overall physical and mental condition. Meet your work and life challenges head on. Spread the good energy and do your best at anything you do in your life. That’s the fight of all fights.

The last fight I’ll talk about is the fight for wholeness in your life. The fight you fight is the fight to bring balance to your life through combat sports. Fight for your family. Fight for your career. Fight to defeat your demons and be a good man despite your broken past. Fight for good in society. When this wholeness is reached, the result of such fight is peace. And peace is what we should seek for ourselves and the entire freakin’ world. Now who wants a knuckle sandwich for breakfast?

Contributed by Radosav Milutinovic.