You get hit once, twice, maybe a third...! You are thinking, “My opponent sure is landing a lot on me and that last one hurt!” Mentally breaking is nothing but just the loss of concentration of the task at hand.  If you can remain in the moment and stay focused,  you will never break.  Some call this mental toughness.  I call it mental concentration. Like anything else, you can improve your concentration through practice.  

If you have been mentally broken in training or sparring, you  know the feeling I am talking about.  Don’t be so quick to label yourself as mentally weak! The trick to unwavering concentration and focus (mental toughness) is to accept and let all negative situations or feelings flow right through you as they enter your mind.  Once you bring your attention to the pain or dwell on the strikes that the opponent is landing on you, discouragement can start to show its ugly face.  Have you ever seen a fight where a fighter who has clearly lost remains  convinced that he had won immediately after the judge’s decision?  The fighter, despite losing on the  scorecards, was never emotionally and mentally affected by anything his opponent did therefore he may have “felt” like he had won.  Sometimes you win, but you feel like you have lost.  Other times you lose, but feel like you have won.  It is all mental.

In 1963 a Vietnamese Buddhist monk by the name of Thích Quang Duc burned himself alive on the streets of Saigon to make a public statement about equality.  The unbelievable part of this story is that Thích Quang Duc burned to his death while not showing any sign of pain or discomfort.  The monk was in a deep state of concentration that transcended the physical.  

Ask yourself; how can I use this knowledge to make myself mentally tougher?

“If you can’t get into the mind of your opponent, you cannot break him nor his will.” -Frank

When you have tight hips, it could impact your muay thai practice in several ways: 

…hard time balancing

…can’t generate power with kicks and knees

…are not able to turn your hip over properly when kicking

Good hip mobility requires, like all things, balance. Balance between flexibility and strength. It is the sweet spot between effort and ease that gives you efficiency in technique. Mobile and flexible hips allow you to throw more powerful strikes with less effort so you can conserve your energy in a fight. 

Before we get into the poses, here are a couple of important reminders for stretching: 

…even, regulated breathing during stretching sends important messages to your body that it is safe to relax. Breathe in to find space and lengthen into the pose, breath out to relax tension from your body. Actively imagine breathing into the area where you feel tension, then letting that tension go when you let the breath go.

…it is about sensation, not destination. Discomfort is normal, but pain is not. Let go of what you think the pose is supposed to look like and instead listen to the signals your body gives you.

3 HIP FLEXIBILITY POSES

• Aim to hold each side for 3-5 minutes.

1. Figure Four

Great variation for anyone suffering from knee pain or if your hips are extremely tight. It is important to keep the ankle flexed, and keep your spine and tailbone on the ground at all times. 

To intensify:

1. Gently push crossed leg away from you, or 
2. Bring your knee toward your chest and interlace fingers behind leg or shin, then use your arms to gently pull your knee toward either armpit (different directions give different sensations, so try different versions out for yourself)

2. Modified Pigeon or 90/90 

Once you feel comfortable with figure four, you can try this next stage. 

 

To intensify: 

1. Lean over front leg on forearms, rest head on hands, or place head on floor. Feel free to place a pillow or books under your chest to help you relax into the pose. Remember ease over effort here.

3. Pigeon 

Keep back leg straight, both hips on the ground as much as possible. You should feel no pain in the knees at all, if you do, please choose a modified version above.

To intensify: 

1. Lean over front leg on forearms, rest head on hands, or place head on floor. Feel free to place a pillow or books under your chest to help you relax into the pose. Remember ease over effort here.

As a youngster training muay thai, I just wanted to hit things.  I would max out on cardio every session, and often went through the motions of fighting with little thought given to the details. I also wasn’t the best sparring partner as I only had 1 gear, and that’s 100% GO.  I got to a good level in muay thai, but I could have gotten there faster. This kind of intensity in training is great for competition and fight camp, but don't forget to also prioritize skill and technique acquisition during the off season. 

When I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at 32,  I adopted a new mindset.  One that gave a greater emphasis to learning and overall being more reflective about my training inside and outside of the dojo.  When practicing a new move,  I would tone down the intensity to 30% and really try to bring my mind to the technique and form at hand.  When rolling, I don’t just do what feels right, because what feels right at the beginning might not be what is “technically” right.  I do what is appropriate, and over time that will start to feel right.   As a result of this new mindset, I saw tremendous growth and improvement in my Brazilian jiu-jitsu game in a relatively short period of time.  

Remember, skill and technique acquisition should be an important part of your fight training.  Be analytical, be critical, and  strive to perfect your craft.  Your mind should be just as tired as your body by the day's end.

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PS.  With that being side, don't use this as an excuse to avoid those intense workouts!  As a fighter, you still need a couple of those a week!

Receiving my purple belt after 3 years of training BJJ.  Renowned BJJ coach John Daenarher believes that you can reach a high level in any skill set given 5 years of deliberate practice.  Is it really "too late" to start anything if this is true?

One of my toughest BJJ opponents who bested me twice in 2 different tournaments.  I have to thank guys like him because these losses really pushed me to deepen my understanding of the art, forcing me to think more critically about my approach to training.  I want a trilogy. 

My first gold at blue belt!  

Ask yourself:

1.  If I did train, how would I feel for the rest of the day?

2. If I didn't train, how would I feel for the rest of the day?

When you look in the mirror are you happy with your body? Unfortunately, only about 21% of adults feel satisfied with the way they look. This image of the body begins in the early stages of childhood and is often affected by family, friends, social pressure and the media. 

Body image and self-esteem directly influence each other and this is why I love training in Muay Thai. Martial arts is a positive tool for improving body image as it is a discipline that teaches you to respect and value your body for more than what it looks like. After a warm up of jumping jacks, pushups, sit ups and burpees I am tired, but I am also fired up and ready to push my limits to see how hard I can strike the bag, test the strength of my swing kicks, and see what my body is able to do. It is this feeling that builds my body image and not whether I measure up to the fitness models in Women’s Health Magazine. 

Professional fighters are some of the most fit athletes in the world as a result of the long hours put in training and conditioning, but even if you are fighting recreationally, it is still one of the most effective fat-burning workouts. Each session of authentic Muay Thai training works the whole body and easily burns around 600-700 calories in an hour (depending on your metabolic rate) making this a great choice of exercise to lose weight and tone your body.

There is a saying that “abs are built in the kitchen”. Along with a regular fitness routine, what you eat plays the most important part in how your body looks and feels. Incorporating a well-balanced diet into your lifestyle with lean protein, good carbs, fats and loads of vegetables will improve your performance, provide you with energy, and help build muscle.

Your body is an important vessel. Be sure to nourish it with good food and appreciate it for what it does and not always what it looks like.