#5 - Win That Fight

Greetings Beautiful People,

Apologies for the recent lack of contact - let's face it a Weekly Wonder that is not weekly doesn't bear thinking about. However I left my job at the end of July and needed a little break from everything. Thanks to all my former colleagues for the well-wishing and to those that were able to join me for a drink.

I hope you're all well and going from strength to strength.

1) QOTW

“We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contests, and you must win.”

Edward Gibbon

2) Story - Win That Fight

The air in the changing room is raw with nerves and adrenaline. Two experienced fighters are bantering, one is talking about how his wife puts pepper-spray on his gloves and that’s why
in the first round he always keeps his gloves as far from his face as possible. Laughter cuts the tension for a moment and brings some kind of normality to proceedings.  

I’m introduced to G who is visibly scared, it’s his first fight. The boxers are split into two teams (red and blue) and the only thing separating them are a few partitions about 5’6 high so if you are fighting you can basically see your opponent. 

Poor G is fighting first. He starts talking under his breath about how big his opponent on the blue team is (in fairness he does look a lot bigger). We can see his head and shoulders and hear him warming up, thudding punches connecting with focus mitts just a few feet away. It’s the moment of truth and G is having a crisis. It’s the first time I’ve helped prep fighters and I can hear my own inner gremlin starting up. It’s asking me if I know what I’m doing. G is mumbling nervously:

G: “He’s a lot bigger than me…I don’t think he’s in my weight class. Do you think he’s in my weight class? I don’t know man…”

It’s a crucial point, his fear is gaining momentum and it has to be turned around now or he’ll pull out of the fight or worse still go in scared and get hurt. I take a breath and a blank expression fixes itself on my face. Something in me clicks - I look him dead in the eye and in a low calm voice say:

“Put that shit out of you head. You’re here to fight and you’re gonna fight. (I tap my temple with my right index fight finger) you win that fight first.”

I let the words marinate while I take another breath. They sounded pretty convincing.

I pick up the handwraps and start wrapping his hands very slowly. He’s breathing is much too rapid so I teach him a centring breath (inhale 6 seconds – hold 2 seconds –  exhale 7 seconds) to help control his anxiety and I count it with him over and over till he gets it, continuing to speak in a low even tone. He’s watching me wrap his hands which distracts his mind enough for him to absorb what I’m saying. The act of wrapping his hands while I talk splits my attention and takes me into a light trance and the words start flowing.

“You’re about to join a very select club. A lot of people like the idea of fighting but how many do you think have the balls to do it? Very few. It takes a special kind of person, I don’t care what level you’re fighting at it takes a special kind of person. You’ve already won, just for the fact you’re here, you’ve won. This is something no-one can ever take away from you.” 

Things I’ve learned, things I’ve heard trainers say and even things I’ve read are all weaving themselves together seamlessly.

I keep talking in a calm voice steadily boosting his confidence not leaving much air in there for him to think. It’s working, his breathing has slowed down a little and there’s a different look on his face. 

He looks up from his hand with a thousand-yard stare:

G(half-smiling): ”I agreed to this fight at 3 weeks notice. Most people would pull out now wouldn’t they?”

D: "Yes, most people would." 

G: "But I’m not gonna do that." 

D: "No, you’re not."

G: “I’m gonna enjoy this…I feel like I’m already victorious. It doesn’t matter whether I win, I got victory over myself. ” 

D(emphatically): "Yes."

He’s still nervous but he’s won the inner game. I talk to him about his adrenaline. I tell him it is like rocket fuel, like nitro and he has to control it using that centring breath, too much adrenaline and he will burn out quickly, too little and he will not have the explosiveness. We do some padwork to warm-up and I show him how to take away the southpaw jab and counter it. 

By the time G leaves the changing room he is a different person to the one I met. He boxes well but loses a decision. During his fight I was in the back room helping some of the other fighters but the fights are filmed and there are some tv screens in the bar next door so I managed to catch a few bits. I saw G taking away the jab by carrying his left hand high and long and in the second round he was dropping his hands and smiling and baiting his opponent to come in! In the third he was a little reckless but he wobbled his opponent twice with some huge right hooks. Obviously I wished he’d won (and of course I have it on good authority he was robbed!) but I felt really proud of him for just getting in there. The fact he was able to make that transformation from terrified to brave in just a few minutes showed me how much power we have access to when we really focus our minds. 

For 3 or 4 days after this whenever I had a negative though the words “…win that fight” would echo through my head.  

3) Song - Fight Them Back by Steve Mason

Peace

D

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