21 Dec When The Cage Door Locks
In Dec 2005 back before what is now Forged Fitness, but was then called Crossfit NC I started training Jiu-jitsu. My first coaches were Jason Culbreth and Billy Dowey and I was very lucky to start under their leadership and instruction. I will never forget one piece of advice given to me by Billy right before my 6th Amateur fight, and it is something that has stuck with me for every fight since and I do my best to pass on to all others getting ready to make the walk to the cage.
At the time I was training in California with Team Quest at Dan Henderson’s gym. We had an incredible group of coaches, fighters and supporting staff. I was giving my thoughts on the upcoming fight and said something to the effect of, “There is no way this guy is going to beat me. I’ve worked too hard, I train with better guys every day, I work with better coaches, I put in more time, and I’m more experienced.” Billy overheard me and looked a little bemused. He simply responded with, “Yeah, but he ain’t fighting those guys, he is fighting you”. I went out a few days later and lost the fight by knockout in the first round. It was a pivotal moment that completely changed how I prepare and led to me going on a 6 fight winning streak after that.
So what was the lesson?
What I took from that day was:
The preparation and the fight are separate. Good preparation can give you better chances, but it will not win the fight for you. Be prepared to be locked in the cage with someone who came to destroy you and give everything you have in that moment to destroy them first.
Preparation is incredibly important, and those who prepare well will typically succeed in the long run. A single fight is not the long run, it is one moment in time. A pro fighter who fights 30 fights in 10 years will see 10 years of work summed up in his record. How much time is that? 7.5 hours… out of 10 years.
So always put the time in, train with the best coaches, find good training partners, and gather all the experience you can. But when the cage door locks do not expect the preparation alone to win the day. Be prepared to fight in that one moment.