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      There are three distinct types of competing and to take advantage of all opportunities for growth a fighter should look for all three on a consistent basis.  In the most basic terms there are competitions where an athlete is the clear favorite,...

      In April of 2012 I got out of the Marine Corps, I was a 6-3 amateur fighter and my goal was to get 1 more fight in and then turn pro.  I felt my skills were truly turning a corner and that...

      Writing this post gives me a bit of pause.  I’ve been around the sport of MMA a long time and Performance Enhancing Drugs have been a constant source of debate.  Who is taking them?  How widespread is the use?  What punishments and...

      Across MMA there are certain best practices that continually emerge.  The tactics that have seen consistent success have grown and evolved over time and many coaches look to the highest level in developing strategies for all their athletes.  The meta game is...

      There are two distinct ways at looking at skill development.  Seeking to increase specificity and specialization, or seeking to court variation in all forms.  These two extremes exist on a spectrum and hold sway over one and other.  The camp in favor...

There is a passage in Josh Waitzkin’s book, “The Art of Learning” that I keep up on my wall.  I go back to it before every competition.  Before I fight as I pace I see myself as the Jaguar stalking.  I constantly feed myself the...

Over the long haul a fighter must be dedicated to a living a process based life.  Short term fixes can drive short term results, but over the long term the right habits will breed success.  I was recently discussing small habits that could drive better...

Now the cycle of the perfect year is reaching the conclusion.  Skill acquisition periods are key to both short and long term development.  There is a world of difference between training for short term and long term goals as had been previously discussed.  There are...

The fight has just ended and the fighter has experienced one of the most intense emotional experiences that exists.  All of the fighter’s time, focus, and energy was focused on a single point and now that point is in the past.  Like any other high...

The time has come and the work is all done.  Now the fun part is here.  The roughly 24 hours between when a fighter steps off the scale and steps out of the cage post fight is as good as it gets.  The importance of...