Wanting to Be a Fighter Isn't Enough

Every MMA gym has heard it. “I want to be a fighter.”

There is nothing wrong with wanting to fight. In fact, you have to want it. Fighting is hard, and if you don't genuinely want to do it, you're probably not going to last very long.

But saying you want to be a fighter and actually becoming one are two very different things.

Wanting the identity is easy. Doing the work is not.

Being a fighter means showing up when you don't feel like showing up. It means being willing to get tired, get frustrated, get submitted, get outworked and sometimes get your ass kicked. It means learning things you aren't naturally good at instead of only doing the things you enjoy.

It means drilling the same fundamentals over and over again when you'd rather learn something new. It means training with people who are better than you without letting your ego get in the way, and training with people who are less experienced than you without treating them like they're beneath you. It means understanding that your training partners aren't obstacles to your development. They're part of it. And it means trusting the process instead of constantly asking when you're going to get to the next level.

This is especially important when someone wants to compete.

A fight isn't a reward for wanting to fight. It's the result of being prepared to fight.

There's a big difference.

At BLAST, we don't decide that someone is ready to compete because they really want to. We look at their training, their technical development, their consistency, their ability to handle adversity, their attitude, and whether they're ready for what competition actually demands.

That's part of a coach's job.

Sometimes the right answer is, “You're ready.”

Sometimes it's, “Not yet.”

And “not yet” isn't an insult. It means there is still work to do. The goal isn't to get you into a cage as quickly as possible. The goal is to make sure that when you get there, you're prepared for what you're about to do.

There's a reason we put so much emphasis on fundamentals, structured training and long-term development at BLAST. You don't become a good fighter by accumulating experiences. You become a good fighter by developing skills.

And that takes time.

Everybody wants to be a fighter when they're imagining the walkout, the lights, the crowd and getting their hand raised. Not everybody wants to be a fighter when it's Monday morning and their legs are sore from Saturday's training.

That's where the difference is made.

You don't have to prove that you're a fighter by telling everyone that you want to fight.

Just keep showing up.

Keep learning. Keep getting better. Eventually, you won't have to tell anyone what you are.

They'll be able to see it.