Should i stop competing?
- Thread starter Steveston
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2016
- Messages
- 21,858
- Reaction score
- 29,208
What are your goals in combat sport? And what are your personal goals outside sport?
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2013
- Messages
- 5,238
- Reaction score
- 224
To take it as far as i can ... Work & generally being productive.
Take guts to compete. You have my respect. Heard a measure of courage, way to personal growth and trying to better yourself is to do something you suck at. My short, uncoordinated daughter competed in volley ball and swimming. She was shorter than the other varsity players by 6" to 12", could not jump with ball handling skills average but her hustle gave her a position on the team. Did not play much but I was so proud of her sticking with it even though she was not good at the sport. She did not know how to swim. Learned on the swim team. She always came in last place sometimes as much as 2 pool lengths behind. Everybody cheered for her. She got the fish out of water award from her team. She always went for the hardest to do thing while growing up like musical instrument or college major. She is very successful as an adult now and still goes after challenges. Knock on wood she keeps safe, happy and healthy which are the main goal with raising kids. With that said, just measure your success in terms of your skills getting better, not your win loss record. Get feedback from your coach and experienced fighters and keep track of what you learn to prove to yourself the results of your hard work. I lost several of my fights before I won some but never was that good overall. My instructor praises anybody that fights, win or lose and seems to remember everybody's fights. I would stop competing when you quit having fun with it. The good thing is you have to get better by sticking with the sport. There is always somebody worse or better than you in any endeavor. Perseverance and hard work often wins over skill in life.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2005
- Messages
- 23,297
- Reaction score
- 28,836
Do you still have fun? Are you still motivated?
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2016
- Messages
- 21,858
- Reaction score
- 29,208
Sounds to me that you're accomplishing all of the above – win or lose. So if your body and health are good, I'd keep competing, TBH.
One observation from what I know so far, is you're maybe focusing on too many disciplines and by doing so mitigating your chances of success in any one discipline. I remember Klitschko (Vitali) excelled at both KB and boxing but that's not the norm for most.
Do you find more fulfilment in KB or grappling? Better: Picture yourself 5-10 years from now and you never place well in comp. Which art looking back has more intangibles to walk away with down the road for you, e.g., camaraderie, cardio, flexibility, reflexes, grip or core strength, mental toughness, focus, logistics (closer gym)?
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2011
- Messages
- 15,434
- Reaction score
- 7,519
Compete if you enjoy competing. It should be scary, thrilling, disappointing (at times), and a dozen other things but it should also be enjoyable.
That Being said I tell my team all the time the best space to occupy in a gym is being the guy who’s good enough to spar/roll and give a good account of himself who never competes. You get to decide when you spar or not, you get to eat what ever you want, skip road work or conditioning if you’d like, and no strangers gonna blast you in the face with a right hand in front of your family and friends.
- Joined
- May 24, 2016
- Messages
- 1,922
- Reaction score
- 216
Yeah keep going because you love it
Do it just to have fun and to become better, maybe u r not made for Champion material, but doesnt matter
My english kinda sucks, hope u can understand.. just give a like hahah
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2008
- Messages
- 22,157
- Reaction score
- 3,958
Some teammates of mine and coaches lost their first couple amateur fights and end up going on winning streaks and eventually winning some amateur titles or tournaments and some went pro and have/had success. I wouldn't let your record stop you from competing. As long as you're generally speaking safe and have a supportive and good team around you then who cares if you don't havea good record or even ever win a fight. The right team will support you along the way and hopefully guide you towards improvement the whole way through regardless of your results.
- Joined
- May 30, 2013
- Messages
- 18,877
- Reaction score
- 9,803
One thing that truly helped me was...Obsessive footwork training!
I used to go to these old school boxing gyms in terrible neighborhoods. Super cheap to train but goddamn it was like a slaughterhouse and they wanted real fighters and not recreational interlopers. Having a great footwork saved my ass. So did training in Korean Karate which is footwork heavy and evasive in nature.
Screw "love combat sports" this is not about love. This is about having the right foundation to keep your ass safe. Sports combat does not give a shit about people. It is devoid of love. It seeks results and evolution.
Bro, learn to transfer weight, rotation and pivoting as well as any type of evasive footwork from bouncing around to being able to shuffle around. Trust me, footwork training is must. Its not exciting to learn. Its tedious, time consuming and boring but its literally the most important aspect that is often underappreciated by most people.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2017
- Messages
- 13,066
- Reaction score
- 20,835
Only you know when it's time to call it a wrap. Don't let anyone else tell you when. Unless you're @ironkhan57 in which case you should retire immediately and never put gloves on again.
- Joined
- May 25, 2002
- Messages
- 8,155
- Reaction score
- 9,883
In his case he should probably keep going if he enjoys it, competing at a hobbyist amateur level for a few fights . However its clear that many fighters don't know when it's time to retire from active competition, Tony Ferguson being the most obvious example right now.
Sometimes fighters do need to be told to hang it up and aren't capable of making that objective decision themselves. Being attached to the process, the training and the excitement of competition can be a strong incentive to keep going well past the point of being detrimental to health.
As for the level of Ironkhan type delusion with no physical attributes or talent that's different, but sometimes even they need to have some sense beaten into them on streetbeefs is the only way.
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2013
- Messages
- 15,287
- Reaction score
- 11,154
1. How old are you?
2. How much damage are you taking in these kickboxing fights?
3. Realistically, how good is your gym and teammates compared to other gyms in the state.
I can’t tell you if you should give up fighting or not, but I don’t think you should quit grappling until you win a few. Literally no downside to grappling
2. How much damage are you taking in these kickboxing fights?
3. Realistically, how good is your gym and teammates compared to other gyms in the state.
I can’t tell you if you should give up fighting or not, but I don’t think you should quit grappling until you win a few. Literally no downside to grappling
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2017
- Messages
- 13,066
- Reaction score
- 20,835
Ironkhan recently informed me that he 100% thinks he could go toe to toe with that Colby guy who just fought and even beat him in straight boxing..... He is past delusional and has skipped straight into the realm of imagination land. He's a danger to himself and I won't be surprised if he gets killed fighting someone on concrete. But it's not like hundreds of members haven't warned him lol.
In regards to when someone should retire. I was talking about amateurs exclusively. When it comes to pros, some of them absolutely should be told to retire.
I had stopped after one KB fight in tournament format. I had won this one on cards like UD and no one ever was down in this one. He damaged me really heavily therefore I opted to pull out instead to take next fight in tournament.
I had to work to pay bills in time. And there .....
Plus for pro boxing it was difficult for promoter to get get for me fights.
I don't think that I might be some kind of champ in ams or pros but there...
I didn't had Irl bad records and 2 GBH trial cases and court verdicts were that I'm not guilty. Also some other shit.
Besides this
I was knifefighter too and I I regret this shit cos I might Shake hand with guy I had to do duel.
Secundants and judge ; the Creator.
I had to work to pay bills in time. And there .....
Plus for pro boxing it was difficult for promoter to get get for me fights.
I don't think that I might be some kind of champ in ams or pros but there...
I didn't had Irl bad records and 2 GBH trial cases and court verdicts were that I'm not guilty. Also some other shit.
Besides this
I was knifefighter too and I I regret this shit cos I might Shake hand with guy I had to do duel.
Secundants and judge ; the Creator.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2008
- Messages
- 14,920
- Reaction score
- 11,365
shhh don't give away the keys to the vault
This might sound a bit harsh but if you're consistently not winning, the problem probably resides somewhere in your action (or lack thereof) in training. Wars can be won months before anyone sets foot on the battlefield; it's the same with fighting.
Are you showing up to the gym everyday? Are you shadowboxing? Doing your conditioning and roadwork consistently? Giving max effort in sparring? If you are, there should be no reason why you lose against someone you're appropriately matched with on a similar skill level. The fact that you're asking online if you can continue indicates to me that you're re-thinking your reasons for competing and want validation for a way out.
Even at the lowest levels of combat sport competition this stuff ain't no joke. For my first MMA fight, I'd had 2 years of boxing experience, and 8 months of MMA training 2x a day, plus roadwork 7x a week. Even THEN I just barely managed to eek out a TKO win in the 3rd round against my opponent.
Are you showing up to the gym everyday? Are you shadowboxing? Doing your conditioning and roadwork consistently? Giving max effort in sparring? If you are, there should be no reason why you lose against someone you're appropriately matched with on a similar skill level. The fact that you're asking online if you can continue indicates to me that you're re-thinking your reasons for competing and want validation for a way out.
Even at the lowest levels of combat sport competition this stuff ain't no joke. For my first MMA fight, I'd had 2 years of boxing experience, and 8 months of MMA training 2x a day, plus roadwork 7x a week. Even THEN I just barely managed to eek out a TKO win in the 3rd round against my opponent.
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2010
- Messages
- 14,136
- Reaction score
- 9,348
My casual advice would be don't give up, but do buckle down and commit to training harder for at least the next 6-12 months before jumping in another fight.
Further sharpen your strengths and spend a lot of time fixing your weak points exposed in those losses.
Use the experience as a tool, you should know what you need to work on now.
Further sharpen your strengths and spend a lot of time fixing your weak points exposed in those losses.
Use the experience as a tool, you should know what you need to work on now.
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2022
- Messages
- 7,065
- Reaction score
- 6,157
maybe he´s not talented and didn´t have the upbringing to give him the mentality to be a fighter
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2022
- Messages
- 7,065
- Reaction score
- 6,157
biggest factor in answering this is how old ts is.
If you´re young and really want it, training doesn´t hurt. You can train for 3 years without competing. If you love it you´ll do it. Now comepting is risk. You get hurt.
But if you´re like +30 and lost 5 out of 5. It might be not your talent or just at this stage you´re not there.
