Have you ever been too relaxed going into the fight?

[szJack]

Hey, I just had my 2nd pro MMA fight and I looked like a fucking amateur to say the least and am now 1-1.
I was so focused to not get too tensed, visualized the crap out of me being relaxed and calm... that I forgot to be agressive when the fight started. I had much better grappler than me [usually I am the grappler]. I know I had better standup but I just couldn't wake up. He didn't hit hard at all, I just couldn't pull the triger.
The fact that I was given a gameplan that I was not prepared to do [I usually am the longer, rangier fighter, this time - it was him and he fought southpaw] was not helping - I couldn't fight backwards with a guy who has reach advantage over me. Anyway - he ended up trying for takedown, I defended it but he fell on his back, took my leg, snapped my ankle while I was setting it free and ended on my back choking me out with some wierd arm triangle.

Anyways - I do not want that wierd state when I can't focus, find my range and hit the guy.
I feel terrible to say the least. Like part of my dream was taken away and I let everyone down.

tldr: HOW do you balance visualization between not getting too tensed and too relaxed?

 

[VanteMMA]

So I had the opposite issue going into my first match. I was too hyped, and ended up gassing out early which cost me the match. Boy was I surprised since I would regularly spar for a couple of hours when I was training.

I am going to try and be more relaxed next time, but I dont want to be too relaxed and face a similar problem as you did.

I think there isnt a one size fits all solution to achieve the perfect 'state' for fighting. People are different. And I also think its a matter of experience.

My solution is to just go out there and fight. Realise that everything is never going to be perfect, that you might never achieve the perfect state, and that's OK. Just go out there and do your best and have a great time. That's the mindset I am trying to garner.

Those are my 2 cents, but it would be great if some of the other fighters with more experience could chime in.

 

[Sinister]

Yes, this was a problem I had as well. Not enough tension going into the bout AND not getting to warm-up for it made for double-trouble.

 

[Art of War]

I think, as someone previously stated, there's no one size fits all.

For me, I'm naturally aggressive, so I like to approach the ring loose and calm, keeping a steady powerful, deliberate pace in mind.

For someone who's naturally passive (I don't think that's the word I'm looking for), but naturally careful or whatever, it could be better to tune into a predator mindstate.

 

[szJack]

I'd go with calm and collected. ; )

Sin - any advice on how to overcome that?

 

[Aikidoka]

I am lucky to have great head movement that really helps me out.

In sparring, I notice I make my opponents slightly angry by slipping and weaving under their shots, they try to really pressure me and sometimes disregard proper form. It gives me the opportunity to dart (for those of you who have seen the bjjscouts video of Dominick Cruz, you know what a dart is) my way past them, throwing that left hook flush onto their jaw. When done properly, no can defense, hahaha.

Head movement gives me confidence in being able to evade their blows and throw some of mine, at our gym whenever I'm sparring people just leave what they're doing and start watching because it's funny to see the reaction of a guy throwing multiple combinations and not even touching my face. I wonder if they'll ever learn they can strike the body. Hopefully not hahah.
That helps me out very much, and after the guy misses several punches I feel very loose and comfortable... I have never lost a match, either sparring or style vs style matches vs karate or TKD or even WC guys. Hence I believe I am qualified enough to discuss this matter.

Hopefully I've atleast given you a good read, it is up to you whether you will use my method of boosting confidence by using head movement or you will find another one yourself.

 

[Sinister]

I'd go with calm and collected. ; )

Sin - any advice on how to overcome that?

It's a tough thing to overcome, you have to psyche yourself up mentally, however you do that.

 

[Tebowned]

I am lucky to have great head movement that really helps me out.

In sparring, I notice I make my opponents slightly angry by slipping and weaving under their shots, they try to really pressure me and sometimes disregard proper form. It gives me the opportunity to dart (for those of you who have seen the bjjscouts video of Dominick Cruz, you know what a dart is) my way past them, throwing that left hook flush onto their jaw. When done properly, no can defense, hahaha.

Head movement gives me confidence in being able to evade their blows and throw some of mine, at our gym whenever I'm sparring people just leave what they're doing and start watching because it's funny to see the reaction of a guy throwing multiple combinations and not even touching my face. I wonder if they'll ever learn they can strike the body. Hopefully not hahah.
That helps me out very much, and after the guy misses several punches I feel very loose and comfortable... I have never lost a match, either sparring or style vs style matches vs karate or TKD or even WC guys. Hence I believe I am qualified enough to discuss this matter.

Hopefully I've atleast given you a good read, it is up to you whether you will use my method of boosting confidence by using head movement or you will find another one yourself.

Did anyone else find this irrelevant?

 

[Aikidoka]

Did anyone else find this irrelevant?

I was just saying how being confident in your abilities helps you out mentally, helps you find the balance between aggressive and completely relaxed.
If you find it irrelevant it is really not.my problem.

 

[aries]

Yeah same thing happened to me. I was so tense before worrying about the bout, worrying about gassing out that I went too far the other way and was really relaxed going in. But then when the bout started I couldn't snap out of my semi-daze and get into gear. It's a bit of a balancing act to get it right.

 

[ssullivan80]

TS: First off, your 1-1 and it's hardly something that you should see as self defeating. Sure, losing is never easy, nor should it be but it's part of fighting.

As many have noted, getting into that "right mind" and "right body" before a fight is something that takes time to develop and is highly personal. Nerves, tension, etc, aren't things that ever go away (from my experience) but instead things that through experience become far easier to manage. It's like the first time you get a cavity filled from the dentist or get stiches, shits kinda scary....... but after you've done it a few times you know what to expect and even though it's equally as uncomfortable, it's far less intimidating and you don't fixate on the "process"..... it's just "routine".

Personally, what helped me was developing set routines that were regimented and repeated constantly in the gym. By following a regimented and specific routine before every sparring session or training session, it becomes second nature and you do it so habitually that you don't have to think. It's basically, "combat meditation".

I.E: Every time I warmed up, either before a training or sparring session I'd follow the exact same stretching, shadowboxing and mitt work routine. I was extremely strict with it, same reps, same time (all done with timer), etc.

Secondly I had a routine that I used every time I stepped into the ring in sparring. You'll notice many fighters do this and I find it extremely usefull in controlling nerves. Just those quick seconds/minutes your in the ring before a sparring session, using a set routine (you don't have to think) is like a sub concious reminder to both your mind and body that "I'm about to fight". The more it's repeated the less intimidating the idea of "being in a fight" gets and the more you focus on visualizing how you're going to "fight your fight". By repeating this constantly in the gym until it's habitual, when you get into the ring it keeps you from fixating on the other elements (crowd, opponent, noise, etc) and let's you re-focus on "task at hand".

Hope that helps brotha, good luck!

 

[szJack]

Thank you, everyone!
Some really nice pieces of advice in here.

 

[PirateTetra]

I did this in my last fight. It was like i was asleep the entire fight, I didn't do shit to my opponent. When the fight was over I remember thinking "Wait what? I'm just getting started".

The entire week before the fight was shit and i just couldn't hype myself up. When I'm at my best I'm ready to kill the guy I'm fighting but this last time i was in zombie mode the entire fight. I remember pushing my opponent up against the cage and just starting to look at people in the crowd. No focus at all.