Magical Thinking Destroys Fighters

[kuroro]

Look at Tony Ferguson, Diego Sanchez, and now Jiri Prochazka. When a fighter starts putting too much faith in their "spirit" their ability to make an honest evaluation of their actual technical weaknesses and physical differences goes right out the window. They start spending a lot of time doing dumb stuff they see in entertainment and thinking they have a destiny. Their training starts to resemble movie training montages like in Blood Sport and Karate Kid. The staredown kind of told the story. Pereira was looking AT Jiri. Jiri was looking at himself looking at Pereira. One is there for a real battle, the other is there for top 10 anime battles.

Interestingly, Alex Pereira practices a shamanic warrior tradition from his indigenous culture and it doesn't seem to interfere whatsoever with his fundamental combat preparation. I wonder if Prochazka is at a disadvantage having to invent that culture for himself piecemeal out of pop culture depictions of warriorhood.

 

[AstralPanda]

Jiri has done Ayahuasca half a dozen times and has actively pursued some pretty advanced spiritual practices. So, I would say he's far more advanced into traditional wisdom than you're giving him credit for.


Comparing him to Ferguson and Diego, here is awful, these are guys who get sucked in by woo woo spiritual nonsense.


That's very different from core traditions that actually do have a lot of power in them.

Magical thinking helps more than hurts, you just aren't as aware of the countless cases that aren't publicised in combat sports or athletes in general.

 

[MMonk]

I agree.. Poatan draws powers from his ancestor spirits - from his own culture...

Jiri is not a samurai, nor are his ancestors...

P.S. But Jiri got very far in UFC and Poatan seems to be his cryptonite - just too technical and devastating of a striker

 

[pnchdrnk]

Their training starts to resemble movie training montages like in Blood Sport and Karate Kid

Hey, watch what you're saying, pal, or Frank Dux will jump out of a forest and beat you up with a trophy.

 

[mixmastermo]

Look at Tony Ferguson, Diego Sanchez, and now Jiri Prochazka. When a fighter starts putting too much faith in their "spirit" their ability to make an honest evaluation of their actual technical weaknesses and physical differences goes right out the window. They start spending a lot of time doing dumb stuff they see in entertainment and thinking they have a destiny. Their training starts to resemble movie training montages like in Blood Sport and Karate Kid. The staredown kind of told the story. Pereira was looking AT Jiri. Jiri was looking at himself looking at Pereira. One is there for a real battle, the other is there for top 10 anime battles. Interestingly, Alex Pereira practices a shamanic warrior tradition from his indigenous culture and it doesn't seem to interfere whatsoever with his fundamental combat preparation. I wonder if Prochazka is at a disadvantage having to invent that culture for himself piecemeal out of pop culture depictions of warriorhood.

The problem is Jiri Isn't committed enough.

When he heads out to his cabin in the forest, he will need to take it to the next level

See below for more information

 

[Qays Stetkevich]

Jiri has done Ayahuasca half a dozen times and has actively pursued some pretty advanced spiritual practices. So, I would say he's far more advanced into traditional wisdom than you're giving him credit for.


Comparing him to Ferguson and Diego, here is awful, these are guys who get sucked in by woo woo spiritual nonsense.


That's very different from core traditions that actually do have a lot of power in them.

Magical thinking helps more than hurts, you just aren't as aware of the countless cases that aren't publicised in combat sports or athletes in general.

I generally agree, but "magical thinking" is also simply a coping mechanism/replacement for what other people (fighters included, but this applies to most things in life) get from confidence based off of performance, palpable or visible results, etc., So while I agree that magical thinking can and is often helpful, it also allows whoever is doing it to (more easily) ignore reality (checks).
But Jiri is still in his prime and has been getting overwhelmingly positive results, so I agree it's not fair to lump him in with Sanchez and Ferg. Jiri also soberly assessed himself after the performance, so he's in another league compared to those guys!

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Should have modeled himself more after his actual ancestors like Žižka

 

[BangBang]

from what I can see uses his spirituality as an adjunct to augment the mental side of his game. It’s not magic and no amount of spirituality going to help stop his lights going out when Poatan strikes him on his dome.

Edit: Unless Poatan has actually been ‘voodoo(ing)’ his opponents in which case Jiri would need to fight like with like.

 

[rottenapple]

Yeah well maybe he made it this far because of his spiritualism to begin with. You gotto have some powerful gods on your side to beat pereira. Dont forget he was trained by steven segal recently. That makes him practically invinsible.

 

[Mike]

Or alternatively, for some fighters it lets them but another gear they can't hit just through technique. Letting them win against technically superior opponents or at least giving them more of a chance.

 

[AstralPanda]

I generally agree, but "magical thinking" is also simply a coping mechanism/replacement for what other people (fighters included, but this applies to most things in life) get from confidence based off of performance, palpable or visible results, etc., So while I agree that magical thinking can and is often helpful, it also allows whoever is doing it to (more easily) ignore reality (checks).
But Jiri is still in his prime and has been getting overwhelmingly positive results, so I agree it's not fair to lump him in with Sanchez and Ferg. Jiri also soberly assessed himself after the performance, so he's in another league compared to those guys!

I tend to think it's a piece of a well rounded puzzle that is life

I think it's mostly when people focus exclusively on having their head in the clouds, without being grounded to the earth that problems happen.

Like most things in life, balance is important.

Many core, older traditions are balanced and focus heavily on a strong foundation, as opposed to how things are taught in modern culture.

 

[spinup]

Look at Tony Ferguson, Diego Sanchez, and now Jiri Prochazka. When a fighter starts putting too much faith in their "spirit" their ability to make an honest evaluation of their actual technical weaknesses and physical differences goes right out the window.

That is exactly what I was thinking this week and with the same names in mind.

 

[spinup]

Jiri has done Ayahuasca half a dozen times and has actively pursued some pretty advanced spiritual practices. So, I would say he's far more advanced into traditional wisdom than you're giving him credit for.


Comparing him to Ferguson and Diego, here is awful, these are guys who get sucked in by woo woo spiritual nonsense.


That's very different from core traditions that actually do have a lot of power in them.

Magical thinking helps more than hurts, you just aren't as aware of the countless cases that aren't publicised in combat sports or athletes in general.

It's all a big steaming pile of bullshit.

Athletes are suckers for any gains and anything to boost their confidence, so everything goes: the BS chiropractors with their BS cupping and dry needling, the meditation tents with quantum healing properties, the 27 differents useless supplements, the spiritual stuff.

 

[AstralPanda]

It's all a big steaming pile of bullshit.

Athletes are suckers for any gains and anything to boost their confidence, so everything goes: the BS chiropractors with their BS cupping and dry needling, the meditation tents with quantum healing properties, the 27 differents useless supplements, the spiritual stuff.

Or more so that it's not something you understand on an educated level, so you call it bullshit because it doesn't aligned with your limited beliefs.

 

[ColombianFist]

Jiri should have spent more time working on his defense rather than being worried for the chop socky black magick voodoo fuckery.

 

[spinup]

Or more so that it's not something you understand on an educated level, so you call it bullshit because it doesn't aligned with your limited beliefs.

Educated in what?
You don't get educated in magic, you just get brainwashed enough to believe you have a deep understanding.
It's like having a deep understanding of he tooth fairy.

 

[AstralPanda]

Educated in what?
You don't get educated in magic, you just get brainwashed enough to believe you have a deep understanding.
It's like having a deep understanding of he tooth fairy.

I suppose every spiritual culture in the history of the planet were deluded, while you have the answers.

Levels to everything bud. If you want to understand things, might want to do your homework and expand your thinking.

 

[Hdfi]

Jiri was a RIZIN and UFC champion and has not lost to anyone except Pereira in 9 years. He's not exactly an example that faith/magical thinking doesn't work.

 

[Rataria]

Jiri is what i always suspected , some zoomer cringelord

 

[spinup]

I suppose every spiritual culture in the history of the planet were deluded, while you have the answers.

Levels to everything bud. If you want to understand things, might want to do your homework and expand your thinking.

Yes they were deluded.
And no thanks, I am a grown up, too old to play with santa, the tooth fairy and the elfs.