How Mental Strength Is More Important Than Physical Stength In Combat Sports.

Imagine if you are in the ring, surrounded by the audience shouting your opponent’s name or when you know that you are going to lose if you don’t do something, what will you do to keep on going? In this article, I want to share my personal experience about how mental strength is more important than physical Strength.

First, Let’s talk about mental strength in physical training.

I have been doing combat sports for a very long time. I was a boxer in high school and now I am a professional Muaythai fighter. From what I’ve learned from both, you need to be mentally prepared because the training is going to be very hard, especially Muaythai. My Muaythai training routine is waking up early in the morning, going for an 8-10 km run every day (Yes, I mean everyday and sometimes even Sunday), then in the evening you have to run again ( but just 2-3 km because the focus will be on techniques) then jumping rope, shadow boxing, pad work, sparring and more.

I know that sounds like a torture but you need to do it for your own good during the fight. You really need to be strong mentally if you decide that you want to be a fighter.You can have six pack abs, big muscles or look like Hulk but it doesn’t matter if you are not mentally ready to go through that kind of training. You have to train 2 times a day and you have to do everything your coach says because that’s how you become the best. Trust me, It’s not easy. I have seen people cry during and after training and giving up so soon. Sometimes I also think I should just give up and go back home and just find some easier thing to do. But here I am, this is what I love to do and that’s why I will never give up.

Me in the fight at Max Muaythai, Pattaya, Thailand.

Now let’s talk about the fighting prospect.

As a Muaythai fighter, just like I need to prepare physically, I also need to prepare myself mentally too because anything can happen in the fight. Nothing is predictable. You can knock someone out or you can get knocked out by someone or maybe worse. What you already know is if you are not going to hit your opponent, your opponent is going to hit you so bad.

So what is the role of mental strength? Your mental strength comes when you are physically done. You don't have much energy left or you get injured by the opponent. That’s when your heart or your mental strength comes to play. It doesn’t matter how hard you train or how many kilometers you have put on running, if you just get scared by looking at your opponent or have already decided to give up, your physical strength is useless. You should fight to the end. When you're cornered, you have nothing to lose; it's like a do-or-die situation. If you fight, you still have a chance to win. If you don't, you've already lost.

Me in the fight at Max Muaythai, Pattaya, Thailand.

Let me tell you a tale about a guy from my gym in Thailand (where I was training). He was training well, his cardio was amazing, his technique was brilliant as a beginner, everything was good. But there comes the day when he has his first fight. He stepped inside the ring, he did good but lost in that fight. He became less interested in fighting, training or any activities. After that he said he didn’t want to fight anymore and he left the gym. He was physically in brilliant shape but in mentally he had already given up.

Whenever anyone loses in a fight and thinks they are not good enough, my coach always gives an example about his son. His son lost 17 fights in a row and he didn’t give up and now he is an amazing fighter. I have seen him fighting and it impressed me so much.

So, let’s get to the conclusion.

No matter how hard you train or have big muscles, if you are not mentally fit or mentally prepared or can defeat yourself first before defeating your opponent, you never going to make it and this was not only about fighting, it’s about all the tasks in our daily life from waking up early to stepping inside the ring.

If you know you are afraid of something or scared and you are still doing it anyways and overcoming your fears, that is a true champion. That’s how you know that you are becoming mentally strong. So this is it for today guys! I hope you understood what I was trying to say here.

Feel free to contact me if you need any help about Fitness.

Have a nice day and see you next time!

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