After a recent class, there was a discussion going on amongst teammates regarding one of our fighter's preparations for an upcoming fight. The match would mark the first time this fighter enters an MMA cage. He stated that, other than a grappling tournament, he had no extensive competition experience to draw from in his efforts to suppress the anxiety, or command the dragonflies in his gut to fly in formation!
This fighter has been observed putting in work on the mats- many of his opponents, after rolling, are seen rubbing their shoulders trying regain the feeling in their arms. Conditioning is peaking under the guidance of elite trainer and task master, Jimmy Lopez of M.B.G. as well as the fighter's recent mode of transportation, the messenger mobile. One should not be surprised to hear that one day soon he opts to swim from Brooklyn to Staten Island to avoid the tolls and get in an extra workout! Needless to say his conditioning appears to be on point.
He went on to say that visualization is a technique he's been using to help him focus on his goal. Seeing himself execute his game plan. He has also asked his parents and friends to sit mat side while he spars to cheer him on, to simulate, as much as possible, the crowd and noise effect. Training his body, his mind, his spirit! Hmmm, two things come to mind:(1) this young lion has truly committed himself to suceeding inside the cage, (2) concern and worry are mounting for his opponent for has no idea what he is about to encounter on the night of June 18th!
An older teammate who was listening to the fighter, says to him, "you know, pressure builds diamonds!" Now, rest assured you will not find this statement in any anthology of quotations, but no truer, more meaningful words have been spoken. More importantly, we all understood. It resonated among the group and with good reason. Codella Academy is the cauldron where the transformation begins...where steel sharpens steel!!
Get your tickets and come out to cheer for our brothers, Joe P., Nick S. and Mike H. as they rep Codella Academy at the Asylum Fight League on Saturday June 18th.
This was a Very well Written Blog! I think this site is going to open up endless doorways of information about the art, school, and people who train there. Thank You John for such an excellent post this makes me want to train and push myself that much harder! Cant wait to read more posts about our school the awesome training partners we have and an excellent professor.
ReplyDeleteKarate Mike