Don't Train Anything Like You Compete

I know, I know.....

"You fight like you train!"

And... That's true. I've said it. I do say it!

But like most things in fighting (and life), it has exceptions.

Here's an example that wrestlers always bring to my attention:

Fleeing the mat. I know that wrestlers, in competition, flee the mat to avoid points being scored on them. And in the strategic unfolding of a match..... maybe that's the right hing to do right then.

But.... In the gym.....

You're fleeing the mat to stop a point you don't feel you can stop any other way! Which means you're also fleeing the opportunity to get better at stopping it any other way!

And that brings me to my point.

In a match, you have to worry a lot more about the outcomes of little things. Because you've attached importance to the overall outcome, all the little things add up. So in that moment..... Never concede a point. An advantage even.

But in the gym, your concern shouldn't be on winning and losing. It should be on development. And that means getting taken down a bazillion times till you figure out how to stop it. That means getting choked cause you tried some new move you're developing. A new strategy. Set up. Whatever.

But you'll never get those things if you don't attempt them!

STOP TRACKING POINTS IN THE GYM. It KILLS your progress.

Now, before you go putting that last bunch in your funderwear....

Yes, there is a time for practicing competitive strategy. Mock matches. And positional drills. Competitors agreeing to lose their "development" time in order to hone the craft of competition strategy.

But....

By and large.....

Fleeing the mat is fleeing opportunities to train!

I'll stop now before I get into people that stop when they hit a padded wall. Or their belt gets untied....

Backs. Away. From. Keyboard.