Losing: The Art of Learning

During a match, fighters like myself are motivated to win; but we must realize that they're may come a time when we lose. Now, I have experienced both winning and losing. From my experience, I have learned more about myself in my loss then my win. See, the way I saw my loss was an opportunity to learn from my mistakes. For example, my first fight I lost because I didn't have cardio or discipline. When I reached down to my core pulling everything out for my first fight, no matter what I did I didn't control the fight or keep my mind focused. After the match, I went back to the drawing board rededicating myself to fighting.

Training Before my Loss
The way I thought before my loss is I had a lot of raw talent and I didn't need to train as hard as everbody else. I noticed how quick I picked every technique up. I guess you could say I was a little cocky. While I was putting half my effort into every drill, my opponent probably trained twice as much as me. Plus, you can never calculate how your angry will take over during a match. The result of all my training with no focus was a loss. As soon as I crossed those ropes, my mind became a blank slate.

Now, the way I see it is I had two options in assimilating my loss. One I quit. Two I learn from what I did wrong stepping back into the ring once more. The first thing that popped into my head is I'm not a quitter. So I went back to the gym changing my approach to training.

Training After my Loss
When I decided to step into the gym again, I cleared my mind every training day. I entered the gym with a blank slate. The reason for the blank slate is so I could continuing learn the same technique treating it as though it was my first time. Paying attention to every suttle movement: how my arm extended, pivoting my foot, twisting my body, snapping my punches, even how I breathed. For the most part, my breathing helped me concentrate.

When I wasn't in the gym, I ran at least 4 miles. I went to cardio class every Tuesday and Thursday. I weight lifted on Saturdays performing a full body circuit. I dedicated myself to sweating and sore muscles every day. I went by the old proverb; cry in the dojo and laugh on the battle field. All my hard work payed off. My next match resulted in a victory.

As I look back on winning and losing, they're is one quote that comes to mind.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."
--Confucius

Even though my thoughts are inside the ring, I try every day to apply it to life. There will be times when we become disappointed, let down, fail, or feel we hit rock bottom; but know that we can rise again.

Keep Striving, Never Stop.
Alex