15 Lessons For A New Martial Artist

Here are 15 things I would tell my beginner self:

1. 90% of success is showing up. Stop thinking. Just do it.
2. Don’t get bored with the basics. Have fun with the fundamentals. The simple foundational techniques you learn in your first year of training will make up 90% of what you’ll use for the next 14 years.
3. The best investment you’ll ever make is in YOURSELF. Find the best coaches you CANNOT afford. Sacrifice the little unnecessary expenditures so you can invest in yourself. I was very fortunate to have outstanding coaches who prioritized fundamentals, conditioning, respect, and honor.
4. Slow down to speed up success. Take your time and practice slowly to “groove in” solid technique. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
5. Do more of what you love and less of what you don’t. If you don’t love the training, your coaches, and your teammates, find somewhere that you do.
6. Safety is most important. If you’re injured, you can’t train. If you can’t train, you can’t get better. Be a safe training partner. Be your brother’s and sister’s keeper. There are thousands of ways to injure yourself in mixed martial arts training. Find partners and coaches who can PUSH you, but not recklessly injure you.
7. Stand next to the best person in the room. Surround yourself with people smarter, stronger, and better than you. Positive peer pressure is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.
8. Focus on the few, not the many. You don’t need 10,000 techniques to be good. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. -Bruce Lee”
9. Be a lifter, not a leaner. Bring good energy to the training. Leave your problems at the door, and LOCK IN.
10. Give your best effort…what ever it is that day. Each day, your best effort will be different. What matters, is that you give that day’s best.
11. When you’re 20, treat your body like it’s 40, and you’ll have a long and healthy training life.
12. Get under the bar. Lift some weights. Technique is most important, but strength + technique is unquestionably a level up.
13. You can’t learn with your mouth open. Listen to your coaches. Never stop listening and learning.
14. Be a “success celebrator”. Celebrate the success and accomplishments of your teammates. Nobody wants to be around an energy vampire.
15. Be grateful. There are many people out there who wish the had the opportunity to train, but for reasons out of their control, they cannot. Be grateful for your training partners, coaches, and for the simple physical ability to walk onto the mat each day.