Red Hawk Essentials #14
Hate Rarely Comes From Above, UFC 284, And How To Stay Consistent
Hate Rarely Comes From Above
Whenever you take the road less traveled, you’re gonna face doubters and haters.
They’re a part of the journey. And they’ll test your willpower and mental fortitude.
Sometimes those doubters and haters will come from people close to you, like your family.
When I decided to quit college to pursue fighting, I got a lot of flack from my dad.
My family kept telling me I needed a back up plan. And I don’t blame them.
There’s been a couple professional fighters and boxers who came out of my hometown who amounted to nothing or lost everything. They had no backup plan and ended up with a hard life.
So I didn’t consider my family doubters, I know they just wanted the best for me.
I even had friends whose parents told them to stay away from me. They said I wouldn’t go anywhere in life because I chose this crazy route.
But I know in my heart the passion I have for MMA and martial arts.
I wanted to find out how good I could get if I traveled to different places and learn from the best people on the planet.
I knew if I worked hard every day and stayed consistent with my good habits, it would pay off someway somehow.
And once I made it, I would give that back in the future. So I always had plans to open a gym.
But because I took the risk, ignored all the doubters, and worked hard - I opened my gym a lot sooner than I anticipated in my career.
Now I’m my own boss and I feel like I’m retired at 32.
It’s important to remember where other people are coming from too. My parents had a different upbringing.
All this advancement in technology and social media didn’t exist for them. So there’s a whole world of opportunities they might not be privy to. But as time goes on, they’ll slowly understand it.
And you also gotta understand that doubt and negativity comes from insecurities.
Hate rarely comes from above. They don’t want you to believe in yourself that much because they don’t believe in themselves.
So do your best to ignore the noise and keep workin’.
They can’t doubt your sacrifice and discipline. And they sure as fuck can’t doubt your results.
UFC 284
Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Everyone is counting Volk out. But the more I watch the countdown and the vlogs, the more I think Volk has a chance.
He’s short, but he’s compact. He’s got big strong legs and that build can be very hard to take down if he has the right reactions when Islam shoots.
Volk doesn’t have long legs for triangles or omoplatas. So it’s going to be hard for him to win from the bottom.
But he’s a fast and explosive athlete. His cardio is great. So I think it’s going to be a more competitive fight than we think.
And I think it’s really important for Volk to make a statement in the initial rounds to stuff the shots. Because Islam isn’t going to come with one shot. He’s going to try 2 or 3 times.
Would love to see Volk pull it off, but it’s going to be tough because of the styles and size difference.
Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett
Love watching Josh Emmett because he’s fast twitch and one of the most explosive people in the UFC.
He’s short and orthodox, but he’s very fucking explosive. One shot can put your lights out.
Yair is similar to Suga, he can switch stances. He’s a good kicker who’s good at using his range. He’s not as good of a boxer, but he is super athletic.
He uses a lot of front kicks and is good at punching people at the end of his punches. And he’s got good jiu-jitsu.
This fight is a toss up for me, but if I had to pick I’d lean toward Yair by decision.
I think Yair might bounce around and pick Josh apart for 5 rounds.
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How To Stay Consistent When You’re Not Getting Results
Just like with anything in life, there’s gonna be a period where you start to plateau.
You’re not seeing the same growth and results as you did when you first started.
In BJJ, this usually starts to happen when you become a purple belt or brown belt. You still see growth, but it’s not as fast. You start to stagnate.
Compare that to when you’re just starting as a white belt, you’re making big leaps and learning a lot. Same thing as a blue belt.
But this happens in anything when you’re on the road to mastery.
The most important part is enjoying the process. Just worrying about how good you can get.
Enjoy the camaraderie.
Enjoy your friends.
Enjoy pushing yourself to the limit.
Enjoy the recovery.
If you stay consistent with enjoying the process, you’re gonna grow.
Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow.
Pick specific aspects of your skill that you want to improve.
Like in BJJ you can:
Improve your guard.
Improve your finishing.
Improve your passing.
But there’s always something you can improve or work on.
This past Friday I hurt my back a little bit, so I’ve been laying little low.
It’s really easy to get depressed and feeling sorry for yourself when you’re injured. But you need to focus on recovery. Staying hydrated, eating good, getting good sleep.
Put whatever work ethic you have into recovering from the injury. It’s easier said than done, but it’s the best mindset to have.
I really don’t know if being injured is part of genetics or not. But it’s really frustrating for me because I feel like I do everything right.
I try to eat good.
I stretch.
I take care of my body to the best of my ability.
But it seems every 3-5 months, I get injured with something and have to sit out. It could be the pace that I’m training at.
It’s frustrating for me because there’s all these tournaments I want to compete in and be ready for.
But right now it’s hard for me to stay healthy and train at the pace to be ready. Still, I can’t complain.
When I’m injured I just have to redirect my energy into learning and being creative.
What I’m Reading/Listening To/Learning About This Week
Modern Wisdom by Chris Williamson is a really good podcast. If you’re into stuff like mindset, biohacking, and books, I highly recommend it.
A book I’m revisiting is The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday. A good quote from the book is:
“We forget: In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.”
Really helping me put things in perspective while I’m dealing with this injury and any future obstacles coming my way.
Train yourself to nasal breathe.
It’s a lot healthier to breathe through your nose than your mouth. Here’s some of the benefits from studies:
reduce exposure to foreign substances
increase air flow to arteries, veins, and nerves
increase oxygen uptake and circulation
improve lung volume
help your diaphragm work properly
lower your risk of allergies and hay fever
reduce your risk of coughing
aid your immune system
lower your risk of snoring and sleep apnea
A lot of people aren’t conscious of the way they breathe. Use the infographic above to practice some nasal breathing exercises. Your body will thank you later.
Quick Hits From This Week
“The more an idea is tied to your identity, the more you will ignore evidence it is false. To continue to grow and learn, you must be willing to update, expand, and edit your identity.” - James Clear
We saw another legend go out in a brutal way this past weekend. I don’t think Fedor even landed one punch against Ryan Bader.
But I think this James Clear quote is why you see so many legends fighting longer than they should. I’ve seen a lot of MMA fighters struggle with this.
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” - Joseph Campbell
Be careful with having one thing define you. Once you accept it, it can be real hard to let go. Keep an open mind.
Red Hawk Recap Ep. 75
Biggest lady boner killer
Had someone call in and tell us her biggest lady boner killer. And fellas, listen closely. It’s an unmotivated motherfucker who always complains about their circumstance, doesn't want to do anything about it, and feels like they’re owed everything. To all you young bucks out there reading this, this is why I keep hammering discipline, consistency, and working hard. You don’t want to be the dude who dries up panties.
Biggest boner killer for guys
Had another listener call in and tell us the biggest boner killer he sees in women. And that’s a girl with a bad attitude. I think it’s a boner killer for both men and women. From my experience, people who have gone through tough shit in their life are usually ones with better attitudes and perspectives. That leads me to believe that people with bad attitudes haven’t done any hard shit in their lives.
If you are dealing with a partner with a bad attitude and bad habits, it’s time to have a conversation. And if they’re not willing to change, it’s time to say goodbye. You want to go in another direction and they want to go in an unhealthy direction.
How can a leader become a great mentor?
By the 5 C’s. Confidence, competence, credibility, candor, and care. I learned candor from Robert Follis. It’s good to be honest, you don’t want a coach who lies
to you. You have to be able to give constructive feedback even if it might hurt feelings.
One C to be aware of is callousness. It’s when someone is insensitive or has a disregard for others. A callous and uncaring manager leads to employees quitting. That’s why they say people quit bosses not jobs.
Have confidence when teaching
You can tell when a coach is confident in their teaching. They can go deep with it and explain it in different ways. For me, I don’t like an environment where it’s too strict or too playful. The vibe I have in my gym is, we’re gonna have fun and we can fuck around, but we’re gonna work hard. The end goal is to get better, but we’re gonna have fun doing it.
TimboSugarShow Ep. 224
On this pod, we were joined by the UFC’s first female color commentator, Laura Sanko.
It took Laura 5+ years to get here
Laura’s journey has been the epitome of working hard and being a professional. She didn’t have a long MMA career or fight in the UFC. She was a reporter. And now she’s in the commentary booth with the best of the best. It just goes to show what you can make happen if you just be consistent and show up every day as a professional.
Fedor vs Bader
Hard to watch. Not really competitive at all. Ryan just took Fedor down and TKO’d him. The post-fight picture with all the legends is pretty bad ass though.
Look for rooms you’re losing in
The fastest way to get good is to get yourself in a room of other people better than you. It’s like a thermostat, you’ll naturally climb to their levels after a period of time. Sean tries to lose every single session. When you’re in a room full of guys who want to be the best, you’re gonna get good real fast.
Tweet of the Week
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That ends this week’s Red Hawk Essentials. Appreciate you for tuning in.
Hope you got value from the gems we dropped this week. We’ve been getting a ton of incredible feedback so we’re gonna keep delivering the 🔥 as long as it helps you.
Hit me with a like/comment/subscribe below if you liked what you read this week. Share this with a friend if you think they’d get value from it too.
Keep learning.
Keep working.
Keep getting better.
We’ll get through those bumps and celebrate those highs together. Let’s go!
Talk next week.
Tim
🙏🔥
Loved reading this. But I myself have delt with loads of injuries myself until I can across GOATA movement systems. Started training it 2 years ago after badly breaking my ankle and now I run 20-30 miles a week no problem and play d2 football as well run d2 track. Give it a look, it's life chaning.