Red Hawk Essentials #24

Burning Out, Defining Moment For A Fighter, My Night Routine

Apr 20, 2023

I’ve been burnt out before and I know how rough it can be.

If you’re on the edge of burning out or going through it right now, it’s important to shut your mind off.

If you think about it 24/7, it’s going to make it even worse. So I think it’s important to go home and find something else to occupy your time like a show, a book, or spending time with your partner.

The key is to stay present. Like Eckhart Tolle says, your mind and thoughts can be the source of your suffering.

Burning out in martial arts happens a lot.

So if you’re training and you get bored of an art, study another one. If you’re bored of jiu-jitsu, study boxing. Vice versa.

Going back and forth between the arts has been helpful for me. I’m passionate about combat sports so I love studying new arts and techniques.

The sports psychologist Jim Afremow told me a long time ago that if you leave a car running in the garage all the time, it’s eventually gonna run out of gas. So shutting your mind off is key.

Defining Moments For A Fighter

One of the most pivotal, defining moments for any fighter is when they get beat up really bad or go through a grueling fight.

This exact moment makes or breaks a fighter, depending on their mindset. I’ve seen this experience level up both amateur and pro fighters to a different level. All because they never want to experience that again.

Or the opposite happens. This experience can demoralize a fighter.

They realize what level they’re at and what it takes to get to the top level. That gap usually causes a lot of fighters to quit because they don’t want to go through the hard work and pain.

But I think it’s a good thing because I don’t think fighting is for everyone.

And if you’re serious, you need to get back in the gym and learn from the loss. It’ll tell you a lot about what you need to work on.

This happens after taking the wrong fights too. You get offered fights all the time, and if you take the wrong fight at the wrong time, it could ruin your career.

So it’s important to have coaches who are honest with you in what fights you can take. Your ego is going to battle it at first, completely confident you can win, but you have to trust your coach.

The ironic part is that naturally talented guys are the ones that usually quit first. I don’t know what it is, maybe they lean too much on their talent. But those people usually aren’t consistent or they’re not hungry to learn. These are the guys that slowly fizzle out first.

Talent is not enough in MMA and jiu-jitsu. You have to show up to practice and be willing to study the arts. Talent is not enough.

You have to be a student and continue learning.

Thorne Supplements

If you’re staying physically healthy, it’ll help with any burnout. A good supplement will help you out with that.

For a lot of UFC fighters, the brand of suppelement they use is Thorne Supplements.

I also personally use Thorne as part of my daily supplementation.

It’s third-party tested for the best quality ingredients so you know exactly what you’re putting into your body.

I personally use magnesium before sleep, fish oils, amino-acids when I’m training hard, and their VeganPro complex protein.

If you’re in the market for some good supplements, Thorne is the brand I trust. You can feel safe and good about what you’re putting into your body with Thorne.

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My Night Routine 😴

You guys might’ve seen videos of my morning routines. But having a night routine is just as important.

And I know this will change when I have kids, but here’s what I do right now.

My priority is setting myself up for a good night’s rest.

So here’s some habits that precede that:

No caffeine after 2pm
No heavy greasy meals before bed (this will make your joints sore the next morning if you’ve had a hard workout)
Doing light stretching before bed
Shutting my phone off at 8:30pm

And the secret to this routine is my bedtime tea. It’s a tea with a shot of apple cider vinegar and a half tablespoon of honey.

This little concoction seems to knock me out and puts me in a deep sleep.

Good sleep equals a quality life.

Quick Hits From This Week

Some good ones from James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter this week:

“You are the average of the 5 habits you repeat most.”

Eating like shit, not constantly learning, or not doing stuff to better yourself? Don’t complain when you see other people passing you. Building good habits is free and anyone can do it, it’s your choice.

“Speed is perpetually undervalued.
Asking that person out today means you get to live more of your life with them and less of your life waiting.
Starting your business today means you begin learning immediately and have more time to figure out what works.
Go fast. The future is never guaranteed and the right time may never come.”

A powerful one. Some people wait so long - before they know it, they’re laying in their deathbeds. Instead of telling stories of what they’ve done, they tell stories of regrets. Time is the only resource you can’t get back.

“Many people won't attempt something unless they can find an example of someone else who is already doing it. Rely on this type of thinking too much and you'll never do anything interesting.
Your path through life is unique. It is important to extract lessons from the experiences of others, but you can't wait for a perfect example to take action. You are the example.”

Goes hand in hand with the previous quote. Your path won’t be the same as anyone else’s. It could take longer or faster. But you’ll never know unless you try. Go for it and just see what happens!

Red Hawk Recap Ep. 85

On this week’s pod, I was joined by my long time buddy, Marcus McGhee.

Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul

The fight is at 185 lbs, Nate’s not a natural 185er and Jake is gonna be big. Marcus doesn’t think Nate can take the power of Jake. Nate is getting up there in age. But as the fight goes on, Nate might have the advantage.

Choosing where to direct your attention

From James Clear’s newsletter, he says valedictorians often gets lapped by average people who better invest their time. All the smart kids from my high school, their lives don’t look that great. I feel like the smarter you are, the more likely you’ll get sucked into the system.

Martial arts lessons

Getting into MMA has made everything better in my life. Same for Marcus. Just getting involved in martial arts makes you want to become a better person. If you’re not training, I’d encourage it.

Good business is tested when things goes bad, everyone’s a genius when things are good

I’ve seen this a lot in MMA teams I’ve been around. Everyone’s a genius when a winning streak is happening, but losing streaks will happen. I’ve seen gyms fall apart during bad times.

Having a good reputation

A good reputation is a quick way to become successful. Being reliable. Showing up when you say you’re gonna do something.

TimboSugarShow Ep. 233

Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen card

How good is Max at pacing himself and striking? Crazy.
What a knee by Brandon Royval.
Pedro upset Chris Gutierrez, Pedro’s still got it.
Edson with a beautiful knee. And Billy Q is a dog too.

Khabib top 15

There’s a few I’m not too sure of. I don’t think Henry is above Jose Aldo. I think Izzy should be above Usman. And I think Stipe should be higher up. Overall, I think it’s a pretty good list.