Red Hawk Essentials #33
Dealing with Uncertainty, Fighters vs. Martial Artists, Timing And Patience, and more!
Dealing With Uncertainty
If you’re taking the road less traveled, you’re gonna have to deal with uncertainty.
Usually, it’s the pressure that comes with uncertainty that makes people crumble or quit. This pressure can come from the people around you or yourself.
Back when I first got into MMA, I dealt with a ton of pressure from friends, my parents, and my friends’ parents.
Do the normal thing and go the safe route like everyone else.
Get a 9-5 job that makes consistent money. And don’t forget about the benefits.
Thankfully, I was so passionate about MMA and loved fighting so much that I pushed forward anyway.
I tried not to think about it too much because it always stressed me out. Of course, I want to make money and have a safe future.
But fuck that. I wanna do it on my own terms.
Now I’m not so stressed and worried about the future even if it’s still uncertain. I accept that I don’t know what’s gonna happen.
And it’s not because I’m more financially stable now, of course that helps. But I know that if I keep up my good habits and continue helping the people around me…
Life can only go up in a positive direction.
When problems come, I don’t freak out or lose control. I accept them, get through them, and get back on track.
There’s a Latin phrase from stoicism called Amor Fati. It translates to “love of one’s fate”. Learning to love what happens to you.
Accept it. Learn to love it. Move on.
For you young bucks out there, there’s gonna be a lot of uncertainty. It’s gonna cause you anxiety or make you scared.
But you gotta accept that. Keep learning about whatever you’re passionate about and keep getting better.
Find good habits and don’t be a lazy turd.
I just feel like if you can do that for a long period of time, you’re gonna be okay.
Fighters vs. Martial Artists
The fight business is the entertainment business.
So when it comes to becoming a global sport, selling pay-per-views, and putting on live events - things will change. Especially with the demographic of people watching and competing.
Because of the entertainment aspect, it’s gonna overthrow the traditional martial arts aspects. Like everyone being super respectful and humble.
Anyone can fight.
You can go out and pick a street fight with a random person right now. Whether you get your ass kicked or not is a different story.
A martial artist in my opinion is someone who is committed to the arts. And if you want to do it professionally, then it’s being efficient in boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and kickboxing.
But the most talented guys I’ve met, they all have a touch of crazy in them. Nowadays, you gotta expect that. And you kinda need that to be locked in a cage with another professional fighter who’s trying to fuck you up in front of thousands of screaming fans.
Those “true martial artists” can still exist and draw attention. Lyoto Machida had some sweet knockouts.
But fighters make the sport exciting.
They get the crowd emotionally invested and draw all the attention. And that’s where the money is.
How jacked were we for Conor and Khabib? That was kind of like a fighter vs. martial artist thing.
But we only got excited because Conor was saying some crazy shit. Talking shit about Khabib’s family and being a wild man.
The sport needs that craziness to keep growing. If everyone was super humble, and respectful, and there was no cussing - I think it’d be boring.
Maybe the die-hards would still like that. But the mainstream fans don’t wanna see that.
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Timing And Patience
Most martial arts are all about timing and patience. Boxing, wrestling, Gi and No-Gi jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, etc.
They're all so different, but so similar in terms of timing and patience.
If you’re a counter-puncher, you gotta be patient and gauge what speed your opponent is throwing at. Make your reads on what punches aren’t coming back to their face, and where they’re over-extending themselves. That requires patience and timing.
Same in jiu-jitsu. If you feel someone setting up a submission, maybe they’re changing their grips, that’s your signal to shut it down.
I was really bad at this when I was younger. Whenever I got caught in a submission, I would be so scrappy that it would be hard to submit me. And I was proud of that.
But then one of my professors told me, “You can’t be proud of getting out of submissions. You gotta shut those submissions down before they happen.”
If someone shoots on you in wrestling, your reaction and timing are gonna determine whether or not you get taken down.
When you’re in the Gi, sometimes you get caught in positions where it’s a chess match. A lapel guard, spider guard, or leg lasso. And your patience is gonna play a huge part in advancing.
You can’t just rush and brute force your way out. You’ll probably end up losing your balance and get swept.
As you get better at a martial art, you’ll get better at being patient. It’s translated a little bit into real life too.
Whenever I used to have an idea, I wanted to do it right away. Let’s get it done.
But I’ve been working on thinking things through before acting. Mariah helps me out a lot with this.
Learn how to be patient, it’ll pay off.
What Your Body Is Saying
One of the skills a professional fighter needs to master is body language. Especially at a higher level.
Mastering body language is also useful in real life. You can tell when someone's lying, nervous, or friendly. Your body will give off unconscious cues of what you're actually thinking.
Body language goes both ways. It's reading the person across from you and also hiding your own emotions.
In a fight, if you give off any signs that you're fatigued or hurt, that's immediately going to give your opponent a boost in confidence and energy.
So even if you're completely gassed, it's important to play it off as much as possible and give off a good poker face.
One of the ways we learn that during training is by sparring people who aren't afraid to give you a good smack to the body.
A good body shot is gonna put you in pain, put your body in panic mode, and you'll learn how to work through that.
That's why you need to go hard during practice and try to gas yourself out. Get familiar with that feeling.
You'll learn how to deal with that feeling and how to hide it with your body. And you'll learn to function and make the right decisions.
What I’m Reading
Picking up Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being. What a fucking interesting guy.
He talks about shit we already know like not picking up your phone in the morning. You’re killing your creative energy with other people’s bullshit.
Get some momentum going instead. Work out, get some sunlight, walk, and just do something active.
There’s a page I really liked where it says:
If your passion changes course, follow it. Your trust in your instincts and excitement is what resonates with others.
This is why it’s grounding to protect your personal understanding of success. And to make each new work, no matter where you stand on the public ladder of perception like you have nothing to lose.
I loved this because most people think when you have a passion, you have to see it through or else you’re a failure.
But when it changes routes, you gotta go with it. This is how I got to where I am now from fighting.
Quick Hits From This Week
Red Hawk Recap Ep. 94
On this week’s pod, I was joined by my good friend and mentor, Brandon Harris.
Flow
Flow is the optimal enjoyment of any activity and the most fulfilling moment of life. Most people don’t go through a physical struggle in their day-to-day life. Brandon says the most successful people are open to struggles, not just surviving them.
3 Signs of a Happy Life
The good life - pursuing personal growth and achieving flow
The meaningful life - acting in service greater than yourself
The pleasant life - socializing and seeking pleasure
High happiness needs good social relationships.
Mindfulness
Here’s how Brandon thinks of mindfulness:
Suffering only exists in the mind. Happiness only exists in the mind.
So it’s important to choose the perspective of how you see things. Difficult obstacles can be another shitty event or a hurdle you can overcome.
If I Had To Approach My Fight Career Differently
The first thing I would do is work with Brandon from the beginning. I have no doubts that he would’ve changed my career.
Second, I would be present more. Don’t take the practices too personally when I get beat up or don’t do well. I used to get so affected by this that it would burn me out.
The only day that fucking matters is fight day.
And if I knew how to stay in the present back then, I would’ve progressed a lot faster.
Overeducated worse off than undereducated
Naval dropping 🔥. The overeducated person tends to trade common sense for the illusion of knowledge. Society’s frame of success messes people up because it leans more toward education.
TimboSugarShow Ep. 240
Jared Cannonier vs. Vettori
Marvin got fucking battered. Jared is a savage for breaking the record for most significant strikes in MW. And he’s 39!
Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar
Is this a smart move for Cory? I think Cory’s badass for doing that. Sug says it’s gangster, but career wise, not really.
Tyson Fury vs. Jon Jones
A hybrid fight, that would be fucking sick! Why would you not want to see this?
Viewpoints of Others
One of the most valuable skills in life is to see from someone else’s perspective.
Red Hawk Academy Patreon
On Patreon this month, we’ve done a bunch of giveaways, podcasts, and vlogs.
We’ve been going 4 years strong with our Patreon. There are hundreds of videos on there, with new content going up all the time.
You can get exclusive access to technique videos, extra podcasts, and general healthy living videos.
I reply to everyone on Patreon, so if you have any questions, hit me up there!
»» Click here to check out Red Hawk Academy on Patreon
That ends it for this week’s Red Hawk Essentials.
Hope you enjoyed this one. Give me a like/comment/subscribe below.
If you’re new here, welcome to the fam! We’re dropping gems like this each week.
Luv ya, talk next week.
Tim
thanks mate good read