Red Hawk Essentials #56
Finding Opportunity In Dark Places, Shaping My Fighting Style, Battling The “Resistance”
Finding Opportunity In Dark Places
Over the past 8 years, I’ve been injured a lot.
Every single time, I’ve been able to find a way to grow from it. Something good always comes.
But negativity will always come too. Negative thoughts will rush into your head and it’s really easy to sit there and wallow in it.
Right now, I’m recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles. And those negative thoughts have been trying to invade my mind.
Like why? Why am I getting major injuries at this age? Especially when I’m trying to compete at Worlds?
It pisses me off every time a thought like that cruises into my mind. But it’s my job to stay conscious and just counter those thoughts right away.
I focus on perspective. Things could always be worse. The injury could be worse. The process of getting it fixed could’ve been a pain in the ass and cost a whole more.
I focus on other things I can improve on.
First off, I can’t be giving you guys advice about this if I’m gonna be a fat, lazy fucking slob. So I have to lead by example.
There are so many things in my life that require me to be creative and can be improved.
If I’m gonna be creative, I need my mind to be sharp and present. Not drowning in negative thoughts or imaginary problems.
If my mind is gonna be sharp, I need to make sure my body is healthy enough too. So I’ll go through my routine with what I can manage.
I have businesses now. I have the gym, the coffee shop, and content creation. All of those things have areas where I can improve.
Even MMA. The game is always changing so I have to make sure I’m on the cutting edge of what’s working. That includes all the arts like jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, etc.
And I’m responsible for 280 students. How can I lead my students if I can’t lead myself?
It’s easy to pop these oxy’s, eat like shit, and do nothing all day. But I have people who look up to me and I can’t let them down.
So I need to be a leader and continue learning about leadership.
If you’re competing in sports at a high level, injuries are inevitable. Especially in combat sports. Hopefully, you’ll get lucky and won’t get anything major.
But the key is to just keep your day going.
Shaping My Fighting Style
I couldn’t play sports until I was 14.
It was the year my parents got divorced and my dad left the religion. I finally got to play sports, so I started football, wrestling, and boxing all in that same year.
But I was always a scrappy kid. I didn’t give up easily. That probably came from how my dad raised me.
So I went into MMA with a sort of well-rounded skill set and mental toughness.
Those early influences play a big role in shaping how a fighter fights.
At my gym, I see how a kid’s upbringing influences the way they carry themselves. As soon as they get into a tough situation or get tired, they start crying and run to their parents.
And their parents let them quit. I think that carries over to when those kids become adults too.
But that can be fixed. You can always build mental toughness and some people are just born with it.
Thorne
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Battling The “Resistance”
I think everyone should read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
It’s really fucking good and makes a lot of things click.
One of the main things Pressfield talks about in his book is “Resistance”. He defines it as a negative force in the world that keeps you from fulfilling your dreams.
To me, Resistance is another name for your internal demons.
Those demons are telling you to skip your workout, procrastinate another day, and not do things you’re uncomfortable with.
If you’re doing anything creative like making content, Resistance pops up all the time. It makes you think about things that will stop you from doing what you’re trying to do.
Stuff like fearing what other people think, wondering if it’s gonna be any good, and thinking it’s gonna fail.
The stronger the Resistance, the more important it is that you do what you’re resisting. The Resistance will try its best to talk you out of doing anything creative or hard.
But you gotta push through it. It happens to everyone.
I felt Resistance when I first started making videos on YouTube.
I felt Resistance when I left my old gym to go to Team Quest. I was surrounded by guys like Chael Sonnen and Matt Lindland. Even after that, I felt Resistance when I was a sparring partner for Benson Henderson when he was the champ.
When I started competition training for jiu-jitsu, I had to go with Brazilian black belts who couldn’t speak English.
All of those times I felt scared. But I was able to conquer it for some reason.
It’s normal. But you can’t let that fear stop you.
If you’re trying to become good at anything, this book will help you. I’m gonna do my own re-reading of it.
Quick Hits From This Week
Red Hawk Recap Ep. 116
On this episode of the pod, I was joined by my buddy Art again. Had to bang out a pod before getting my Achilles fixed.
Streetfights
Never been in a group rumble, but you gotta be careful of drunks. Drunk dudes’ egos are so damn high. If you embarrass him in front of his girl and he knows he has a pistol in his car… Now you’re in trouble.
PFL Bought Bellator
It's crazy that Bellator’s just gone. Wonder if Scott Coker will still be around. I think a lot of fighters will be let go. It’s a brutal sport, that’s why I always say if you’re just fighting for money, try to do something else.
Fav Thanksgiving Food
Happy post-Thanksgiving. Hope you had a good one. I love it all honestly. Probably turkey and gravy is my fav.
Advice To People Who Are Feeling Lost
Most of you feeling like you’re lost still have so much damn time left. What would you do if money wasn’t an issue? I’m thankful for having such a strong passion and interest in what I do. I’m realizing that not a lot of people have that.
Having A Perspective
My buddy Kyle is going through cancer. I just hurt my foot, so it’s not a big deal. A lot of people feel bad for me, but it’s easy to feel negative. You gotta be a king of perspective, there’s so much more horrible shit going on.
TimboSugarShow Ep. 261
On this episode of the pod, Lofe joins Sug and I to shoot the shit.
Making A Living Off Youtube
Danny Duncan was an inspiration for Lofe. He got his first YouTube check in 2021 and opened his eyes to what’s possible. Consistency is key.
Filming W/ Colby Covington
Sug and I are fans of Colby. We’ve never met him in real life, but we appreciate the character he’s built. Lofe says Colby is the nicest person off-camera.
Ian Garry And His Wife
Crazy situation. Apparently, Ian’s wife wrote a book on How to Be a Wag, and her ex-husband lives with them. Not sure how true a lot of this is, but it’s fun to watch. Ian is threatening to sue Strickland over it.
If You Were To Start Youtube All Over…
90% of people quit YouTube and don’t even get to 10 videos. Lofe would do the same thing all over again. It’s the long game, you can’t expect to blow up and get views right away.
Red Hawk Academy Patreon
Welcome to all the new Patreon members and shoutouts to all the OGs!
On Patreon, 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!
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