They Won because they Dared.....

As many of you know, Fang Shen Do held one of their fight nights last weekend...

I would have to honestly say that this was one of the best events that we have ever held.  It was in the JR Brisson arena with a big screen monitor that the spectators were able to watch all the action on, and what action there was !!

To go in order, before the matches, both Sibok and Sifu Pat conducted a private class in the octagon with some of the students from the fight team.  I think everyone that was watching thoroughly enjoyed watching Sibok teach Focus Pad drills and Sifu Pat go over some Grappling.
There were 22 fights on the card.

For those that have never entered the octagon,  we would all agree that it takes a lot of courage to go into an event like this, in front of family and compete in all out combat.  As the title says, all the fighters won because they dared to push their limits.  As I was watching the fights, it reminded me of something that Sijo had said to me on March 14th 2003, hours before I was to fight in the WECF octagon.  Both Sifu Pat and I were to fight that night and we stopped by Sijo's house on our way to Laval.  He shook our hands and said with utter conviction " you have already won".  It turns out that he was 100% correct, as we both won our matches before the half way mark of the first round...

But that moment always stuck with me.  When I walked into the octagon and they brought us to the center to give instructions, it was that one phrase that was running through my head.  When I looked into the eyes of my opponent, I unequivocally believed what Sijo had told me - I knew that there was no way that the other fighter wanted to win as badly as I did and that he did not have the same motivation that I had.  Amazingly, that one phrase was my absolute focus point.
Coming back to the fight night, the fights were some of the best that we have ever displayed.  Everyone fought tough, fought fair and represented their school and instructor with pride.  It was a great night for all of them.

A take-away from these fighters would be to dare to be great.  Too often, I am amazed at the number of excuses that I hear to not take action.  An often repeated statement, whether discussing training or business:
There are many good excuses not to take action; but no good reasons

I swear that some people put more effort into avoiding something, than the actual endeavour would take.  One of the ones that I have heard over many years is:  I would love to train in martial arts, but I am too old, too out of shape, don't have the time, etc... yet I would wager these are the same people that watch 15 hours of TV a week and focus on making sure they get their full 8.75 hours of sleep every night.

To conclude; take a lesson from the fighter from the Fang Shen Do Fight night - you win every time you dare to accomplish a goal.  Don't let doubt and fear paralyze you.   Some of the fighters did better than others, but they all won, because they tested themselves.  You don't have to walk into an octagon, but take that same attitude of perseverance and determination and apply to your goals.  You may do better on some than others, but you always win when you try.

Stay Solid,
Sifu Scott

Posted in: Personal Development