What’s Your Point?

No….. Really. What’s your point?

I was watching a group of our students spar the other day, and could just tell……. Nobody was working on anything. Sure they were sparring (a tad too hard), and they were certainly trying to “win”. But, after a few  rounds, I called everyone in, and said “What’s your point, in this training session?”.

Stares.

Then, the inevitable, “what they think I want to hear” scthick.

“Get better”, “work on stuff”.

Stuff…… Really. That’s how deep we’re looking at training. Get “better” at “stuff”.

I’ll try to give you the condensed version of the lecture they got, but with less cursing.

You have to have a point to your training.

Actually, everyone has a “point” to their training, or they wouldn’t do it. Problem is, their “point” is to live the movie in their head. Or just to experience being “bad ass”. Or, to have some reprieve from this mind numbing existence we’ve made for ourselves.

Thing is, if that’s your point, then you’ve succeeded. But you then don’t have the right to bitch about not getting better! You’ve never TRIED, to get better.

You can’t succeed in something you don’t try!

So, IF you want improve….. You must pick what you’re working on that session.

Maybe, a technique, or combination. Maybe, a mindset. Maybe, relaxing. Maybe, just getting more comfortable with the training.

But, if your coach hollers at you from across the room, and say’s “WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?!”. You should have an answer, that doesn’t involve any version of “Being a MAN”.

It’s not fight club.