o that you can compete at the highest skill levels.
Beyond that you will need to engage in some sports-specific training. Some styles require more flexibility, some rely on being more explosive, some place heavy demands on your endurance. Certain styles will employ high kicks, others elbows, a few make regular use of takedowns, and some incorporate all of it. You must train your body physically for the specific needs of your chosen sport and develop your reflexes and techniques to be optimal for that style and ruleset(s). Either way, you must become a proficient specialist. If you do well at a high level of competition, this may also mean you are somewhere in the top 1% (or less) of what humans can do. If not, then it’s still a valuable journey to improve your skills and be the best that you can.
If you do manage to reach the top tiers of your given sport, physically and mentally, then you will likely do well in a street fight or self-defence situation against the average person. So long as you are aware of your surroundings and what is too much for you.
The Fight Mentality
Training to fight competitively is a very different animal than preparing to fight for self-defence. One of the biggest differences is you know that you are going to fight; you set a date, you put together a training plae and you execute it methodically. You also have lots of time in your own head to psyche yourself up or down, either way as needed, as you know the fight coming.
Mentally you must prepare to train and push your body to refine the set of skills you’ve already gathered. You will most likely be working in a fairly structured training program. If you are a professional you are likely training 4-6 hours a day, 4-6 days a week. If you are competing casually, perhaps it looks more like going to class five days a week instead of two. Either way, a considerable amount of energy is going into your preparations, which can drain you mentally. Other areas in your life may suffer as a result, depending on how well you are able to manage and balance your priorities, but you know you need to put in the time to get the iterations in, in order to give yourself the best shot at competing.
Then there is also the diet aspect of preparing for a fight. If you don’t already eat a fairly clean or structured diet then you are likely going to be on a strict diet for a period of 4-8 weeks leading up to the fight. This for many can affect their mood negatively, as who likes to be on a strict caloric intake.
Mentally you need to keep it together leading up to a fight so that on fight day your mind is clear and focused and you are able to execute your plan (against someone who has likely been doing the same thing this whole time).
You are entering into a skill competition, yes, but also a test of whose cardio is best, whose technique is best, and whose mind is the best on that given day.
If you win you will leave feeling great, perhaps preparing for the next one. Lose, and you may be asking yourself “is this worth it?”, or “what can I do better next time?” Regardless of the outcome a large amount of mental energy was expended leading up to and during the fight.
Training to fight regularly, professionally, or casually often means you have built a lifestyle around it. At a minimum you love training and developing your skills, and have decided to compete for status, glory, pride, and, yes, even money. You can approach this as a casual lifestyle or a professional one. There is structure to the training and execution of the fight, and it is essentially jumping from one goal to another (one fight, one competition), and then on to the next. It may, of course, all be for the simple joy of it, in which case it’s wonderful, because you have found your passion and are able to do something that uses mind, body, and spirit. But the fact that it is a journey, with its ups and downs like any other, which in this case means injury, pain, and sacrifice, is also something to consider before you set out. You may be training to be the best or simply to be the best version of yourself. 