MMA – Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

by Kenny Florian

The following quote rings very true in the fight game. “We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.” You can hope for the best all you want, but at some point the truth will always find you in combat.

This is why it is absolutely imperative to explore every nook and cranny of MMA. There is one reality in the fight game, you never know how a fight will play out. You have to be fully prepared for every eventuality. You have to be ready for a high level of wrestling, striking or submission. Furthermore, you have to be ready for an opponent’s explosiveness, speed, endurance, strategy etc. . .

It’s no surprise that we often make mistakes when we see something for the first time. Driving down a new road, being asked an uncomfortable question or being spooked in the dark. All these things get us to react in ways we are not used to. Doing this in the fight game leads to mistakes that are often responsible for losing you the fight.

It is rare that you will respond correctly the first time you encounter something so all these “encounters” must be experienced many times in training. To do this, you must be willing to get out of your comfort zone and train in situations that are new, unfamiliar and difficult. Essentially, you must get comfortable with the uncomfortable. If you understand the boundaries of your comfort zone and explore them thoroughly you will create discomfort for your opponent. This exercise allows you to respond correctly when you experience a specific challenge in the cage.

I’ve always enjoyed training with different sparring partners and going to new locations. These experiences recreate that feeling of having butterflies before a fight. When I would train with the same people day in and day out, I would get comfortable training with them, because I understood their style of fighting. I would figure out their strengths and weaknesses.

When going with someone for the first time, you don’t have that luxury. Even training in an unfamiliar environment has it’s advantages. You have different mat surfaces to deal with, new faces watching, new training rules etc… All these things that are uncomfortable to you at first, but they allow you to evolve mentally, physically and technically.

Posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2012 in Kenny's Blog.