Do your best everyday / every round

Three, Five, ten or twelve...
It doesn't really matter how many rounds is your next fight if you are not going to put all your work right from the beginning  it is going to be extremely hard to change the verdict even if you pick your work rate up in the later stages. Basically you are counting on luck.
By taking your time and holding back you are giving room to your opponent which I presume is hungry of winning  and will take every opportunity to convince the judges that he deserves that win more than you.
He will take every opportunity to weaken you up and finish the fight before time.

Some of the fighters staying in the safe distance at the beginning of the fight to save their energy for later rounds. But as I believe we have cleared this in one or two of my previous posts, there might not be later rounds, if you give your opponent room and he will use it correctly.
He might basically stop you before you even start executing your plan.

He might stop you before you put in work something that you have been preparing for by spending your precious time and energy.
All hard work in the gym as on the road ( running etc. ), all your dedications and sacrifices might simply be vanished ( or better said: remain in progressive  ) by you holding back.
I have always believed: that it is much better to loose while doing all your best than while not doing anything.
It is more honorable for a warrior to die in a clean battle than being killed while a sleep.
If you are going to loose in a process of doing your best, you learn the lesson and come back better, stronger, wiser.
Other ways you just delay your success and slow down your own progress.
I would say you are sabotaging yourself.

I've been watching some boxing fights today at amateur boxing championships of London . And I have seen many good and skilled fighters.
A lot of boys with great heart and strong mentality.
And above all skills, those factors have been mainly deciding about the outcome.
As the level of competition was very equal, skills were very similar.
What was really taking over was the drive of the boxer, was the hunger of the success.

Just like in the life.
We are all making our own decisions.
Waking up another morning it is us making decisions how we are going to spend the day.
It is our decision if we are going to use all the experience and opportunities we've got, to lift our hands up in the victory at the end of the day.
Or we are going to postpone our progress, our success.

Value yourself, value your work, value your life and life of your close ones.
Give your best everyday, every round.

www.GMMA.co.uk

Krystian Ozog Fighter/Instructor, GMMA Academy 07928093841 | KrystianGuruMuayThai@gmail.com | http://www.gmma.co.uk/ | London/Great Britain

Surfing experience/training camp

What an amazing August Bank holiday weekend that was.
Plenty of training in beautiful surroundings of a Cornish coast.
Sightseeing of peaceful and very welcoming South of England.
Undertaking another great skills improving experience - surfing.
All that with great company of family, friends, GMMA Academy members.

Everyone has enjoyed it, its own way.

Some of us were tuned up for intense training, others were all about the waves.

Some of us simply came around to spend time together and relax, away from big city life.

One of the biggest attraction of this weekend was definitely surfing experience.

We were very fortunate as we had with us Jean, passionate and experienced surfer,who has given give us quick and essential tutorial. 

As soon as Jean has explained us health safety rules and gave us few tips on technical side.
We would jump the boards few times on the beach before we actually go into the water. As soon as we managed couple of times to stand up on the surf board straight from lie down position. Didn't want to waist any precious time, we would all go in to the sea, for a real deal practice.

Surfing is another quick decision making sport.
Is all about control and balance.
Once you spot that perfect waive, you need to position your board at the right direction and quickly lie down on it. Balance yourself and paddle with your arms to get more speed for the final slide, you are focusing on catching the right moment to gently but promptly stand up on the board.
You do that when you feel that the wave is pulling you.
Then Just like smart Aikido or Judo fighter you are using the energy of your opponent ( wave ).
Right positioning, reaction, balance and focus are the way to succeed.

Walking away from the shore, into the deeper water. Handling surfing board while constantly being hit by the waives. Jumping on and falling of the board.
It can be quite energy draining business, specially for inexperience surfers. Just like me :-)
Those few seconds of actual surfing, when you manage to stand on the board and slide on it right to the end, it is a great reward.
That's why we would keep on going up and down restlessly to achieve our final goal without thinking of tiredness, hungriness, cold or anything else.
We have enjoyed it so much that without realizing when we have spent few hours in the sea till our colleagues would give us sign that it is time to come back.  

I always tent to look for new experience in my life, I love to learn new things and achieve new skills.

I always look for similarities and relationships as well as it helps to look the world with the bigger picture. It helps me to understand better myself, others, the world and other professions.

Obviously it was Thaiboxing training camp.
So as soon as we had some food and bit of rest to recharge the batteries.
We have took our kickboxing equipment out and attracting all the residents of holiday camp where we have stayed we begun to hit the pads and work out bare feet on fresh and clean grass in front of our Glamping accommodation.

Hill runs,sprints,pad work,strength and conditioning workouts.
Surfing and socializing with our team.
Beautiful sightseeing and relaxing.
New achievements, new experiences.
Can't wait for next training camp.
Already thinking of about the time and location.

www.GMMA.co.uk

Krystian Ozog Fighter/Instructor, GMMA Academy 07928093841 | KrystianGuruMuayThai@gmail.com | http://www.gmma.co.uk/ | London/Great Britain

Be champion of your own life

It is very relaxing Saturday evening.
After very positive and productive morning then another great afternoon session of GuruMuayThai.
I have sat down plugged to the computer catching up with some of my work.
My wife sat right next to me and searched on the TV something interesting for us to watch.

She has tuned on documentary about controversial career of one of the most popular "sportsman" in the world; Lance Armstrong.
Which has inspired and gave hope to millions of people.
Not only as the greatest of all times road cyclist who managed to win Tour the France race along with his team of course for seven times in a row.
His achievement was even more inspiring, as he has managed to bit the cancer and that was his big come back to the sport, to new life.
However, after many years of leading road cycling races, being an icon of sportsmanship and hard work at any circumstances. After establishing foundation fighting with cancer and supporting the victims of that disease.
He has been accused and proved the later on confessed himself of taking a doping and not being honest for all those years.

Watching this and hearing all the story made me think deeply of his motives.
Obviously he was very ambitious, hard working and very talented road cyclist at the beginning of his career. But the nature of the sport he has chose has pretty quick made him understand that as a human being you cannot be at your peak at all times.
His young and sick ambition wouldn't agree with that. Especially after winning with deadly disease of a testicular cancer ( quite often diagnosed among the cyclists ).
World wide publicity, sponsors, money involved and probably many more his own reasons would make him cheat this way.

After all, he has got stripped of all the titles and become a "Champion" of a cheat.

He couldn't cope with thoughts that you can be great, while still having ups and downs.
In life, you cannot go up on your graph at all times. It is not natural.
There will always be ups and downs. There will always be someone training harder and wanting it more. But that is the beauty of sportsmanship. That does always motivates me to work harder, better, smarter. And as long as I listen to my body and stay consistent with my training, I know that I will achieve what I aim for, I will get the best I can possibly be.

I will "become a champion of my own life".
( These words I have red on the banner outside the Master Sken gym in Stockport at the training camp few years back ).

www.GMMA.co.uk

Krystian Ozog Fighter/Instructor, GMMA Academy 07928093841 | KrystianGuruMuayThai@gmail.com | http://www.gmma.co.uk/ | London/Great Britain