Victory in a loss

"Winning isn't everthing! It isn't whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game." Do you know who says that? People that lose! I understand the point of people telling their children that, it is to teach them that they cannot always win. But if we are competing, in a game or in an interview, we should play to win. Otherwise, what is the point of playing?

Anyhow, I was just thinking about how on the rare occasion a loss can be a victory. Now, admit it or not, we have all lost, or failed at something. And rather than give the old cliche about "moral victories" I am going to put something else out there. I am, after all, trying to keep it original around here.

So when does a victory come from a loss? I will tell you, Im good like that. A victory comes from a TRULY spirited effort when the odds are against you. Winning the fight is NOT the most important thing. The most important thing is the spirit in which you engage. Evander Holyfield got more respect from LOSING to Riddick Bowe, than he did in the rematch which he won. Evander was battered by the much larger and stronger Bowe, but fought back with such aggression and tenacity that he won the hearts of the audience. That match showed a lot of people that even in the world of prize fighting, the "W" column is not always the most important thing. Evander won the respect of the entire fighting world with a loss on his resume.

For the MMA fans out there, I have a GREAT example for you. If you have not seen it, you HAVE to see the Georges St. Pierre versus John Fitch match. It was 5 rounds of one-sided savagery from GSP. So why watch it? Because Jon Fitch showed the heart of a lion in that match. In a way that nobody foresaw, GSP unleashed his full arsenal on the brave but clearly out-matched Fitch. One punch LITERALLY knocked the snot out of Jon Fitch. But for all of the one sided beating that he took, Jon Fitch pressed the fight and fought on unfazed for 5 grueling rounds. At one point, GSP looked at the clock because he hit Fitch with his best shot but could not finish him. While visibly battered at the end of the contest, Fitch was NOT a broken man.

In Japan for example, winning and losing is NOT the most important thing. The win-loss record is inconsequential to the Japanese. In the days of Pride, some fighters were allowed to continue fighting even though they had losing records. Why? Because they ALWAYS gave all that they had. They entertained the fans more witht their hearts than with their skills. And so it should be. If a person can truly say tha they did their best, then winning or losing is arbitrary.

I think that somewhere in that reality lies the concept of honor. To do your best regardless of the outcome or the perceived outcome. I am all for winning, I prefer it in fact. But as a man, I can live with the fact that on a certain day I will not always be the superior artist. Fight your heart out, do your best, and you will find victory defeat.

Dont forget to use what you have!

Folks,

Here is one that I feel strongly about, so bear with me. Now, as most of you know, we are in a weird transitional period in the martial arts world. Which is a good thing. When people challenge old ideas, a lot of good things can happen. Either we can invalidate out-dated practices and evolve, or we can strengthen our convictions and move on. Either way, I have noticed a disturbing trend in the martial arts world. Under the guise of evolution, a LOT of traditional martial artists are selling out. Yes, selling out. If you dont know why I say that, I will fill you in.

Now, a LOT of traditional schools are coming under fire, and even losing business due to the new popularity in the mixed martial arts. So rather than sticking to their guns and knowing that there is room for everyone, they sell out. All of a sudden they are schools that focus on "realistic" self defense that will address today's reality First of all, what were you doing before? Traditional martial arts schools should have been covering realistic self defense from day one. If they were not, then shame on them big time.

Let me get to my real beef here. In order to attract the curious, a lot of traditional school owners will abandon their own curriculum in order to fit a more public-pleasing format. That means that regardless of the martial art being studied, it just ends up looking like kickboxing. Not that there is anything wrong with kickboxing. But kickboxing is just ONE sport application of the various arts. Case and point, I checked out a Kajukenbo at a local school. With the popularity of the mixed martial arts, they were marketing themselves as America's first mixed martial art. In a way, they are. But instead of trying to maintain an important historical legacy, their training looked just like what you can find at any garden variety martial arts school. They stuck only with strikes and techniques that you can find at any Muay Thai or Boxing gym. Not that it isnt effective. Fact of the matter is, it is VERY effective. That is why they are used. But these techniques in no way shape or form reflect the diversity of the martial arts toolbox.

I am not saying that you should be throwing tornado kicks or spinning hook kicks all of the time. But what I do know is that palm strikes, ridge hands, hammer strikes and the like also have a VERY real place in self defense. Instead of relying on push kicks and roundhouse kicks solely, there are foot stomps, side kicks, sweeps, crescent kicks and a whole cornucopia of available attacks. Actually, I have figured that people who train that way are doing me a favor. I train and use all of the techniques that I can during sparring. I have found that mixed martial artists have NO answer for a lot of the traditional techniques, because they are not used to having to defend them. Especially from a skilled person like myself. Pardon my modesty :)

Anyhow, mixed martial artists, do what you do. Traditional martial artists, do what you do. But for the sake of all things holy and traditional, keep it real. IF you train correctly, you can develop high efficiency in all of your skill sets without selling out. Now get out there and train!!!!!!!!!!