Day 8: Any MMA Fighters among WSO Monkeys?

Today, I want to spend time talking about how martial art plays an important role in my life. Yes, when I am not busy out there, 1) networking my ways on Wall Street and 2) mastering the art of seduction, I am 3) busy polishing on my fighting skills. Every Saturday morning 10am to noon, I have been going to Shotokan Karate class at Columbia University. The two hours of intense Karate class was followed by another two hours (1pm to 3pm) of brutal MMA class, a full body contact sparing with minimum safety equipments (only mouth guard and groin protector) with members of former Israeli special force who practice Krav Maga.

Martial art always has a special place in my heart. Back in Myanmar, I enrolled into Taekwondo class at the age of six, just when I started 1st grade. Initially, my parents enrolled me in the Taekwondo class because it focuses a lot on stretching, which they believe would help me grow taller (I am 180cm). At that time, the only alternative was Burmese Boxing, which was almost as lethal as Muay Thai. I kept going to Taekwondo classes until I left for college in US.

During my undergraduate college years, I started my own Taekwondo club. Nevertheless, instead of focusing on Taekwondo, I was attracted to MMA. College was a great time for experimentation, so I joined a MMA club to fight with other martial art students. I took classes in Sanshou Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing), Muay Thai as well as Western Boxing. This provides me with a good arsenal of techniques from various martial arts.

My Background Training
Kicking Focused: Taekwondo
Punching Focused: Western Boxing, Shotokan Karate
Combat Focused: Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing), Muay Thai Kickboxing

Chronological Training Order
Taekwondo > Western Boxing > Sanda + Muay Thai + MMA > Shotokan Karate + MMA

The Art is only as Good as the Practitioner
During my naïve years, I have always thought that one form of martial art is superior to others. After over ten years of practice in several different forms of martial arts, I realize that all of them are focused on three things: punching, kicking and grappling. And each style has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to the practitioner to decide how to use what is available for him in a real fight. It doesn’t matter what school of martial art you belongs to, you can still be a great fighter if you trained very hard.

Martial Art is Universal
Every country has its own form of martial art, which is later then incorporated into its military training. For example, there are Sanda, Karate, Taekwondo, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Savate and Sambo which are each incorporated into the military training of China, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Thailand, France and Russia respectively. Martial art transcends cultural barriers and preaches the similar concepts of respect, humility and persistence to all martial art practitioners.

Building Character: Humility, Persistence, Endurance
Throughout the years, my take on martial art has changed greatly and I am glad to say that martial art has trained me into becoming a mature young man. What started as a way to become healthy and defense myself, martial art has slowly evolved into a philosophical framework that I incorporate into my daily life. Here are a few things at I learned throughout the years a martial artist:

Have Real Humility
Martial art is a physical training that also challenges you mentally. To me, it was never about defeating my opponent to justify that I am the best. There is no such thing as “perfection”. It is important to keep your ego in check. My teachers have taught me that your worst enemy is your ego. When you think you are perfect, you stop improving and you stop growing. I believe that I can always learn from others. I am humble with every strong opponent that I encountered because everyone of them have taught me many important lessons about fighting that I could one day use to defend myself as well save those who are important to me.

Staying Focus: Persistence and Dedication
In training for MMA, you need persistence and dedication. That means even when no one is looking, you got to give your 110% in everything you do. When you are practicing every single push up, every single punch and every single kick counts. If you slack off, you will be getting a beating in a real fight. That’s why it is important to make no excuses in your training. You either give it your very best or do nothing at all. And you don’t build Rome in a day’s work. Being a good martial artist requires years and years of training, both physically and mentally.

Endurance: Mind over Matter
The most important thing I learn from fighting is training my mind. There are moments when I want to give up, when my body is completely exhausted and physically I can no longer move. At those times, I can only depend on my mind to force myself to keep going. There are many times that I have to fight opponents who are bigger and stronger than I am. Logically, there is no way that I could win. However, I have to tell myself to keep going and to at least show that “I won’t be taken down easily. And I would at least take his arm and his leg along with me, when I go down.” These mental training has allowed me to perform well both in professional and personal situations.

An interview with Cung Le probably summarize my feelings towards MMA:

For those who are interested in the Shotokan Karate class, check out:
http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/NSicherman/Ska/uptown.html
Beginners as well as non-Columbia students are welcome to join.

My Story:
Part 1: My Pursuit of Happyness
Part 2: My Pursuit of Happyness

See my previous posts in this series:
Day 1: To Be A Better Man
Day 2: Healthy Competition Among Mature Men
Day 3: I HATE YOU
Day 4: SWAG, Do You Have It?
Day 5: Word of Advice
Day 6: 10 Important Life Lessons
Day 7: Unofficial Guide to Banking & Dating
Bonus: Previous Useful Posts