I love watching the UFC.
It's a great sport and you can learn a lot form these world-class athletes.
But let's imagine for 1 second there is an MMA fight going on with one very good martial artist and one that is average.
Let's also imagine they are exactly the same size, same reach with arms and legs.
Let's also imagine they are more or less similar with the power of their strikes and kicks.
This means there is no difference in power.
So they are almost equal except fighter 1 is more skilled and talented than opponent 2.
But what if we add one more thing into this scenario?
Let's imagine fighter 2 has a knife.
What happens now?
How will the fight be different?
Well, the answer is simple.
Everything changes.
Now it's not a game anymore.
It's not a sport.
It's now a battle between life and death.
The Art Of Life And Death: Be Hard To Kill
This is the art of life and death.
What does this have to do with you?
Well, it has to do with all of us.
Whether we like it or not we are all vulnerable.
Even in this “safe space” world, most people in the west live in.
In many other places in the world, the situation is different.
Every day is a life or death situation.
I get it.
Most of you reading this are probably living in the west in a nice “safe” environment.
But even in the modern “safe” environments human nature never disappears. The wolves and other predators are everywhere.
I have written an article before about cultivating the Sheepdog mindset.
The Sheepdog mindset is a way to empower yourself.
This article is for anyone not excepting his responsibility in being a protector of himself, his friends and his family.
More importantly, it's about not ending up as a victim.
You don't want to be the type of man that is a soft target.
You have to be hard to kill.
Your choice is simple in this world.
You are either a warrior or a victim.
What Is A Good Man?
“A Harmless Man is not a good man.A good man is a very very dangerous man who has it under voluntary control. ” -Jordan Peterson
This quote by Professor Jordan Peterson points out a fundamental misunderstanding about what a good man is.
Most people think that if you just play it safe, keep your head down and never get in “trouble” that you are a good man.
Well, you might be a nice guy with that attitude but you're not necessarily a good man.
The ancient reality of good men is that they are capable of extreme violence.
But like I mentioned in the professor's quote they have it under voluntary control.
They have a code they live by.
They have accepted the reality of this planet.
They know that this planet is and always will be a dangerous place.
They know that we have predators walking among us that will not hesitate to take life or hurt people he cares about.
This reality is just the nature of the world.
The good man has accepted this truth.
He has also accepted that for him to ignore this is irresponsible.
He knows that for him to not be prepared is reckless.
He knows he can't shift the responsibility of his own life and those he cares about onto others.
He Lives By A Code.
This is why he steps up and lives by a code.
He has made a choice to live like a warrior.
We are all warriors.
We are all born warriors.
Many reject and deny this reality in the modern world.
But there are a group of men that accept and embrace this way of the warrior.
You don't need to be a professional soldier or part of law enforcement.
This is your responsibility as a man .
It's a spiritual quest to become the best version of yourself and this includes being a dangerous man.
This means being a bad motherfucker.
But under it all, you are a good man.
Martial Arts.
“From One Thing Know Ten Thousand Things.” -Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi the legendary samurai new a fundamental truth.
He knew that if you get real expertise or skill in one area it can lead to a real understanding of everything else.
If you want to learn how to fight and defend yourself then you need to learn a martial art.
My martial art of choice is Gracie JiuJitsu but there are many others.
I'm not saying one is necessarily better than the other but I do think its good to have a base in one of the traditional martial arts that have been proven to be effective.
Martial arts like Gracie Jiujitsu, Judo, wrestling, boxing, Karate or Muay Thai.
After that feel free to supplement your main martial art with other arts like Krav Maga that brings another edge to your arsenal.
Whatever martial art you choose it will develop your whole life.
It's not just about being on the mat training.
Martial arts has a very unique way of exposing your flaws and weaknesses.
Things that need to be changed, improved and worked on.
Even if you try to hide these weaknesses they will get exposed.
You will learn how to focus and be mindful in the moment.
This zen mindfulness is something that martial arts deliver like no other.
Because guess what?
In a real sparring situation or fight you have to be mindful of what is happening in the moment.
Your mind can't drift of to some other place.
If you do you will get punched in the mouth, choked out or in the street much worse.
Martial arts are a tool for personal development.
You will be forced to be disciplined and go to class.
You will need to keep your Gi( Kimono) clean and improve your personal grooming.
Nobody wants to roll with someone who has long nails and bad personal hygiene.
You will need to follow certain rules, customs and traditions.
You will need to live by a code.
As mentioned my personal choice is Jiujitsu.
And with Jiujistu you will be in very close contact with other human beings.
You will feel your opponents strengths, weakness and sometimes feel his sweat or blood drip on your face.
Things get messy and sometimes bloody.
But guess what?
It's a lot worse out in the street.
You will learn how to be uncomfortable.
And more importantly, you will learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
This is something that martial arts teach very well.
Real World
When you are out in the world minding your own business and some person wants to attack you for no reason and punches you in the face.
What do you do?
How do you react?
If you have never been punched in the face what do you do?
Do you run?
Do you wish you were somewhere else?
Do you tell your children, girlfriend and others to run?
Or worse do you run away like a bitch before you even have time to warn others?
I am not saying to fight anyone on the street.
In fact, I encourage you to avoid fighting.
The best thing you can do when alone is run.
This is the best way to avoid bad situations.
Let's face it nobody wants to get involved in a situation where some bad dude has a knife or some other weapon.
So running is a choice that you should take if available.
But sometimes we don't have that luxury.
Sometimes you will not be alone.
Sometimes you will be with your girlfriend, wife, kids or just someone that is vulnerable.
Then you have to confront the situation.
Then you might be forced to react with extreme violence in self-defense.
Then The Question Is:
Are you ready for that reality?
For you to be ready you need to accept the reality of the planet.
And even though you live in a modern world you are still a warrior.
And if you are not one yet then you need to make the choice to become one.
Recently there was an interview with Dana White the boss of the UFC.He said that:
“Every man is a fighter. When you get out of bed in the morning life is standing right there to kick you in the face. Every day when you get up bad shit is coming at you. Forget about work. It's your personal life and everything. Life is ready to get you. You gotta get up and you have to fight through that. You have to! You can't roll over! You goto fight through it!”
It's a choice.
This is the truth.
You need to make a choice.
This is your responsibility.
Because on this planet earth bad things sometimes happen.
And you will have to deal with it.
To become dangerous, you need to learn how to fight but you also need to take care of your body.
This means you need to do weight training, stretching and cardiovascular training.
Yes, you need hard to kill fitness.
It's A Way Of Life.
Training martial arts and training your body is not something you do as a hobby or a sport.
Its a way of life.
It's a code you live by.
It's who you are.
In the whole process of being a martial artist, you will see something more important happen.
You will develop your body, mind, spirit, and Soul.
There is nothing that you can't overcome if you focus an put your mind on it.
All you have to do is accept that you are a fighter and a warrior.
Step up and take responsibility.
Make yourself hard to kill.
