YES, SOMETIMES IT’S THAT HARD

WEEK OF 7/27/2026

 

Prior to starting in MMA in 2004, I had wrestled in high school and a little bit of college.  So I wasn’t a stranger to the demanding, all-encompassing demands of these sports.  But my first years of wrestling?  A totally different story.

Very few things in life will demand so much from you.  If you’ve never done something on par with competitive combat sports, the pure volume of work, discipline, and accountability will seem almost fantastical to you.  It did to me.

Maintaining a diet (that is to say, a caloric deficit), practicing/competing six days per week, and maximizing recovery while also balancing life and school work was a huge effort during the season.  And a huge ask of a 14 year old kid.  Any wrestlers here know what I’m talking about.

At first, when talking with some of the older guys, I thought they were exaggerating or trying to tease me.  They couldn’t possibly be serious.  Six days a week?  No cheating on the diet?  No hanging out on the weekends? 

I was a creative, bookish kid who liked reading, video games, and art.  I never really played sports.  It couldn’t possibly be that hard, could it?

Well, yes.. sometimes it is that hard.

The thing is, we are creatures of comfort.  We like to do things at our own pace, in our own way, at times when it’s fun or convenient for us.  We don’t like being held accountable, we don’t like sticking to demanding routines, and we don’t like making sacrifices over long periods of time.

Unfortunately, that is what these sports demand of you.  It’s normal to react incredulously when faced with the reality of what it takes to get to the next level.  It seems, well, impossible.

And for you, sometimes, it is.  Because you — at that time — are not yet the person who is strong enough, disciplined enough, and tough enough to get it done.  And that’s why you need to just put one foot in front of the other, accept your failures with grace, and will yourself forward on the faith that you will grow to manage and eventually overcome the demands placed upon you.

In my experience, that transformation actually happens pretty fast and pretty painlessly (well, relatively speaking, anyway).

The hardest part to me is just accepting that it’s time to get uncomfortable again, and that we need to lace up our boots and get back to work.  Because the work is never done, and we can either sit on the sidelines and complain or get into the mud and build something we can be proud of.

Sometimes it is that hard!  But if you accept that, and apply yourself to it, every time it can get done.