| If you are a warrior involved with mixed martial arts, | | | | injuries can you learn the correct lessons, heal up, and |
| you need to face two facts: you will get injured and | | | | pass through the injury as a better fighter. |
| you will have to learn to deal with pain. There are no | | | | Everything about being successful in this sport |
| "ifs" about these facts, just "whens." With most | | | | revolves around having the best strategy. When it |
| warriors the crux of the problem is not "if" an injury | | | | comes to recovering from an injury... |
| happens, but how the warrior responds to the injury | | | | Accept that the injury has occurred, and move |
| "when" it happens. What I mean is that it is the reaction | | | | forward. |
| to the injury, in terms of rehabilitation and continuity of | | | | Examine how the injury happened, so that it never |
| training after the injury, not the injury itself, that is most | | | | happens again. |
| important. | | | | Find out all you can about the injury and its |
| There are many lessons to be learned from every | | | | rehabilitation. |
| injury. The results of these lessons and how you deal | | | | Use every method of rehabilitation you can get your |
| with an injury can make the difference between being | | | | hands on. |
| average and being a champion. Every injury has | | | | Be consistent and thorough with your rehab. |
| something to teach you that can make you better in | | | | Find the outlets and determine what training you can |
| the future, and there are strategies for responding to | | | | do around the injury. |
| an injury that can be implemented in order to work | | | | Focus on areas that you needed to improve pre-injury |
| around that injury and move forward. | | | | (nutrition, mental training, certain body regions, etc.). |
| All too often, a warrior will suffer an injury and stop | | | | Don't test the injury while healing and reirritate it. |
| training. I don't think that any injury should ever result in | | | | Develop a list of the things that the injury is trying to tell |
| this. You may have seen mixed martial artists break a | | | | you. |
| finger or toe and be out of training for weeks to | | | | Don't forget what you learned from the injury for the |
| months. This "pebble in your shoe" should never keep | | | | future. |
| you from moving ahead on your climb to success. | | | | Some warriors often return from an injury at a higher |
| Whether you are able to improve another area of the | | | | level than where they were pre-injury, thanks to the |
| body, your nutrition, work certain techniques or even | | | | lessons that the particular injury had to teach them. |
| just your mind, there is always time to find ways | | | | Many mixed martial artists do not. I believe that how |
| toward improvement. | | | | you view and respond to the injury at hand has a lot |
| Most people view an injury as a negative experience, | | | | to do with that.. You can view an injury as a problem |
| but in every injury are actually lessons that can make | | | | or a challenge. A problem is something you have; a |
| you a much better fighter. Injuries teach us not only | | | | challenge is something you have ... to take on. The next |
| about the modes of injury and how to prevent them in | | | | time you have an injury, and there will be a next time, |
| the future, but also about our own power to face | | | | take the challenge, go around the brick wall, and pass it |
| adversity head-on, or the strategy to best go around it. | | | | to become a better warrior. |
| What I mean is that all too often an injury is like a brick | | | | If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more |
| wall. Oftentimes a warrior will continue to attempt to | | | | about mixed martial arts injuries please go to The |
| ram through the wall instead of taking a side step and | | | | MMA zone. |
| walking around it. Only by correctly training around your | | | | |