Is this something innate or can this be developed just like kick, punch or submission skills? Overtime will a fighter increase mental strength and ability to push from within?
I see alot of younger guys train and they have the athletic tools but they don't know how to fight through adversity and I'm just wondering if you all think this casn be developed or you either have it or not?
2007-11-05 04:13:28 · 10 answers · asked by Bruce Tzu 5 in Sports ➔ Martial Arts
Most people I believe can learn to be tough. I also believe some of us are born with a natural inclination to be tougher. Back to the old nature or nurture argument. I have seen student come in who were very timid and with an apparent low threshold for pain develop after a couple of years to pretty tough competitors. I have also see some leave after a couple months. I think it comes down to the will to change your behavior. I try to be as paitent as I can and hope for the best from each student.
2007-11-05 07:45:41 · answer #1 · answered by SiFu frank 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both actually. Some people are born with it more than others. For those that aren't it can be developed under a good coach with most people to some degree. How much depends a lot on that person's desire and their goals or motivation. Consider the ability to take a punch for instance. Along with the mental attitude that goes with that is also the mental and physical toughness to endure pain or your pain threshold. An aging fighter tries to fight smarter and not absorb the punishment that he did when he was younger and his body healed or recovered more quickly. As he continues fighting though his body will become accustom to absorbing less and less and sooner or later it catches up with them if they don't retire. If you talk to a retired fighter they will usually tell you that while they can still take a punch they can't take one like they used to. This is another example of this and how after retiring their bodies and minds are not quite the same as when they were fighting or in their prime. I might also add that big fortune 500 companies pay every year various entities out there to help their executives develop certain aspects like self discipline, team work, time management skills, ambition, confidence and the drive to succeed. Just like fighters, some executives are born with more of these attributes than others are but it can be developed to some extent in a lot of those that have little or none of it.
2007-11-05 13:04:03 · answer #2 · answered by samuraiwarrior_98 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A certain level of toughness can be taught. But mental toughness is the hardest thing to teach. Giving your all in the face of defeat is always hard, as it is always easier to give in to remove pain and stress.
Winning can make a fighter confident, but one cannot always win. No matter what, there is always someone stronger and faster. It is the rare fighter who can ignore pain, ignore impending defeat and overcome a superior fighter by breakign their very will. Some of this, I believe, is something we are born with.
Consider how many people try to become a navy seal, they undergo intolerable cold, pain, fatigue to a level beyond most human comprehension. Many gifted athletes fail due to their own internal limits. Why do some make it? Part of it is the fact that they know, "What one man can do, another can do as well". Also, the refuse to quit. They will not accept digrace or failure. It is a hard mark to even comprehend.
Winning is hard, losing is easy. That is the biggest lesson. The rest is about willpower, and some willpower can be aquired by anyone.
2007-11-05 22:58:38 · answer #3 · answered by Eric K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes it can, but it needs heart as well and that cannot be. You either have heart or not, and never forget the ability to use your wits under pressure. That means you need wits to use, so there are 3 ingredients.
The first is the smarts to be able to use the toughness you acquire correctly.
Then the toughness as you can control it without it controlling you.
Last the heart to use it in and for the right reasons.
2007-11-05 13:46:30 · answer #4 · answered by Firefly 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ofcource its developed, regardless of what people say no one is born a fighter, some people just get so good at it that it seems that way but even they spent time developing their skills
Being tough can mean allot of things, but anything can come with experience, some people are more talented and more tough naturaly i guess but anyone can develop themselves
2007-11-05 20:37:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is a mental habit. People react to pain in different ways; some cry and throw things, some procrastinate/try to avoid it, some just get on with it/aren't fazed too much.
2007-11-05 15:57:37 · answer #6 · answered by some_pixels_on_a_screen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it can be taught and developed.
Did you ever notice that fighters from 3rd world countries seem to do better than Americans. I believe their training conditions are much tougher. They are learning to be hungrier and tougher than people who train in cushy conditions.
2007-11-05 12:41:01 · answer #7 · answered by spidertiger440 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
For most people it is something within them, but it can be taught. Some people have to be forced to undergo challenges because they will never seek them out on their own.
2007-11-05 12:21:31 · answer #8 · answered by slice_n_hook@yahoo.com 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think it can be tought but i think there has to be somethign there to start and you cant go from being a shy guy and then tough strong guy because its all about beliveing in your self.
2007-11-05 13:28:18 · answer #9 · answered by Joshy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Toughness is like having heart, you either have it or you don't. It's within you, not something anyone can teach you.
2007-11-05 22:21:41 · answer #10 · answered by lock_em_up71 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋