This is a common issue among all combat sports. Haters come in many forms, but all cause the same problem. They slow down the growth of the sport. They do harm to their own career, as well as others. That in itself makes the act of hating crazy to me. We will get into the “how” they are hurting themselves a little later on. For now, lets just start off will a simple visual example.
Which Of These Guys Are You?
Looking at both of these pictures, right it away who would you rather be? The guy loving life, drinking champagne? Or the miserable guy eating his banana? What’s funny is, there are haters reading this as we speak, looking at the picture of the happy guy, hating on him!!
Hate Collage
What if I told you, you could be the happy guy with a few things that cost you nothing! Persistence, Hard Work, Dedication, and a GOOD ATTITUDE can take you so far. The path won’t always be easy. In fact, the righteous path is almost always a constant battle. To get to that point where you can celebrate comes from the Grind to get there. Not to mention once you get to your destination, you have to maintain the Grind to hold your position. Lets be honest, when you’re hating, you don’t really hate that person. You hate that they point out your lack of dedication to achieving your goals. Seeing them work hard and get what they wants hits you hard because you’re not where you want to be. There’s no short cuts. If you truly want something bad enough, you have to fight for it. You have to prove to the universe you deserve it. Don’t let your doubts hold you back, instead of hating on the pioneers that braved the path before you, be inspired by them.
Ok, now that we got through the uncomfortable stuff, lets take a deep breath and start fresh right now. Remember every second on this Earth is another chance to make the right decision.
Participation is key!
As I said before, this pertains to all combat sports. As I’m directly involved with Muay Thai and Kickboxing, I’ll point out some ways we can help our community. First and foremost, we got the hate thing covered, that will help a lot. When you see fighters posting things, re-post them, be a supporter. Recently a female fighter named Jessica Ng from New York ran a campaign to help herself get to the IFMA World Championships in Malaysia. I don’t know Jessica, but she is a part of our community, so I donated. Nothing huge, but every little bit helps. She was able to pull it together and make her trip happen. That story will be passed around, people will hear that strangers pitched in to help this young woman achieve a dream. How powerful is that?? In my opinion this is a big part of what Martial Arts is about. The sports of Muay Thai and Kickboxing are quickly becoming more popular. It’s our duty to our community that as they do, the light shed on them shows people who we are.
Jessica Ng
Step 2 | Participation
Support your fighters!! Your teammates need you at their fights. At the end of the day, there is a strong business aspect to all of this. Don’t hate on that either. Every dollar spent is an investment in yourself! If your teammate has a fight, and shows up with 30 people cheering for them, they get the boost from their team. The promoter makes money and is able to continue to run shows!! When those shows continue to run, the fighters are able to make more money. As that money rises the possibility is more realistic to actually make a living as a fighter. There is a lot more to it, but thats for another blog. Simply put, your support is an investment in your future.
On the grand stage, we have to pull together and support Lion Fight, and Glory. Both of these organizations are working hard to push Mauy Thai and Kickboxing to the forefront of Combat Sports, but they can’t do it on their own. Lion Fight has based their shows out of Las Vegas until now. They will make their East Coast debut on May 23rd. Its absolutely vital we make sure this show sells out. For Lion Fight, and for ourselves. Glory will run its first Pay Per View on June 21st. So far they have run all their shows free on Spike TV. Initially a lot of people were “hating”. I can’t stress how important this event is. Keep in mind how many MMA organizations have come and gone. Glory has been paying these fighters big money to win their tournaments. To be able to maintain the ability to do that, and run these incredible shows they have to make money. The only way for them to do that is with our support. On the flip side, if this PPV is a success, more fighters will be able to make more money. If your dream is to one day fight for Glory, or Coach a fighter in Glory, you have to PARTICIPATE! Invest in your future. Support your sport!
Coach Jason Farrell
Owner Of Level Up Boxing & Fitness
Owner of Urban Ninja Clothing
