Level 3 Self-Control: Controlling other people
Oxymoron? Not at all. Think of it as simply extending yourself into a new arena. You make your opponent part of your environment, and therefore something subject to your control.
Controlling Your Opponent
This is where most martial artists or athletes miss. They spend time learning to be calm and sportsmanlike. They learn to lose with dignity. Meanwhile, the true champions learn to control THEM.
Everything you do in competition makes your opponent react a certain way whether you did it by accident or design. The question is: Are they reacting the way you want them to?
Sometimes winning is as simple as being the person who acts and therefore forces their opponent to react.
After twenty five years of teaching martial arts, I am used to hearing “what if”... “What if my opponent does this? What if he does that?” I always respond with, “What if his good buddy is in a window over there with a rocket launcher and decides to blow you up?” After the class laughs I explain that the idea is to become the one who’s controlling his opponent: Make him ask “what if”.
Training for Level 3
Watching the early days of UFC I would cringe when the announcer would say, “Cunning J. Grappler is so good at waiting for an opening for the finishing move.”
This is horse hockey. C.J. is not “waiting for an opening”, he’s moving the fight towards that final move, even if it takes an hour (bo-o-o-ring). He had one purpose from the moment he stepped out on the mat: Move towards winning.
The Keys:
In a fight, never wait for an opening; always move the fight towards winning. Take control and do not give it back.
Controlling your opponent is partly a function of controlling your attitude about your opponent.
Don’t think: “This is what I’ll do if he does X.”
Think: “I will do this to him.”
Always fight your game!
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