Photos courtesy of Sebastian Troen

Leadership and mentorship is the mark of a true trainer. You can only get the best out of a fighter if you focus on the mental aspects of your training. Many fighters don't know their own potential and other have delusions of grandeur. The way to get through this – show them how to be the best they can be and accept and have fun – both of you.

Your fighter won't know where you can take him if you don't show him the way.

A fighter-trainer relationship is first built on trust and then on business. No trust, then no business. When the trainer builds such a relationship, then the fighter will follow his instructions (yea, just check – like Ronald Reagan used to say: Trust, but verify). Coach on other aspects around fighting – such as your fighter's drinking habits, his use of unacceptable pharmaceuticals and anabolics and any other thing that may take his eye off the ball. You are a mentor. So take care of your fighter over the long term.

Vision for fighter

Sit with your fighter and dream your dreams together. You will know his potential. When Henk Pelser told me I was championship material, I was surprised. But, together we dreamt on that title. It was our vision. He had many champions in his stable and I was next. He knew what a champion should be like and he explained to me what we have to do to achieve that. The fighter must buy into this and make it his own. If he has no ownership of it, then you're trying to force something down his throat. Let him spell out his dreams first, then – since you should know his potential – you give your opinion. Work together on a vision for him. Communicate, communicate, communicate – don't ever make this a unilateral thing.

Strategy

Take out your writing pad. Write: "Johnny's World Title Plan," or whatever is the case. Then, systematically, set out the method and time frame towards achieving your goals.

Here is the key: Measure regularly so that you can measure your progress – to see if you're still on schedule. Other things may cause changes (injuries, personal problems, etc), but the core plan should never change. Document (unless you only have 1 fighter) everything. Let your fighter document his own gym training that he does and give you feedback, at least weekly.

The building blocks for preparation towards your vision.

These are the typical building blocks for creating a champion fighter. Read fro left to right. This is followed by the "grand event" – the title fight, or comeback fight or whatever is your vision.

Technique

I'm not going to elaborate here – everyone knows the fighter should have good technique. Just make sure that he has more than just a left hook. Build an array of weapons that are honed to perfection.

Technique (combinations)

Here, I'm talking about regular combinations, such as striking combo's, setting up and taking down, or whatever works for the fighter. Here I prefer to use not to many. For a striker, about six combinations that he can execute flawlessly (under pressure is where you measure "flawlessly"), is better than knowing a hundred so-so. I like to use about 4-6 for boxing and about 2-3 for kicks. You probably don't need more than that.

Conditioning

Aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. Don't over-train. Make sure he rests enough to handle the workload over the long term. Do interval training and good old sparring and bag-and-pads. Running is for runners – not fighters. Train the way you fight, not in some other way unrelated to your sport.

Mental 1

This is the motivational part. This is the recognizing the ability to execute a technique, freely and recognizing its efficiency. This is where you coach his lifestyle and remind him of his dream (the vision).

Speed

I like to train speed as much as I can – about 5-6 times per week for the top fighters. Just like the technique itself, speed takes a while to learn. Repeat, repeat and repeat the single and combination techniques at high speed.

Power

Power training can be hard on a fighter's joints and muscles. I don't train this more than 3 times a week and sometimes, I'll skip a week if I think the fighter takes longer to recover. Just make sure that he kicks and punches at maximum power. Measure the impact. Do it slowly – let him set up the timing and distance. Let him do it his way – don't worry, you'll balance it with the speed training anyway.

Injuries management

There are 2 types: Injuries in training and injuries in fighting.
Just recognize and let the fighter recognize and inform you of the extent. Make sure your schedule will allow that body part to recover. Recognizing an injury while fighting is also very important. The fighter must learn to recognize the severity and how to cope with it – and not panic! I had a few fighters who continued to fight with injuries, like broken ribs and a broken arm and so on. I gave them the choice and they kept the limb out of harm's way. As coach, you should be well versed in how to treat these injuries in the ring and outside. Nothing is worse than you costing your fighter his title because you couldn't treat a cut above the eye or something elementary like that.

Mental 2

Building the killer instinct. You can't teach it (if he doesn't have it, then you may have a problem), but you can develop what your fighter has. Motivate him; tell him how dangerous he is. Tell it to him every day – until he believes it and says so himself. Let the fighter tell himself – every day how dangerous he is in the ring. What the ear hears oftern, the mind believes after a while…

Ring craft

The way he moves, using the least amount of energy. It's called economy of movement – even if the fighter is a defensive fighter. Learn to cut off the ring, move out of harm's way, slip, use the ropes, back out of a corner, slip under the opponent's arm, etc.

Mental 3 (Internally)

This is where the fighter must learn to motivate himself from the inside – without you shouting encouragement. I do this by telling the fighter that he is useless, doesn't have what it takes and that my grandmother can do better. This can be a powerful motivating tool, but, BE CAREFUL – don't destroy your fighter. This kind of mental training is the type found in the military. This is where the fighter finds his motivation from within. It is probably the most important aspect because this is where he believes in himself and doesn't need others' encouragement.

Mental 4

Pre-fight preparation, in-fight continuation and debriefing.

Pre-fight preparation means to let your fighter focus and the game plan. I let my fighters repeat over and over the game plan.

In-fight is where you keep him focusing on it amidst all the blows he's receiving. Don't shout a hundred new commands – he has a hard time listening anyway and it is hard to change tactics mid-round.

Debriefing. Never tell you fighter how bad he is when he lost. Focus on what went wrong and how to eliminate it in the future. When your fighter won you still have to debrief, because he still made mistakes. Regardless, you have to see how things went right for you and how (and if) the game plan worked.