Consult a professional before embarking on any activity or lifestyle change. The author, publishers and distributors jointly or separately do not accept responsibility for any injury, damage or loss of anything, including, but not limited to life, person or property due to any advice from this book.
Copyright © 2004 by Kobus Huisamen. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Pictures by John Yoo.
To the trainers who made the most impact in my career: Steve Kalakoda, Henk Pelser and Ivan Hippolyte.
As a fighter trains, his mind also trains.
With every kick and every punch, there is a whole thought and realization process happening.
You “feel” your way around the kicks and punches. You feel and measure the technique in your body and mind. You say; “Okay, the front kick is fair, now I need to work the side kick,” or “My guard is fine, I need to work on the halfguard”.
This process of measuring yourself is non-stop. It has to be, or you should stop competing. It is constantly changing; also, as your technique improves, your perspectives change.
You learn to acknowledge the way another fighter strikes and you compare yourself with other fighters continuously.
Measurement
Comparing yourself with other fighters determines your level.
Compete with the best in your gym, or category and when you’ve improved, look outside and compare yourself to other fighters.
Look at other fighters. Learn new things, new styles and attitudes from other fighters. Do this by watching fights; do this by competing.
Competitions are the best way to measure yourself. Thinking about the fight afterwards, you’ve learnt a lot about your mental state before, during and after the fight.
Watching a video of your fight, tells you about your mistakes.
All these things add up to your mental strength.
You’re stronger because you know yourself. You’re stronger because you know your ability and your mental strength.
The famous Chinese general, Sun Tzu, said that you should know your enemy well, but you should know yourself better.
Opponent-specific preparation
If you know your opponent well in advance, you can prepare specifically for him. Watch videos of him. Learn about all his strengths and weaknesses.
One of the best examples I can remember of this was when Francois Botha fought Mike Tyson.
Botha had perfected just a few things in preparation for Tyson – his movement and his punching when Tyson came forward. He kept Tyson at bay for almost five rounds before a shot on the jaw sent him down.
Everybody was surprised at Botha’s performance – even Tyson.
Botha analyzed his opponent well. This made him confident enough to even taunt Tyson in the ring.
When I prepared for my national title fight (kickboxing); I had a very strong opponent. He was national champion in the heavyweight category and world champion in the cruiserweight category.
However, my trainer knew my opponent very well and we prepared meticulously for this fight. I worked specifically on attacking his key weaknesses and defending against his strengths.
We prepared for three months.
When I stepped into the ring, I smiled. I knew that this fight was mine in the first two seconds after the bell, because he stepped into the stance we have prepared for.
He made every mistake we prepared to capitalize on. I was so confident that I just slammed shots into him. He went down a couple of times and finally collapsed in the third round.
I knew exactly what to expect, so my stress levels were lower than usual and my confidence was sky-high.
However, there are some pitfalls in too much self-confidence.
I fought an MMA fight in Korea on short notice one day. The opponent was not a high level fighter, so I just prepared to walk in and knock him out. When the bell rang, I stormed forward, swinging.
He started running and I chased. I didn’t even care about holding my guard up, because I knew that as soon as I catch him, he’s going to fall.
Suddenly he just slammed out a wild punch and knocked me clean off my feet and out.
I lost against a fighter whom I knew I could beat any day – all because I was totally overconfident!
Sudden changes
On my first kickboxing fight in Japan, I was sharing a dressing room with a fighter from England, who was set to fight the Japanese middleweight champ.
All fights were going to be according to Japanese rules, which allowed elbow strikes.
The English fighter was very upset. As a Muay Thai fighter, he was very good with elbows and knees and prepared to take this fighter down specifically with elbows. However, a few hours prior to the fight, the association decided that for this specific fight, no elbow strikes were allowed.
The fighter’s game plan suddenly went awry.
One of my own fighters in Korea was set for an MMA fight one night. Three hours before the fight, the organizers called me and changed the rules and the opponent.
What do you do?
I told my fighter (here’s the lesson): “No matter who stands in front of you – that is the guy you’ll break to pieces; no matter what rules, you’ll fight and win.” This was a lesson burnt into my mind years ago by Henk Pelser.
Making it a habit
Building your confidence and preparing well is essential – because you may take a fight on short notice.
I remember taking one fight on 48-hour’s notice against the Korean champion – on my birthday in 2003.
I said: “No problem, I’ll fight anybody, anytime – I don’t care who is in front of me.” I won that fight with a knockout in 80 seconds.
One day, in 2004, Steve told me to prepare for a possible fight against K-1 legend, Jerome Le Banner. The fight never took place, but when I told my friends at the gym, the one asked me: “Aren’t you afraid of fighting Jerome?” I asked him why and he said: “Jerome is a monster!”
My response was: “No, he’s got two arms and two legs and one head – just like me. Why should I be afraid – I’ll just punch him like I punch everybody else!”
Of course everyone burst out into laughter and one said: “Yes, that’s you. We don’t know you any other way.”
So, why are fighters too scared to fight?
If you are – go back to fighting in the peewee league where you belong.
Harnessing your fear
One thing I’ve learnt in the military from jumping out of aeroplanes is that you’ll always have fear.
In those early days, I’ve always tried to drive it away.
Later on I’ve realized that no matter how hard I tried brushing it off, it always came back like a recurring nightmare.
The simple principle is that when you are preparing for a fight – your opponent also has fear.
This is when I’ve learnt to harness it.
Fear releases adrenalin. Adrenalin is good – if you know how to use it.
I’ve accepted fear as a friend. Fear makes sure that I train properly. I’ve learnt to channel the fear correctly – using the adrenalin buildup in my aggression and my focus.
Before the fight
I’m not talking the day before; I’m talking throughout your preparation for a specific event.
You start to prepare mentally from the moment you accepted the offer to fight.
Do you want to fight? Do you want to win? Yes? Well then, let’s go!
Visualize your win! See it happen.
Will you get injured? Well, yes, maybe.
Will you get hit? Sure! This is not a game – this is fighting, but this is what we do. And we love every minute of it!
We are fighters – this is what we do. Now go and do it!
If you’re at the event and the stress is getting much, deal with it.
Different fighters deal with it in different ways.
Some listen to music. Some (try to) sleep. Personally, I like to take a walk and clear my mind.
One thing I’ve learnt from Steve is not to worry about what my opponent is going to do, but concentrate on what I’m going to do.
Then I start on my aggression.
I like to work myself up to the fight. On a review of my first fight in Pancrase (2004), a reporter wrote: “…when Kobus stepped into the ring, he bellowed like a beast – he was pumped up good…”
That day, I knocked my opponent out in 12 seconds from the first bell.
Yes, I work up my aggression, but still keep it under control. It works for me.
Whatever you do; whatever’s your “thing,” make sure you’re in control.
Here are the main points:
- You’re a fighter – it’s your job. So no matter who is in the ring or what rules you fight – you’ll fight. It’s your job as much as it is your opponent’s.
- Know yourself and train your strengths so that you’re confident in that punch or that takedown that you do best.
- Don’t focus on what your opponent is going to do – focus on what YOU are going to do!
- Build your aggression to the point where pain doesn’t matter, but not so far that the adrenaline burns you out.
- Believe in your victory – visualize it. Talk to yourself and say that it is going to happen. The more you say it, the more you believe it.
- Don’t get put off by his mental game – he is as scared as you are. All those shouting, scolding, antics and dancing are just a way to get you to a point where you lose control. Just focus on yourself.
