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This is what I do:
- Train like a mofo. This has 2 purposes. 1 so that I can brush away any self doubt that might arise by saying "I`ve done everything I had to, there`s no way I could have trained more". 2 it allows me to go in the fight feeling the moves "reverberating" through my body (this sounds a bit weird but it`s like after you`ve repeated the same move hundreds of times for days you just start to feel like it`s natural for your body to move that way). Also, once you sparred hard for 10 rounds at the gym every day fighting for 2-3 rounds will seem like a holiday.
- Visualise the fight. Start from the moment you enter the ring and go though a few different scenarios and every little detail - sometimes I even spend an entire round of shadow boxing just going through the motions of listening to the ref, touching gloves and then walking back to my corner.
- Apart from visualisation I never think about the fight. I never worry whether I`ll win or lose, whether I`ll be able to work a particular technique, whether something might happen that I don`t know how to deal with etc. All these things are like mental poison. They are imaginary problems and there`s nothing you can do to solve them. After reading up on the fight/flight response I`ve come to the conclusion that the more you worry and the more likely it is that your worries will materialise.
So whether I`m a week away from the fight or whether I`m at the show waiting to be called I`ll do anything to keep my mind free of worries. I`ll watch some tv, post on sherdog, read a book... and I do this all the way up when it`s time to warm-up.
Ok, none of these is a guarantee for victory but at least they allow me to not freak out, get to the fight mentally focussed and actually have fun.
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