Team sports

"Fighting is the most solitary form of competition; you are all alone out there. But what I hear again and again is how important the team is...The team is what gets you there.Team members train and spar and cajole you, push you through the rigors and hellish boredom of training, and they support you and protect you from nerves in the days and hour leading up to a fight, Fighting is, strangely enough, a team sport." ("The Fighter's Heart" by Sam Sheridan, p. 119)

I didn't ever really get this until the run up to the fight that didn't happen (as I am calling it).

I had prepared hard for my tournament fight but had largely kept my plans to myself because I suspected I would get resistance from some and honestly I was worried that I would fail in a spectacular fashion. The result was that all of my friends, trainers (with a couple of exceptions) and sparring partners asked for little notice next time. So I let them know as soon as the fight card was announced, and the result was kind of spectacular.

My trainer, Matt, and training partner, Gordon, were obviously all in and we worked very hard. But beyond that my bout became everyone's project. In Friday night sparring, Nick (the Professor) started by working hard on the game planning against a primarily TKD opponent and got the other students to work a variety of body tempering drills on me. The head instructor at BBMAC had me doing additional repetitions of the conditioning drills. Sean, a fellow student who had boxed as a younger man, focused on my boxing and stance. Elliot, who has been one of my longest running training partners, worked hard in the sparring and particularly on the clinch. The last Friday sparring I fought continuous rounds against new partners (including the Professor) throughout. I think all of this was in part purely out of friendship and support, but it also gave everyone a chance to participate in a fighting competition that they might not otherwise be able to participate in. As a team Matt and Gordon had me up to a really sharp edge, but when you added in the rest of the team I was as prepared and ready as I have ever been. 

I may not have gotten to do this fight but I am absolutely confident that I can do it in large measure because of the people around me.