No, not really, well yes sometimes…
No, MMA Doesn’t Dissolve the ego because…
- You never really see a humble jits guy, sharing a meme or video about how great wrestling or striking is, do you?
Jiu Jitsu is part of their identity, and therefore their ego. - If it were true, wouldn’t Wanderlai Silva be Buddha?
Well, he’s not. A lot of MMA fighters are hyper-aggressive and competitive; with zero emotional intelligence. In the right environment, MMA training only perpetuates this.
Yes, MMA Does Dissolve the ego because…
- Most people, at least to begin with, will have to go through getting submitted constantly, getting beaten up in ‘stand-up’ sparring and generally have their ego endure a pounding. A lot of people end up giving up at this point.
- A good coach will emphasize that training is for learning and not competing and that people should put themselves in ‘bad’ positions and in places that they’re not comfortable. This will help them develop as fighters and also they’ll have to suppress their own ego. Awesome.
- When fighters start taking sport psychology seriously, they’re likely to read up on meditation and visualisation. Kyle Kingsbury said that he even got into psychedelics (often associated with separation from the ego) when reading up on psychology to help him improve as a fighter.
- Just because of the Joe Rogan Podcast
