Do you focus enough on mental training? Here's why you should..

To understand better mental training and the need for mental training, I would like to give a certain analogy. Imagine family member is asking you, “Please go down where the car is, and bring me the box that I brought from the shop.” You go there. You try to lift it, and nothing. You cannot make it. You cannot lift this thing. It is very clear. Yes, there’s a weight I can lift. There’s a weight I cannot lift. If I take this weight. I know, it weighs 12, 24, 32, doesn’t matter. I lift it. I put it down. I know.

Measured, it’s easy to understand it. With mental training, it’s not so easy. What do you do in order to be strong? It’s really strong first, primary move, go to a gym, train, whatever, to become better with your powers. After some times, hopefully the box that you were asked was already brought by you and another person, but after sometimes you can lift the size of this box. The weight of that box that initially was asked. It’s very measurable, these things. With mental training, it is the same. It is push-ups to the mind, sit ups to the brain.

This type of training is essential. When we educate fighters, we do physical training, mental training, technical and tactical. Four elements. Four pillars where a fighter stands on. Now the issue is, what are we doing with the mental training? Because every conflict, you need mental resources. Not all the time the conflict is physical, but definitely mental resources you need for every conflict. Every conflict is also mental. Sometimes it’s only mental, by the way of course. At work. Sitting in front of a board of directors as a manager. A lot of people stand in that more or less position.

Every day, we have so many tasks to fulfill. They are stressful tasks, some of them, or the overwhelming of missions is stressful. We need to be able to diffuse the stress, on one hand. On the other hand, when we talk about conflicts and violent confrontations, a fight, a defense type of situation to body protection, whatever, you need your mental resources. Courage, for instance, were described by Greek philosophers as the first quality that one has. One needs. If you’ve got it, then you can build on it all the rest of the qualities. The personal qualities.

We have what’s called mental training. We need to be able to focus better. To concentrate better. To fulfill the missions under stress. We are training in KMG, the people in full lines, in full directions. The first thing is very, very relevant. From the first phase, when you do 360. When you make a strike, you need to have aggression. Controlled aggression in training. Controlled aggression that’s really in reality. You have to control yourself, so have to be controlled. Elements like aggression, determination. Persistence. These are qualities that you need in order to be a fighter. To fulfill the mission. To fulfill the task.

Your duty is to defend yourself. To defend others. To fight. To accomplish the win. You have to win, yes? You have to have these qualities in a good level. If not, you will be defeated. The courage that I said is the first thing. We have one line of training in the mental training, although most of the things here, we do or we reach for them, by physical training. Still, the qualities that you are acquiring in the mental training, with or without physical aspect, first all are these. Second, we are looking at concentration and focus. Focus, concentrate. Concentration.

Here, if you focus. If you concentrate, naturally you can receive the data, analyze the data, make correct decision. Many of these things are being done intuitively very fast. Without the commutative system working on it. Consciously, maybe not all of the time you are aware of this is, many of the things needs to be done on a subconscious level. The decisions, for sure. This is in a fight, flight situation. You already are in a fight, sort of. A combat, sort of. To be focused and to be concentrated. We do have specific drills, exercises.

Some of them may be on the inner sitting positions. Some of them will be with a partner. Some of them will be more technical, less technical, with more physical actions, with less, but the goal is to elevate these capabilities. The third thing is relaxation. Here, we are talking about calmness. Relaxed mind. Mind does not have strong self-discussion. The flickering mind will be relaxed. The internal monologues will be relaxed. The internal gossip that is happening will be relaxed, shut down, even. Minimized, for sure. When you are in this relaxed position, you are gaining forces.

You are gaining energy. You are calming down yourself, and the outcome of this is of course, better ability to focus and concentrate. We do have drills that are relaxing you. A person that is being in stressful condition will be able to relax himself. Where, for instance, the Boardroom Warrior where we are teaching managers, among others, we’re teaching them how to focus. How to relax. How to concentrate. How to calm themselves so eventually, they can make better decision under these conditions. Again, in the mental training, we see mainly three branches. In Max Krav Maga, you definitely have taste and elements, fundamental training.

You will see different drills that we are showing, and different exercises. How to be better in these three elements. These three pillars that are building the mental training concept. One of the greatest tools in mental training is visualization. In these three lines, we also use visualization, especially in two and three but not only. Visualization. Max Krav Maga itself, you are working with visualization. You look. You understand. You should visualize the attacker. You can visualize yourself. You can feel yourself doing some things. The visualization tool, which is one of the strongest one that we can use, is very active and very activating you of course, through the Max Krav Maga.