"A Fighter's Heart" Analysis

Here's an analysis of some of my favorite quotes, points, or statements from my favorite book, A Fighters Heart: One Man's Journey Through The World Of Fighting.

"Kids used to fight more; violence wasnt so frowned upon. Everybody in the early part of the century, through the Depression, would be in fistfights, especially as young kids. You would know who the toughest kid on your block was, and how you compared to him, and then you would know how he compared to the toughest fighter in the neighborhood, the city, the state; and you would see how the best fighter in the state got his clock cleaned by Sugar Ray Robinson or Jack Dempsey, and you would have a direct relation to add understanding of that controlled violence."

(I think that the above point, taken from A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through The World Of Fighting, makes an extremely valid point about how our country's impression of fighting has changed. In the way of fighting as a spectator sport, we have seen a decline in the popularity of professional boxing or "prizefighting" as its commonloy called; and a rise in the popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). MMA is a sport in that even as little as 15 years ago, wasnt even allowed on pay-per-view television. People have started to realize that boxing has become to corrupt. With mafia influence, fighters being bribed and throwing fights, etc. And we have realized that boxing isnt a valid judge of who the best 'fighters' in the world are. People have turned to MMA to find that out. MMA can truly show us who the best fighters in the worldtruly are. Now, in the way of fighting as a way of resloving conflict, street fighting, popularity has fallen. Which isnt a bad thing. If theres a baseball game on one corner, a soccer game on the next corner, and a street fight going on on the third corner; then almost everyone is going to stop what they're doing and run towards the street fight. Its because we are, for some strange reason, atrracted to physical combat. This is especially true of men. Men feel that they have to prove and show their masculinity. I think thats kinda weird. But like the point above says, "Violence wasnt so frowned upon." People used to not care when street fights occured because they were more common place then they are now.)


"You have got to stop telling yourself and the world that you are a bad fighter."

(That quote, also from A Fighter's Heart, shows one of the critical aspects of professional fighting. A fighter has to go into a fight and have no doubt in their mind that they are going to win. They also need to have this mentality in training, or else they wont be albe to push themselves through the pain of training if they dont think that they are getting better or that they will win. If they dont have that mentality, they'll lose everytime.)

"Real fighting is often awkward."

(This is one of the most spot-on things I have ever heard. People who have never been in a fight, think that fights often take place like they do in kung fu movies. Two skilled fighters come together, exchange a few blows and then back off before they strike again. WHOA! HOLD ON A SECOND!! Real fights, are fast, chaotic, and terrifying. Anyone who thinks that fighting in real life is pretty and stylized, is insane. So, like the comment says, real fighting is often awkward.)

"Fighters feel helpless. They have been victims, and then they start victimizing others, and then themselves; and real fighters learn to use it, to harness that aggression."

(I'm not going to explain what I think about this point because it says everything that needs to be said, and its 100% right.)