Being tough?

I put on the belly shield – it is an extra pad made to catch middlekicks and other attacks to the body in training. We are just three fighters this morning because Emilis has to do a visa run and Tim is still injured from his fight at Pattaya Cage Wars. So present today are just Josh "The Wolfman" Smith from New Zealand, Glenn Sparv from Finland and I; all left to focus on the thousands of details of body punches with Dylan at our side.

How can I put as much weight as possible into a liver hook without losing balance? How to step right? And how far to step out of your opponents line?

All these questions were answered in today´s boxing portion of the MMA morning class – now we are completing one of the last drills. When Dylan explains it, I realize that I have chosen a passive role when I put on the belly shield. I will be the dummy and will just determine the distance while Josh and Glenn will punch hard to the body. Four minutes each and then it will be my turn.

I know that these guys can punch really hard, so I make sure to contract my abdominals at the right moment and breathe out sharp at the same time. The easier way would be to turn your body so the punches do not hit with its full power. However, you actually have to lean into every punch. If you do not do this you endanger your training partner´s fist. Knuckles or the wrist get injured faster than most people think they would.

Glenn´s punches are damn hard and especially when he aims for the liver I am thankful that I have this belly shield. Even through it I feel the pressure on the sensitive organ. Towards the end, the hits get more painful. He is not punching harder than at the start of his turn, but it seems as if the effect of every single attack adds to a stronger pain. The Finnish fighter hits a left straight, I contract my abdominals and his right-hook hits my body at the perfect moment, when the muscles relax again. With clenched teeth I try to ignore the literally, breath-taking pain in my belly.

It is Josh´s turn. I have to stretch and a few deep breaths and try to relax. Immediately, the Wolfman starts with long, fast combinations – what does not mean that these are less powerful. Three straights in a row hit the belly-shield just a few centimeters under my solarplexus. His punches are a heavy barrage and with every hit the constant hurting of my stomach becomes worse. After two minutes, even the punches to the side of the body produce an extending pain from the solarplexus to the rest of the body. It feels as if he is hitting the solarplexus every single time.

"Just 30 seconds! Go on!" Dylan shouts. I do not only feel sick but also feel as if an invisible power continues to pull my abdominal wall inside-out. Grimacing in pain, I pray that the time pass faster.

"TIIIIIMEEEE!" I am relieved.

Glenn grabs the belly-shield and I try to pay back – but only after a few hooks I am out of breath. I lean into the punches to create more power... but there is no power. "Are you okay?" he asks me with a worried frown – "Yeah, yeah. I´m okay!" I reply while taking a step back. I take a breath and focus on the pad again. Straight, Hook, Hook: A flickering and flaring in front of my eyes and I am drained.

"Are you sure that you are ok? You are as white as a sheet."

"Damn it! I´m getting dizzy!"

"Lie down! And put your legs up!" Dylan orders me. The training is over.

After a couple of minutes I feel better again.

Today, I learned something important: A key element to success is to remain tough. Why? Because, you have to withstand pain and exhaustion in order to get out of your comfort zone and demonstrate progress in training. When you push your limits physically, and, as a consequence, push your limits mentally, you succeed.

But sometimes... Being tough does not cut it. Sometimes, being tough mentally does not work since one is not tough enough, physically.

So what is the lesson learned from today’s training session?

Well… avoid heavy body shots.