mindsetAs an MMA instructor I’ve encountered many different types of student over the years and I must tell you there are some that I love to teach and others that make things extremely difficult if not impossible. Work to be a great student and you will learn a lot more in a shorter period of time. You will find that you instructor will begin to provide you with a some extra attention and will often take the time to correct even the smallest details in your technique because he/she knows that your mind is open to learning and that you will take their instruction to heart. Rather than giving you tips on how to be a great student, I will do the opposite in giving you examples of the type of student you should try not to be. Here’s the first one.

The “I already know that!” type
This is probably the most difficult type of student an instructor can have. Fortunately I’ve only run into a few students that possess this terribly annoying type of attitude.

Here’s how a lesson would play with this type of mixed martial artist in the class. Noticing that a technique was being applied incorrectly by that student I would walk up to him/her and suggest a few adjustments that should be made to improve the movement. At some point, usually half way through my explanation, they would cut me off with a “Ya, Ya” and appear to want to get back to practicing it. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I’d walk away then glance back to see if they indeed did make the necessary adjustments and they rarely would. They simply went on making the same mistakes, over and over again, that in their mind were non-existent.

In some cases the mind of this type of student would open up over time and they would become much easier to teach. I’ve also had some cases where the student never changed and ended up learning next to nothing in a really long period of training. Their money and time was wasted but I guess in their mind they felt good because they never had to really admit to themselves that they didn’t know something.

If you are a martial artist or someone with a combat sports background be careful not to fall into this type of mindset when you branch out into other combat disciplines. I know it can tough to become and be treated –by an instructor—like a beginner again when you are highly proficient in your chosen combat sport or martial art but it’s the only way to learn that new skill set properly.

I’ve had to do it several times over throughout my career. I took my licks in kickboxing, then in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, then on the mats with national level wrestlers and in the ring with some of the top boxers in the country. I am proud to say that I persevered for many years through some very tough training in each discipline until I could compete at a high level in any aspect of mixed martial arts.

Being humble and open to the process of learning is ultra important if you are looking to make it to the top levels of MMA competition. You’ll learn faster, learn much more, and gain all the important technical details your instructor has to show. Avoid being an “I already know that” type student at all times as it will lead you off track and make it next to impossible for you to acheive your MMA goals.

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