Editors note: "This is a four part series from Ken on mentors and coaches. Ken a BJJ Blue Belt who also trains MMA, writes for SOTG, documenting his progression and thoughts on the martial arts and his journey, giving you the beginners perspective. Enjoy!" Gregrooski
One big man’s journey of self-discovery through combat sports
Entry 2- Of Mentors and Teachers
We all struggle in our paths and we need perspective and guidance. Mentors and teachers, good and bad, help us grow and develop into better versions of ourselves. In martial arts, we often think of these as being our Sensei, coach, or head instructor. We often forget that there are others who help us along our path. Senior belts, training partners, family, even fans of the sport have helped us grow just as much, if not more so, than those who guide our training.
I would love to list every single mentor and teacher I have ever had; but that would take an exorbitant amount of time and, let’s face it, be extremely boring for you guys. Rather than just list the people who have impacted me in these roles, I’m going to go over what I feel makes a good mentor; those intangible qualities that must be present to truly define a mentor/student relationship. At the end of each trait, I will give a quick shout out to those coaches I feel best embody the listed trait. For the sake of this blog, I will only be mentioning mentors within the combat sports community (sorry Autumn).Honesty
Some pros make the mistake of hiring coaches and training partners who feed their ego, rather than feed their technique. Coaches who say stuff like “that’s it, good, perfect” when you are crossing your feet, dropping your hands, or shooting from WAY outside; do not help you. Worse it can get you seriously hurt when you do compete. Luckily, most of us don’t have that problem. We have our Mick who yelled at us for the little things we did wrong (Rocky reference for those too young. Go watch it… now…(don’t worry we’ll wait) Done? Good…moving on). While we wish they weren't so nit-picky, they helped us. Honesty is the most important aspect to being a good mentor. Having someone who is able to effectively communicate errors, successes, and oddities in your life is paramount to being good at whatever you do. When it comes to my striking game, Julien Martin (The Academy of Brian Johnson in Lacey, WA) is that man. He is honest with every fighter and member when it comes to his chosen vocation. The man gives it to me straight every time (tactfully… most times). When I am doing well and hitting my angles, he lets me know. When I am sucking, dropping my hands, turning away, or any other multitude of errors…he lets me know. While I often annoy him I’m sure, the man is dedicated to making everyone in the gym a better striker. He has no qualms about being straight with us, but with his honesty comes the knowledge to fix out mistakes or capitalize on what we are doing right (more on that later).-Ken
*** The Polar Bear aka " The Fat Guy in a Little Gi" was just promoted to Blue Belt! Congrats Ken!***
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