The Fighter Mindset

By Anthony Kwok

Winning is a mindset.  A mindset that is developed by champion attitudes. For a fighter to win, 20% of that battle is physical whilst 80% of that battle is mental. The toughest opponent a fighter will face in and out of the ring is themselves, because it’s that mindset that determines whether a fight has been won or lost, even long before they step into the arena.

It is the mindset of a fighter that keeps the fighter going when there is nothing left in the tank.  When fighters battle their way back up after falling down, the belief in themselves is derived from their inner voice. It follows Mark Twain’s saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” 

This fighter’s mentality and mindset is developed by the dedication of a fighter and endless hours of beating on his or her craft. A tough mindset doesn’t just come overnight. It comes through hard work and dedication. It comes from the countless times where the fighter comes to a point where they want to quit ever so badly but continue to push forward.

The truth is that we all have it deep in us to have the mindset of a fighter; it just depends on the willingness to dig deep enough for it. If you don’t believe that, then hear this – research has shown that everybody is 99.9% the same on a DNA level, in other words, we are only ever 0.01% different in our DNA. So what makes a champion so successful isn’t some magical, unobtainable thing that was gifted to that champion.  In fact, he or she was probably just like what you are now. The difference is, they had the courage to dig deep to find their fighter mentality and they never gave up doing so.