Adventures in Living a Healthy, Juicy Life
by Cheryl Ragsdale
Monday night, after a double session of Muay Thai (kick-boxing) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Florian Martial Arts Center, I had the opportunity to hang out and watch Kenny “Kenflo” Florian, UFC Fighter, training with Benson “Smooth” Henderson, WEC Interim Lightweight Champion.
Benson Henderson and Kenny Florian sparring at Florian Martial Arts Center | photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
Watching both men, I thought about their individual journeys and how hard they work to continuously strengthen body and mind preparing to face their next opponents. These guys are living life the way they “want” to rather than the way they “have” to. Kenny’s next fight is against Clay Guida at UFC 107 on December 12, 2009. Benson is taking on Jamie Varner for the WEC Lightweight Championship on January 10, 2010.
In a recent on-line article posted on WEC.tv “Benson Henderson Still Humble After Career Milestone” (21 October 2009), Benson explains that fighters need “deep down desire” and a “no quit” attitude. “It’s something you have to prove to yourself, not just once. The next fight I have to prove it again. And then I have to prove it again and again and again. And then in practice, I’ll have guys coming to my gym that will see me and want to train jiu-jitsu or MMA with me, and then I’ll have to prove myself again in practice.”
Benson Henderson and Kenny Florian taking a break from training | photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
Watching them sparring, I realized that both Kenny and Benson practice (at least) two of my
“51 Must-Know Habits for Staying Young – from the Inside Out”
Stay Young Habit #11
- Express yourself to people who listen and who believe in the eventual accomplishment of your goals.
Stay Young Habit #12
- Severely minimize your conversations and time spent with people who rip holes in your goals and dreams.
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Here’s what I learned from watching them:
- Choose people, places and things that light you up and make you happy. There’s a lot of love in our dojo. That’s why I like being there. I feel comfortable. It feels like home. When guys come to train and spar with Kenny, there’s excitement in the air. Each partner has been selected to help Kenny prepare to battle his opponent’s strong points. Pride, excitement and concentration are evident for the people sparring and for all of us watching.
Benson Henderson and Kenny Florian sparring at Florian Martial Arts Center | photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
- Spend time with a challenging activity to avoid boredom. Don’t pick something that’s easy for you to do. We all like different things. I like boxing, Muay Thai (kick-boxing), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and – a new one that’s just been added – wrestling. Any one of those sports is challenging enough. Certainly, I could choose to focus on deepening my knowledge of just one. But I like training in all of them at the same time. It keeps my mind dancing, sorting things out and creating new solutions. Training in 4 different skills keeps my synapses firing!
- Achieve Mastery: challenge yourself to improve every day. Fighting is more than physical skill. Staying mentally and emotionally fit is important too. Manage the people who are around you. Stop tolerating people who rain on your parade. Apply the Stay Young Habits listed above to avoid taking “garbage in” (negative thinking or too much drama). It will color your thinking and you’ll start speaking garbage out. People talk themselves out of victory all the time. Sometimes quitting just before the goal is reached.
- Train to fight another day. Choose training partners you trust to drill and spar with. Neither person should end up injured. Remember that line from the Karate Kid movie, “there’s no pain in this dojo”? We don’t play that way. We’re honorable and respectful to each other or else we get sent home.
Benson Henderson and Kenny Florian at Florian Martial Arts Center | photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
- Build knowledge over time with experience and great teachers. Show up. Practice. Get technical. Prepare for the worst that can happen. However you drill in practice is how it’s going to show up during the match. Except with another guy charging you, it might not look as pretty and perfect as it does during a friendly sparring session. Be patient with your progress.
- Learn from different people. Don’t get in a rut believing that you can get everything you need in one place or from one person. Variety is the spice of life. Different sparring partners arrive on a regular basis to challenge Kenny. Each one has areas to develop and strengthen. They learn from each other. One strong man learning from another. Play to your strengths and learn how to overcome your less developed side.
- Never give up. If the goal is worth having, press on. Anyone hearing you say, “I give up. I’m just too tired,” should be given permission to playfully “thwump” you and say “Snap out of it and get back to work!”
Benson Henderson and Kenny Florian at Florian Martial Arts Center | Photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
- Keep progressing. Move steadily towards your goal. Stay focused on the outcome. Don’t get distracted by injuries or other setbacks. Take breaks when you need them. Organize your life to support the accomplishment of your goals. Think of ways around issues and problems as they arise. Let nothing deter you from your goal. Overcome all obstacles!
- Believe in yourself. Others can accompany you on your journey, but ultimately, when the bell rings, what happens next is completely up to you. You’re the only one facing your opponent. All of your supporters are watching and waiting anxiously to see what the outcome will be. Life is exciting!
Benson Henderson and Kenny Florian at Florian Martial Arts Center | Photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
- Relax and consider your next move. Trust in body memory. Your body will respond the way it’s been trained to respond. It’s very difficult to make good decisions when you’re uptight, not breathing, afraid, and feeling cautious or confused. The work has been done. Be confident. Trust yourself to do your very best. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Kenny Florian sporting the new FloMAC rash guard | photo by Cheryl Ragsdale
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Next Fights:
Florian vs Guida
UFC 107 December 12, 2009 in Memphis, TN
VICTORIOUS!
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Varner vs Henderson
WEC January 10, 2010 for the WEC Lightweight Championship in Sacramento, CA
VICTORIOUS!
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Share your thoughts! Do you see any lessons that I missed that you’d like to add? Please leave your comments. We love to hear from you!
One more thing, you can get your own Florian Martial Arts Center rash guard – like the one Kenny’s wearing for $35. Tell them I sent you. Maybe they’ll give you a FloMAC sticker because you know me. LOL!
photo credit: all photos from Cheryl Ragsdale’s personal collection. www.thatgirlisfunny.com
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Cheryl Ragsdale practices martial arts for fun and physical fitness at Florian Martial Arts Center. She was recently promoted to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt by Keith Florian and Kenny Florian, both Black Belts. Stand up for yourself and stay young from the inside out. Check out some of my other posts strictly for UFC fans and fighters.
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Cool. Must be awesome to be able to watch Kenny Florian train. He’s one of my favorite mma fighters. Hope to see him fight again in the UFC and win.
Jin@CombatSportsNews´s Last Fabulous Post [type] ..10-Minute Fat Loss Workouts
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hi Jin,
Kenny’s next opponent is Diego Nunes at 145lbs. Should be a ferocious battle!
Cheryl´s Last Fabulous Post [type] ..A Passion for Beards- From Soul Patch To Full Coverage
i normally don’t event comment on blog posts (i just read them)… but i just wanted to let you know that i liked this post… :d
History repeats itself.
Kenny is good!
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Here we go for UFC 118 just a few weeks away!
Hey, thanks , really a lucky girl, just trying to keep up with you.
Twitter: wchasm
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Cheryl great article I borrowed your pictures for Bens website. I have known Ben Henderson for quite awhile now and he is a pure class act. I have been a fan of Kenny Florian’s since the original TUF. I think he will beat Guida RNC sounds like a likely ending or possible a triangle.
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hi Bill,
I glad both you and Ben like the pictures. How exciting to know that you’re using them for Ben’s site. Everyone at Florian’s really enjoyed having Ben around. He’s a beautiful man inside and out. Yeah, we think Kenny’s going to beat Guida too. Great to meet you! Here’s Ben’s web address: http://www.smoothben.com
.-= Cheryl´s Last Fabulous Post blog ..20 Minute Work-Out: Big Hair, Leg Warmers & Leotards – The 80s Re-Visited =-.
Hi Cheryl,
Nice post! There certainly seems to be a lot of love in your dojo, which is great. I’ve moved around a lot and trained at several dojos where pain definitely was the name of the game – whoever got hurt the most and still stood up at the end of the session was ‘the winner’. It’s a shame there aren’t more that show genuine respect with a desire to help.
I liked all the practical advice too!
Thanks for the read,
Dave
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hi Dave,
Thanks for visiting! I feel really fortunate to have found my school and to train with the Florian’s. People do get hurt during training, but it’s a not a badge of honor or a sign of being “the winner”. To each his own. Love your blog too! I’ll definitely be back to visit http://www.thinkcombat.net
Twitter: andrewrondeau
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Very nicely written. I read each point and thought, yep, can’t argue with that one, except point 4. I don’t fight! Once upon a time, I use to box – over 30 years ago. Lost a few fights so gave up!
Re: point 6.Learn from different people. I remember reading (and I can’t remember where) an excellent suggestion. When working in a corporate company, don’t just get one mentor, get several. Get someone to help from all the different departments. So you have an IT person to call upon. An HR one, a Finance one…etc. It helped me with my corporate career.
Great article.
Andrew
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hello Andrew,
On point 4, from my perspective, people fight “verbally” much more often than anyone fights physically. Being gentle, being nice, being polite, saying what needs to be said in an honorable, respectful way…all of that is present (or not) in conversations whether personal or professional. Completely agree with having several mentors. Different points of view, different strengths – mentors, coaches, training partners – they’re called something different “at the office”, but it’s the same idea. People we compete with at work make us stronger overall. Loved your video, by the way.
What a terrific post, Cheryl! You REALLY hit a home run on this one! AWESOME action photos and a list that begs to be copied down and referred to daily. You are so fortunate to be able to watch, train and learn from the Florians! Thanks for the post! You ROCK!
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hey Freddie,
Thank you! I am a lucky girl! Just trying to keep up with you and follow in your footsteps with the great list you came up with. Here’s the link (in case you missed Fred’s awesome post on TGIF) http://thatgirlisfunny.com/2009/11/top-10-reasons-fred-loves-being-the-oldest-guy-on-the-mat/
“RAGSDINI”! Your’s blows me “outta da watta” (Said in my best Bawston accent!)
Guida’s a madman but I think Kenny Florian (don’t feel right just calling him by his first name…)can beat him…probably with a rear naked choke if he can get Guida’s back. [I'll be rooting for the Bawston guy!]
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Whoohoo! Go Kenny! I’m heading down to UFC 107 with the fellas to support Kenny in his fight with Clay Guida. Rear naked choke like he did to Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. That would work!