Have you ever had a chance to watch the Vision Quest movie? Well, if you haven’t, you might want to, as it helps visualize the reality that wrestling is a mental sport, as much as it is a physical one. As a runner in high school and college I have had the opportunity to meet many wrestlers, wrestlers can’t maintain their fitness without a lot of running, wind sprinting, and stadium steps. So they run, run and run.

I remember times when I was 6 or 7 miles away from the university and there was a fighter running and then like Rocky running between telephone poles. Mind you, they still had to run all the way back! It gave me great respect for wrestlers, and even to this day, I hold them in a class of their own, well, actually, beyond other athletes. Still, the running part isn’t the only reason, rather it was his pursuit of excellence, his unwavering strength of character, and his mental toughness that impressed me. They were just as into their game as I was into mine, and on the track team I felt mentally stronger than almost anyone.

There is a very good research paper to read on this topic titled; “1988 US Olympic Wrestling Excellence: I. Mental Preparation, Precompetitive Cognition, and Affect,” by Daniel Gould, Robert C Eklund, et al., published in; The Sport Psychologist, Vol 6, 4, December 1992, 358-382. This article is cool because the team;

“The 20 members of the 1988 US Olympic Wrestling Team were interviewed about their performances at the Seoul Olympics: mental preparation strategies, precompetitive cognition, and affect were examined by having wrestlers respond to a series of questions about their best match of all time, worst Olympic match, and most crucial Olympic match, Considerable consistency was found between wrestlers’ answers regarding the best and worst Olympic matches of all time, while that notable differences were found between the best and the worst matches”.

Another very interesting research paper was published in the Journal of Physical Fitness and Performance, titled; “Physiological and Performance Responses to Tournament Wrestling,” William J. Kraemer, et. para. which looks at the psychology of weight loss, trying to gain weight, and emotional stress alongside performance, training, and the athlete’s psyche.

Looking back after all those years of watching now I see that my experiences watching the best fighters were spot on, I was right to admire their dedication and human spirit. Now, what does this mean for you as a fighter? Well, it means that if you want to win, you have to consider both the mental and physical game, because apparently that’s where games are won and lost, not just on the mat, but inside your head. Today, well, I can see that mental toughness is needed more than ever in our society, not just in Olympic sports.

Of course sports teach you a lot about life and how to achieve it, more people should consider that as the mind is the great equalizer that helps you overcome adversity, keep going and ultimately win. Okay, please consider all of this and think about it.