Читать книгу The Fighter Within. Everyone Has A Fight-Insights into the Minds and Souls of True Champions онлайн

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It takes a really different type of human to make a career out of fighting, and the prima donnas need not apply. People need to be able to push past their perceived limitations to mentally step on the accelerator when everyone else presses the brake; that’s what it took to be the best, and that is the type of athlete Matt was looking for.

“I have personally kicked paying clients out of our Training Center and gave them directions to Crossfit because they don’t have the heart. If you don’t have the competitive juices to push yourself or don’t want to learn, then go somewhere else because I do not want to be held responsible when you quit on yourself.”

Another drastic approach API uses is that if you attend advanced classes and you quit a routine, you leave and do not come back. This seems harsh but it’s proactive, instilling team loyalty in all of their athletes. They did not push people past their physical limitations to the extent that it appeared. All API certified instructors would taper weights for students, and Matt put it best: “Yes, you will suck ass, you will look like shit the first time, but if you quit, then you really don’t want to get better. I would rather have an athlete who sucks ass and chokes but keeps pushing forward than a top athlete who quits because they don’t feel it. It’s pretty simple, it goes back to Scott and I being work partners. We bang down a door on a narcotics search warrant and I’m going through that door first, Scott is right over my right shoulder. We are not going to quit in the middle of the breach; lives are at stake! It’s the same here at API. Your life of being better, your commitment to yourself is at stake. You wanted to come to Advanced? Then prove to us you belong here. Or keep working at Intermediate or Basic. If you commit, there’s no going back.”