A World Champion as Humble as a White Belt

I don't subscribe to Men's Health magazine, but when one of my roommate's left the April issue lying around, I had to read it to see what information I could gather.  The cover article featured Georges St. Pierre, the current UFC Welterweight Champion.  I only follow mixed martial arts occasionally, usually to see which former wrestlers are tearing up the competition, but St. Pierre is quite an impressive athlete.  What I read that was equally impressive is that this 170 lb. wrecking machine, who can quote Michelangelo or Napoleon, plans on studying paleontology when he returns to college once he finishes fighting.

But the real gems in the article were his philosophies towards his MMA career: "There is a difference between a fighter and a martial artist.  A fighter is training for a purpose: He has a fight.  I'm a martial artist.  I don't train for a fight.  I train for myself.  I'm training all the time.  My goal is perfection.  But I will never reach perfection."  He goes on to say that he treats himself as a white belt.  This guy, a white belt???  Although seemingly at the pinnacle of the sport, he knows he can always improve, and continues to train even when there isn't another match in sight.

Try to apply his winning methods to your own training.  The next wrestling season is a ways away, but you should always be looking for ways to get better.  You can always get faster, stronger, or refine your technique.  You can even use this mindset outside of the sports world, whether it be school, business, or any personal pursuits.  You are never truly a master, so you should continue to educate yourself for the rest of your life.  That's why I am always looking for the latest cutting edge methods for training and nutrition.

Keep learning,
Jeff

P.S. I have also heard that St. Pierre, despite never having wrestled competitively, wants to try out for the 2012 Olympics for his native Canada!  As a top notch mixed martial artist, he trains in all styles of combat, so I believe he has the potential to do well as a wrestler, and I hope he performs well.  He's one guy outside of Team USA that I may have to root for!