The post fight ‘comedown’ is something I’m sure every fighter experiences in some way, albeit at different levels. Certainly every time I’ve fought I’ve had what is best described as a mild depression in the week following the fight. I’ve pondered over this and come up with various answers to explain why.
Essentially I go through a few phases which affect me mentally and physically. Obviously immediately after the fight there is elation at winning or deep disappointment at losing, both are accompanied by adrenaline – which takes a long time to leave the system. I’d actually argue that I’ve felt more down after winning fights due to the comedown being a greater ‘fall’. You can go from such a high that when things return to normal the contrast seems greater and hence the ‘fall’ is further. Generally though, I use my adrenaline high to power me through a long night of pubbing and clubbing with friends who have made the fight an extension of their Saturday night out. The ‘fall’ starts the following day masquerading as a hangover (which I never suffer from any other time I go out).
All the build up to a fight takes its toll physically and mentally and I’m sure there is a point where the body and mind both say ‘glad that’s over!’ and relax. I think people underestimate how taxing a fight can be in this respect, even if it is only a short fight. The event itself and the build up is a stressful situation with its own pressures and these manifest themselves in different ways. For me this may mean my weakened immune system just gives up the ghost and I get ill, or I feel tired and lethargic mentally. Certainly on Monday and Tuesday I felt really irritable and short tempered. Today I’m off work, as I was yesterday with flu like symptoms and the start of what seems to be a chest infection. Coincidence? Maybe not. I rarely get ill and am even more rarely am I off work for any reason. But yesterday I felt like cold road kill and don’t feel an awful lot better today.
Normally I give myself a rest from training and have a full week of no exercise at all to let my body and mind recuperate, though I sometimes suspect half the problem with the ‘fall’ is that my body isn’t getting its fix of endorphins like it’s used to and the comedown is a reflection of this. Sometimes I give up and do a light cardio session or go for a run – something which I can assure you I have no intention of doing today, or tomorrow. It would almost certainly kill me. ‘Let’s not count out Saturday though’ says the idiot in me.
The human body and mind are incredibly complex and different in every person in some respect. In terms of training and conditioning any good coach/trainer will tell you that you need to tailor your training programme to suit the individual. This helps prepare the body physically for the pressure cooker of the cage (am I allowed to use ‘octagon’ or will I get sued?!). I’m not so sure fighters spend as long as they should preparing themselves psychologically for the effects of fighting though. I have commented before that this is a much neglected area in MMA and successful fighters are considered naturally adept at dealing with this aspect. I do think though that any good coach should consider these things when preparing for a fight. Pep and Matt have certainly improved in this area since I first fought. I referred to their ‘comedy double act cornering’ once with my tongue firmly in cheek, but it was intended to be a reflection of their nerves showing through. I don’t think I could use that phrase any longer. Pep was very good on Saturday and is developing the knack of saying the right things at the right times and also saying nothing when nothing needs to be said. Matt wasn’t there on Saturday and was replaced by Jon, who said little, but what he did say was well considered and succinct. I think this may well be one of the reasons I wasn’t nervous at all before the fight as they gave me nothing negative to feed off, whereas perhaps previously I’ve amplified their nerves as well as my own. Also their approach to the fight in the week(s) leading up to it has changed. One reason being they have more confidence in me now, but also that they are more confident in themselves that they are delivering what’s needed.
Who knows for sure? What matters is that whether it is physical or mental preparation, the key is to find what works best. For my money I feel we’re getting closer to the best thing for me, the only aspect I think was awry was fight conditioning and next time I’ll be putting in more time sparring and doing pressure drills. Everything else seems good. It may seem like I’ve wandered from the main point here but these things play a part in the build up and handling of the fight itself but at the moment we don’t address the issues of ‘the comedown’. It is neglected, but until next time we won’t know if we’re getting better at dealing with it. We need to test what works and what doesn’t.
After all that’s the whole point of getting in there and fighting isn’t it?
Testing yourself.