Follow up - what makes a fighter

In my previous post I mentioned that there were a couple of books i was looking to read about what drove MMA fighters to do what they do.

The two books both focused on one particular fighter - Jens Pulver

The mind of a fighter

This first book is written by the man himself and focus' on his personal battles to get to where he is today. While it is not a long book, it will keep you mesmerized throughout, although there will be times where you wonder how he turned into the man he is.

In summary Pulver had a fairly horrendous childhood and only survived due to his strength of character and the love of his mother. The one thing that struck me about the book was the frank honesty that Pulver has for his own actions is refreshing. He is honest about the mistakes he made and the chances that he blew (and there were a few). Amidst the terrible events that he goes through in his life you see that he was blessed by having a number of coaches and trainers who saw his raw talent and helped to mould his raw talent into the destructive force that we all know

When you are reading this book there will be times where you will feel angry about the chances that did not work out, you will marvel at the strength and love of a mother, and start to understand the impact of a destructive childhood on the man.

Through the eyes of another

The second book (which I happened to read first) also has a focus on Jens Pulver but this time through the eyes of a friend who met him through the Wednesday Club. While the book is acutally about the club, the majority of the book focus' on Jens and what the club seemed to mean to him.

This book only briefly mentions his childhood, but rather focus' on the man as he is today. This book really lets you see the impact (both positive and negative) that a destructive childhood can have on a person.

There were two things that came out of this book for me. Firstly Pulver has always been a warrior, but the majority of his battles are within himself. Secondly - Pulver seems to have made it his mission to help anyone who is need, but he does not want to make a show of it.

Throughout the book the author (Timothy McKinnon) talks about the love that people have for Pulver and the love the Pulver returns to those that let him in. He is a taskmaster to those that he trains with but seems to be a fair man and does not expect anything from others that he does not give himself.

So what makes a fighter

Based on these can I provide any more thoughts on what makes a fighter? Well not really other than they tend to have big hearts (not literally) and an intensity in all that they do. Along side this drive to fight and to win there is a respect and understanding for all the people they fight and train with. There is little acrimony - it is a job and at the end of the fight you have respect for your opponent because he stood and gave his all.

Doesn't sound so thuggish after all, does it