By Greg Jones & Mindset Mike for FloCombat

Editor's note: Greg Jones is a three-time Division I national champion wrestler out of West Virginia University. Today, he trains some of MMA's top stars in Robbie Lawler, Michael Chandler, Volkan Oezdemir, Gilbert Burns, Logan Storley, Steven Mowry, and numerous others at Florida's Hard Knocks 365. Following is his unique insight and knowledge as it applies to the mental aspect of combat. 

"The coward and the hero... they feel the same. It's what they do that makes them different." - Cus D'Amato

There is a broad misconception among developing athletes that being nervous prior to competition or before pursuing a given task is a bad thing. 

We all have had thoughts of “What is wrong with me?” or we allow the negative energy to control our mind and body, leading to a negative experience. Emotions don't define you. We define how they affect us, so we must embrace these feelings and emotions. 

Realize this: It is simply a natural response that your body is producing. It is nothing more than a physical manifestation of you preparing to do something great, something awesome, and it’s the same feeling you get before every competition, big or small. So do not shy away from it. In fact, embrace it. Allow it to empower you.

Related: How to handle pressure inside—and outside—the cage.

Many of you may know of my accomplishments as a three-time NCAA champion, my record, or different things that I have done. What you may not know is prior to winning one of my NCAA championships I became so overwhelmed with emotions that I wanted to cry. 

You may not know that during the parade of champions my freshman year my eyes were welling up with tears because I was so nervous. 

Regardless of my abilities or what I achieved, I still can recall matches in which I would think to myself prior to walking out on the mat, "This is too hard” or, "Man, this would be so much easier if I would just go out there and lose.” Yes, my mind was considering just throwing the match. If I don't care, then losing won't hurt, right? 

However, I did develop a refined ability to focus and center myself before and during a bout, that once the whistle blew it was only about going hard, breaking my opponents, and scoring points. As a Martial Arts Mindset coach, this is something I preach to my fighters every day.

As an athlete, I have experienced a wide range of experience and emotions. Something that I try to be mindful of is to not generalize my experience to everyone else’s. I recognize that my experience is unique and my own, much like you are in the process of writing your own personal and unique story. 

But regardless of what I achieved, I was also affected by nervous energy. I feel I became a more complete and well-rounded competitor when I learned to accept and embrace these emotions, using them productively in a way to enhance my performance. 

For an entire season, within an hour before the dual meet, I would notice myself burping a lot or having a lot of gas built up in my stomach. It would happen almost on cue. I would take 2-3 antacid tablets after I was done warming up. It gave me a sense of lack of control of my body. I knew it was happening, but I couldn’t stop it. As much as I tried to accept it, I still just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. To this day, I cannot explain it. I never had this issue before or after this season.

It’s not by chance this occurred during the one season when I didn’t win the NCAA tournament. The acid reflux was simply a manifestation of my nervous energy and the stress and pressure I was putting upon myself to perform up to the standard I had set for myself.
Another nervous response I experienced throughout my collegiate career was my legs becoming extremely heavy following my pre-match routine. The only difference is now I came to understand why this was happening. This is when I really started developing my competitive ticks, my ways to accept and address the normal pre-match jitters. 

For me, when I would feel my legs get heavy, I would hammer fist myself in the sides of both of my legs repeatedly, to the point where after a tournament I would have big bruises on both of my legs. I’m not sure there is a scientific explanation as to why this helped, but I didn’t need one. And maybe it didn’t really do anything, but it made me feel better.

Fail to Plan = Plan to fail

Get yourself a Pre-fight routine!

Check out more info on today’s @FloCombat article about it or email me for how we can help you make one ??@WrestlingMindse @CoachGJones pic.twitter.com/VD9nglKiax

— Mindset Mike (@mindset_mike) April 2, 2018

As I said, we all have our own unique and personal habits and responses, and I encourage all of you to learn to recognize and accept them, then figure out your own personal and unique way of dealing with them.

Every wrestler and fighter I have ever been around has experienced some type of nervous reaction prior to competition. I’ve trained former UFC champions who become almost paralyzed with emotion and nervous energy backstage during their warmup.

I’ve cornered world-class fighters who, before every single fight, have to throw up between warmup sets. It’s just a part of competition. You feel it every time, so it’s just a matter of how you handle it.

Does it define you or do you define how it affects you? 

It’s the part of competition we should all learn to love because these are the type of moments in which we come to learn and understand ourselves at a much deeper and productive level. Each time we experience it, it is an opportunity to better define who we are as competitors. I encourage all of you to recognize these moments, embrace them, and use them as a source of power to elevate you to a level that even you didn’t think was possible. 

For more information on the Martial Arts Mindset Training Program and the concepts presented, visit www.martialartsmindset.com. 

Martial Arts Mindset is a training program that is specific to combat sports and is used by UFC and professional fighters, Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors, Olympic wrestlers, and high-level athletes throughout the world.