The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game

The Fighter's Mind is an incredible look at the mental part of competition and life. Through the lens of combat sports, Sam Sheridan goes around the world in search of answers to various questions about how top personalities think about fighting. The book is laid out in the form of short sections about each of the people that Sam talks to. People like Dan Gable, Freddie Roach, Greg Jackson, Renzo Gracie, and Randy Couture answer Sheridan's excellent questions with thoughtful and insightful responses that are presented in such a way that you get a very good look at how they think about the fight game and what in their lives have made them reach that point.Sam also covers areas outside of fighting, but areas that are thematically related. He talks to David Horton about endurance running, and he talks to Josh Waitzkin about moving from chess to tai chi to jiu-jitsu. In each section, Sheridan lets the subject be as concise or explanatory as they need to be on the page. He interjects his own experience into the responses, always at the correct time and always with an astute bit to enhance what the passage is about.I'd say that this isn't just the best combat sports book I've read. This is the best sports book I've read. It's the best psychology book I've read. It is as thorough a meditation on the human passion for fighting and testing oneself as has ever been written. If you are at all interested in mixed martial arts, boxing, traditional martial arts, the human mind, or competition, you owe it to yourself to check this book out. As far as Sam Sheridan's catalogue of modern combat sports goes, I can definitely say that he is the A.J. Liebling of this generation.

This book was excellent, and in my opinion, very different than his first which was also great. Sheridan is obviously very intelligent and asks some of the great fighters the right questions. Sheridan is a deep thinker and really presses to get to the answer of what makes some fighters so much better than the rest. I think he was successful in finding the answer(s).Each of the fighters he spends time with gives a different answer and Sheridan adds a little of his own experience. The book is not the typical sports psychology--think positive stuff--although Sheridan does cover that. I think every reader will walk away with a different answer as to what will make him or her better in whatever they do. Marcello Garcia sums it up most simply in the book, but again every reader will get something different, so I won't spoil it here.Sheridan focuses on fighting, but touches on other competitive events so any competitive athlete will enjoy this book.

"The Fighter's Mind" is Sheridan's second foray into the field of MMA literature. His first book was unique and intriguing; his second book delivers on all accounts!Essentially, this book is a collection of interviews with some of the world's greatest fighters, coaches, and athletes. Sheridan asks, "Is it interesting to talk to artists about how they think about art? Is there anything to be learned?" By positing this question Sheridan is, in some ways, trying to justify his efforts in talking to athletes about what they do. Is there something to be learned from talking to these athletes? Is there something that could benefit us all? Sheridan concludes that there is, in fact, something tangible to be gained from talking about what goes on inside a fighter's mind.The book is interesting and beautifully writing. My favorite interview in the book is with Greg Jackson. The interview is fecund with knowledge and insight, not only into the sport of MMA, but also into the mind of one of MMA's greatest coaches: Greg Jackson. Jackson says, "Each problem [when training a fighter] is like jazz - each unique piece has to be pushed sometimes, pulled others. It's improvisational." The interview continues onto a discussion of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and eventually to the fiercest Mongol leader, Genghis Kahn.I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all athletes. This isn't just a book about MMA and boxing, this is a book about the human mind, and the untrodden limits that only few have ventured into.P.S. Sam, please stop bringing up the fact that you went to Harvard.Also check out: A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of FightingA Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of Fighting

I was told about this book by my therapist who told me about this since I also have interest in martial arts like Jiujitsu and Muay Thai. A great read that contains a lot of great knowledge and information as well as stories about many different great fighters and what exactly goes on in their mind when they are preparing for or going into a fight. I liked certain parts that talked about flow as well as the quotes from the fighters and coaches he interviewed about how they train. Would recommend to anyone who is into martial arts or even sports psychology in general!

I just love Sam Sheridan's writing. He's a non-fiction author who writes like a fiction author. That alone does it for me. I often, when reading Sheridan's books, feel like I could go on just reading fighting and MMA literature and still end up smarter, more eloquent, etc. The content is pretty good, too. I particularly like the bits about Marcelo Garcia, Dan Gable and Renzo Gracie. There is some overlap with "The Fighter's Heart" but that in no way reduced my enjoyment of this book. Virgil and Andre Ward are interviewed again. I usually am not a fan of interview books but Sheridan uses the interviews mostly as part of a narrative and of stories he tells; it's quite a different experience from having interviews and interviewees "speak for themselves". It's definitely a good book - not just for fight and MMA fans.

Explica y te sumerge en su aventura a través de las artes marciales.

This book was even better than I expected. It was not just about combat sport individuals from the view point of their training and how they got to where they are but an insight as to why they travelled the road to lead them to where they are.I liked that it encompassed individuals that competed in many different sports from MMA to Boxing to JiuJitsu to Chess and even an Ultra Marathon runner. All of these individuals the writer showed have a commonality in their love of what they do.What I also liked was at the end he looked in to the Why. Why go through all this? Why put your body and mind through the torture of the sport? On reflection of the question you realize that it was a spiritual journey for many, those that pursued their path not just to be the best but to further understand how what they are doing is no longer following an art but having become what they now are. What may have been the original reason for starting the journey no longer is as predominant as the journey progresses but at some point there is something that has taken over and once found fills the being.That's what I took away from this book. Definitely greatful for having read this and will no doubt read it many more times going forward.

À conseiller

Great references of books and documentaries! Good insights and stories. Struggled at some parts...but worth it! Get to the end!