The Fighter’s Mind – Inside The Mental Game
Synopsis: In his acclaimed national best seller, A Fighter’s Heart,Sam Sheridan took readers with him as he stepped through the ropes and into the dangerous world of professional fighting. From a muay Thai bout in Bangkok to Rio, where he trained with jiu-jitsu royalty, to Iowa, where he matched up against the toughest mixed martial arts stars, Sheridan threw himself into a quest to understand how and why we fight. In The Fighter’s Mind,Sheridan does for the brain what his first book did for the body. Every athlete knows that physical conditioning and skill are only part of what makes a champion. Sheridan heard time and again that “fighting is 90 percent mental.” But isn’t fighting—two guys in a ring smashing each other—the ultimate physical endeavor? Was this an empty cliché? To uncover the truth about the mental game, Sheridan interviewed dozens of the world’s most fascinating and dangerous men. He spoke at length with celebrated trainers Freddie Roach and Greg Jackson; champion fighters Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, and Marcelo Garcia; ultrarunner David Horton; chess prodigy (and the inspiration for Searching for Bobby Fischer) turned tai chi expert Josh Waitzkin; and the legendary Olympic gold medalist wrestler Dan Gable, among others. What are their secrets? How do they stay committed through years of training, craft a game plan, and adjust to the harsh realities of the ring or cage? How do they hold strong to their identity, recover from crushing defeat, and rein in their ego after victory? How do they project strength when weak, and remain mentally tough despite incredible physical pain? The Fighter’s Mindis a captivating book, bursting at the seams with memorable stories and fascinating insight for everyone. As Sheridan writes, “we’re all fighting something.”
REVIEW
“In Sam Sheridan’s The Fighter’s Mind you are taken on a journey that starts in the mind of wrestling great Dan Gable and meanders through the inner psyche of today’s fighters. Paradoxically, the knowledge illuminated from this fascinating journey remains timeless and true, reflecting the wisdom of the archetypal ancient warrior—truly a great contribution to the field of mental athletic peak performance.”
—Michael Lardon, M.D., sports psychologist and author of Finding Your Zone
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A Fighter’s Heart – One Man’s Journey Through The World Of Fighting
Synopsis: In 1999, after a series of wildly adventurous jobs around the world, Sam Sheridan found himself in Australia, loaded with cash and intent on not working until he’d spent it all. It occurred to him that, without distractions, he could finally indulge a long-dormant obsession: fighting. Within a year, he was in Bangkok training with the greatest fighter in muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) history and stepping through the ropes for a professional bout. That one fight wasn’t enough. Sheridan set out to test himself on an epic journey into how and why we fight, facing Olympic boxers, Brazilian jiu-jitsu stars, and Ultimate Fighting champions. Along the way, Sheridan delivers an insightful look at violence as a career and a spectator sport, a behind-the-pageantry glimpse of athletes at the top of their terrifying game. An extraordinary combination of gonzo journalism and participatory sports writing, A Fighter’s Heart is a dizzying first-hand account of what it’s like to reach the peak of finely disciplined personal aggression, to hit—and be hit.
REVIEW
“From childhood, we search out questions, curiously going places we’re told not to, instinctively testing ourselves-perhaps walking across a thin beam over a construction site-as our heart goes fast then quiet. There is something in a man that demands to know what he can handle, and what he can’t or won’t. Sam Sheridan goes out-and he takes everyone with him.”
—Teddy Atlas, legendary boxing trainer and commentator
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Chicago Tribune
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The Spearhead – Gameness On A Fighter’s Heart
