In NYC for UFC 230. Karl Roberson is set to make his 3rd Octagon appearance. It is pretty amazing that 8 years ago a young man walked into the door of my academy hungry and raw, and has progressed into a professional athlete fighting on the largest stage our sport has in the world. In time, Karl and I found that we can believe in each other. This has created a foundation in which we are building a run for the UFC title. It has been a hard road for us both with so many personal and professional obstacles we do not have to detail here, we know what we have been thru. The path never gets easier, we just get stronger.
As a coach, Karl has taught me to believe and to trust. As an athlete, Karl has proven that the path to greatness is preparation. MMA and Kickboxing have been the anvil where we have forged everything. This process has taught me so much about myself and how to be a better human.
I don’t care what you do, if you are working to achieve a high level of success, your journey will be the same as mine. Same process, different arena. You have to build trust, be good at what you do, and always be prepared to execute your skill set.
Rarely have Karl and I had full camps to prepare for fights. Short notice fights are what got Karl into the UFC. Being prepared allowed for him to jump the line time and time again. Having this mentality of being prepared also gave Karl the ability to jump back from injury.
I have had so many fighters come and go. It broke me for a while. The time I put into them felt wasted. Karl came along and has allowed me to trust again. All the previous effort has given me the experience to be a better coach that can handle what is necessary to support a high level career like Karl’s.
I have learned that the past is only a failure if I don’t use it to build a more effective and better today. Endurance, patience, and focus have lead me to a place where I am happy and satisfied with where I am with excitement for the future.
No matter who you are or what you are trying to achieve, be prepared, acquire skills, trust, and do not quit! You may make it in a day, a month, a year, or over 20 years – maybe not at all. As long as you keep going, you will achieve a higher result then if you quit.
Brian Wright