Israel Adesanya- MILITAR MINDSET
Currently standing as one of the elite fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is none other than Israel Adesanya. Having practiced different martial arts such as kickboxing and boxing, he refers to himself as the ‘stylebender’ (as he believes martial arts is about learning different styles and mastering them)!
Most notably he was an outstanding kickboxer with a record 0f 70-5 (70 wins and 5 losses). Many regard Adesanya as having the best striking in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today. It has been a very long road for Adesanya to get to the heights he is at now, with both ups and downs. He has displayed the MILITAR MINDSET throughout his life!
Check out this motivational video we made, showing how Adesanya was able implement our motto and achieve his dreams!
How has Adesanya displayed the MILITAR MINDSET?
Adesanya is on top of the world right now. Having just one blemish in his MMA career so far and the current UFC Middleweight champion. His MINDSET has allowed him to get to where he is. Adesanya started to fully dedicate himself to his martial arts career from when he was 18-years old.
It was then he decided to move to Auckland to train under Eugene Bareman at City Kickboxing Academy. Adesanya understood that in order to make his dreams become a reality, he must commit to his martial arts career. Spending the majority of his time working on his craft, never losing hope on the end goal.
A common theme amongst many of the athletes covered in these MILITAR MINDSET posts is their self-belief. Adesanya is the same too! He has a huge amount of belief in himself. He knows if he believes it, he can achieve it!
Adesanya has described where his confidence comes from, ‘My confidence comes from the work I put in; it comes from the way I talk to myself’. Here we see that Adesanya believes in himself because of the constant work he puts in. He knows he will reach his goals as he spends his time reflecting and working towards them.
When he says the way ‘I talk to myself’, he is showing us that he is planting positive thoughts in his mind. The more he speaks his goals into existence, the more likely it is that he will achieve them. His mindset is driven to doing whatever it takes to accomplish his dreams. You must think positively when following your dreams. Believe in yourself and you will eventually accomplish your goals!
Adesanya is an INSPIRATION…and continues to be!
Adesanya is a rising star in the UFC. Due to this he is also becoming more of an INSPIRATION to people too. Adesanya believes he breaks the stereotype for a standard mixed martial arts fighter. When casual fans think of a good MMA fighter, they think of someone strong and powerful. Adesanya believes he is the opposite as he is skinny and tall (his own words!).
Many people have said ‘he is too skinny’ to be a fighter, but he has defied the odds. This was also shown lately at UFC 253, when Adesanya beat the Brazilian beast, Paulo Costa. Many people again thought Adesanya would lose just looking at the physique of Costa. He was built like a machine.
A lot of people thought he would storm through Adesanya. Well Adesanya really did prove them wrong! He won with ease knocking Costa out in the first round! Adesanya inspires people by showing them whatever people say you can’t do, you can. As long as you believe in your abilities and it is what you want to do with your life. Then do it.
Adesanya also gets inspired by the likes of Conor McGregor. He has witnessed how McGregor has ‘changed the game’ and wants to continue to bring more mainstream fans to MMA.
Allowing the future generation to see if done right, MMA can be as lucrative as the other sports careers that you can pursue, ‘I know there are kids who are looking up at me because of what I’ve done, and see my success and think, ‘If that guy can do it, so can I,’ then I love that and that’s great.’
Adesanya has stated before ‘when I’m having fun, I’m the best in the world.’ Here he is reinforcing that you must enjoy what you do. Having that happiness when following your dreams will allow you to strive to become the absolute best at it. You can’t be great at something that you don’t like. Make sure you follow your true aspirations!
Adesanya is LIMITLESS on what he can do!
Adesanya has already proved to us that he is indeed LIMITLESS! He is a superstar in the UFC now, but he was also one of the best kickboxers in the world before this! Amassing a professional kickboxing record of 70-5 (70 wins and 5 losses), Adesanya really did reach the pinnacle of the kickboxing world.
But he set himself a new challenge going into MMA. Where the rules are completely different. You can fight on the ground. You can use submissions. And so on. A completely different world to what he was in. This didn’t deter Adesanya. Not one single bit. He loved the challenge of MMA. Dedicating his time learning the skills required for him to be successful when transferring over to mixed martial arts.
Many kickboxers struggle to transfer over to MMA. Most find it hard to adapt to the ground game, getting taken down and brought into situations they are not familiar with. Adesanya has been able to display his great takedown defence in the UFC so far. This is not easy to do! Adesanya has constantly drilled this to become as good as he is .
Adesanya has told us that ‘there are no limits’. We can tell throughout what he has done so far, that he truly believes this! Being a mixed martial artist that has fought in boxing, kickboxing and now MMA, Adesanya really is limitless! Putting his mind to whatever he wants to do. You really can do whatever you want to do if you are limitless! Don’t listen to what people say. Listen to yourself and what you want to do. Through hard work and increasing your knowledge you will get there!
How does Adesanya find INNER-PEACE?
Adesanya has been open with his struggles and allowed us to see how he has been able to gain INNER-PEACE. After his UFC debut, Adesanya has said that he felt depressed. He wasn’t sure why though. He felt he had just achieved his dream of fighting in the UFC and should be feeling great.
Immediately he sought medical attention to address his problems. Adesanya believes we should take care of ourselves both physically and mentally. He stated that when we are feeling physically ill we go to the doctors. But people don’t go to the doctors when they are feeling mentally ill. He doesn’t understand why.
We should seek help with mental health too, as we all need help once in a while. Having this balance and being able to get help when needed allows Adesanya to reach his own inner peace.
Adesanya has said that ‘I’m a guy that, if I see people running away from something I’m like, ‘Why you running away? What’s over there?’. Here Adesanya is reiterating that you should not run away from your problems. By running away, you won’t solve anything. Making it worse in the long term.
You must face them head first to reach your inner peace. Adesanya also believes you must stay true to yourself as shown in the header image, ‘I tried so many times to fit in but I could never ever fit in. I was always like, an outcast.’ Adesanya shows us you must always be yourself to reach inner peace and happiness. You must stay true to yourself and address any problems you may have. This will allow you to live a happier and more peaceful life. Enabling you to strive towards your goals.
This interview is a great example that shows how Adesanya is able to master his emotions and reach his own inner-peace!
Adesanya has given things TIME to get to where he is
Adesanya has had to be patient and be willing to give things TIME to reach the heights he has. In his youth, Adesanya said that he did Taekwondo when he was younger for a few years. He started to break things in his house when he was practicing what he learned, so his mum stopped him from going! He also had a strong passion for dancing too.
It wasn’t till he was 18, that he would start kickboxing and pursue that as a career. Adesanya was an avid UFC fan, inspired by the likes of Anderson Silva, who was in his prime when Adesanya was watching him fight. His ultimate goal was always to become the UFC champion. But Adesanya was in no rush. He gave things time and was patient.
He knew that in order to achieve this goal, all his martial arts skills must be sharpened. Competing in kickboxing allowed him to improve his striking ability. The more fights he had the more comfortable he became in the striking element. This built Adesanya up for the UFC, as upon entrance, he was already an elite striker.
Accompanying this with the wrestling and groundwork he would drill in his gym to become a complete mixed martial artist. We have seen this plan has worked for Adesanya as he has climbed through the ranks of the UFC at a remarkable pace. Becoming the UFC champion in less than two years! You must plan ahead to reach your ultimate goal. You must see what is required from you to turn this dream into a reality. Be patient. Give things time. You will see the benefits of this once you start to accomplish your goals!
Adesanya is ACTIVE all the time!
Adesanya has always remained ACTIVE! Staying active has allowed Adesanya to learn and improve his abilities. Ultimately leading him to achieve his goals. Through boxing, kickboxing and MMA, Adesanya has now had over 100 fights! This shows just how active he has been!
He understands that by fighting regularly, he learns new things which help him to accomplish his dreams. When Adesanya joined the UFC, he got straight to work. Having 4 fights within the first year which is more than the average fighter (fighters aim to have 2/3 MMA fights a year). Constantly working in the gym, Adesanya remained determined to continuously improve his game.
Upon defeating Whittaker in 2018, to become the undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Adesanya stated ‘I am not going to be one of these guys who doesn’t defend his belt. I am going to defend my belt actively.’ This shows how determined Adesanya really is to achieve his ultimate goal.
Becoming a UFC champion was one goal for Adesanya. However, his ultimate goal is to be regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever. He knows to do this he must be constantly working and beating the best fighters in the world to achieve this status. Remaining active is a vital part of accomplishing your end goal. You must keep reaching your smaller goals to one day accomplish your ultimate dream!
We can see that Adesanya is RELENTLESS!
Adesanya has shown us that he is RELENTLESS! To get to where he is now he had to have been! He has always been focused on his end goal. Everything he does is in service of his goal! By starting off in the kickboxing world, crossing over to boxing and now being the UFC champion, it is all a part of his plan to accomplish his ultimate dream!
Spending countless hours training and travelling the world to compete, in order to improve himself every time he fights. Adesanya is not shy to put in the hard work! His ultimate goal requires nothing but hard work for him to be considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists once he retires!
Adesanya has stated ‘it’s about legacy, it’s about moments, it’s about being an icon – I’ll do what I do and the money will flow.’ Here Adesanya says to always follow your heart and not the money. A good example of this is the Puma deal Adesanya has recently just signed!
He has become the first ever MMA fighter to sign a deal with Puma! He didn’t change who he was to get this. He stayed true to himself and stayed dedicated towards accomplishing his dreams. If you are truly passionate about something the money will come.
When you are chasing something you truly want and desire, you will do whatever it takes to get there. By chasing the money you lose sight on the true meaning behind your goal. Securing the money may not lead to your happiness, but fulfilling the goal will!
Adesanya is continuing to grow in popularity as he continues to perform in the octagon and inspire people outside of it too. His mindset is strong and driven to achieving his end goal. We can all learn from this as he himself admitted that we all need help sometimes, as this will make you stronger!
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I have shown how Israel Adesanya has implemented Militar values throughout his life. Make sure you subscribe to our blog to find out how other people you look up to have! Next up is…
