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The handbook of competition preparation in close combat sports

Tired of generic competition advice that falls flat? Get a structured, evidence-based guidance to build your path to championship.

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Your self-guided path to winning

The Brain & Combat: 7 chapter close combat (BJJ/MMA) preparation guide to reach your competition goals.

Niche expertise delivered
  • The components of a winning strategy
  • The myth of confidence
  • Brain-body dynamics in competitions
  • Long-term preparation methods
  • On-the-spot self-regulation methods
  • Moving away from silver
  • Building resilience from losing
Specialised for close combat

This course on mental preparation for grappling competitions is specifically designed for close combat martial artists, particularly in grappling (BJJ) and mixed arts with grappling elements (MMA), who regularly compete and want to raise their game to new heights.

The materials are designed to provide a toolkit for managing the level of intensity and intrusion specific to close combat settings.

Progressive, practical & visual

The handbook is build on contemporary research result from various disciplines. The exercises promoting self-governance are embedded in the course, and recommendations for training plan adjustments are provided throughout.

In addition to the exercises, infographics and charts assist in understanding the more complex concepts by breaking them down into graspable pieces.

Content

About the
Approach.

Ever spent hours hunting down competition tips, only to feel more confused than when you started?

Synthesized from over a hundred research papers, this unique blend of practical and theoretical knowledge offered by the handbook challenges conventional ‘just push it through’ and ‘don’t overthink’ coaching approaches. The insight and exercises provided by the chapters will instantly translate into physical skills and skyrocket your competition results.

It's for you

Whether you are:

Regular competitor

You will gain an incredible insight into the brain-body dynamics dominate competitions. Giving you a solid toolkit to take control of your fight outcome and boost your win rate to heights that never seemed possible before.

Close combat trainee

Despite regular training and a lot of thought, you might still be dissatisfied with your response in close combat. Here, you’ll get a systematic approach to enhance your responsiveness and efficiently engage in physical conflict.

Self defence student

If you are concerned that the techniques you practice may not be effective or accessible in real-life situations, the chapters will guide you through the process of engraining your defence that will serve you for the rest of your life.

Realise your
competition goals.

Every champion has been where you are now – ready to learn, destined to grow, and willing to think differently.

Nothing like I tried before

“I've changed my mind on a lot of topics and got to understand why a lot of thing I tried didn't work and never could work. Right at the next competition, I marched to the gold so swiftly that I couldn't believe it was me. I won't stop until I'm at the top.”

Luis L.

BJJ fighter

Put me on the right track

“I finally could crack this mentality topic. I just didn't get it from those interviews and articles, they seemed to be very general. I needed practical advice on what to do exactly and how. Couldn't be happier with the result.”

Ron J.

MMA fighter

Biggest upgrade of my fight carrier

“I loved every sections, they were so different and real. It's only a month into my new approach, and I already have been noticed. I got a new belt and a lot of questions about what has changed. Hey, buddy, a lot!”

Mara G.

MMA fighter

Pillars of

The core framework.

You know how most athletes train their bodies religiously. Yet that’s only a quarter of the story. 75% of what determines competition success is mostly left untaught.

Content

The Chapters.

Chapter 1

Winning cards vs winning strategy in martial arts

Dive deep into the game dynamics of close combat and the fundamental concept of combat resilience, which define what it takes to succeed. You’ll also have the option for a research-based assessment of your mental design to see where the workarounds are needed.

Chapter 2

Understanding and developing confidence for winning

Look into the nature and tournament impact of confidence and familiarize yourself with the brain’s multi-layered system that builds your confidence. You’ll also get to know the obstacles that needed to be tackled to get your confidence growing.

Chapter 3

At the grappling competition – changes in the brain and the body

Go deeper into the exact details of what is taking place in the brain, and consequently in the body, during a grappling competition, from assessing the opponent to handling the outcome. You’ll be provided with 5 real-life, mini case studies of how the outcome of the mental process shapes the chances of winning.

Chapter 4

Long term mental preparation techniques for tournaments

Get down to work and start building your long-term combat resilience. The methods presented cover self-regulation to maintain a fight-ready state during competition, gaining a balance between recollection and responsiveness, as well as improving emotional regulation, motivation, and technical readiness.

Chapter 5

Short term mental preparation techniques for tournaments

Continue the work and fine-tune your competition preparation with on-the-spot self-regulation methods to manage the competition environment and tackle performance pressure.

Chapter 6

Stuck on the silver plateau - mental training to get the gold

If you are stuck on the silver plateau, where winning seems only achievable in local competitions, and despite increased training efforts, the results are mainly silver medals, this chapter is for you. You’ll get to know the underlying dynamics and the strategies to keep moving towards gold.

Chapter 7

Growing after falling – building mental strength from losing

If you find it challenging to deal with losing and it takes a lot of time and effort to move on, this chapter is for you. We’ll go clear on the cost of a lost fight to understand the role losing a fight plays in building mental resilience, and you’ll learn the core strategies to leverage the changes for long-term competition success.

Motto

"If you want to
drive the plane,
you have to master
the cockpit. "

0
chapters to go
Tried a lot but

winning still just
randomly comes
and goes?

Continuously

training hard
but it doesn't translate
to gold?

Going well until

at high stake
events gold seems to
go to others?

Asked help but

everyone's parroting
the same things
that did nothing to you?

Stop wasting your time on biased competition tips that only work for a few with similar physiques.

 

With this comprehensive handbook, you’ll have the evidence-based support you need to get there, no matter how you’re built or where you are in your journey.

Know thyself

The biggest opponent in the arena is not the one in front of you. It is the one within you.

Winning is self-governance. If you want an edge, you start perfecting the deadliest weapon of all – your mind.

Get the scientific edge that

Rewrites your
competition story.

#1

Custom preparation strategy.

Forget the ‘What kind of garlic bread are you’ quizzes. Your mental design will be discussed using tools from academic resilience research to see what you have in the game and how to make it winning.

#2

Refined training routine.

The practices offered are strategically selected to target areas that fundamentally impact your competition outcome, including emotion/stress management and adjustments to your training routine.

#3

Steady competition success.

The change brought about by the handbook’s insight and practices is both immediate and profound. Resulting in a steady increase in your win rate, ultimately leading to the realisation of your competition goals.

7 Chapters

Structured, researched based material with real-life examples

10+ Exercises

Embedded tests and worksheets provided to influence internal processes

70+ Illustrations

Rich visual explanations added to help grasp the concepts

The body does, what
the brain tells it to do.

Be the message conscious or not. By the third chapter of this guide, you will understand that you have won or lost a round before the fight has even started.

Develop the skills
that can drive your success.

Access a range of game-changing preparation methods that give you control over your game.

All-time access from any devices

14 days money back guarantee

Secured payments, encrypted data

Developed by

The What Is Truth Growth Hub.

WIT is a community of combative and academic professionals who have embarked on a journey to provide access to knowledge that provides a competitive edge. We are working in line with human-centred psychological approaches and run our own collaborative research project to continuously advance knowledge on close combat resilience and personalised preparation methods.

Niche Insight

Practical Skills

Instant Result

Long-term Impact

How does The Brain and Combat handbook work?

The Brain and Combat competition preparation handbook is a digital series of 7 articles (each about 6-10 pages) in which we’ll define and then break down how each component of a winning strategy works. Including reviewing what to expect from the game, how your mental design aligns with close combat, how to build long-term self-governance, and what methods you can potentially apply to keep growing and increasing your win rate. This way you’ll know exactly what you are enrolling in, and what effort you’ll be spending on your competition goals.

Are there any prior knowledge required to understand the concepts?

There are no prerequisites to understand the handbook. You can start reading it even before your first competition, saving yourself a lot of unnecessary pain. Or you can dive into it to take your game to the next level at the peak of your journey when nothing seemed to be pushing you forward. The concepts introduced in the chapters are simple and straight to the point. No goofy concepts or overintellectualised long speeches.

Shall I start with the first chapter or can I pick any of the chapters?

The best way to develop your personal strategy is to begin with the first chapter that explains the game dynamics and the cards you have in the game. But if your next competition is within weeks, you might jump straight to the preparation methods with Chapters 4 and 5 and return to the rest of the story at a later time. Similarly, if you have a specific concern, such as issues with handling losing (Chapter 7) or confusion about confidence (Chapter 2), start with those chapters right away to get your most pressing questions answered.

How demanding the chapters are?

Very. The chapters are very demanding. A lot of concepts introduced are unfamiliar to most people or have a very different interpretation circling around in pop culture. We recommend allocating a substantial amount of time to read and revisit the concepts, complete the recommended exercises, and ensure that the new knowledge and skills settle well.

What kind of exercises are provided in the handbook?

Most of the exercises are mental trainings, even when they target physical improvements, aimed at changing patterns or mental processes that do not serve your competition goals. Not only in their experience, but in their physiological underpinnings, they are just as tiring as physical workouts. You will be sweating like a horse. If you thought mental training was a lightweight thinking exercise, you’ll have a completely new view by the end of this series.

Is the handbook based on sport psychology?

No. If you train for a short while, you already know that there is no similarity between running a marathon and being punched in the face. Combat is not a sport psychologically. The mechanisms involved in handling what comes with regular fights are largely beyond the scope of sport psychology. The handbook’s theoretical knowledge is a curated mix of personality psychology and neuropsychology, while the exercises offered are from the weaponry of primarily cognitive and clinical psychology.

When do I start to see results?

This course is designed to promote change, and it achieves this both through immediate impact and by planting seeds. The first results will show within the next few weeks as the understanding settles and leads to a new approach and strategy. While the major changes will occur in about 1-2 months when your refined training strategy begins to deliver long-term fundamental upgrades.

What if I have further questions or need more support?

If you need clarification on any of the topics introduced, feel free to get in touch with us through our contact page. If you would like to receive guided support, please visit the Making of a Champion coaching program to read more about the options and the availability of our coaches.

"It is more
important to outthink
the enemy, than to
outfight them."

Sun Tzu

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