Off the mat: When most people think of the life of a martial artist, they immediately think of the time spent on the mat and in competition or fighting, since these are the most distinctive elements of the lifestyle. The truth is however, that no matter how tough your daily training regimen, you will spend many more hours off the mat than on. Accordingly, it is of the first importance that your lifestyle off the mat be paid as much attention as your performance on the mat. In this regard, I know of no better example than Georges St-Pierre.
More than anyone else I know, he exhibited the martial virtues in every aspect of his life in ways that often made me, his so called teacher, burn with shame at the inadequacies of my own behavior. Throughout his career he carried himself in daily life with a warmth and generosity of spirit that endeared him to all he met. No matter how tired, stressed or absorbed he was was, he always had time for a smile and photo with his fans. Sometimes fan behavior was, whether from ignorance or arrogance, far below what it ought to be ( on some occasions to the point where I was ready to attack) yet always he was implacable and warm.
Picture yourself in his shoes. On a truly bad day - all you want is to be alone, and a crowd of people want to talk and take photos with you. Would you pass this test of patience and kindness? I know I would fail nine times out of ten. Yet Georges, to his everlasting credit, passed every single time for well over a decade. We live in an age where the most successful method of garnering attention in the game that can be monetized is through trash talking.
The popularity of UFC stars today is determined largely through their ability to engage in disparaging talk about their opponents whilst arrogantly proclaiming their own prowess. The irony is that most of the athletes who engage in this behavior are not actually like this at all - it is all an act. Yet even as an act it runs contrary to the underpinning of the martial arts, which is to sublimate violence into a socially positive framework that keeps a citizenry strong and ready for challenges, yet avoids the antisocial elements of violence that can destroy the fabric of society.
Georges could very easily have taken this route - it would have doubled his income and the viewership of his fights. Yet he never did. He became the most watched and financially successful fighter of his immediate era without ever resorting to the behavior most associated with success in the industry. He stayed true to who he was and never put on an act that was neither him, nor represented the martial tradition that he stood for.
This young man best represented the dichotomy of the martial arts. He fought the toughest men on the planet in the toughest sport, yet through it all remained a gentleman who exhibited all the social graces that take society forward for the better. Most fighters work diligently on skills that make them feared. Yet he overcame them all whilst exhibiting behavior that made him loved rather than feared.
One of many lessons this great man taught me is that ultimately it is far more important to be loved than to be feared. Fear lasts as long as you are the toughest man in the room and disappears the moment you are not. Love lasts much longer and creates bonds that the fearsome will never know.
Always ask yourself of your daily regimen; how much of my training is to instill fear in others and how much to instill love? The life of the martial artist will never be complete without both.
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