“The greatest ideal man can set before himself is self-perfection.” - W. Somerset Maugham

People who’ve never spent time in the close company of warriors often think of them as brutish and unintelligent. Even in law enforcement and the military, support personnel and upper management often think of those who do the actual fighting as “knuckle draggers” or “grunts.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Especially at the top of the craft.

The “mental game” is vital to athletic excellence, and this just is as true for “combat” or “tactical” athletes as for any other. In my opinion, there is no other pursuit where the mental game matters more than combat. It quite literally is the difference between life and death, not just for the individual warrior, but for those he fights for and alongside.

This incontrovertible truth is why historically warrior cultures placed a heavy emphasis on meditation, philosophy, and religion, as well as art, literature, and games of strategy. They were sharpening their warriors’ minds with these pursuits. This is also why combat sports and martial arts are so often seen as vehicles for self-improvement by devotees who will most likely never fight for their lives.

Technical skill and physical preparedness are both useless without a commensurate development of the mind. And not just an academic or scholarly one. The warriors mind must ride the edge of a razor like a samurai’s zen or a praetorian’s stoicism. In the moment, unflustered, and resolute. No attachment to consequence or reward, only process and standards. It is vital that you devote yourself to the development of this or all of your other training will prove fruitless.