Hey what's going on guys? Shane here. And
today we're talking about "how to keep a
poker face in a fight." Why is it
important that a card player keeps a
poker face? It's so that the other players
can't decipher whether they have a good
or a bad hand! And the same applies in
fighting... and in life.
The first perk of keeping a poker face in a fight is that
you don't show pain or fear. GGG,
Gennady Golovkin, has one of the best
poker faces in all of fighting. In fact,
just last night, he probably took the
most damage in his entire career
fighting Derevyanchenko, who caught him
with a brutal left hook to the body.
If you've ever taken a liver shot before,
you know that they are literally
crippling. But the only obvious tell that
GGG was hurt was that his hands
came down, but he didn't allow his face
to do the usual reactions, which are:
dropping the jaw, letting out a groan, &
wincing in pain. Instead he just kept a
straight face the entire time. It's the
same way that a poker player doesn't
sigh when he gets a bad hand. The second
benefit of keeping a poker face is that
you can convince yourself that you're okay in
times of turmoil. That's exactly what
GGG did last night.
The facial feedback hypothesis is the
theory that certain facial expressions,
like a smile or a frown, can have a
direct effect on your mood. Now this is
one that I use all the time, especially
after I take a painful shot. My body
tells my brain, "Ugh, that hurt so bad!"
And although I want to grimace in agony when I
feel it, I instead force myself to smile
and now that overrides my brain. It
confuses it and thinks, "wow this sick
bastard actually likes suffering!" And
then the pain dissipates quicker and
then I can get back into the fight
sooner.
Finally the poker face gives you the
ability to feint, lie, and trick. If you
always wear your emotions on your sleeve,
then your opponent's going to read you
like a book. They're gonna know exactly
what you're trying to do before you even
do it. It could be as simple as
raising your eyebrows before you throw a
punch -- that's a form of telegraphing. So
by keeping a poker face, you can catch
them off guard or you can fake an
expression to get a reaction out of them.
An example would be looking low
and striking high. Or try this one: ki-hup
as you faint, "Hah!" -- you get a big reaction
out of guys with that one.
Alright, so this is something that you have to
practice in everyday life and in
everyday training. So the next time
you're on your last set of bench press,
or you're picking up your dog's poop, or
you take a heavy shot
in sparring, try to override your natural
facial expression and stay stoic.
Alright? Because martial arts is all about
self-control and this is just another
way of mastering oneself. Thanks for
watching guys! Be sure to subscribe to
get the FIGHTTIPS before your opponent
does. Until then I'm Shane with FIGHTTIPS...
...for the Underdogs.
