by Don Heatrick
@donheatrick

Not every fighter is as frank and honest as Paul Banasiak in their appraisal of themselves, with themselves, let alone sharing this with others.

But, both with more than his fair share of introspective perspective, and also understanding the value of learning from other’s mistakes as well as his own…

He’s happy to “take one for the team”, and help you understand the lessons he’s learned from his personal Muay Thai adventure so far…

Paul Banasiak, Polish born 2x World champion, 4x North American National Champion, a full-time fighter in Thailand, a Muay Thai coach, and host of the “Muay Thai Guys” podcast alongside Muay Thai Guy Sean Fagan.

You can find out more about Paul and keep up with his adventures @muaythaitechnician on Instagram here.

And check out his blog and online striking academy here.

For reference, you can find Glory 48, Paul Banasiak vs Ivan Galaz here.

And if you found this episode valuable, please like, subscribe, and share this with someone else it could help too.
And give me a review or comment, I’d love to hear from you!

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Each episode revolves around my Four Big Questions…

1. What’s Your Story?
2. What’s Your Why?
3. What Makes A Champion?
4. Challenges And Lessons Learned?

Digging into the answers to these questions helps uncover and share both the commonalities, and the differences in the journey to become a champion. And can help inspire and fast-track your journey too.

Timestamped Links To Key Points of Interest…

• Seeking the rush, and evolving into Muay Thai
• Sityodtong garage training!
• The habit of logging progress on video
• Independently seeing what you’re doing wrong and right
• Video to review your composure
• The power of being honest with yourself, without depreciating value you already hold
• Every wining streak comes to an end
• Self sabotage can be a consequence of success
• “Remember that others would kill for an opportunity to even lose here”
• Missing the amateur team experience
• With Muay Thai, you get out of it what you put in
• Fighting is ruthless truth telling
• Different talents, different results
• Toughness is a double-edged sword
• The cost of “over-efforting” in a fight
• Balancing reward and risk – sharing lessons that can help others avoid certain pitfalls
• When less is more
• Understanding energy systems, and “drowning” your opponent if they try to keep up
• Keeping a little in the tank
• Changing tact, going on to do what you want to do
• Training in Thailand, and truly finding the right “professional” balance
• Finding the middle… Traditionalists and New School
• The middle is closer to the truth, but there’s a social consequence
• The best don’t rely on just the physical part of Muay Thai
• The myth of “the best” way to execute each technique
• Respecting different styles, and fighting to succeed under the given rules
• Understanding that you’ll likely have to find your own way to employ a specific technique
• Every activity has a culture, Muay Thai culture is about growth
• Muay Thai rewards every personality
• Appreciating forming who you are, finding yourself in your training and fighting
• Your Muay Thai “Why” will change over time
• Why now? I’m still getting better at it
• Being both openminded and critical, never being satisfied, and a long-term thinker
• Different levels of Pro fighters… you’ll see who served their MT apprenticeship
• Largely learning from other’s mistakes, but injuries had to be learned the hard way
• From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows
• Burning the ships
• Keep on rocking! Despite imposter syndrome
• Pop, bop, boom… and then it lands!? Oh, I can win!
• Surrender to the process, and trust it
• Earning your coach’s trust, and respecting your judgement on tailoring your own training
• Importance of honest, effective communication with your coaches
• Don’t shy away from challenges, but also learn from other peoples mistakes
• Biggest fear: Disappointing someone that I want to respect me
• Don’t sell yourself short, know that you can grow, and don’t lose value in yourself

Further Resources

• Breaking Limits In Muay Thai
• Muay Thai Fighting Styles and Becoming a Complete Fighter
• Tony Myers – The Science of Building Champions Podcast
• Muay Thai Mindset – Who Are You Competing Against?
• The 3 Biggest Mistakes I’ve Made
• Strength & Conditioning for Muay Thai 101 – A Science-Based Approach to Accelerated Athletic Development
• Recovery – The Secret to Rapid Performance Improvement
• Your Training is Your Responsibility

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