How to Lose a Fight (Skillfully)

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Learn the ancient secrets of how to get your ass beat. Joking aside, I’m talking about how to lose a fight without getting beat up.

Everybody seems to think they can coach you through a losing fight. Every wannabe trainer thinks they have the magical advice to help you come back and win. "More jabs" they’ll whisper in between rounds, or maybe even the ever-popular "keep your hands up!"

Of course, this is easier said than done. You’re tired and you’re hurt. You can barely see the punches coming at you and you can’t get out of the way fast enough! Everything you do, your opponent counters. The natural instinct is to fight back by throwing blind punches into the air which tires you out even faster. Now that your arms are tired, your opponent slips all your punches easily and so you throw even harder—wasting more energy. The harder you try, the harder you get beat up.

So now you’re panicking and trying desperately to run away. You jump away with your tired legs whereas your opponent only has to walk you down. You’re trapped along the ropes and taking shot after shot. You even duck but eat a huge uppercut in the process. You’re tired, bloody, losing, and have no hope. Don’t throw in the towel just yet. I promise you, there IS a better way…

"The better way", as funny as it sounds, is what I call the "the art of getting your ass beat".

So what is this "art" all about? It’s about learning how to lose fights gracefully. A crucial skill when it comes to fighting! EVERY fighter must learn this. This skill is perhaps just as important as learning how to win fights. It’s not about learning how to turn a losing fight around, it’s about learning how to make the most of a bad situation.

It doesn’t matter how good you are. Sooner or later, you WILL end up in a losing fight.

You WILL be outmatch in athleticism, skill, or tactics and you WILL have to decide between 2 choices:

Go out like a warrior and die on your shield. That is, to go out fighting until you get knocked out.

Tighten up your defense, stay relaxed, and avoid as many shots as you can until the fight is over.

For whatever reason, many fighters don’t believe in #2. They think #2 isn’t manly enough or that it’s for sissies. Is this just machismo talk or is there actually some truth to this?

Without having to think too hard, #2 actually does seem like a logical choice. You’re going to be training and fighting for a long time. Putting your ego in check and preserving your body is a smart idea to keep yourself able to fight bigger battles later. It’s more important to learn than it is to take a beating. Why get beat up if there is no benefit other than to make you feel tough?

So does that make #2 the winning choice in all occasions? It depends…

Going For Broke VS Minimizing Damage

#1 (Going all out) is for real competitions. When you’re losing a big fight. A loss is a loss. This loss could mean a tournament elimination in the amateurs or a title belt loss in the professional ranks. You might as well go for broke, and at the very least entertain the crowd. Who knows, you might actually win! That’s much better than accepting a loss. Going all out is totally worth it when there’s actually a reward for winning!

#2 (Going into defensive mode) is for training. Whenever you’re losing a fight in training, learn to lose the fight gracefully. There is no reward for winning a fight in training. Winning a losing fight is often more about testing your physical tolerance than it is about your skill tolerance. (After all, if you had the better skills in the first place, you’d be winning.) Even if you win a sparring match in training, everybody knows it’s just training.

Boxing is a brutal sport. Even the "winner" takes a beating. I don’t know of many sports where winners take such a beating to "win". So don’t do it—don’t take a beating to win a sparring match. Save yourself. Your number one focus in training is to improve your skills, NOT to win. Save that "winning mentality" or "warrior mentality" for actual competitions when it matters most.

In training, protect yourself so that you may train another day. Going warrior mode all the time is a fast way to get you beat up and destroyed. Not only will you wear out faster and possibly still lose the fight, you’ll learn less because you were too busy trying to overcome your opponents’ undeniable advantages in skills/power/size as opposed to staying calm and trying to make the most of a losing situation.

How To Lose A Fight

Losing a fight gracefully can sometimes be the silver lining when taking a loss. Although you might not have won the fight, there is much to be proud about in knowing that you didn’t get knocked out and also that you were still able to contest the fight skillfully despite being completely outmatched.

The 2...