How many of you know Mike Tyson used to cry — and even throw up — before fights?
How many of you know Georges “Rush” St-Pierre dreaded fight day so much he called it the worst day of his life?
They Sure Don’t Look Scared.
A good friend of mine and I were talking, and he reminded me of a great line from another friend, the great author Steven Pressfield, who wrote:
“Athletes play hurt. Warriors fight scared.”
I love that.
Six-year-old Tony. Seven-year-old Tony. Terrified.
If I had known that then — really internalized it — my life would have been different.
I’ve always been afraid of fear. That’s why I’ve spent my life building a fear management system that actually works.
Thinking about Pressfield’s line, so many things come to mind. But here are two:
Our heroes experience fear but still move toward the danger, the challenge, the goal — in spite of the fear.
For the most part, our parents, our teachers, our coaches don’t have a goddamn clue how to teach kids to think about or manage fear. Had I known this, once again, my life would have been different.
As a young athlete, no one talked about fear. I’d watch skiers, wrestlers, gymnasts, boxers, martial artists and wonder how they could compete at such a high level without it. I thought there must be something wrong with me.
Little did I know.
Well, here we are 60 years later, and KNOW FEAR® is one of the biggest and most important divisions of Blauer Tactical Systems. The foundational principle of how we teach managing fear — differentiating the biology of fear from the psychology of fear, something almost no one else does — is embedded in every course we teach.
I went pretty deep into this topic with Michael Gervais, one of the world’s great sports psychologists, and shortly after our podcast, UFC legend Forrest Griffin posted this:
That put a big smile on my face.
Pressfield’s line, and my own — two simple thoughts that would’ve changed that six-year-old kid’s life if somebody had just handed them to him.
The more the KNOW FEAR® program grows, the more I realize how important it is to teach people that fear is real. But fear can be managed. Fear isn’t the enemy. Fear is the energy.
We can’t eliminate fear. It will be there, and generally, it’s a surprise, right? No one wakes up hoping something catastrophic happens just so they can practice resilience. (”I’d love to have the shit scared out of me today” 😊)
Make fear your friend and your life changes.
GSP admitted it himself: “The only fight I wasn’t afraid for was Matt Serra… and I got knocked out.”
Tyson never denied it either: “I’m terrified before every fight.”
The world’s best — the ones with real self-awareness — admit they operated at the highest level with fear, not without it.
There’s your evidence.
The goal isn’t to become fearless.
That’s the illusion.
The goal is to understand fear.
We don’t want to be used by fear.
We want to use fear.
Coach B
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If this article made you think about the fear your students, clients, team, or family aren’t saying out loud — whether they’ll actually be ready when it matters — here’s what else you can do as a conscientious professional.
Hello, if we haven’t met yet — I’m Tony Blauer. I’ve spent over 40 years reimagining self-defense: the SPEAR System®, HIGH GEAR®, KNOW FEAR®. Since 1980, I’ve taught this work to over half a million people, including thousands of martial arts, self-defense, military combatives, and law enforcement defensive tactics instructors.
Getting qualified to incorporate the SPEAR System® so you can teach it professionally is real continuing education, and it differentiates you from other instructors in your region. You get direct access to me and my team, and real help growing your business — monthly coaching calls, and much more.
If you’re a self-defense entrepreneur who wants to make a difference — this is for you.
Mission Statement
My mission is to make the world safer, one good person at a time. Everything I build — the SPEAR System®, Be Your Own Bodyguard®, Know Fear® — exists to give good people the tools to protect themselves and the people they love.
If you want to go deeper on this, resources are below:
My conversations with
Michael Gervais on Finding Mastery:
“Redefining Your Relationship with Fear”