Lessons from the Cage: Life Lessons from MMA

By Roger Grimes

Over the past thirty years, Roger Grimes has been studying Kenpo Karate, achieving the rank of seventh-degree black belt as he also dabbled in several martial arts disciplines. Roger Grimes has also been seeking leadership skills and life lessons to improve his life and character. In cage fighting, he was also seeking learning for improvement, resulting in Lessons from the Cage.

Lessons from the Cage is an inspirational book where Roger Grimes shares twelve life lessons he learned from his three mixed martial arts full-contact cage fights, lessons such as "You Are Not Alone" and "Don't Rush the Process." These life principles can be life-changing if sincerely received and put into practice. In this book, Roger Grimes also shares his experience from the beginning, from behind the scenes, and a detailed story through each cage fight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781684983742

Book preview

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Lessons from the Cage

Life Lessons from MMA

Roger Grimes

Copyright © 2022 Roger Grimes

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-68498-373-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68498-374-2 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Lesson 1

Humility

Lesson 2

Loss Is a Learning Opportunity

Lesson 3

Burnt by Anticipation

Lesson 4

Fear

Lesson 5

Train for the Game

Lesson 6

Make a Game Plan

Lesson 7

Drop Your Plan

Lesson 8

Don't Rush the Process

Lesson 9

You Are Not Alone

Lesson 10

Listen to Your Corner

Lesson 11

Luggage into Tools

Lesson 12

What's the Purpose?

Story Time

About the Author

Acknowledgments

I want to give a thank you out to my beautiful loving wife, Tina, for sticking by me through thick and thin. I love you, my awesome wife.

I want to give thanks to my martial arts instructor, Mark Miller. Thanks for the years of training and a great friendship.

I want to give thanks to my pastor, Dr. R. A. Vernon, and first lady, Dr. Victory Vernon. If it wasn't for your great teachings of the word of God and leadership skills, I would not be the man I am today.

I want to give a shout out to my kids, Joe, Shawn, and Anthony, as well as my grandkids Joey and Leon.

Introduction

Welcome to my book, Lessons from the Cage. I'm so glad you are here to take part as I share with you the experiences I have gained in amateur MMA (mixed martial arts) cage fighting and the life lessons I have gained through these fights. I hope you may draw some inspiration or guidance from this book.

Here is little about myself, my name is Roger Grimes. I have been training in the martial arts since 1992. I am currently a seventh degree black belt in Kenpo Karate as the time of the writing of this book. I owned a karate dojo (school) from October 2002 to December 2020. I am currently a minister at my local church. The intentions of this book is to like I said earlier to inspire and give some guidance through sharing my experiences even though I share Bible scripture doesn't mean this book isn't for everyone. These are life lessons that can be relatable to the masses regardless of religion, nationality of race, or gender they are applicable life lessons.

At the end of the book, I will share why I started MMA fighting as well as a breakdown of all of my cage fights. Enjoy the journey through these lessons and my story.

Sincerely, Roger Grimes

Lesson 1

Humility

Always enter like a kitten and leave like a lion. But never enter like a lion and leave like a kitten. Always stay humble.

—Carlson Gracie

I wasn't a stranger to humility; heck, I spent my whole life moving from one humiliating experience to another. I gave a speech once titled My Life Is a Humbling Experience. I don't know why I thought MMA (mixed martial arts) cage fighting would be different.

As I was talking to the fight promoter to set up my first MMA cage fight, I told him to give me a good opponent. That request wasn't from arrogance or cockiness, but, I thought, since I was at that time a fifth-degree black belt with nearly seventeen years of point fighting experience with a winning record, I didn't want a cakewalk. I might have had too much confidence in my martial arts training and didn't think about the possibility of losing.

The promoter set me up to fight a young man who was around twenty-two years old, and I was thirty-three years old. The young man was a tough kid who had about six MMA cage fights and won most of them, and I wasn't an exception. I lost to him also, in less than two minutes.

That day, I was face-to-face with humility once again. After the shock of humility, and the bruises wore off, I picked up wisdom.

I know we all have been hit with humiliating and just downright embarrassing situations in life, but I suggest to learn from these moments, lift yourself up, and knock the dust off of you and become better.

If you humble yourself, the fall will not hurt so bad because you didn't set yourself up on a pedestal or we can say put yourself on that ever famous high horse. Even though I didn't come into the cage fight arrogant and cocky, I inadvertently put myself on that high horse, and the fall was a taste of humble pie.

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each measure of faith (Romans 12:3 NASB 1995).

Many people have fallen due to hubris. What is hubris? I'm glad you asked.

Definition of hubris: excessive pride or self-confidence.

Many famous and not-so-famous people have fallen because of pride. You may know a few people personally. You can't help them, but you possibly can influence them. The only one you can change this pride issue with is the person you see in the mirror, and I'm not talking about your family member who passed by you as you are looking in the mirror; I'm talking about you.

Pride will block sensibility. You may never have dealt with this issue before until you got good at something, and then before you knew it, pride had set in.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom (Proverbs 11:2 NIV).

There