If you are looking for an interesting and insightful book on fighting, then you should check out Sam Sheridan’s “A Fighters Heart.” Sheridan (a Harvard grad) toured the world training and competing in various fighting arts. His travels included tours through Brazil, Thailand, Japan, Iowa, and California where he studied jui jitsu, muay Thai, boxing, and MMA. Sheridan’s book provides its share of technical information about the styles he studied, the training he endured, and the personalities he encountered. But what made the book exceptional in my mind was Sheridan’s probing analysis of what makes fighters and the fighting community tick. Sheridan provides insight into subjects that are often ignored, such as how fighters view and deal with fear, the importance of “gameness,” and the self-knowledge that all fighters seek and the great ones attain. He also provides great insight into the most vital ingredient in a fighter’s heart — love.
Describing his early curiosity with fighting, Sheridan explains:
“When I was in junior high . . . I read a book about John F. Kennedy that said he used to carry an anonymous poem with him in his wallet:
Bullfight critics, ranked in rows,
Crowd the enormous plaza full.
But only one is there who knows,
And he’s the man that fights the bull.
I loved that quote . . . To me, the quote wasn’t just about critics and performers and artists. The man in the ring knows, and not just about that particular bullfight and whether or not he did a good job. He knows. “
“A Fighter’s Heart,” at 4. Near the end of the book, Sheridan explains the quality he observed in the good fighters that he met. He explains:
“But there is something else. There is a quality around these men, the good fighters I’ve met – they are among the best people I know. [They] are some of the best examples of humanity I can think of. They’ve been face to face with divinity – they’ve swum the deep waters – and been reborn in the fight.”
“A Fighter’s Heart,” at 300. There are certainly disappointing personalities in every sport. But anyone who’s been around top-notch combat athletes – whether boxers, amateur wrestlers, or martial artists – knows exactly what Sheridan is talking about. The truly great fighters who have been successful for long periods of time and been through countless wars have the quality that Sheridan describes. It’s a calmness (and even what some would describe as a gentleness) that’s forged through merciless self-exploration and fed by the self-knowledge that results. These guys don’t have to walk around wondering what they’re made of because, like the bullfighter, they know.
This book’s a must read for anyone who is a fight fan. You can check out Sheridan’s myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/fightersheart.
