World-renowned MMA coach, Firas Zahabi, is well-known for his candid takes on various subjects; ranging from martial arts to philosophy, human rights, and beyond.
He recently shared his thoughts on the significance of grappling in ancient civilizations – and its relevance in today’s world – combining several interesting topics into one.
Zahabi stated:
Every civilization wrestled. Every great civilization wrestled. I think it’s so important.
Look at the generation of kids that don’t wrestle. They think their opinion is so great.They’re so infatuated with opinion that they think all opinions are equal.
He emphasized the importance of grappling as a tool for “getting in touch with the real world”:
When you wrestle, you find out really quickly that all your crazy philosophies, now… You got to go test them.
Commenting on the debate around gender identity in sports, Zahabi said:
Now, when you get on the mat, all your crazy ideas fly out the window.
The guy’s choking you, and you’re like: “Ummm… I identify as this.”No, guess what? You’re getting put to sleep.
He concluded by pointing out the importance of “going out there”, gaining experience – in this case, through grappling – because it will thicken the skin of whomever steps on the mats:
Wrestlers are incredibly mentally strong. Why? They learned to eat Humble Pie.
Listen to more of Firas Zahabi’s thoughts on the topic below. Do you agree with him?
