being an athlete

I use the term athlete a lot. I use it a great deal when I am talking about the people I coach in BJJ or CM Boxing. In my head, it sums up everything I think is important when training. One of my guys once said to me that he wasn't an athlete. He is older, a little chubby, and is a computer geek. So, in his mind, the word athlete didn't apply to him.

I read him the riot act. The fact of the matter is, it is not what you say or think, but what you DO, that defines you. And he was an athlete. Why did I say that? Because he TRAINED ATHLETICALLY. He put on the gloves, got on the mat, and put it on the line EVERY TIME against anyone, regardless of whether they were better than he was. Sometimes he did well, sometimes he didn't. It doesn't matter. He was training when most of his contemporaries were watching the boob tube or surfing the 'net for porn. To me, that is the test of being an athlete. Don't talk about it, think about it, or (uh oh) write about it. Just do it (to steal an overused phrase).

There are different kinds of athletes. There are professional, or elite level, or gifted athletes. But, if you actually do your part to fight the scourge of couch potato-ism, YOU ARE AN ATHLETE, regardless of age, ability, toughness, or physical prowess. Wear the mantle proudly.