Ask Cael: 2 questions

Story Published Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Question:
You competed at a hair under 185, did you walk around pretty close to that, or did you have to cut much weight to compete?

Cael:
I walked around just over 200, when I was training hard. I had to eat real healthy a month out of competition to make weight and be able to compete at my best the next day. I eliminated soda and junk food and increased my work load.

Question:
Last one: Psychologically, what was your prematch ritual, or state of mind? I mean, are you more of the emotional “barely controlled aggression” school of thought, or more of the un-emotional “quiet mind and technical execution” type of guy. As an example, I used to do some very amateur boxing…for me, I wanted to be up, but never angry…I felt like I had a guy as soon as he got ticked off. What are your thoughts?

Cael:
I didn’t have any prematch rituals. I was lucky to have the ability to stay relaxed but focused. My mindset was to keep things as simple as possible. I focused on the little things that I knew would help me wrestle my best match like: move my feet and pull their head down. Those were the things I knew I had 100% control over. I knew if I did that I would be at my best. The issue I see with most athletes is that they focus on what they don’t want to think about. The more you try not to think about something the more you actually do. When I had doubts creep in my mind I just said to myself, “nope, I am ready now.”

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