Free Against All Odds: My Story by Chuck Norris, Abraham Norris, Ken Chuck, Chuck Ken; Norris Abraham, Ken Abraham Page A

the task at hand: winning. I am not by nature an aggressive person, but I was superaggressive in the ring.
    Even my martial arts students were sometimes amazed at the transformation that came over me when the competition turned serious. During class at our studio, I sparred with my black belt students, and often one or more of them would beat me. “Mr. Norris, I don't understand,” a student might complain. “I can beat you in class but never in a real competition.”
    I'd smile and say, “Because in class I'm focused on teaching, not on winning; but in the ring, when I'm facing an opponent, my whole attitude changes. I am focused on winning!”
    There are three facets to being a winner: mental, psychological, and physical. I prepare myself mentally by knowing my competitor's strengths and weaknesses and how I can take advantage of both. When I am mentally sharp, I'm aware of and see everything that goes on around me. I prepare psychologically by believing in my ability and knowing that I can win. I prepare physically by being in the best possible shape, able to execute my techniques to the best of my ability. When I am at the top of my form, I often hit an opponent even before my brain records it. I see an opening and go for it.
    A winner must have a positive attitude. He visualizes himself scoring the winning points, and he sees the referee raising his hand in victory. These positive images create the will and the impetus to succeed. But having a positive image is worthless unless you are psychologically, physically, and mentally prepared to win.
    I went back to Madison Square Garden after dinner for the finals. I put on my gi , and, as I usually did, I taped my big toes to the ones next to them with adhesive-tape, to help prevent injuries that often result from hard kicks.
    The tournament rules called for each match to be two minutes long. The fighter who had scored the most points when the time expired was the winner.
    When my name and Mr. Nakamura's were called over the loudspeaker, I stepped into the ring. The Garden was filled with thousands of screaming fans. The roar of the fans sounded to me like a waterfall thundering in the distance. Everyone was anticipating a great fight.
    The moment I stepped into the ring, I forced myself to relax by slowing down my breathing. It's difficult to move when you're tense; relaxed muscles collaborate with rather than contradict each other, and I knew I could move faster when relaxed.
    Since I had already visualized the entire fight in my mind, my strategy was to take away Mr. Nakamura's strong techniques. I was certain that his first move was going to be his front kick. I was right, although his kick came faster than I had anticipated. I had to respond quickly. The moment he started to move, I shifted aside, blocked the kick, and hit him in the stomach, scoring a point!
    I expected his next attack would be another front kick followed by a punch. Again I was right. He snapped the kick, and I shifted to the right away from it. As he threw the punch, I blocked and countered with my own punch which scored again!
    In those days, when Japanese stylists kicked, they never faked or feinted. Their kicks went straight to the intended target. They were not accustomed to someone faking a kick to one area and landing it elsewhere. Knowing this, I faked a kick to the stomach. As Mr. Nakamura started to block, I shifted my kick to his head and scored another point! I scored regularly enough to wind up beating him 12 to 1 for the Middleweight Championship.
    After that bout I fought the lightweight champion and won. Next I was scheduled to fight the heavyweight champion who had beaten the light heavyweight champion. He was none other than Joe Lewis, whom I would have to fight for the second time in four months for the Grand Championship.
    Joe had breezed through his competition and looked totally relaxed and rested. We stepped into the ring, stared at each other and bowed. The referee shouted