Mike Tyson
March 24, 2019
I’m Bart Axelrod, Krav Maga instructor at EP Martial Arts and Krav Maga Providence, in East Providence RI and a paramedic in the Boston area. I like inspirational quotes. Here’s one that made an impression on me;
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”
This is Mike Tyson’s most popular quote. He was interviewed years ago before a fight and he was told about the skills and abilities of his upcoming opponent. He was not impressed, he knew he would stun his opponent punching him very hard in the face and from then on the guy would just be trying to survive the round.
There are a few reasons why Tyson’s quote is so powerful. First because it is real. Anyone who has seen Tyson fight can understand the logic of his comment and has seen it played out when he stunned his opponent with his punching power.
The main reason I think it’s a powerful quote is because it reflects the human condition which was best expressed by the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus who lived around 100 years after Jesus and said among other profound things that “it’s not what happens to you as much as how you deal with it that matters.” This is consistent with the Stoic philosophy that you can’t control what happens to you in life you can only control your reaction to it.
We can all relate to Mike’s quote because we all get punched in the mouth at some point by life. As Epictetus said, What matters is how we react to it. The key in life is to do what we can to keep ourself safe and strong, ( train hard, keep your hands up!), but when we take a hit stay on your feet and fight back. Don’t give up!
The early Christians borrowed a lot from Stoic philosophy, which was widely practiced practiced in the ancient world and popularized by Roman Emporer Marcus Aurelius in addition to Seneca and Epictetus.
This idea of dealing with adversity was also expressed in The Serenity Prayer, “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Mike Tyson expressed this same philosophy succinctly, but in a different way, the way it looks from the outside. We all know too well how it feels on the inside, on the receiving end. Then again, life doesn’t play favorites, looking back, Mike Tyson took plenty of hits in his life too.
