Vienna Combat Academy

Win some, lose some.

Yesterday at .austria , we lost all our matches.

That’s the reality of combat sports—you either win or you don’t. In that context, losing is purely negative. But martial arts teach us something deeper.

With a growth mindset, every setback becomes a setup for a comeback. Every loss is an invitation to reflect, improve, and return stronger.

I won’t lie—winning feels a lot better. It’s fun to be the rockstar for a night. But the ones who matter most are those who can absorb defeat, stay disciplined, and get back to work.

True warriors aren’t defined by the absence of failure, but by the ability to rise again and keep learning.

We lost. We learned. And we’re not done. To quote Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Two new color belts at the academy! Congratulations to Konstantin and Anton, who received their and respectively today.

Essential skills, Part 4:

Striking an opponent that is already in the floor is one of the unique, and probably the most controversial components of . Also, it's very hard to do effectively.

GnP can be used by itself as a means to finish the fight, or as a setup for submissions. This is where differs greatly from sports or . Things are much more urgent as soon as blunt trauma is involved. Even if the strikes do not result in a TKO, the fighter on top is probably winning the round.

For purposes, it is crucial to train from the bottom position and try to get up and away as quickly as possible. Neglecting this aspect of fighting is a grave mistake.

In order to be effective at GnP, a fighter needs to ability to pin and control their opponent after securing the . That is why , especially , , and is such a strong base for MMA.

At the , the striking aspect is always considered during our grappling classes. Even though we do not put on the gloves in every single class, we always put techniques into context.