This UFC Beast Destroyed My EGO Fast — Lessons from Training with Jiri Prochazka

I’m Jesse Enkamp, and in this piece I’m taking you through one of the most memorable training days of my life: an encounter in the Czech forest and gym with Jiri Prochazka — a UFC fighter whose style broke my expectations, humiliated my assumptions, and rewired how I think about striking, timing, and presence. If you care about martial arts, and especially about how an elite UFC striker thinks and moves, read on. This is more than a training report; it’s a practical breakdown of mindset, drills, and principles you can apply whether you train in a dojo, a gym, or in the open air.

Table of Contents

• 🌲 Where It All Started — The Forest Warm-Up
• 🥋 The Philosophy: Be Here and Now
• 🧭 Distance, Rhythm, and Connection — The Core of Jiri’s Striking
• ⚡ Timing Types: Before, During, and After the Attack
• 🌀 Flow, Not Defense — The Mindset Shift
• 🥊 Use the Opponent — Adapt Like Water
• 🍚 Nutrition and Recovery — Practical Choices for Performance
• 🧠 Meditation — The Mental Edge of a UFC Competitor
• 👊 The Final Challenge — Sparring with Real Consequences
• 🏁 Practical Summary: How to Adopt Jiri's Principles
• ❓ FAQ — Your Questions Answered
• 🔚 Final Thoughts

🌲 Where It All Started — The Forest Warm-Up

We didn’t meet Jiri in a sterile gym ring or on a TV stage. We met him deep in the Czech forest — the kind of place that gives training an edge. From the first fifteen minutes of warm-up he led, I realized his conditioning, rhythm, and presence were part of the weapon system as much as his hands, elbows, and kicks.

That warm-up was deceptively brutal. It was short — about fifteen minutes — but relentless. The drills were mixture of explosive plyometrics, rhythm-based boxing footwork, and repeated “bar pieces” where the tempo repeatedly rose and fell. Jiri coached the breathing as strictly as the movement: “Breathing and movement,” he said, over and over, reminding us that conditioning is not just legs and lungs — it is rhythm and focus.

One memorable instruction: “Make comfortable from uncomfortable.” That simple phrase set the tone. Training in nature, alone sometimes, he prefers to test himself outside the comforts of a gym. That’s not just rustic romance — it’s a method for building a resilient mind. If you can make discomfort into your baseline, the moment you meet an opponent in the cage or in life, your equilibrium remains intact.

Key takeaways from the warm-up

• Short, high-quality sessions: Fifteen intense minutes can prime the body and mind if you structure it properly.
• Breath + rhythm: Vary tempo but keep breathing constant. That’s how Jiri maintains composure under pressure.
• Self-leadership: Training alone is a muscle. If you can’t be alone, you’ll follow someone else’s plan forever.

🥋 The Philosophy: Be Here and Now

Jiri’s philosophy transcends simple fighting tips. He kept returning to the same mental anchor: “Be here and now.” That’s not some marketing slogan — it’s training currency. He urged us to meditate, to meet our own demons, and to discipline the mind the way athletes discipline the body. Meditation for him is simple: put an object in front of you — a flower, for instance — and watch it for ten minutes. Every time your mind wanders, bring it back. Simple, brutal, effective.

Why does this matter for a UFC fighter? Because fights are noisy experiences of sensation and story. A fighter who can step into the present — who notices the opponent’s shoulders, breathing, micro-movements — sees opportunities that others miss. Jiri’s idea was clear and practical: discipline the attention, then enjoy the freedom that comes after.

How to practice "be here and now"

1. Sit quietly for 5–10 minutes with one object in front of you.
2. Anchor on a single sense — sight, breath, or sound.
3. When the mind wanders, gently return it; no self-judgment.
4. Increase time gradually. The payoff in training focus compounds.

🧭 Distance, Rhythm, and Connection — The Core of Jiri’s Striking

What made Jiri’s style so unusual — and so effective — wasn’t unorthodox moves for the sake of oddity. It was his command of distance, rhythm, and connection.

“The main point is distance,” he said. Jiri insisted that distance equals protection. Not a high guard, not rigid defense — but the right spacing that lets his long limbs do work while making it seem like he isn’t even trying. He told us to watch the opponent’s shoulders because the shoulders telegraph intent faster than the hands. By reading shoulder tension and movement, he intercepts intention before the attack completes.

That leads to an important nuance: rhythm. Jiri often led with a slow, almost lazy rhythm and then sped up in microbursts. When you control rhythm, you control perception. He can make a fast opponent feel slow and a slow opponent appear vulnerable. Timing is not only physical; it’s psychological. If you can slow down your mind while your body reacts, you gain an enormous advantage.

Practical drills to use today

• Shoulder watch drill: Partner up. Ignore the hands. Track the shoulders. React to their movement with small entries and exits.
• Rhythm lead and follow: One partner sets a tempo; the other follows and adjusts. Switch leads often to learn to "feel" tempo changes.
• Distance-as-defense sparring: Spar only using footwork to maintain pocket distance; minimal hand use. The goal is to enter and exit with control.

⚡ Timing Types: Before, During, and After the Attack

Jiri explained timing as three distinct zones: before the attack, during the attack, and after the attack. Each zone requires a different mindset and skillset.

• Before the attack: This is where tension and relaxation play games. Show intent, then relax to bait and read. Small feints and micro-shifts of weight can extract reactions.
• During the attack: Slip, roll, and counter. This is where rhythm matters — you must be in a technical flow that allows you to absorb and return.
• After the attack: The recovery, or the follow-up. Here Jiri emphasized aggression because when you are prepared, post-attack aggression becomes a tool, not a panic.

He showed us drills where we slipped then immediately attacked, or where we attacked while angling off the center line to remove ourselves from counters. These are not flashy tricks — they are practical methods of forcing a reaction and taking advantage of it.

Drill examples

1. Slip-and-return: Partner throws single punches; you slip and return with one counter and immediately angle off.
2. Attack-and-angle: Throw a committed strike, then step to a 45-degree angle to the opponent’s center line and follow-up.
3. Post-attack aggression: Train to be calm during your attack, then push immediately after, using weight and momentum rather than panicked flailing.

🌀 Flow, Not Defense — The Mindset Shift

One of Jiri’s most counterintuitive points was this: minimize defensive movement. That doesn’t mean be reckless; it means don’t let defense break your flow. “Do not lose the flow,” he said. When you commit to flow, defense becomes a byproduct of distance, timing, and anticipation — not an isolated motion that interrupts your rhythm.

This shift is profound. Defensive thinking tends to be reactive and survival-focused. Flow-focused thinking is proactive and creative. Jiri taught that even when you’re losing, you can remain in flow by breathing step-by-step and holding a positive mind. “I know I can win,” he told us. That attitude removes the paralyzing fear that leads to poor decisions.

How to train flow

• Short, intentional sparring rounds where stopping is penalized. Keep moving.
• Conditioned sparring where you score only with flowing combinations, not single-blocking responses.
• Mental breathing: practice inhaling and exhaling on rhythmically timed strikes to keep composure under pressure.

🥊 Use the Opponent — Adapt Like Water

A line that stuck with me: “You can use his technique as your technique.” This is very Bruce Lee — adapt, absorb, and convert an opponent’s intention into your own advantage. If the opponent kicks, Jiri will use that kick’s momentum to create openings. If they push, he’ll redirect. If they tense, he’ll bait and exploit that tension.

This is not about copying all techniques blindly. It’s about taking what your opponent gives and turning it into victory. That’s why he repeated: “Just do what works.” Overthinking specific techniques and style labels is a common trap; instead, aim for adaptability.

Adaptive sparring tips

1. Limit cues: In rounds, allow only certain kinds of attacks (e.g., leg kicks only) and force adaptation to those inputs.
2. Counter-conversion: Practice converting blocks into counters that use the opponent’s weight.
3. Mindset drill: On each round, declare a principle (e.g., “use their lead foot”) and force yourself to win using that principle.

🍚 Nutrition and Recovery — Practical Choices for Performance

We don’t only spar and meditate. Fighters eat, recover, and manage weight. Jiri has worked with professionals to reach optimal performance, and his approach is pragmatic: feel-good, nutrient-dense foods over junk for the majority of the time. He likes rice, fruits, and simple clean meals because they make him feel light, fast, and balanced.

He’s not ascetic about food — he admits small “poisons” (fun treats) are sometimes necessary — but he emphasizes control and long-term consistency: months and years of disciplined choices over short-term binges.

Practical nutrition points

• Prioritize whole foods that support training intensity: complex carbs (like rice), lean proteins, and fruits for quick recovery.
• Use tools (apps, coaches) to understand caloric needs around training and weight cuts.
• Allow controlled treats; addiction to extremes destroys consistency.

🧠 Meditation — The Mental Edge of a UFC Competitor

We trained, then we sat. Jiri’s meditation practice is deceptively simple and extremely practical. It’s less about mystical transcendence and more about disciplining attention so that, in the heat of a UFC fight, you can be calm and decisive.

He suggested a single, repeatable exercise: pick an object, watch it for ten minutes, notice when the mind wanders, and gently return. That trains the muscle of attention. In time, that muscle helps you notice subtle shifts — opponent’s breath, shoulder movement, or a micro-tension that precedes an attack. It also helps you enjoy the fight instead of being at the mercy of fear or adrenaline.

Meditation steps for fighters

1. Start with five minutes per day and gradually increase to twenty.
2. Use a simple anchor (breath, an object) and return to it each time you wander.
3. After meditation, practice a short physical drill to connect the mental calm with body movement.

👊 The Final Challenge — Sparring with Real Consequences

After lunch we returned to the gym. There was no fancy setup, no ring-side theatrics — just raw sparring. Oliver went first. I watched, breath held. Oliver, my brother, tried to take the fight to the ground — a smart plan against a savage striker. But Jiri's pressure, timing, and ability to switch between strikes and clinch caught Oliver out. A knee ended the round in spectacular fashion.

Then it was my turn. I tried to use movement and range, to float and avoid his knees. I kicked his solar plexus and even thought I’d found an opening. That illusion lasted a second. He threw a kick that would've decapitated me on a bad day and followed with a straight shot that snapped me awake. He caught my leg. I tried to create frames and space, but when he decided to finish, he finished.

Afterwards, Jiri delivered the verdict: a split decision — both of us winners. He emphasized spirit, not ego. I walked away humbled, but wiser.

🏁 Practical Summary: How to Adopt Jiri's Principles

If you want to take concrete steps to emulate Jiri’s approach — not mimic his style but internalize his principles — here are practical habits to adopt:

• Train short and sharp: incorporate 15–20 minute high-quality warm-ups or rounds that emphasize rhythm and breath.
• Practice distance every session: make distance-as-defense a regular drill: enter, touch, exit, and score only on re-entry.
• Develop shoulder awareness: in partner drills, focus on shoulders, not hands. Anticipation beats reaction.
• Build flow-focused sparring: create rounds that punish you for stopping or being purely defensive.
• Meditate daily: even 5–10 minutes of focused attention will compound into better in-fight decision-making.
• Eat for performance: prioritize what makes you feel fast and light; allow controlled treats without shame.
• Adapt constantly: practice converting your opponent’s techniques into your counters. Be water.

❓ FAQ — Your Questions Answered

How do I start training like a UFC-level striker?

Begin with fundamentals: consistent footwork, breathing rhythm, and short explosive conditioning pieces. Add shoulder-awareness drills and timing work. Most importantly, train to maintain composure under pressure — slow your mind so your reactions are clean.

Is Jiri’s low-guard approach safe for amateurs?

Not without the right distance management and timing. For most practitioners, a lower hands posture should be trained progressively with skilled partners, focusing on footwork and shoulder tracking to compensate. Never attempt risky postures in high-intensity sparring without proper preparation.

How often should I meditate as a fighter?

Start with 5–10 minutes daily. Increase gradually. The key is consistency. Even short daily sessions improve attention control and reduce panic under pressure.

What kind of conditioning did we do in the forest?

Short, high-intensity bar pieces focusing on explosive jumps, knee drives, and boxing footwork. Emphasis was on breathing, rhythm, and keeping the legs light and reactive.

Can I learn to “make uncomfortable comfortable”?

Yes. Expose yourself to controlled stressors: unstructured solo sessions, cold exposure, or high-intensity interval sessions where you practice staying calm. Progressive exposure builds resilience.

How do I practice “use his technique as your technique”?

Drill conversions: when a partner throws a kick, practice catching it and using the opponent’s momentum for a sweep or angle. Practice deflect-redirect drills — don’t just block; convert blocks into positional advantages.

How does nutrition differ for fight camp vs. general training?

During fight camp focus on precise caloric and macronutrient control for weight and recovery. Outside camp focus on sustained, clean foods that promote daily performance and recovery. Use tools or coaches to calibrate intake.

🔚 Final Thoughts

Training with Jiri Prochazka was humbling and clarifying. His approach is deceptively simple: control distance, control rhythm, discipline the mind, and adapt like water. He doesn’t fight like anyone else because he has absorbed a personal philosophy into his technique — a philosophy of presence, flow, and ruthless practicality.

If you train martial arts, whether karate, boxing, or MMA, these lessons are universal. Don’t chase oddity — chase presence and adaptability. Build the muscle of attention through meditation. Build the muscle of distance control through simple drills. And when the moment comes, be comfortable in the uncomfortable.

For everyone who asked what happened at the end: Jiri declared it a split decision — both of us winners. Humbly put, I’ll take that. The real victory was what I learned that day.

UFC fighters are often painted as one-dimensional gladiators. Training with Jiri reminded me that true greatness in the UFC — and in life — is the ability to balance ferocity with calm, aggression with timing, and technique with heart. Train that balance, and the rest will follow.