‘They Love Training’ – Why Aung La N Sang Is So Excited To See His Son And Nephew In BJJ
Martial arts are a family affair for former two-division ONE World Champion Aung La N Sang
“The Burmese Python” is currently preparing to face undefeated Turkish sensation Shamil Erdogan in a pivotal middleweight MMA tilt on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver at Ball Arena – and he has his family by his side.
Training close to home at Florida’s Kill Cliff FC gym, the 39-year-old veteran is happy to be able to balance family life with fight camp.
Importantly, he’s been there every step of the way for his son’s journey into combat sports – particularly, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
In fact, both his son and nephew have been practicing BJJ for a while now and are beginning to find success on the local competition scene.
The Myanmar native spoke to onefc.com about their foray into the grappling art:
“They’ve closed out two tournaments now, and they’re getting better. They’re only improving and getting better. But the thing is they love training, too. So it’s kind of nice, you know?
“Parents often say, ‘I don’t really care how well they do in tournaments,’ but it’s a reflection of the hard work they put in. So I’m happy they’re finally winning some tournaments and doing good. I know that winning these tournaments, it may not mean much, but to them, it’s motivation. It keeps them motivated to keep training and keep getting better.”
Aung La N Sang is proud to see the youngsters winning, but he’s even more thrilled that they are truly enjoying BJJ.
Beyond that, they’ve forged a friendship on the mats that they will carry into adulthood:
“They’re progressing. They’re doing really good. I think in a couple of years they’re going to be pretty good. But there’s a lot of work to be done. They train like six days a week. They still love it, so it’s great.
“If they don’t love it, then it’d be something else, right? It becomes like a chore. But they really love it. They enjoy training, and they enjoy that camaraderie and the friendship that they built through training.”
As a lifelong practitioner of martial arts, “The Burmese Python” knows firsthand just how beneficial they can be to help develop a strong work ethic – which is exactly why he’s so excited to see his son and nephew embracing BJJ.
He detailed the important life lessons they are learning via martial arts:
“Well, you don’t take anything for granted, and you have to work hard. You have to put in hard work to get the result. You have to dedicate yourself, and you have to persevere through the hard times, right?
“That’s a lesson in itself. Doing the martial arts makes them better human beings. They understand about hard work. They understand about dedication. They understand about persevering through failures, and those are very important lessons in life.”
Aung La N Sang Shares The Key To Motivating Kids In Martial Arts
As much as he wants to see his son and nephew succeed in martial arts, Aung La N Sang knows he can’t force them to enjoy it.
Instead, he says the motivation to improve must come from within – and that parents who push too hard are likely to drive their children away:
“I think people often get burned out when they’re forced to do it. They’re forced to do it and they don’t really want to do it, right? We’re more nurturing the side of wanting to get better. We’re nurturing them in a way where they don’t get burned out. And that to me is very important.
“I don’t want the motivation to come from the external. I want it to come from internal.”
