THE GREATEST BOXING COACH IN HISTORY ‘The Cus D’Amato Mind’ teaches the principles and philosophies of the great trainer D’Amato, which took young boys such as Mike Tyson and Floyd Patterson to the heavyweight championship in a few short years.
THE MAN WHO MADE MIKE TYSON In 1980, a young Mike Tyson was in the Tryon school for juvenile delinquents. By the age of 13, Mike had already been arrested dozens of times, had suffered bullying, and often engaged in criminal activities like armed robbery and house burglary. He was heading down a certain path to death or a life of prison. Fast forward six years later, and Mike Tyson had become the youngest heavyweight champion at 20 years old, after destructively crafting a route to the top. What had happened? How could such a change happen in such a short space of time? The answer is Cus D’Amato.
The great boxing coach Cus D’Amato was a revolutionist. He was a modern-day philosopher. He was a leader who changed the lives of those he helped. Cus would literally take juvenile kids of the street, and house them in his fourteen-room mansion. Impressively, he was able to instill them with the character of champions, so they would be able to go out and conquer the world, whether they were fighters or not. Cus D’Amato created champions.
LEARN HIS SECRETS In this book, we break down the mental strategies that any fighter (or anyone) can use in order to excel towards greatness. Fighters all over the world are able to acquire trainers that can teach technique. But they are unable to find teachers, like the Cus D’Amato’s and the Angelo Dundee’s, who can instill them with charismatic confidence, and help them deal with anxiety and fear before matches.
The book consists of five sections. Each section is designed to empower you in a different area. The five sections
• Character • Fear • Anxiety • Resistance • Leadership
Without knowing what makes a champion, and how you can become one too, you will never be able to achieve it. After learning what makes ‘The Cus D’Amato Mind’, you will be more charismatic, confident, with a greater sense of control over your path to boxing greatness.
Very good guide for boxers with some good tips for everyone.
Cus D’Amato was a legendary boxing trainer, most notably as the person who took a troubled young man named Mike Tyson and made him one of the most feared heavyweight champions during the peak of his boxing career. This book takes some of the best tips and advice D’Amato gave his fighters and is presented as a guide that is quick and easy to read and digest.
While it is a very good guide for boxers and that is the targeted audience, much of the advice provided such as confidence and facing one’s fears can be used by any person for just about any facet of one’s life. For that reason, I recommend this book for anyone not just boxers.
I recommend watching the complete interview with Cus and Tyson on YouTube. After that, delve into this book and then explore the newly released Iron Ambitions book on Cus and Tyson. Thank you for piquing my interest with this brief introduction. Well done.
This book discusses the teachings of Cus D’Amato, most famous for caring for and training boxing greats like Mike Tyson. It’s an easy read- just short of 100 pgs and is written at probably an 8th grade reading level. No frills, just to the point.
Boxing is extremely physical. But it’s more of a mental game than anything else. Since it’s so physically exhausting, that tells you how tough you have to be mentally to be a true fighter.
Physically, you’re using almost every single muscle in your body. You have to shift your weight appropriately, maintain proper posture and balance, keep your hands up at all times and chin tucked, ensure your head is off center, brace your core, clench your toes into the ground, have your knees properly bent, keep your shoulders back, place your sternum slightly forward, and do all of this while being relaxed and not tense. And that’s just to have your stance right.
The mental game is even tougher. It’s a game of chess; your opponent can literally make an infinite number of moves and you have to predict and respond in real time to what they’re doing.
This book explains why mental training for boxing is crucial and uses quotes and strategies from Cus himself to illustrate their importance.
If you’re interested in being a fighter or just have a love for shadow boxing, boxing, sparring or fighting, either read this book or learn about Cus.
Insightful book into the philosophy and thought of Mike Tyson's coach prior to becoming heavyweight champion of the world. Cus is known to many as one of the greatest coaches to have ever lived, with interesting and very different thoughts on how to train a fighter. One notable action was talking to all of his fighters about the mental side of boxing, in terms of their thoughts emotions and feelings, before teaching them anything else.
The book itself breaks down Cus' teachings into a very easy to read format that can be consumed by anyone, regardless of their boxing knowledge. Although, I couldn't help but feel the book waffled on a tad and could have definitely been more concise, making it more punchy. Some of the sections of the book could have been rearranged as well to provide a more logical flow.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend reading.
A short but useful book for anyone interested in or actively engaged in the sport of boxing. The book has five sections that Cus D'Amato focused on when training his fighters:
- The character of a fighter - How to perceive and deal with fear - How to limit anxieties - Rising to the resistance of challenges - Becoming a leader
I like how this book emphasises how important it is for fighters to understand how much of the sport relies on their mental state. The book states that fighting is 75% mental and only 25% physical. The advice that is contained within this book helps a fighter clarify his intentions with the sport which can help him/her achieve the calm and confident state of mind that is required for success in the sport of boxing.
Really great book. For in and out of ring. Take these three points if you don’t end up reading it:
1. Fear steps in to protect us but it usually goes wild. By logic we should tone it down just enough to motivate us to a goal, more than that and it will hold us back. Some fears are good, they are our friend. Like the fear of not reaching our potential.
2. Cus believed in the battle of the hearts in the ring. The fighter who wants to win and needs to win more will win, even if he has worse technique: “Boxing is a contest of character”
3. Observe and repeatedly mimic while you’re observing what you want to learn.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to grow as a person. The advice and tips found here are practical and encouraging. They give you insight into the mind of a fighter and if you’re a boxing fan it helps you analyze fights. But in all in all the contents in this book are for everyone in general and beneficial to grow as a person.
This was a good quick #read filled with insight into the psychology and philosophies of legendary #boxing trainer Cus D'Amato. It went in depth into his philosophical training methods for his champions. The great thing about this read is that the principles inside can be applied to day to day life and are not limited to the realm of the ring.
Cus D’Amato mindset and wisdom is brilliant! You can apply his philosophy to all areas of your life . Truly inspiring to get into that champion mentality!
The book did the job that it was set out to do and more. Giving the perspective on cus’s life and his ideals. Really good if trying to find out more about the person.