How To Write a Kick-Ass Poem With Randy Couture
The MMA icon and Expendables 2 star waxes poetic about his lyrical hobby. Got a problem with that?
MMA icon and Expendables 2 star Randy Couture waxes poetic about his lyrical hobby. Got a problem with that?
Wouldn’t you know it, the three-time UFC champ is a poet! “You’re the first person I’ve publicly expressed this to,” Randy told us. “I spent most of my life containing emotion so it wouldn’t impair my performance. That’s why the poems started coming out of me.” Here are his tips on tapping your inner Longfellow.
Just do it.
People are very self-critical. They think their poem will suck, so they’re scared. I say, write it down. It doesn’t have to be Walt Whitman—just express yourself. You might write something that will move other people.
Any topic is fair game.
Poems can be about anything. Once I was in a plane looking out the window, and it almost seemed like I could get out there and walk on the clouds. It reminded me of what the Greek gods must have felt like on Olympus. Silly things like that will trigger a line of thinking.
Be ready when inspiration strikes.
I carry a journal with a pencil in my backpack, and my smartphone has a notes app. You never know when a good idea will come.
Don’t sweat the form.
I learned about haiku and iambic pentameter in college, but those structures are too formal for me. I’d be surprised if any of the stuff I’ve written fits into any of those categories.
Remember the ladies.
I’ve written poems for women, but they have to come from the heart. Guys try to be cheesy, which never works. But if you have genuine feelings, they’ll see it as something real. And, yes, they’re pretty surprised to be getting a poem from me.
The Expendables 2 is out November 20 on DVD/Blu-ray.
Want more Maxim and MMA? Check out The Forrest Griffin Diet and Girls of the UFC.
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