Gavin O'connor's Warrior: a Study of The Lessons, Individual and Professional Impact in The Sports Drama

The 2011 Hollywood film ‘Warrior’ is an inspirational story of two estranged brothers, Tommy and Brendan. The two brothers take part in a Mixed Martial Arts championship in order to win the prize money to support their families (Phillips, 2011). Since the two brothers were separated very early in life due to their parents’ divorce, their early lives were extremely challenging and strenuous. This past pain translates into an emotionally charged finale where long held grievances are set aside and family bonds are rekindled (Honeycutt, 2011). One outstanding moment in the film is the brothers’ reunion on the beach before the final. Tommy, who had a much rougher life than his brother, starts to throw insults and libel in extreme fits of rage against Brendan while Brendan unsuccessfully tries to calm him down. Another important scene is the film’s climatic battle where Tommy refuses to give up in spite of Brendan holding him in a chokehold. Although it is clear that Tommy has lost, the decades-long hatred within him refuses to accept Brendan’s victory and Brendan is forced to break Tommy arms to force him to tap him out (Cassanell, 2011).

Coaching Implications

The film is appropriate to be used in a coaching conversation as it is ultimately about forgiveness and triumphing against whatever life throws at you. The film shows the potential that is present in every individual and how correct mentorship can utilize this potential to attain stratospheric success.

This film is sure to inspire clients to overcome life’s hardships, to always try to the best of one’s ability and to always face unfavorable odds with zeal and unyielding zest. It may also enable the clients to rethink some of their previous life choices and may also prompt them to reconnect with any estranged members of their family.

I chose the first scene because it shows the pain and suffering that broken families have to go through on a daily basis. Early divorce of parents often scars the children for life and these children may then take up questionable habits which may be harmful to them in the long run. The second scene is extremely powerful in the sense that it is a gist of the hardships and struggles of both the brothers (Scott, 2011). Each brother tries his level best to succeed and when one is at the verge of victory, the other refuses to give up denying his rival the satisfaction of success. In the end, Brendan has to break the arm of Tommy to finally subdue him.

Personal/Professional Implications

On a personal level, the film blew me away. The struggle of each character is illustrated so naturally that I felt the struggle of both the brothers and completely understood each of their motivations (Robey, 2011). From a professional perspective, I agreed with the psychological support provided by the coaches of the two participants. I was amazed at the on-the-spot inspiration that they both were able to imbue in their candidates for the final match.

The film confirmed to me that inspiring a chronically depressed individual is an extremely hard job. It also corroborated to me that life coaching is a full-time job as you need to constantly communicate with your clients to ascertain their mental and psychological status.

I did not find any scenes in the film that displayed poor coaching techniques and behavior.

Watching this film reinvigorated my belief in the potential of human beings and the towering accomplishments that they are capable of if they are guided correctly. I would, therefore, use the inspiration from this film to work even harder on my clients and would ensure that each of them reaches the fullest extent of their potential in their lifetimes.