Hey guys I was thinking the other day, about how i get a little nervous before full contact sparring, and quite a bit more when in a confrontation, even a verbal one, and definately in the small amount of physical ones I have faced in the real world. It reminded me of two guys I used to know. One was a guy i knew in school, who just loved to fight people, lets call him TC. Now tc was the kind of guy that not only seemed to court violence, but revel in it. For example I was in town with him once and a fight broke out, just outside a pub and we were walking past. TC saw the guys squaring up , but just pushing and shoving and shouting. So he decided to walk up and headbutt the one guy and take a swing at the other. Out of nowhere. I think he was messed up a little. Remindes me of some of the guys you see interviewed on football hooligan documentaries. The second was a guy, lets call him D . D avoided any confrontation, even verbal ones, I saw him cry after getting shouted at by a guy in the street, and the only fight I saw him in was in school when a smaller guy from a lower grade beat him up. So my question would be this, is there ANY kind of full contact training, even if its a fight club type thing. That can give D the confindence and calm in violence of TC, without turning him into the same kind of violence seeking, maniac? Or is this just not possible ? Also if you beleive it is, what training do you think does it? Thanks guys
excellent thread, i have met many a D and many a TC - my entire life training has been focussed on dealing with TC - D is another matter entirely, there was a D in my class who used to shun away from sparring, so i started him on some very basic drills which boosted his ego and now that he has a little bit of training, he enjoys sparring - and i would always talk to D about TC, how he ended up getting stabbed and going to prison, and why we can learn by example.... D is now one of the most disciplined and diehard MA practitioners i have ever met
Yes, exposure will always be desensitised. I believe that training can make people more relaxed around violence.
Yeah I have a problem with anxiety in social situations sometimes. I think its a good idea like Alienfish360 says to train. The more I train , it seems , the more confidence I have in public and all that. That's one of the cornerstones of martial art , it is good for confidence ,right? right! haha...
A little? You think? I imagine it's like any situation really. Exposure yields familiarity and familiarity yields calmness. Not Zen tranquility obviously. But calmness relative to an unfamiliar person's reactions.
More than a little, for example he was asked to leave a classroom once, because he got bored, so proceeded to slice his hand with a compass and drew a picture with his own blood. Thanks for the great answer people BTW.
I take it you don't hang out with him anymore. Because not hanging around people like that definitely constitutes a self-defense maneuver in and of itself. No different from avoiding certain parts of town.
Hard to tell, blood on thin note paper are not the best medium. But I think even a puppy and some flowers would have been disturbing if it was in blood.
Oh GOD no. This was when I was in 6th form, havent even seen him in the street in a few years. Do credit me with a grain or two of common sense
This is the best thread...the heart of much of what the forum is about. I tended to freeze - a state of rigourmortis.
I would tend to think, consistent exposure to sparring, even sparring a little harder (after gained experience) could help It is a matter of the individual and how they cope with violence. I have come to known many people, not just martial artists who dislike violence, even horse play and sparring Some people are naturally more aggressive than others
Terrific thread topic Robin. Possibly one of the hardest and most complex areas for an instructor to tackle is "calm under fire." I think that perhaps the first step is to understand that anytime an engagement turns physical, there is the very real risk of death or permanent injury. With those kinds of stakes in mind, it is no wonder that if a person is not used to that kind of situation, they will likely panic when they find themselves in one - regardless of whether they are the ones dishing out the violence, or receiving it. In terms of our objectives then, we need to enable the candidate to: 1. Separate themselves emotionally from the situation (as it affects judgement). 2. Maintain higher brain functions (such as memory retention). 3. Cope with the sudden mental and physical changes their body undergoes when a crisis occurs (as well as the mental and physical trauma from being damaged). It is a complex area because all of the above relate to cognitive functions, and every individual is different. Furthermore, to be able to establish and maintain full control of those three areas in a potentially fatal crisis situation would indicate psychopathic tendencies. On one hand, we may make our training candidate a superior fighter, tactician, and strategist. On the other hand, we may cause lasting psychological damage, or alter their perception in a way that adversely affects their social skills. It is a delicate balance. Basic infantry training is perhaps one of the more profound case studies you'll find for mental conditioning. The perception of violence is altered so that, rather than it being an unpleasant occurrence, it is seen as a necessary tool to complete a task. The perception of other human beings is changed so that they become targets, superiors, or assets. A process of stress-innoculation is used so that candidates are regularly exposed to pain, exhaustion, discomfort, and threat (amongst other things). Additionally, advanced training courses incorporate and often emphasise observation/awareness skills, memory retention (recall), lateral thinking, and problem-solving under pressure. Although this all sounds extreme, there are numerous parallels between this and high-level martial arts training. Certainly in most of the combatives courses i deliver, the above features quite prominently. As i mentioned though, it is a delicate balance, and one that is best maintained under close supervision from a competent and attentive instructor.
Absolutely. I'm of the mind that the comfort zone is constantly shrinking when you're inside it (sleeping, sitting at home, doing things you're used to) and that it's constantly expanding when you're not. (pushing harder than usual, suffering, trying new things, sincerely and committedly attempting things you're likely to fail at) I find the people who have the hardest time meeting challenges of every stripe are the ones who shy away from failure.
