Cnda: My apologies in advance for the length of this post. My heart goes out to you, so I wanted to be thorough. "What was that? An exhibition? (no real commitment) We use emotional content! (focus, determination, for this releases power!) Now try again! (a moment later) I said emotional content - not anger! Now try again - WITH ME! (a moment later - Whap!) That's it! - Mr. Lee "Enter the Dragon" A story Dan Inosanto once told me, when I asked him 'What did Bruce Lee mean by emotional content?' "One time, Bruce and I were sparring, and I was not, (in his eyes) fully commited, no matter what he tried (in order to motivate me into being more committed). So he walked up to me and slapped the heck out of me! For a moment, I forgot he was Bruce Lee and lunged at him! Livid, ready to knock his head off! 'That's it!, he laughingly said to me." Then again, this emotional content stuff can be harnessed at will by other means. Legendary film actor, the Bruce Lee of his world, Robert DeNiro, tells a story of how once, during the filming of a difficult scence for the now classic, "Raging Bull," Joe Pesci's character was required to become enraged at DeNiro's character, but could not do it. For the next take of the scene (reshooting it again) DeNiro, instead of saying his expected line (a question) asked Pesci a question he knew would both infuriate and shock him! How is this done, on one's own - this emotional content, this harnessing of one's focus into a determined bordering on violent, controlled anger? In the world of actors this process is called a substitution (see Uta Hagen's, "A Challenge to The Actor"). Basically, sometime prior to that day of sparring, you make a list of 2 or 3 things that in your past have really angered you. Taking yourself through what about them angered you, where you were, who was involved, and so forth. Next, you pick a word by which you will remind yourself of that. You can also just choose to use some type of movement to set off this energy - like bringing your forefinger and your thumb together. Anyway, what you do is take yourself through to a point of that anger, and just when you're livid, say that word, make that physical movement you've chosen, AS YOU SAY TO YOURSELF, this word/movement is now connected to this anger. Repeating this until the emotion and the word you have chosen are one. Next, you work on your technique, for example, a front leg hook kick to where your opponent's ribs would be on a kicking bag, or what have you. You think of your word or make your chosen movement, and then IMMEDIATLEY throw that kick (or other technique). What'll happen, if done right, is that execution of your technique will become associated in your nervous system with that wrod, movemnt, anger, energy. Sort of like when you see someone you like (or not) and you immediately go in to one emotion or another. Now, the fact that you are doing this REHEARSAL during training, by yourself, and not during sparring - this allows you to pace it at your own need, to focus it. Done enough, and right, and later, when sparring, your focus will be there too! You can also try an acting exercise called 'What if?' Basically, you build an imaginary scenario of something that would result in angering or forcing you to become more aggressive than usual, and then apply the above word or movement to it. For example, 'What if, I were living with this person, a roommate, and all of a sudden they just up and lost their job. And I paid the bills for awhile, to help out. And weeks went by, and one day, I happen to come home early, and there they are, on my phone telling someone one what a jerk I am! How would that make me feel? Or, what if I were at the zoo and some guy all of a sudden just grabbed his little girl by her hair, and started dragging her away! How would I feel, what would I want to do about it? (ask yourself questions like that BUT answer them by lashing out at your bag with that hook kick, or whatever.) In short, you have an amazing ability here - you merely have to know how and then work at harnessing until you experience... "That's it! That's it! Now how did it feel to you? 'Like I didn't kick - IT kicked!' Yes, exactly! Practice this until both are one!" - Bruce Lee "Longstreet" Anyway, I hope this helps! JKDan
