tips on mind conditioning

[gimgamgommetje]

I believe a large percentage of self defense is a mental aspect.

 

Most of us have heard of situational awareness, color codes etc.

 

let's talk about the next step, reacting.

 

I think most people are kind of conditioned not to react to threats or things going on around them. At least they respond much too late.

 

It's like there is something stuck between processing information and responding to it appropriately. Kinda hard to explain but I just assume you are intelligent and get my point

 

A nice scene from scary movie 3 ; a girl was watching tv for a second where a monster was on the screen,, the monster came out of the screen into the room,,,, she still kept on eating popcorn when the monster was walking to her in the room.

 

I think the mind might work like this in real life too to some extend.

 

you see a thing going on and it takes a while to understand it is not tv or anything but serious business.

 

Often you hear about fights where friends don't join in to help because they're still stunned.

 

Have you guys given this issue any thought yet? Would you like to share it?

 

How can we train these type of mental aspects? How do you train it in your gym?

[wing chun kuen man]

Good post.

 

All the fighting skills in the world will not help you if you react too late. That is why in many traditional martial arts styles you are taught to keep the mind calm and maintain awareness at all times. If you manage this then you are unlikely to be caught off-guard. However, awareness and the guts to react instantly and decisively are too different things, and that is where the spirit training in the martial arts comes in, i.e. hard training where mind is pitted over matter and where one has to face his own fears through sparring/fighting, and other "unpleasant" exercises which obviously involve some pain. The combination of the above, is meant to condition the mind of the martial artist for real situations.

 

Where I train, we are taught the techniques of course and during practice we are expected to hit and get hit. This is one kind body/mind conditioning. You get to handle getting hit and hitting people and this helps get the valuable confidence that you need to fight. Also, we are expected to keep our minds calm at all times, absolutely no emotions, ie no fear, worry or even anger and agressiveness. Daily chi kung exercises and meditation are tools to achieve this total calmness, eventually. Other exercises especially the resistance exercises help to train the mind to handle ever increasing amount of muscular pain(burning), this in the long term contributes to ones fighting spirit.

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[SevenStar]

this is where full contact sparring plays a vital role. all of the mind calming in the world doesn't teach you how to deal with taking a hit, which for many people, is where they freeze in a fight. once contact has been made, they go into "wtf?" mode and never come back. In addition, there adrenaline is flowing and heart beat is racing, which is the cause of forgetting all movements that are not second nature.

 

As far as emotins go, learn to use them. there is nothing wrong with fear - learn to use that fear. learn to use that anger. If it's not there, that's fine, but if it's present, use it.

[Ironberg]

hmm... using your emotions to fuel aggression - I like that.

[wing chun kuen man]

Hello,

 

Using your fear and anger in a fight to fuel agression is one way of doing it and it can work. In my school that is not what we are taught. We are taught to be calm and relaxed physically as well as mentaly and not to feel any emotion - no fear, no anger, no hate etc. We are taught just to "be". I can appreciate the fact that this type of mentality will take a lot longer to master - just like the physical techniques of kung fu - than "use your anger" mentality, but I believe that in the long run mastering it will be well worth the wait and effort.

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[White Warlock]

As far as emotins go, learn to use them. there is nothing wrong with fear - learn to use that fear. learn to use that anger. If it's not there, that's fine, but if it's present, use it.

I agree that working for zero state is a good endgoal, but invariably you will be hit with emotions, especially if caught off guard. Learning to 'use' these emotions, rather than allow them to 'use' you is an essential mental training concept.

 

Returning to the initial post, i have witnessed countless situations where people simply freeze and watch. They don't participate unless directed to, and they don't react, except in a defensive manner, with comments like, "i don't believe this" or "this can't be happening to me."

 

These reactions are 'civilian' crutches. Concepts ingrained in them about what is 'civilized' and what is 'barbaric.' Problem is, violence falls in the category of 'barbaric,' despite the fact it is a daily occurance. In order to maintain their personal perceptions of what is civilized, they do not react, with denial being the primary tool to such an endeavor. To break this concept, they need to accept barbarism as a 'part' of all of us.

 

San soo pushes a concept known as predator/prey, whereby attackers perceive you as prey. In a confrontation, this is usually where it stands. You are the prey, and they are the predator. In order to deal with such a situation, you need to perform a mindset change, and perform it quickly. You need to start looking at them as the prey, which makes you the predator.

 

Time for lunch.

[Thuggish]

im gonna go ahead and make everyone mad at me again- because this keep a "cool head when you get punched in the face" crap is not realistic. at all. fighting is violent, and violence comes from anger, not love or understanding. you cant be some zen master like in the movies and vanquish your enemy all the while experiencing no emotions. you dont have time to contimplate nature or the world when youre in a fight. why waste your time trying to be something other than human? human is what you are. if you find yourself in a fight, get pissed off, kick his *, and kick it hard enough to make him think twice about fuckin with you again. sevenstar is right- full contact training is what you need. experience is what you really need... because you dont even have time to think (much less meditate like you zero state people) you just react. instinct. practice practice practice builds instinct. and a little rage never hurts. im not going to be presumptuous so ill just ask- how many of you have been in a real fight or really been assaulted?

[wing chun kuen man]

Thuggish,

 

Our training concepts are obiously alien to you and other martial artists but they work. Like many Kung Fu concepts they take longer to master but they WORK. We do contact training but try to maintain calmness without any emotion, rather than become aggressive when we hit or are hit. You would be surprised on how much more you perceive when your mind is calm during combat.

 

Anyway, as I said in my previous post "using your anger/fear" also works in combat. To each his own.

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[TheDevilAside]

Thuggish, you exaggerated a bit. You're not supposed to get into a peaceful state and love thy enemy when you get hit in the face, the point is, you just can't lose your head. Stay focused and sharp, don't start swinging like a mad man. Aggression and complete rage a bit different. Learn to either stay calm or learn to control your anger. Basically, hold your thoughts in higher regards than your instinctual emotions during a fight.

 

To answer your question, I've been in tons of fights, some quite serious and some less so. But I always walked away with only a few bruises and welts.

[Thuggish]

okay, maybe i took my rant a little too far, i didnt mean love your enemy and all that, and i didnt mean you should lose your head completely. but perception is nothing more than instinct, things happen to quick in a fight to think about. "calmness and no emotion" is impossible in a twenty second fight (which is how long a street fight oughta last.)