Are you really ready to fight? Mentally?

[Throwdown0850]

I talked to a man that I havent seen in like 4 years yesterday, well, it was because he went to prison, FYI- he was a 2nd dan in Kyokushin. I didnt ask him why he went, but I asked him what is was like? was he afraid of the people? which lead to the conversation of being mentally ready to fight? He said that all the prisoners that he talked to said they had "butterflies" everytime they had to fight? he said that they just accepted the inevitable, that they knew it was prob going to hurt but still did it.?? I know this topic has been talked about for a while, but peoples opinions change as well.. Lets get real, EVERY fight I have seen in my life, were nothing like the movies, they were scared, or threw haymakers, some of them very talented martial artists, why is it that when it comes down to it, everything goes out the window?? and I am talking about 3rd, 4th degree BB's fighting like as if they have never trained a day in there life??

[Kajukenbopr]

When you don't train your forms, techniques, footwork, and movements the way you would fight in the street against someone who would actually kill you if you didn't do it not just correctly, but also, hard enough, it is very easy to forget your formal training because you don't believe subconsciously that you are being effective with it, and would rather rely on the movements you feel(in that moment) are the strongest you can do- usually being very strenuous movements- because the mind knows, through all the exercises you have done, that movements that tire the body are movements that make you strong, thus making you choose movements that are not refined.

technique is very important, but if you don't train to apply it at your hardest, you will tend to not rely on it when you fight.

does it mean that you shouldn't train complex martial arts to be effective? no, it means that you have to make the complex material into a practical material.

[tallgeese]

Training realisically can help in this regard. Good attacks given with variablility that force a defender to train spontaneoulsy will certainly help one apply movments better in reality.

Mental prep shuld ceratinly include the acceptance of injury. It's a componant often overlooked. So is the fact that things will rarley go as planned, therefore, momvents should never be stopped in the gym just because "it wasn't working". Students must learn to continue on and regain control of the situation.

[tallgeese]

I left out a major factor in my above post. Mindset.

You have to mentally focus on going through your opponant. Nothing else will suffice. If you train mentally this way in the gym you'll be more likely to be able to utilize it during a real fight.

I try to picutre going straight into the indivivdual with every movement. Every strike, every joint position, everything gets deployed with maximal effectivness mentally. To go along with that, I alwmays try to mentally set myself to moving through damage. Nothing he has can hurt you, nothing he has can hold you down. Nothing. Keep moving until he's rubble. That's the mental focus needed to survive and win.

As far as how they look, I don't worry too much about it. Of all the takedowns I've practiced in my life, the one I've used the most in my line of work is the full-body tackle. It get's results and ususally leaves me in a superior body position. Does that mean that all those other reps were worthless? Not at all.

For one, I may use one at any given time (ex. I've used leg sweeps from time to time as well). Additionally, every time you work on takedowns or throws, you're working center control and balance. Something that will only aid in the execution of those movements that you fall back on.

So being really ready for the real thing boils down to training prep and how it's done and probibly more important, mindset.

Sorry for the two posts.

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

Training realistically and actually getting hit and hitting someone is a good thing. You don't want to be shocked when it happens because you really can't shake shock, it's like a momentary involuntary mental and physical lapse...momentary being seconds, to minutes.

and i think you have to understand threat levels too and study the escalation of force so you know what is proper to use. it is obvious for most black belts but not everyone here or in the MAs world are black belts.

[bushido_man96]

When you don't experience violence on a daily basis, and I am willing to be that most of us don't, then it is hard to ready for these things. Fights are sloppy and messy, and all that matters is surviving; you don't get any style points.

Realistic approaches to training is a great way to look into this. Change up the attacks that come at you; get an untrained fighter to attack you in the gym. Wear your street clothes when training from time to time. Do things to try to get your adrenaline going when training. All of these things can help in this area. Keep the techniques simple.

[BLueDevil]

In the interest of sounding like a broken record, realistic training is key IMO. I think thats why alot of styles falter, they train too much in idealic situations, very little resistence while practicing. I know Kyokushin incorporates heavy sparring (atleast thats what I have heard) as well as BJJ and muay Thai, I believe thats why they are considered by the general public as effective, they can basically go full speed at all times making the practitioners more comfortable with the pains of getting hit or choked. Ryukyu Kempo trains alot like this as well. It all comes back to realism and training like you would in a real encounter.

Sadly alot of MA schools dont encorporate this

[Throwdown0850]

In the interest of sounding like a broken record, realistic training is key IMO. I think thats why alot of styles falter, they train too much in idealic situations, very little resistence while practicing. I know Kyokushin incorporates heavy sparring (atleast thats what I have heard) as well as BJJ and muay Thai, I believe thats why they are considered by the general public as effective, they can basically go full speed at all times making the practitioners more comfortable with the pains of getting hit or choked. Ryukyu Kempo trains alot like this as well. It all comes back to realism and training like you would in a real encounter.

Sadly alot of MA schools dont encorporate this

I Agree..

[bushido_man96]

This full resistance training methodology is what was able to put Judo in favor of Jujitsu when Japan started training its police force.

Olympic style TKD and Boxing are good about this as well. They just have the rule set restrictions.

[RonLauinger]

MINDSET IS KEY, mental rehearsal and awareness are also major factors in mindset..

ALSO,,,,, with well over 20 years in Combatives, one of the biggest concerns I see in so-called MA gyms, is the reluctance and outright refusal to acknowledge that 'your stlyle' may have faults.

When training,, CROSS TRAIN, visit as many MA gyms that you can,, try to understand the other techniques that are out there, and get profeccient with them. Stay with one particular style no longer than say five years and then move on to another style.

When training, make sure you pressure test your techniques agains variable sparring partners,, partners with different skill levels, different heights, different weights, and yes, different sexes. Different body structures respond and react differently and YOU MUST understand the mechanics of each.

Also, when training, be profeccient in and our of your comfort space. Most fighters are only good in one area,, take that person out of there 'comfort space' and they fail to perform because they have no clue what to do.......................

Just my thoughts...