Are we born fighters ?!

[Safroot]

" Are we born fighters ? ". That's my question.

Since I have started my MA journey and I don't feel confident to spar, not sure if it's fear of pain or fear of the unknown or inconfidence due to lack of experience with different blocks & attacks being a beginner ?!

I usually have in the back of my mind the idea that: "I don't want to spar much not to get injured", espicially having family & kids I can't afford taking long break from work to treat an injury but still not sure if this is the real reason or am I trying to convience myself with it so I don't undercover the true reason !

My sesnsei told me that some people are born fighters & others not which might be true but is there any chance for those "others" to be fighters as well ?!! and if yes what they need to do to be fighters ?!

I am not sure if anyone is in the same situation or have thought about it before but this issue is really annoying me. I have been raised up to keep myself away from troubles and it's not that easy to change this mindset now.

I have started MA initially for fitness & self defence, fitnesswise I am doing great but with self defence I have a big question mark ? , without sparring a lot with many different opponents I will never be able to react in the street !

Sorry for the very long post but felt like sharing my thoughts with you guys

[Wado Heretic]

As I have said to people I have taught; I can teach you the techniques, I can teach you the applications of said techniques, and I can coach you on how to make them effective. However, I cannot tell you whether you will psychologically be able to deal with extreme violence when you meet it.

I have only met five people, I have taught, whom I would consider natural fighters; that is, from the moment they came on the dojo floor I was pretty much convinced they would have no trouble applying what I was showing them. Three of said five have since used what I taught them very effectively in a self-defence situation.

The majority of people are not programmed for extreme violence, and never will be; most will thankfully never find out whether they have what is needed to survive a situation of extreme violence. Even soldiers, who are psychologically put through extreme stress during training, might not necessarily actually perform as trained in their first combat situation.

I tend, and it is an act of generalisation, of summing up people in the dojo by three categories;

Bullies, Natural fighters, and Veterans.

Bullies are fine with fighting, when it is against someone who is not good enough to fight back properly. These ones you have to watch out for during sparring, and I usually spar the people I know who have this tendency. Now, they can be perfectly lovely people off the sparring floor; they are just wrapped up in a power fantasy.

Natural Fighters; these are the people who see red, and they can fight. Some think there is a warrior gene, which makes people more prone to anger and violence, but the research is very limited so far. They can be hard to spot, unless they have big give away signs. An intense personality can be a sign.

Veterans; these are the people who have been there and seen it. They can deal with violence, because they have experienced it, and have internal strategies to deal with it. Usually security workers and police officers will be the ones most readily able to deal with violence in self-defence; if it is street violence, or personal combat.

[Safroot]

As I have said to people I have taught; I can teach you the techniques, I can teach you the applications of said techniques, and I can coach you on how to make them effective. However, I cannot tell you whether you will psychologically be able to deal with extreme violence when you meet it.

I have only met five people, I have taught, whom I would consider natural fighters; that is, from the moment they came on the dojo floor I was pretty much convinced they would have no trouble applying what I was showing them. Three of said five have since used what I taught them very effectively in a self-defence situation.

The majority of people are not programmed for extreme violence, and never will be; most will thankfully never find out whether they have what is needed to survive a situation of extreme violence. Even soldiers, who are psychologically put through extreme stress during training, might not necessarily actually perform as trained in their first combat situation.

I tend, and it is an act of generalisation, of summing up people in the dojo by three categories;

Bullies, Natural fighters, and Veterans.

Bullies are fine with fighting, when it is against someone who is not good enough to fight back properly. These ones you have to watch out for during sparring, and I usually spar the people I know who have this tendency. Now, they can be perfectly lovely people off the sparring floor; they are just wrapped up in a power fantasy.

Natural Fighters; these are the people who see red, and they can fight. Some think there is a warrior gene, which makes people more prone to anger and violence, but the research is very limited so far. They can be hard to spot, unless they have big give away signs. An intense personality can be a sign.

Veterans; these are the people who have been there and seen it. They can deal with violence, because they have experienced it, and have internal strategies to deal with it. Usually security workers and police officers will be the ones most readily able to deal with violence in self-defence; if it is street violence, or personal combat.

Thanks Wado Heretic for sharing your thoughts. I really like the way you classify people.

Why do you think people will never be programmed to extreme violence ?!

[Wado Heretic]

Some people are; the majority not, which is why it is the people who are programmed for it who unfortunately prosper during times of great civil unrest. Some people are conditioned to it, usually through a violent childhood.

Most people find it an over whelming experience; think back to the first time you sparred. Most experience jitters, and tunnel vision, and other problems from Adrenalin drops. In an actual violent confrontation; it is a far worse reaction.

My approach is very reductionist; but can be useful when watching students to figure out how to teach them.

[Safroot]

My approach is very reductionist; but can be useful when watching students to figure out how to teach them.

How do you teach those who you think will never be able to be fighters ? I am pretty interested to know !

[Wado Heretic]

I start them off with contact drills; getting used to getting hit, and hitting a person. Just basic conditioning you find in most Karate schools which practice hojo undo.

I then usually work them up to contact sparring through different models of kumite; sticking hands like drills, belt wrestling, and so on and so forth.

Then scenario training; sparring which starts with your back to the wall, against multiple opponents, where the attacker initiates the sparring without any verbal cue from anyone else.

It can build people up to getting that "fighting" instinct; to be used to the adrenaline kick, and being under stress, and how to deal with pain. The issue is; it is still artificial. End of the day; a person will not be able to become a fighter, until they fight, and learn from that first experience.

[Safroot]

I start them off with contact drills; getting used to getting hit, and hitting a person. Just basic conditioning you find in most Karate schools which practice hojo undo.

I then usually work them up to contact sparring through different models of kumite; sticking hands like drills, belt wrestling, and so on and so forth.

Then scenario training; sparring which starts with your back to the wall, against multiple opponents, where the attacker initiates the sparring without any verbal cue from anyone else.

It can build people up to getting that "fighting" instinct; to be used to the adrenaline kick, and being under stress, and how to deal with pain. The issue is; it is still artificial. End of the day; a person will not be able to become a fighter, until they fight, and learn from that first experience.

Really smart way of training

Thanks for your explaination, much appreciated

[Spartacus Maximus]

Without certain environmental and cultural conditions, developing the traits of a fighter is not possible. To be a fighter, one must be conditioned, influenced and trained. This happens through several factors, but the most important are the person's culture and social background. If both of these encourage and exalt certain traits or skills, then developing these will be a natural process.

[Safroot]

If both of these encourage and exalt certain traits or skills, then developing these will be a natural process.

Your point makes great sense and in my situation I will never have this fighter spirit then !

[Safroot]

So what's the point of training MA for self defense then If all what you learn will be useless in the streets ?!!!!!!