Aggressive attitude

[wckf_azn]

i train in Wing Chun.. i feel that im not agressive at all... when i joined Vovinam (martial arts of vietnam) my opponents wer ruthless. i found that being calm didnt help... normal i'd wait for my opponent to attack first, then i counter. but i feel that i have to attack first, to avoid getting hit.

 

i like the wing Chun concepts and principles but i feel it lacks agression...

 

i continued doin Vovinam and now im a more agressive fighter.

 

experience and training play a big part in your aggression level...

 

if you are scared you only retreat and dont attack.

[JerryLove]

We specifically train aggression through emphasising it, mental training, and qigong intended to stimulate the adrenal gland.

[Sparky]

Thanks for the responses. My chin na instructor keeps telling me that the other guy is going to be aggressive on the street so I need to train aggressive. There are so many things to remember during sparring...think, don't think, combinations, timing, mobility, relax, aggressiveniss aghhhh. How do you maintain an aggressive attitude through all that? I was thinking maybe part of it is because in a class situation I usually don't feel threatened so it's hard to bring up that aggressive response. Any thoughts?

Sometimes adrenaline may help a person overcome their natural or self-imposed barriers, but I for one try to do my best pushing those limits in the first place rather than relying on adrenaline.

 

I usually have my joint locking or sparring class right after a previous class so it can be hard to get the adrenaline going.

 

 

Aggressiveness does not necessarily mean anger or emotion. The M-W dictionary defines aggression as "marked by driving forceful energy or initiative." That's the type of aggressive attitude required in sparring.

 

That's good pmh1nic. I like that. So aggression is more of a mindset than an emotion?

 

 

I had to "turn on" that aggression. But I had to be able to "turn it off", too. It wasn't that easy at first. It was a learning experience.

 

Karatekid, what kind of tips did your instructor give you. Anything you can practice?

 

 

We specifically train aggression through emphasising it, mental training, and qigong intended to stimulate the adrenal gland.

 

Qigong????????????? What kind of mental training?

 

Rachael

[Synaesthesia]

I have a serious problem with dealing with potential confrontations. I have a definite tendency to be submissive, I don't assert myself, I look away. It's pretty bad and has attracted a lot of attempted robberies.

 

In every case, I either gave them what they wanted or ran. Good idea considering that I only started serious martial arts training under three months ago.

 

Now I am in the classic situation of being half-trained. I had been specifically warned about it, but it still happened.

 

I still act in a very reserved, shy manner. I still avoid being seen looking at potential trouble. I still look like every mugger's dream.

 

So I am left a person with too much internal aggression, and an outward manner that cries "victim"

 

I'd just hate to be caught with my heavy laptop bag. So do I drop the bag and escape, loosing thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work, or do I hold my ground and risk my life and freedom?

[mArTiAl_GiRl]

At my Dojo, we have a pretty aggressive girl, who just hurts others. She hurts others, because she is too aggressive and when she is too aggressive, she can't control her punches and kicks, she can't control her mind and body. So I suggest you to be calm and of course, you have to have a fighters face when you fight, but not angry, anger is negative.

 

A martial artist should not use anger to win.

 

For example: when two persons begin to fight, one is calm and is able to control himself/herself because of that and the other person suddenly turns into a wild beast, full of anger and looks aggressive, that person can't control his/her punches and kicks. And guess who is the winner?

 

The person who can control his/her attitude in the right way!

[ShirKhan]

I also am a Kenpoka, from way back, and in Kenpo I learned to mix it up, but I always found myself in defensive thinking. When I started studying Black Tiger, I learned plenty about accessing my aggression.

 

First is just the approach to conflict. In Kenpo, a defense against an attack is to withdraw to a safe range, block, and counter to the exposed area left by the opponent's attack. In Tiger, you read the opponent's intention, and attack him before he attacks you. They say "attack the intention", in other words, you look in their eyes, and just when they think they're ready, just before they tense to hit you, WHAM.

 

A lot of the training is in visualizations and exercises, some of them a little bizarre, but effective. Some of them involve actively imagining that you actually are a tiger, and doing deep abdominal growls, imagining that your technique is not against a human opponent, but actually a deer opponent which you are hunting because you are starving.

 

This sounds weird, but there is a Tiger form of Silat called Harimau in Indonesia, where the practicioners practice no MA exercises at all, but through a pattern of self hypnosis enable themselves to go into a trance at will, during which they actually believe they become tigers, and no longer understand human speech for the duration of their trance.

 

But, all this weirdness aside, I can say these exercises are very effective. Our sifu would stimulate our imagination in other ways, for instance: If we were working on the heavy bag, he would say, "That heavy bag in front of you is a 300 pound man on steroids. He was released from prison yesterday, and he's high on drugs and he's coming right at you. But he doesn't want you...he wants your mother, she's standing right behind you and begging you to help her. NOW HIT THAT BAG!"

 

All this use of imagination may seem like daydreaming, but combined with physical action it enhances the training. The old Taiji manuscripts say "the imagination leads the chi", in other words, imagining power prepares a path for power to flow. If a woman can lift a car off a baby because of overwhelming adrenaline due to her state of mind, imagining that state of mind effectively prepares that path for greater strength.

 

By the way, I'm not trying to hype Tiger here. You can do similar meditations on your own and enhance your own Kenpo practice. Every time you learn a defensive technique, practice it defensively, then think how that same technique can be used as a sneak attack, balance your attack and defense. Instead of blocking a punch, imagine that is a hand being held up defensively by an opponent which you are grabbing or trapping for a break offensively, preparatory to a finishing move. Think: "Not only can I defend myself against a mugger, if the mugger doesn't see me coming I can mug him. Not trying to criminalize you, here, just looking for balance instead of a defensive-only mentality. After all, if you defend yourself successfully against an attack, and your opponent is still standing, do you attack him or wait for him to hit you again? "Defense only" is good philosophy before conflict begins, but once conflict begins you should have no limitations on what you are able to do.

 

It's also worthwhile, if you are trying to reach greater power, is to combine animal aggressiveness with whole-body power. If you choose to try growling exercises, remember it really doesn't matter what your growl sounds like to others, it matters that your abdomen muscles are working hard, and the air escapes from your lungs under pressure, oxygenating the blood, after this you should study how you feel. The growl is not meant to frighten, it should be like a generator making your body stronger and stronger and raising your awareness and your energy level. The rest of your body should be relaxed, and when you hit with the hand it should come from the floor.

 

One last exercise is to become expert at close-in work. Often juvenile males display aggressiveness by staring the other down nose-to-nose. Close-in fighting not only displays aggressiveness, it also makes it easier to access whole-body power strikes. Tiger practicioners learn long-range strikes, but if they're taking someone down it's always at close quarters...many times it looks less like fighting and more like a collision! When you see a successful fighter, often you'll hear the comment "I ran over him!" Next time you're sparring, see what happens if you just lower your head and immediately rush in full speed, and just push with both hands! Often people are totally unprepared for an outright attack with no preparation. Learning "standing" karate is one thing, but if you can practice "running karate", "joyful attack", then you're at a totally different level.

 

There is a danger, though, to accessing aggressiveness using some of the Tiger exercises. It enhances your physical training and frees your mind to deal with conflict, but it is definitely possible to get too exhilirated with the euphoria of feeling "invincible", and you connect aggressiveness with energy so closely that a drug free "roid rage" type of thing happens, you know you're WAY overdoing it and you need to back off. There's a proverb, "The tiger possesses the earth wherever he walks", which is a saying both powerful and dangerous. To have that kind of presence is powerful, and a good thing...but walking around with that kind of attitude makes you dangerous to yourself and others.

 

That's all I can think of. Good luck.

[Drunken Monkey]

when we say be aggressive, we tend to mean, don't give any quarter. we train to use elbows the like but don't really use them in free sparring purely beacuse of the dangers.

 

in a real sitution however, you will have to use them.

 

let's take chin na. when you practise them you hardly ever put more than the neccessary amount of pressuer on but when you need to, you will probably apply more pressure automatically.

 

back to wing chun, you can't taht it isn't aggressive, it just isn't OUTWARDLY aggressive. the aim is to be calm enough to be clear of mind and sharp of eye. when the moment is right and you have gained the tiny advantage you needed, you should still be clear of mind and can see the open door through which you pound your opponent with everything you have learnt.