Martial-Arts Experts and Subscribers Talk Fear

Keith: Here's a letter from Jesse. He has a some useful tips, I think you'll appreciate. Regarding practice knives. I have a nice black "plastic" training knife made by Ed Green. Ed's a subscriber to this list. Here's the link to his weapons:

http://www.angelfire.com/ks3/green27712/catalog/catalogframes1.htm And here's a portion of Jesse's letter:

I can definitely see how more realistic training could go a long way toward reducing what I'll just call "excess" or "non-useful" fear. Lately I have really been wanting to get a realistic-looking training knife or two into class-- I think live blades would be maybe too unsettling, but people might feel falsely safe around the wooden "vaguely knife-shaped" devices. Not to mention the balance is all wrong.

But it can show up in sparring, too, of course. I am very far from being fearless, I'm afraid... (frightfully punny.)

But, a few things that I have found to help: 1. Realizing the logic that being overworked by fear is a condition that can almost entirely negate your training and nullify your wits will not help you at all to defend yourself-- it gives up everything.

2. Realizing that if "he's" really and truly afraid of "you"-- and he may be-- you could have an advantage.

3. Realizing that if his confidence is not total, it can be shaken. If you aren't as easy to take as he expected you to be, you can erode this.

4. Understanding that you cope with the outcome of the situation later-- for now, keep a clear, alert head to make good decisions. Also, when I'm not in a fearful situation I try to remember that all of my techniques work better in every way when I am alert, relaxed, and otherwise comparitively calm. Again, there's plenty of time to worry later.

5. Try to remember to breathe and to relax. I still can have a hard time with this one-- partly because it tends to be symptomatic (you're already agitated when this starts to happen)-- but trying to remember helps.

Just a few thoughts on that.

Fear=

  F alse
E ducation
A ppearing
R eal

  Makes you think eh?

  Also competitions are a good way to get you used to fear, the build up to your fight will get even the most seasoned fighter nervous.

  All the best,

        Damon

Keith: I have read that we fear the unknown. I used to agree with the thought. Now, I am not so sure.

Yes, we fear the unknown, as well. But I am quite good at fearing the familiar.

I know the bully. He has kicked my tush before. I can call the outcome of the next fight an unknown, but in truth -- I know he is looking for me. I know our skill levels haven't changed. And I know how I have done against him in the past.

Knowing all of this doesn't make it any better.

Damon make s a good point. But I won't allow him to limit my fear :-) (Just kidding.)

Excellent article Keith. I too have been in the position where the 'talking' wasn't working too well and the chances were I would shortly have to deal with an attacker or two.

  When I analysed the scenario afterward and found that I was transmitting fear (albeit subconsciously) because my throat was drying up and I could hear the 'pulse' of my heartbeat in every word I spoke. This seemed to work in my favour because it made my protagonist over confident and he made a very silly mistake by coming too close and stepping between me and his cronies.

  I was able to turn this to my advantage and propel him (after bloodying his nose and punching into the solar plexus) into his pals so I could make my tactical withdrawal.

  I realised then this was something I could add to my arsenal to actively encourage over-confidence IF (big 'if' of course) I am convinced I will have to defend myself.

  Best wishes John

Keith: I think everyone needs to reread this last letter, right now. John is right on the money. I would never be afraid of using the tactic of appearing afraid. There is more to his letter than that, of course. Reread it. You know you want to.

Hi Keith,

Great topic. This is one i've thought about / trained to deal with a lot.

My understanding is that the latest, research-based martial arts training (e.g., Pressure Point Control Tactics) addresses the following facts:

1) that in a survival stress situation, the cortex (where logic and reasoning take place) is bypassed and that incoming stimuli goes straight to the amygdala (the "lizard brain");

2) Hicks Law: the greater the number of responses we've learned for a particular stimulus (e.g., if someone throws a right hook I can either duck or block or parry or . . . ), the longer the reaction time; and,

3) that as our heart rate increases, certain physiological reactions take place, which decrease our ability to respond (e.g., binocular or tunnel vision, loss of fine motor control, decreased ability to think) -- and that all these body responses are hardwired in us.

To me, all this means that I need to learn 2 levels of dealing with fear: one in which i see the fight coming and have time think; and secondly, one in which i'm thrown into a fight situation with no time to think.

With the former, i believe that many of the traditional methods of dealing with fear are effective -- repeated exposure to the fear situation (e.g., adrenal-based training); mental training, etc.

In the latter, well, i'm still figuring this one out. So far, though, i think it's a matter of repeated training in simple, gross motor movements; scenario-based training that throws a person into an immediate reaction situation; and continued "what if" mental practice (i.e., how would i deal with that assault that i saw on the news, etc.)

Long reply I know. But, i've been working with this topic for quite awhile and have a lot of thoughts about it.

I'd love to hear what others think about this.

Thanks

Mark

Keith: Ok, everyone. Let's start talking. Mark wants our opinions. I'll start the discussion -- I challenge the truth of Hicks Law. Does knowing several responses increase the time necessary for a response without thought? I would argue, "No." Anyone else want to comment on this letter?

Keith: Many of us take up martial arts after an unfortunate incident befalls us. Tony suffered, realized he needed to be trained, then came to a conclusion about the effectiveness of his training....

By the way -- Yes, thanks for the blatant plug of 'Wrist Locks.' Much appreciated.

Hey Keith,

I love all the newsletters, especially this one in particular. I can definately relate to the aspect of fear when encountered with a potentially life-threatening situation.

As a kid...was walking home from my girlfriend's house one night.... in those woods ... was attacked and beaten unconscious by unseen assailants.

Not really surprising...shook my confidence ... made me feel hopeless.  I didn't want to go out again. Sorry I'm rambling on a bit here!!

Anyway, suffice to say that was when I took the plunge and discovered martial arts for myself.

There wasn't much available around our area except Tae Kwon Do or Judo. And kicking seemed more fun than rolling around on the floor. That was almost 20 years ago. I'm now teaching Tae Kwon-Do (yes for some reason I stuck with it). Yes I do have trophies for sparring and patterns. Does that mean I'm a better fighter than someone else? Not likely. Technically I can perform kicks and punches accurately in a set routine. So what? In my opinion (ok I'm going to get flamed for saying this) but a lot of TKD isn't practical. Its a sport. Nothing else.

A wedging block or middle block was a waste of time and energy (99% of the time).There are a few movements which are effective, but only if you know what to do with them. Hooking block for example. We teach it, we learn it, but what next? 'Erm.......?'

For me it's straight into an arm bar and take down, or a wrist lock/break. But not because of what TKD has taught me. I dared to discover more knowledge of these other martial arts like Ju-Jitsu & Aikido.  I knew that in order to be (more) effective in 'real' situations I needed to know how to REALLY defend myself.  

And of course "Wrist Locks:From Protecting Yourself to Becoming an Expert" was a valuable purchase as well. (blatant plug! lol)

At the end of the day, fear comes in all shapes and sizes. Be it fear of fighting. Fear of learning something new. Or fear of leaving your 'comfort zone'. Recognising that you are afraid of something, whatever it is, is the first step. Actually acting upon it, and changing that is another. Are you brave enough to do something about it?

This mail did have a point.........to start with, but I seem to have gone all over the place! lol  As always, your newsletters stir up memories or thoughts long forgotten. But thats a good thing. It reminds us why we started doing this, and shows us how far we've come too.

Keep up the good work, and I look forward to the next edition.

Tony

Hi! (Hellos to Kate & Quinn, also!!)
Um, a quick question. . .can you swim in the ocean, on Oregon's coast?

Or, is the water too cold? What's it like on the coast? Weather, the beach?

Are there "beaches?" -okay, okay, that was way more than a question -haha!

Mika

Keith: Yes, we have beaches. Beautiful beaches. And if you have a wet suit, you could do a little 'no visibility' swimming. But let's talk fear -- when i was a teacher on the coast, a colleague showed me a photo of his chomped surf board -- that must have been one whopper of a shark.

Oregon Coast = beauty NOT swimming.

More fear talk please.

Great stuff!

This is, in my opinion, one of the most lacking aspect in most schools today. They proclaim they teach "Self defense" but don't even touch on these very crucial aspects of defending yourself. I think this part of training, as far as self defense goes, is probably the most important.

If you are too scared to use your techniques, then you might as well not have them.

Learning to use your fear will allow you to use those techniques you've been taught.

So, enough of my rambling - spread the gospel of knowing fear!

Will

Keith: I am spreading the word of Practical Training like peanut butter and Oregon marion berry jam on slabs of freshly-baked bread.

If you liked these articles, you should sign up for Keith Pascal's free ezine, Martial Arts Mastery: A Tell-All of Tips, Tactics, and Techniqaues. Take a look .... Martial Arts Mastery