| It is a known fact that many people study a | | | | before you is not King Kong nor Godzilla. He is |
| martial art year after year, practice and | | | | human. If he is cut, he will bleed. If he is struck |
| memorize kata after kata. They compete in all of | | | | hard enough and in the right place, he will fall. This |
| the tournaments (evening winning trophies). They | | | | person before you could hurt you, if you were to |
| move from white belt to yellow, to orange, to | | | | let him, so that you would never hold your |
| purple, to green, to blue, to brown and finally to | | | | daughter or kiss your wife again. Doesn't the |
| the coveted black belt. However, I know of | | | | thought of this get you P. Oed? |
| several very high ranking belts who have gotten | | | | Solution: If you practice getting angry this way |
| into real life or death street altercations that have | | | | for, say, 10 minutes a day for 21 days, you will |
| involved the assailant brandishing a weapon, and | | | | be surprised at how your perspective begins to |
| they either overreacted by doing the wrong | | | | change from fearful to ferocious. |
| technique or just froze because they just had too | | | | Cause #3 - Unrealistic Training Environments - Do |
| much information and too many techniques in | | | | you train with a gi in your bare feet? You do! |
| their brain to process them quick enough. The end | | | | Well, I am sorry to inform you that this is not the |
| result. They felt fear and/or were not able to | | | | way you walk around the street in real life, in an |
| defend themselves properly. This is a very | | | | Asian garb and bare feet, unless you are making |
| sobering and humiliating revelation to anyone who | | | | some strange sort of fashion statement. The |
| thought that they really understood the reality of | | | | closer you can get your training environment to |
| the high intensity, quick and violent nature of a | | | | look and feel like the real world, the more |
| real street fight. There are essentially 5 main | | | | comfortable you will feel if and when a real self |
| causes of fear during a real street fight | | | | defense situation happens. They are not easy to |
| confrontation, but like all problems of life, there is | | | | find, but there are self defense instructors that |
| got to be a solution. I have it for you here in this | | | | have you train with shoes and have a least part |
| article. | | | | of their training centers to mimic the real world |
| Cause #1 - Lack Of Preparation By Knowing Too | | | | by showing you how to fight on a staircase, in a |
| Many Techniques - Most martial artists are guilty | | | | closed room, against a wall, etc. |
| of this one. The more techniques that you fill your | | | | Solution: The more realistic your training |
| head with, the more time it will take you to | | | | environment is, the less fear, if any, you will feel if |
| process which one to execute when in many | | | | and when the real combat happens. |
| cases you must react with split-second knee jerk | | | | Cause #4 - Unqualified Instructors - Alas, a great |
| timing. It is much better to know two or three | | | | majority of senseis and sifus are not street |
| highly effective maneuvers that are so similar to | | | | fighters or street combat oriented. Way too |
| each other that they would only require a slight | | | | many martial arts schools are sport and fitness |
| variation of any one of them to adapt your self | | | | oriented. They don't train for real fights. They |
| defense to counter a punch, a knife or a club. This | | | | train for "play fights". How can I say this? |
| means that you would center all of your self | | | | Tournaments are sport. Sport is a game. Game is |
| defense around only a handful of techniques which | | | | play. Therefore if you train only or mostly for |
| you would master. Who do you think would have | | | | tournaments, you are training for "play fighting". |
| the faster reaction time - the person who knows | | | | Solution: If you want to learn primarily self |
| and has mastered only two or three techniques | | | | defense, ask your sensei or sifu, to show you |
| or the person who knows 400 possible moves? | | | | what is his or her program for combatives and |
| Knowing too much causes confusion, lack of | | | | street self defense. If you don't get a |
| certainty and in the final analysis - fear. | | | | satisfactory answer, look for another instructor. |
| Solution: In self defense, learning less but learning | | | | Cause #5 - Lack Of A Dog-Headed Determination |
| the best is the answer. | | | | To Overcome Your Fears - You know you feel |
| Cause #2 - Lack Of Thought Control - This is a | | | | afraid. You know you feel unprepared. That's |
| simple but obvious principle. What you think | | | | okay. |
| causes what you feel. So if that is the case, and | | | | Solution: If you have a dog-headed determination |
| it is, you need only learn how to control your | | | | to overcome yours fears, with the right guidance, |
| thoughts. Allow yourself to use the adrenaline and | | | | that is, with the right instructor, you will |
| feelings of "fight or flight" that course through | | | | overcome your fears of fighting. I guarantee you |
| your body in the moment that you realize that | | | | this. It is just be a matter of time and persistence |
| the "fit is about to hit the shan". Give yourself | | | | that you will one day be able to say, "I fear no |
| permission to get angry! Realize that this person | | | | man! |