After 3 years training in Wing Chun (Wong Sheung Lung lineage), I have gained good self-defence skills, which I put into good practice when at classes and at home. However, if I am ever in the street and am approached by someone and I sense danger, I freeze. This is particularly the case when confronted by BIGGER people than myself. My sifu has always said “no matter the size of your opponent, he only has two hands and two feetâ€.
I ‘fear’ big, muscular looking blokes!!!
Dont
It wont help you to be scared in a fight. Its kinda of like bringing a balarina outfit or wearing a tonic and pretending to be Ceasar. Not of these things will help. So dont do them.
Fear not only does it not help but it weakens ones natural ability to fight. cause fear block the mind. when you shadow boxing or just do forms. do you imagine you are fighting an opponent. even you you are doing something slow like sil lum all things should be done with
“Yi” or intent (something used i internal martial arts like TAichi and Xing-yi(both very in spelling). Now yi leads qi or chi. if you dont have the intent its not as easy to do. I did sil lum tao for about 20 minutes last night. each move I imagine my hands percing into a thick brick wall, Pak sao was pushing down a tree and the rotatating arm was moving someheavy object.
make up you own. you try.
and here are some tai chi skiils for fighting at
http://pressurepointfighting.com/public_html/art_fighting_rules.htm
Andre Lashley
CH
Once you understand power, you will not have this fear…
not fear, not power
Sounds like you don’t have confidence in what you learned. What’s the point of learning it? Don’t take your instructor’s word for it. That “two hands too feet” spiel is pure shite. Ask him to show you a way to develop your confidence.
Also, bad advice - “if you understand power…” you will not be afraid. Can you afford to gamble that you’re powerful than everybody? Can you use power against someone more powerful? I don’t think so.
After you talk to you instructor, I would love to hear what he says. Feel free to contact me privately. (My email is listed on my profile)
Ken
you gotta be more agressive. you have to ask your sifu (or learn yourlself) to teach you how to develop a “there is no way i am losing” or “i’ll keep scrapping like a b!tch even if i can’t win”.
I’ve lived in places where i’ve had to be in more fights than some people have had hot meals, so i’ve HAD to act hard n isht. Learn to act hard. Basically :rolleyes:
But you will always have fear. It’s just an emotion, you just have to learn to CONTROL it. I’d be more worried if you DIDN’T have fear.
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.
whippy finally shows his ignorance.
It’s hard to say something stupid when you type so little, but you’ve managed it.
Good work.
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.
And one more thing - it sound like your sifu isn’t teaching you how to handle yourself on the street. He’s just teaching you wing chun.
I’d start doing some realistic situations drills.
I recommend, as you’re in the uk, to goto www.geoffthompson.com (sp?) - you’ve probably heard of him - he has a lot of stuff about fear.
Learn to conquer it.
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.
fear
eVERYONE HAS FEAR…there will always be someone out there bigger, stronger and better than you…Choose your battles
The 2 hands 2 feet saying is lame because those 2 hands and feet might twice as big.
One who has two roots becomes a stronger tree.
fear is instinctive
The fear you feel is an instinctive, survivalist reaction that is hard to just “control” at will. Extremely high ranked martial artists are not immune to the adrenaline rush and numbing feeling when forced into a confrontation. Confidence in your technique can reduce the panic, but it will never remove it completely. Anyone who’s ever had a race or had to perform a recital on stage can attest that the nerves act up involuntarily. Don’t feel ashamed about it. Instead, understand that it is a normal reaction. And remember, if the fight is inevitable, let your defense be your offense. Let the chain punches fly 
You are SUPPOSED to be afraid, CH.
In the street, you might run into a little OR big guy who doesn’t look ARMED but actually is.
No opponent should ever be underestimated, particularly with guns and knives out there. So it would be stupid to NOT be afraid of people on the street.
To me, it seems as though your WC training has taught you PROPERLY that the first thing to do in a confrontation is to try to GET AWAY.
It is not an issue of being more “powerful than everybody”, it is a matter of UNDERSTANDING power. How to generate it when needed, where it comes from, where to put it (where to direct it), how much to put, the results that you want…
Bessho and Sharky, obviously, you’re training is very technique oriented, as most Wing Chun is.
Confidence helps. But knowing, works.
“Confidence helps. But knowing, works.”
What does knowing mean without the confidence to use your knowledge? Even children understand the adage “knowing is half the battle”. Waz the other half? Anyone?
WH - maybe you’re missing something in your training. shrug
Bessho
Not knowing is the other half!
Confidence is a byproduct of knowledge.
“Confidence is a byproduct of knowledge.”
This is very true.
However, it is usually the case that most people THINK they have the knowledge, and thus are confident.
But you are correct.
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.
Thinking vs. Knowing
This IS the dilemma…
However, this is not really a question of your head knowing, but of your body knowing.
“I ‘fear’ big, muscular looking blokes!!!”
Something that has helped me; spar a big, strong dude. Especially one who’s good in the arts.
Fear makes it harder to get the job done, but
chances are you won’t get in over your head.
Being cocky will make it easier to get the job done, but you might get in over your head.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“-1”>quote:</font><HR> However, if I am ever in the street and am approached by someone and I sense danger, I freeze. [/quote]
Try conditioning yourself to danger by pushing the envelope.
If working as a postman doesn’t do the trick, then go to plan B - try placing yourself in increasingly more vulnerable situations, outside of your comfort zone.
That doesn’t necessarily mean walking into the local bikie gang’s headquarters and telling them they’re all a mob of poofters. (Not to start with, anyway).
Basically, you need to remain relaxed when you would normally feel like tensing up.
You know how people with phobias are often cured by being gradually introduced to the thing that most scares them? Well, I’m not saying being afraid of big, mean-looking muscular guys is an unnatural phobia. Most people would be scared of them.
However, if you take something else that is really scary and condition yourself to that, then you probably wouldn’t be scared of ANYTHING ever again!
For example, say you really hated Country and Western music (especially the type with nasal-sounding yodelling in it). If you could force yourself to listen to it for a few hours straight without tearing your hair out, while remaining relaxed and with a smile on your face, then any other conceivable danger that life could possibly throw at you would pale into insignificance.
Hope this helps…
Max
Yooby Yoody
I also train the WSL way in the UK, and have got to say I feel the exact opposite. I no longer “fear” big muscley-looking blokes. I “respect” their strength, but the training has given me confidence to deal with that.
They may still be able to overwhelm me (got to be realistic, guys!), but I will put up a good fight first.
I agree with some of what has been said here. It is hard to do, but if you can get into the habit of chisaoing or sparring with the biggest, strongest guy at every lesson, that will really help your confidence. My instructor (32 years experience) prefers bigger, stronger people, as he finds them easier to deal with. That comes with relaxation and experience, of course.
It also depends how you chisao. We take the chisao up to the level where it is indistingishable from sparring, and train not to stop on the first hit. “Oh, you got me, lets start over.”
Thats really important. WSL always said that in a fight, you will be hit, simple as that, anyone who thinks they wont is kidding themselves. Youve got to learn to deal with getting hit, falling over, bumping into other people, chairs, tables etc. and then to continue fighting without stopping.
A few cut lips a lesson is a price worth paying for the extra confidence you get.
Oh, and again I agree with Sharky, Geoff Thompson is the guy to read about fear. Even his earlier, violent books, (Watch my Back) are all about fear, and dealing with it. His point of view is that it is impossible to not be afraid, it is simply a natural part of our biological makeup.
What is important is learning to control the fear, not be telling yourself to ignore it, but to accept it, understand what it is doing to your body, and turn it into something useful.
Even at the height of his prowess, when he had won over 300 violent conflicts and streetfights, he freely admits to feeling the same fear every damn time he had to fight. What this guy doesnt know about fear hasnt been written. 
The chalice from the palace has the pellet with the poison,
The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
[This message was edited by Frank Exchange on 10-31-01 at 04:39 AM.]