Mental training?
Im interested to know how some other martial artists train the mental state to be in for a potential situation.
I’m interested to see what methods of training this aspect people have.
Cheers!
I too am interested…
I know what it feels like, u jes get the butterflies in your stomach, ur hands feel heavy, n it just feels like theres something in your throat or stomach, and ya lose your focus…what exactly should you do during this time? I only experienced this once, but i didnt’ like it, the other fights i’ve been in, i felt different, i felt in control(cuz i was whoopin buttocks! 
) there must be someway to channel this energy…advice anyone?
focus
Focus and mental training comes from the mind.
As a martial artist, I am concerned in finding the emotions that enable me to become focussed.
For example, using anger in a fight may cause you to loose certain aspects of your ability. So can you turn anger in to focus? What makes you angry ? can you then take this emotion and apply it to your techniques or drills you practice. Whilst doing this, stay in control, feel the emotion and drive your body and mind harder.
give it ago and compare it to the drills with out this technique.
I know the butterflies feeling all too well 
We tried to do a bit of aggression training in class, where you have to get into groups of three or so, and you stand in the centre with the two other on opposite sides of you with kickshields, one or both just out of your reach. Basically, its your job to go at both of them as hard as you can while getting fired up and such.
But i’ve never understood the “get rid of emotion” part of martial arts. It might work for some people, but for me, anger makes me some kind of superhuman freakshow.
My already fast reflexes suddenly go through the roof, my strength and speed doubles or something, and its as if i see absolutely everything before it happens.
In short, its when i go into a rage, but my mind remains perfectly clear and i feel absolutely unstoppable.
Unfortunately, i’m about the most calm, collected individual on the face of the planet, and practically never get angry or loose my cool. So it only seems to happen once every few years, and usually its in sport or something, where i just go out and beat someone as if i was a world champion or something.
But still, i’ve always been a great believer that you shouldn’t try to eliminate emotion, you should instead try to harness it to work for you.
Rage and anger are good emotions to use, although they do have negative conitations for some people.
Try redefining thoses feelings to focus and practice it regualarly. Like all things the more you practice it the better you get.
Hopefully, by the time you have to use it for real, you are familiar with the effects on your body and react with more control, both mentally and physically.
You can’t make yourself feel the feeling you feel when you’re in a real situation, and there’s a possibility you might end up seriously hurt. You just can’t artificially recreate that. I think full contact competitions probably help but even then they’re fully padded up.
I think experience is the only way. But not a good way.
Ive had a lot of experience of this, and it’s my opinion you can make yourself feel this way.
A good example may be the smell of fresh cut grass making you feel a certain way or a song that envokes a certain feeling.
Training like this requires your imagination, time and thought. But please do not dismiss it. Try it before passing a judgement. Like all things, practice until you have enough knowledge and understanding to either discard it or incorportae it as part of your training.
some good comments
Cheers guys some really good comments being made here. Whats cool is that there has not been one negative comment made. Lets keep it this way!!
Any more comments???
Here are some of the principles in the ROSS System:
- Somatic Engineering Strategy - the Physical Keys to Unlock Combative Efficacy DURING the engagement.
- Visceral Control Strategy- the strategy of Dynamic Relaxation DURING Combat Stress
- Psychodynamic Profiling - probing and exploiting the opponent’s Fear-Reactivity and predicting his behavior.
- Positive Flow State - the Upward Performance Spiral - how to ENTER THE ZONE of peak performance
- Negative Flow State - the Downward Performance Spiral - how to IMPOSE THE VORTEX and make the opponent’s performance “go down the drain.”
- Pre-Conscious Processing versus Conscious Effort - Eliminating the REACTIONARY GAP.
- Indistractibility - IMPERTURBABLE ATTENTION affords the ability to enter the fight. This is the psychology of appropriating the correct focus and concentration for circumstantial performance
- Time Warp Tactics - moving at four times the rate of the opponent by understanding the technology of psychotemporal distortion.
- Forecasting Predictability - creating the state at which the opponent’s behavior becomes easily predicted.
- Attentional Saturation - beyond the speed of “non-intentional striking,” Attentional Saturation is how to be spontaneous instantaneously. As Scott Sonnon says, “Speed isn’t fast enough; fast isn’t soon enough. You must be INSTANT!”
- Psychophysical Recovery Process - Pressure overrides Precision! “Elite performance is not created through perfect precision, but through the ability to minimize mistakes, and to recovery more rapidly than your opponent from mistakes and the unexpected WHEN they occur” - Scott Sonnon.
Think you have enough fancy terms there?
You would think that the Chinese styles with their level of sophistication (especially in terminology) would appreciate an equally sophisticated Western system, that not only supports but reinforces good training regardless of cultural orientation.
Whoa, buddy, hold your horses! I didn’t mean that as an insult, just a jokey comment.
I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to have those terms, I just found it interesting to see things like “Time Warp Tactics”, “Negative Flow State”, and “Psychodynamic Profiling” in this type of discussion. I personally don’t think you need all those fancy terms, but if it floats your boat, then why not?!
AmerROSS
All those terms sound pretty complicated but I’d be interested in having a look further at what you described.
Do you have a website I could have a look at with more details???
Cheers
Please feel free to visit us: http://www.amerross.com
Mmmm
Psychotemporal distortion..mmm:
“Hello Neo”
Erm
I agree with what your saying about dismissing training tactics (Chen) BUT I don’t think it is possible to recreate THAT feeling, without being in a situation which could result in severe humiliation and injury, possibly death. I especially don’t think it is possible to fool yourself into feeling like that, and any training that would recreate the conditions necessary for that feeling to manifest would be quite dangerous, and have possibly serious repercussions. (sp?)