Creating chaos of the mind

[Bigshadow]

First I would like to say I am still digesting Monday night's training and what follows is what I experienced and my interpretation of the lessons. Since Monday it has been on my mind, so I thought I would start a thread about it and discuss it.

Monday night we were working on moving properly. However more specifically we were focusing on moving at the right time to cause chaos in the mind (my description of the feeling). I am sure I will never be able to fully describe what it feels like to either create the chaos or have the chaos. I will try to explain in general what we did and how I felt.

Essentially, this chaos is that feeling you have when someone disrupts your mental process. For instance, have you ever seen two people arrive at a door at the same time and both are reaching for it (maybe they are on opposite sides of a glass door). Ever notice how they suddenly have a state of confusion as to what they want to do, because they both have interrupted each other's mental process. Most of us have probably experienced that feeling on more than one occasion.

Monday nights class was creating that state of confusion (chaos) in the mind of the attacker. The feeling I get as an uke is that this chaos seems to diffuse the attack or take the steam out of it. It is as if, the tori moved BEFORE I MOVED but AFTER I was mentally committed to the attack. What I mean by mentally committed is that the brain has been given the order to attack (a movement) and it is now on auto-pilot until that single directive has been completed (the attacker can no longer stop that movement).

I think another way to describe that feeling of chaos is if I were about to say something to someone that I REALLY am determined to tell them and just as I am about to say what I need to, they walk away. That is the feeling I get as uke.

As Tori I get the feeling I am on the edge of the uke's sphere of space (attack zone) and suddenly there is a feeling to move NOW and I move, although the uke hasn't seemed to move yet. I also get the feeling that there isn't any need to rush to where I need to go.

Lastly, this feeling of chaos is rather brief, so I am not implying that everything is over at that point, but this has a stiffling or diffusing effect on an attack. It seems when done at the right time it causes a hiccup of the mind or a momentary state of chaos. I think we all can see the advantage of being able to create this mental chaos.

This is something I am working on now and I think it can be practiced in day to day life with unsuspecting people. I firmly believe that proper initial distance is very important just as is the timing of the movement, whatever that means to you for the exercise. As a training exercise I want to intentionally cause that chaos in the mind of others whether it is at a door, or they are reaching for something, or whatever the case may be. With that in mind, again, I will say whatever the proper distance and timing is for their movement is very important because without it, it will not work. For instance, if you start running across the room to try to cause the chaos as they start to open a door, it just is not going to work, proper initial distance is crucial.

Sorry for being so long winded, I am still digesting what I experienced Monday and I thought I would throw it on here for discussion.

 

[Navarre]

I think thisis why so many martial arts beginners have difficulty learning to fight. A fight is a very dynamic situation. because the beginner is struggling to teach their body to perform certain mechanics, their mind becomes very rigid at first.

If a beginner only knows how to front kick and reverse punch and they see me moving in, they will perform one of those techniques. Even if they would be better off doing something "non-martial arts" they will likely perform one of the 2 techniques because they have already mentally decided that "this is a martial arts class and I need to do my front kick or reverse punch".

If I start to move in on a straight line and then suddenly shoot to my angle, they become confused. The 2 techniques they know aren't effective (for them at least) and they have nothing else in their arsenal. I have most likely won this fight.

This is why experienced fighters can beat inexperienced ones. The experierenced ones have a wide arsenal but, more importantly, are seldom mentally confused by the rapidly changing situation.

Thus, as we learn to "flow" (discussed recently elsewhere) we learn to better protect ourselves from the mental confusion you mention during a fight. Yet, ironically, we still often find ourselves standing dumbfounded at a door because we have no arsenal or flow for such an event.

 

[Grey Eyed Bandit]

"To know the Way,
We go the Way;
We do the Way
The way we do
The things we do.
It's all there in front of you,
But if you try too hard to see it,
You'll only become Confused.

I am me,
And you are you,
As you can see;
But when you do
The things that you can do,
You will find the Way,
And the Way will follow you."

 

[Bigshadow]

"To know the Way,
We go the Way;
We do the Way
The way we do
The things we do.
It's all there in front of you,
But if you try too hard to see it,
You'll only become Confused.

I am me,
And you are you,
As you can see;
But when you do
The things that you can do,
You will find the Way,
And the Way will follow you."

Nim, your quite the poet there! Nice! I sense a disturbance in the force... You doing ok? :jedi1:

 

[Grey Eyed Bandit]

What comes to mind is the witches of Dathomir, who seem to think they have to utter a spell every time they use the Force. Besides, "hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster, too sorry kid..."

 

[Bigshadow]

Besides, "hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster, too sorry kid..."

Although... It didn't seem to work for the droid troopers in Episode II against the Jedi. See the Jedi had the proper initial distance and excellent timing along with proper body movement and they nearly destroyed the entire droid army located in the arena. Pretty darn good I would say!

 

[Grey Eyed Bandit]

Although... It didn't seem to work for the droid troopers in Episode II against the Jedi. See the Jedi had the proper initial distance and excellent timing along with proper body movement and they nearly destroyed the entire droid army located in the arena. Pretty darn good I would say!

Too bad that mint-green dwarf who speaks in reverse was nowhere to be seen at the Tianamen square massacre...

 

[Daremo]

Sounds a great deal like a hand-to-hand combat equivalent of answering a ringing telephone by telling the caller that you'd like to order a large pepperoni pizza with extra anchovies; it throws the caller's mind so off-base that he/she often hangs up without uttering a word!

 

[drop bear]

I am reading this and thinking counter punching.