Intimidating your opponent

[Namu]

The guy who taught me to play chess told me about kids trying to psych each other out when he used to go to chess tournaments. One guy lined his shirt pocket with a plastic bag, and ate cereal with milk out of his pocket while he played! Not practical in a do bok with a hogu on of course...

I agree with all the presence ideas and "if they can be intimidated they're not much of a match".

But if I were going to work a little psychology on them, I might look into their eyes...peer into the depths of their soul, and give just a little half smile and maybe a slow, subtle shake of the head. A non verbal, non threatening way of saying, "I've sized you up, and I'm sorry to say that you will be soundly defeated".

Then again, sometimes people are intimidated by my size...then they are more intimidated when they realize that I don't move as slow as someone my size should :jaw-dropping:

 

[kaizasosei]

you can use body positioning, posture and instinctive reactions even from far away. strikes and grabs need to be done within physical range, nevertheless requiring certain abount of freedom and effectivity. physically speaking intimidation is a natural part of establishing distance and certain patern,style or rythem in fighting.
the eyes are the mirror of the soul. i think it's not about doing anything. it's about knowing what the other is doing and knowing ways of neutralizing or breaking what the other does.
of course one can also do psychological damage on people with the wrong' kind of force.




j

 

[Hand Sword]

Don't bother to try. scoring enough, hurting, and the reality of losing will be enough for both of you. Focus on your techniques. They'll put you into position, and then those factors will work for you. Worry about what you'll do, and not what they'll do.

 

[IcemanSK]

I agree with bdparsons & Kacey. "Be first" & that psych tactics don't always work. Because psych tactics don't always work, you need to be 1st to score & kihap louder, etc.

Most folks can't pull this off, but my old kickboxing trainer did for years. In kickboxing (like boxing) there was always a stare down as the ref went over the rules. Kevin would always smile & think to himself, "I am so glad you showed up. You have no idea what you're in for." It was quite a head trip for his opponents. I don't recomend it. One has to be dead sure of themself to pull that off.

I would go with the former thoughts of my collegues.

 

[Gizmo]

Two of my best students are really good in intimidating their opponents. The funny thing is, they do not do anything special, apart from being well-prepared, confident in their skills and NOT showing any emotions during the fight. Yet, they still do manage to put pressure on the opponent - they force them to play as they wish, and make the opponents adjust to their style of fighting.

Honestly, I'm really more concerned with calm, cool and concentrated opponents than with ones that play a big dog before the fight

 

[Tez3]

We had a fight night last Saturday and had two fighters run off! They arrived, weighed in and had their medicals, then went off as most do to get something to eat. They never came back! One was reported as saying he wasn't going to fight a Para! (Parachute Regiment soldier)! The Para, "Doc" is one of ours, he was fighting amateur MMA and it was his first fight, he'd trained hard and was really up for it, he didn't even speak to his opponent let alone intimidate him! Poor Doc was disappointed as hell.

 

[IcemanSK]

We had a fight night last Saturday and had two fighters run off! They arrived, weighed in and had their medicals, then went off as most do to get something to eat. They never came back! One was reported as saying he wasn't going to fight a Para! (Parachute Regiment soldier)! The Para, "Doc" is one of ours, he was fighting amateur MMA and it was his first fight, he'd trained hard and was really up for it, he didn't even speak to his opponent let alone intimidate him! Poor Doc was disappointed as hell.

At kickboxing matches back in the 90's, it was almost expected that at least one fighter would do that after weigh in or not show up at all. It was usually an opponent of our gym:supcool: