At night I dream of fighting

[Bill Mattocks]

At night I dream of fighting. Often, I am back in uniform, back in the Corps. Always I am winning, but my opponent does not fall. Always my opponent is good, and I have to work hard to avoid attacks, but avoid them I do. My strikes are solid, my technique good, but the effect is nebulous.

In the morning, I do kata. My body creaks and groans, the floorboards echo my body, and my mind floats between what is and is not real. Sometimes I think the walls between realities are thinnest at these moments. I could imagine myself slipping from one to another without much effort.

I settle down into Sanchin and sink into my stance. As I finish, my mind clears, the veil rises, my senses are restored. I smell coffee, hear a dog barking in the distance, the sound of traffic.

Tonight I will dream of fighting.

 

[mograph]

You might find this interesting. Not so much about the dreaming, but about the waking.

 

[JR 137]

I wonder how Freud would interpret your strikes landing without any effect.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I wonder how Freud would interpret your strikes landing without any effect.

I dunno. Does he fight?

 

[JowGaWolf]

I think it's normal for people who do forms or kata to dream of fighting or do kata in their sleep. Sometimes the kata/form kicks in on it's own. I dream about fighting and actually do parts of the forms, my wife does it as well it comes and goes depending on how focused I am with learning a form. I think much of it is a result of muscle memory and trained mental perception. If you are always training to be aware and to respond then, it kicks on when we least expect it.

 

[JowGaWolf]

You might find this interesting. Not so much about the dreaming, but about the waking.

Pounding pain behind the eye (check, I had those before.)
Witnessing myself having the experience (happens a lot during sparring I don't feel, but I get visuals)
Hearing "little voices" saying that I have to contract or relax certain muscles (yep, sound like Tai Chi)
Just focused on internal systems (sounds like Tai Chi)
A lot of what she said in the video sounds familiar to some of the things that happen in meditation.

I like it when people of logic and science have unique experiences like what she did. Not saying I want them to have stroke or anything like that. I just want them to have that experience that opens their eyes and allows them to see that the world and the human body is so much bigger than the definitions and meanings that we give things and our environment.

She looks good for someone who survived a stroke. I guess because most people don't get 8 years to recover from a stroke, because of their age and other age related illnesses that pops up.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I think it's normal for people who do forms or kata to dream of fighting or do kata in their sleep. Sometimes the kata/form kicks in on it's own. I dream about fighting and actually do parts of the forms, my wife does it as well it comes and goes depending on how focused I am with learning a form. I think much of it is a result of muscle memory and trained mental perception. If you are always training to be aware and to respond then, it kicks on when we least expect it.

Forgot to mention that my son has had the same experience. There have been a few nights where I've avoided elbows to the face from my wife. I also sometimes do Tai Chi like movements when I turn in my sleep. Most of the time it feels like I'm trying to move. I should record myself sleep to see what's going on. Oh and I think I took a knee to the back from my wife. I can only assume because I woke up the next day and my back was killing me. It felt like someone punched me in my back.

 

[Flatfish]

Oh and I think I took a knee to the back from my wife. I can only assume because I woke up the next day and my back was killing me. It felt like someone punched me in my back.

Man, I'm glad I only have cats to deal with

 

[Ironbear24]

My dreams suck sometimes. When I dream of fighting normally the strikes are slow and do nothing when they land. If people want to interpret it I guess it's probably because of the whole "you're weak" mentallity or you the "you can't" attitude that has been drilled into me since I was a kid.

I used to believe these things for a long time that I wslas just doomed to be a mediocre person but those days are long gone.

 

[Tgace]

Sounds like a correlation to my gunfight dreams. Trigger is 1000 lbs, bullets come out like a cork gun, etc.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[Tgace]

LtCol Dave Grossman calls this the Universal Warrior Nightmare. He mentions this this in "On Combat" and states that the most common version of the dream is the one where you cannot get your gun to fire.

Grossman mentions that he once spoke to an audience of US Special Forces soldiers who had recently returned from deployment. He asked how many had the "gun-doesn't-work" dream, and nearly everyone in the room raised their hand.

Grossman believes the dreams are an indicator of your subconscious mind manifesting concern that you are not trained enough (or properly) and the remedy is to practice more often...and/or more realistically.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

LtCol Dave Grossman calls this the Universal Warrior Nightmare. He mentions this this in "On Combat" and states that the most common version of the dream is the one where you cannot get your gun to fire.

Grossman mentions that he once spoke to an audience of US Special Forces soldiers who had recently returned from deployment. He asked how many had the "gun-doesn't-work" dream, and nearly everyone in the room raised their hand.

Grossman believes the dreams are an indicator of your subconscious mind manifesting concern that you are not trained enough (or properly) and the remedy is to practice more often...and/or more realistically.

Fascinating, thank you! While not a fan of the Grossman 'Sheepdog' thing, that's an interesting insight.