Blackout/Stressed out in fights?

MattejMT

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Hello! I just went my first muay thai fight, but as soon as i got into the ring I got super "stressed" and blacked out a litlle bit, when I fought my opponent I had almost no idea what I was doing.I did pretty good overall and it was even almost the whole time. I know I could do MUCH better if I just could "be myself" and not freak out, I only did simple things which never ever happends in sparring and so on. I couldn´t do anything of the things I wanted to because I forgot so much.

Do you have any tips on how to avoid this happening?

Thanks in advance!
 

drop bear

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You just have to keep competing until it either goes away or you manage it.

Not unusual on a first fight.
 
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MattejMT

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You just have to keep competing until it either goes away or you manage it.

Not unusual on a first fight.

Yeah that´s true, my coach told me that too. Here's the fight if you want to watch it! I´m in the red corner.

 

Headhunter

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Welcome to the fight world. That crap always happens at least once to every fighter just got to keep training
 

JR 137

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Same as those guys said. My line: there’s no substitute for experience.

Keep at it. You’ll get comfortable. Not too comfortable, in a good way, but comfortable.
 

Danny T

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Nothing prepares one for fighting than actually fighting.
Keep at it. The more fights you have the more you'll control your mind, emotions, the surge of adrenaline, and its affects on you.
 

skribs

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As you get more experience with something, things seem to slow down. Part of that is because you react to stimuli faster, and so you can respond faster, and to you it seems that the punch or kick was slower. Here's kind of how it works.
  1. You get punched. You notice it because your face hurts.
  2. You see the punch before it hits your face. You notice it, and then your face hurts.
  3. You notice that the opponent's body turns before your face hurts.
  4. You learn to build a muscle memory response that when your opponent's body turns, a punch is coming.
Now you're at a point where you can start to respond when you see the body twitch, or even hint at moving the way a punch would. Instead of having to react when the punch is thrown.

Having more time can give you the feeling of more control.
 

Gerry Seymour

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That sounds like a normal stress response - partly an exaggeration of tunnel vision, probably.

For those with experience coaching fighters, how common is this? I've had people report a similar experience in defensive situations. I had assumed it must be something that would show up at least occasionally in fighting, but never got around to finding out.
 

drop bear

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That sounds like a normal stress response - partly an exaggeration of tunnel vision, probably.

For those with experience coaching fighters, how common is this? I've had people report a similar experience in defensive situations. I had assumed it must be something that would show up at least occasionally in fighting, but never got around to finding out.

Really common. You either get really stressed and become super conservative. And therefore unable to put together complicated stuff.

Or you get really focused on the present and kind of forget what you just did.

Which is why for a first time fight you emphasize cardio and straight punches.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Really common. You either get really stressed and become super conservative. And therefore unable to put together complicated stuff.

Or you get really focused on the present and kind of forget what you just did.

Which is why for a first time fight you emphasize cardio and straight punches.
That makes sense. And, as you've said before, some of the same reaction as folks see "in the street". In fact, other than the reference to complicated stuff, I've heard/read many people give the same kinds of descriptions after a defensive situation - whether they were able to respond usefully or not.
 

Danny T

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That sounds like a normal stress response - partly an exaggeration of tunnel vision, probably.

For those with experience coaching fighters, how common is this? I've had people report a similar experience in defensive situations. I had assumed it must be something that would show up at least occasionally in fighting, but never got around to finding out.
Very common. The physiology effect of adrenaline on a fighter is tough to produce in the gym to help prepare new fighters.
The only way to truly season a fighter is for them to...fight!
One either becomes so stressed it is difficult to put together any more than just single attacks and then reverts to what they naturally did prior to training and/or everything speeds up and they become so focused they don't hear much, they don't remember much, they just go.
With new fighters, we work on fundamentals, surviving the initial onslaught, and cardio, cardio, cardio.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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I think I may be the odd one out here. When I fought in 'street fights', part of the reason was that I loved that hyperfocused feeling, when I did not remember what I did afterwards. When I fenced, I discovered I had the same exact feeling in competition, but it lasted longer, and I could think through it-same adrenaline, but very different sensation. Was able to hone it, never lost that feeling, and loved it every time. Still was a lot of 'I don't hear what's happening around me, and revert to what I know works', but with the ability to incorporate strategy as well.

I can't imagine wanting that feeling to not be there when I enter any kind of martial competition.
 

JR 137

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It’s not just fighting and combative competition that does this. Any high-anxiety situation can elicit the same responses - public speaking, flying, other forms of competition, etc.

I remember my first professional job interview right after undergrad. I got in the car thinking why did I answer some questions a certain way instead of another way. I answered honestly, but I had far better honest answers than I remembered at the moment. And when people asked me what I was asked, I had a hard time remembering most questions.

Same as my first presentation in college. I couldn’t answer several questions my professor asked during it, but I easily justified everything I presented later on in his office. I drew a blank and could barely read what I had written down. My mind was going 100 mph in a bunch of different directions yet I was in a fog. Good thing he was used to that reaction from his new students; he always dropped the first one’s grade if it hurt the student’s average. But he didn’t tell us that until the end of the semester.

Stressful situations elicit a similar response. You start to desensitize after you’ve been through it a bunch of times.
 

Gerry Seymour

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It’s not just fighting and combative competition that does this. Any high-anxiety situation can elicit the same responses - public speaking, flying, other forms of competition, etc.

I remember my first professional job interview right after undergrad. I got in the car thinking why did I answer some questions a certain way instead of another way. I answered honestly, but I had far better honest answers than I remembered at the moment. And when people asked me what I was asked, I had a hard time remembering most questions.

Same as my first presentation in college. I couldn’t answer several questions my professor asked during it, but I easily justified everything I presented later on in his office. I drew a blank and could barely read what I had written down. My mind was going 100 mph in a bunch of different directions yet I was in a fog. Good thing he was used to that reaction from his new students; he always dropped the first one’s grade if it hurt the student’s average. But he didn’t tell us that until the end of the semester.

Stressful situations elicit a similar response. You start to desensitize after you’ve been through it a bunch of times.
Interesting. I'm trying to think when I've had similar experiences. I think it's only been when I'm injured. Maybe that's the only time I've been really that scared/stressed in that way. Surely there've been other times, but I can't for the life of me bring any to mind. But my episodic memory is crap, so...
 

Kung Fu Wang

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I don't get stress. I give it.
Agree with you 100% there. You should let your opponent to get stress. When a lion attacks a deer, that lion doesn't get stress. You should try to be that lion.

How to do that? Attack, attack, and still attack. Let your opponent to play defense. If you understand how to "run your opponent down", you are there.

Here is an example.

 
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