Getting your bell rung

[Razorfoot]

If you have practiced hard and fought hard while training, it has happened to you. As a beginner you get to a point where you feel good, comfortable, & relaxed. Your skills are starting become a bit sharper, your reaction time and footwork a bit better. Then, out of nowhere, that one solid shot catches you and you take that first major "thump" of your training.

Since we are all still here reading this, we got through it okay. My question is, how do you, as an instructor or training partner, help another person who just got rattled by their first major shot, get over it and get back to training?

Scottie

 

[punisher73]

If you have practiced hard and fought hard while training, it has happened to you. As a beginner you get to a point where you feel good, comfortable, & relaxed. Your skills are starting become a bit sharper, your reaction time and footwork a bit better. Then, out of nowhere, that one solid shot catches you and you take that first major "thump" of your training.

Since we are all still here reading this, we got through it okay. My question is, how do you, as an instructor or training partner, help another person who just got rattled by their first major shot, get over it and get back to training?

Scottie

I think it is important to let them know from the start that it's going to happen. No matter how long they train, IT WILL HAPPEN. It shouldn't be a surprise when it does. I think the other thing is to emphasize that it's what you do after that makes the difference. Walk them through it, explain what happened physically to them and then walk them through the mental doubts that we have all experienced. Let them know that it's normal to feel/think that way. After that get them right back on the horse because the longer they wait the longer the doubts will build.

 

[Drac]

Let them know that it's normal to feel/think that way. After that get them right back on the horse because the longer they wait the longer the doubts will build.

That's what Sensei did to me the first time I had my chimes rung..He made sure I wasn't seriously hurt and put me back into the mix..I will be FOREVER grateful...

 

[MattJ]

KOBRA-KAI! :rofl:

 

[Kacey]

I tell them the same thing my instructor tells us - you're taking a martial art; you're going to get dinged, which includes bruises, getting the wind knocked out of you, and get your chimes rung... but that's said either during training, or after I'm sure they're okay.

 

[KempoGuy06]

That's what Sensei did to me the first time I had my chimes rung..He made sure I wasn't seriously hurt and put me back into the mix..I will be FOREVER grateful...

same here. I took a good shot to the bridge of the nose as a yellow belt by a black belt. He made sure I was ok and so did my instructor. I shook it off and got back on the mats. I too am grateful, the one who clocked me has now become my sparring partner. we spar once a week and are planning to do more. Im now a blue belt and he is a second degree. I feel he is the reason I have made the progress that i have

B

 

[terryl965]

I tell my students from the first day of class we are a Martial Art school you will have bumps and bruises and soreness and at some point and time you will must likely get knocked out, so train hard and remember once it happens to be at practice the next day so you will still be fresh and we can go over what happened the day before.

 

[Big Don]

What my sifu tells us is: "Two things are going to happen in sparring, you are going to get hit, and it is going to hurt. Anything else is gravy"

 

[theletch1]

With us in the aikido world it's not as often as for ya'll in the external styles but it does happen. One advantage that I think we have is that we work joint locks from pretty much day one. A joint lock, when properly applied, feels like getting plugged into 110v current. After enough of those, blunt force trauma is something to look forward to.:wink: When we get a new student the senior students will feel them out to see what other training they've had, how responsive they are to aggressive training and so on. Many come to us from other arts and have already gotten that bell rung several times. If we find that a student has never been tagged really hard we make sure to discuss with them just how much harder you can be hit and still keep going than you think you can. When it finally does happen we are very much like the rest of you. Ensure that they are fine and then put them right back into the mix. It's actually really gratifying to see someone that was certain that they couldn't take a punch shake off a good ringer, smile a little smile of "Holy crap! I survived" and keep on going.

 

[Sukerkin]

My first reaction when I read through the opening lines was surprise. Surprise that it was considered a possibility that someone could be so shocked by taking a good hit that they would lose confidence in their ability or their art.

I'm sure the world can't have changed that much since I started out in martial arts ... can it?

Then again, with the benefit of experience, I realise just how badly you can be hurt by just one hit, so perhaps I would be less blase about it than I used to be in my Lau Gar days.

But it is still something of an eye-brow raising idea that a person voluntarily taking part in a physical (and admittedly potentially dangerous) fighting art could be so psychologically affected by a strong blow.

Other than that, I am in full agreement with the general consensus above. Pick them up, dust them off, make sure they know their name and aren't bleeding from somewhere dubious and get them to carry on. It's very basic peer-group psychology but it works, especially in a group that consists almost entirely of young men - noone likes to admit to 'weakness' in such an environment and it is very helpful in aiding someone get over a shock or emergent fear.

 

[thardey]

My first good "thumping" was in football drills. I didn't have time to feel confused -- if I sat still I was gonna get "Thumped" again! I went back and sorted it out sometime after the season was over!

After that, MA was cake!

 

[theletch1]

Mark, you'd be truly amazed (and not in a good way) at the sheer volume of people that come into an aikido dojo and get truly upset at being put in pain from a wrist lock or those that I met during my kempo days that would pad up like there was no tomorrow for light contact sparring. I actually heard the phrase "I didn't come here to be anybodies punching bag. I came here to learn to defend myself." As if they expected to be able to defend themselves without ever taking a hit.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Most of us at one time or another do get our bell's rung...

One thing for sure....we are NOT invinsible...no matter how long we train!

Getting hit/hurt...is a good wake up called too! Learning is a two way street...positive and negative training helps us all for sure!

Aloha, ...ring the bell is OK...seeing stars? ...not sure!

 

[Rich Parsons]

If you have practiced hard and fought hard while training, it has happened to you. As a beginner you get to a point where you feel good, comfortable, & relaxed. Your skills are starting become a bit sharper, your reaction time and footwork a bit better. Then, out of nowhere, that one solid shot catches you and you take that first major "thump" of your training.

Since we are all still here reading this, we got through it okay. My question is, how do you, as an instructor or training partner, help another person who just got rattled by their first major shot, get over it and get back to training?

Scottie

The first thing I do is cover myself in case they instinctively swing back.

The second thing I tell them is that they are OK. I tell them it is normal to have the the eyes water or the ringing in the ears. I tell them to stay focused and to walk with me. The walking allows them to vent and release some of the adrenaline. It also gives them something to do that they do normally.


Of course like everyone else stated, they are informed that contact happens and the they might get hurt. They need to realize this.

 

[Guardian]

Heck with the newbie crap, I was still now and then getting my bell rang after 15 years in it, by the newbie when I relaxed while sparring around or teaching something and I let my guard down LOL.

We use to tell our new folks, just relax if you get your head rocked, sit there and let your eyes refocus and your mind come back together and then we would laugh about it while that was coming together, because we found that laughter no matter how much your bell was rang seemed to have a calming factor on the individual most of the time, I guess it made them feel at ease even in that state of confusion that everything would be ok shortly.

 

[Sukerkin]

Mark, you'd be truly amazed (and not in a good way) at the sheer volume of people that come into an aikido dojo and get truly upset at being put in pain from a wrist lock or those that I met during my kempo days that would pad up like there was no tomorrow for light contact sparring. I actually heard the phrase "I didn't come here to be anybodies punching bag. I came here to learn to defend myself." As if they expected to be able to defend themselves without ever taking a hit.

I am a touch saddened (if not all that surprised with our strange, mixed-up, wrapped-in-cotton-wool-but-violent societies) to hear that. Yes, properly applied locks hurt like hell (that's kind of the point ) so surely the lesson is to learn how to apply them or get out of/avoid them, not moan about how much they hurt?

I hated being locked, especially with a bit of pressure-point added in; that feeling of weakness in the limb, as well as the sick-making pain, was horrid. But that just made me appreciate how useful a technique it was and learn it as well as I could (which came in handy a few years on as some of you know).

Of course, when learning, you don't need to go 100% all the time else your class participation ends up being a tad curtailed {} but you can't learn it without feeling it - or at least that's what I think. That applies to all techniques {tho' I might leave my present art out of that equation :lol:} and 'taking a hit' is part and parcel of learning an art.

 

[IcemanSK]

I tell my students from the first day of class we are a Martial Art school you will have bumps and bruises and soreness and at some point and time you will most likely get knocked out, so train hard and remember once it happens to be at practice the next day so you will still be fresh and we can go over what happened the day before.

That is excellent! I'll need to add that to what I tell my students.

 

[terryl965]

That is excellent! I'll need to add that to what I tell my students.

Thanks Iceman

 

[kidswarrior]

My first good "thumping" was in football drills. I didn't have time to feel confused -- if I sat still I was gonna get "Thumped" again! I went back and sorted it out sometime after the season was over!

After that, MA was cake!

Exactly what I've been thinking since first seeing this thread. Didn't these people play any sports growing up? We got hurt all the time as youngsters, so the later street fights with accompanying cuts and bruises--and once in awhile something broken--just seemed a natural thing.

Now partner work in the studio--that's just fun. Never been hit anywhere near as hard as we were as kids and adolescents. And the locks, well, is there a dojo in the world that doesn't allow tapping out? As Sukerkin said, Has the world changed that much? I admit I do spend a lot of time with violent offenders, so maybe I'm just a lot more out of step than I thought, and expect MA students to be ready for a little discomfort. :idunno:

 

[Ceicei]

Years ago, I had trained in Kenpo for a few months. An open karate tournament came up, so a few of us decided to train for that. I trained hard and felt confident about my abilities (apparently I felt too confident).

The day of the tournament arrived and I entered in the kata and sparring divisions. When it came time to spar, there was a moment my guard wasn't up high enough. Of course, I got hit right in my face. My nose bled all over (I didn't know until later it broke). Anyway, the pain felt unbearable and I recall thinking whether taking Kenpo was a mistake. It took a couple of minutes for my instructor to encourage me to finish the match. I wasn't too happy, but finished it. This was definitely an experience I never forgot. Pain is an excellent teacher.

After the tournament, my instructor gave me a good talking and convinced me to stick with Kenpo. Many, many years later, I'm still training.

- Ceicei