How do you get past the mental thing?

[Han-Mi]

Just to add my 2 cents, though it may not be needed after all these posts, I have a bit of a "gun shy" disposition as well. I am actually a second dan BB, I'm 20 and I've been training for 13 years.(never shot anything living either). I, however, know that I can release the full extent of my force and ability because I have been in full contact competitions. This, though still a sport with rules, was a good indicator for me that I could release if I needed to. I have never had to go beyond joint locks and actually fight a person, so I don't know what would happen in actual combat, but I have a feeling I would be fine.
My gun shy problem I believe is from working with lower ranks almost all the time, there aren't many ppl at the level I am at in my small town, in fact, they are either below me or they are the few above me, there are no equals in rank and/or experience(not trying to be arrogant, just stating that my experience is a lot for the area I'm in, though it doesnt come close to the higher up instructors in my area). The way I let out my full power is on the heavy bags, it is a good way to get used to practicing at full power. Nobody gets hurt, so you don't have to fear that, and it is ok if you start out below max power and build up to it, just get your adrenaline flowin and it will all fall into place. It is good to have the confidence to know that you can pull it out when you need it, in case you ever have to.

 

[MA-Caver]

I do not feel that I have experience to explain this from my own trials of life. However I found this article posted on Mr. LaBounty's website to be quite usefull in helping clear this barrier.

http://thesigung.com/dojo_fit.html

I myself have been placed in a situation where my skills were necessary and without really thining about it I sucessfully managed to exit without injury to myself.

Most excellent and should be posted here rather gone to the link.

Sigung Stephen LaBounty
Issues of Fitness for the Martial Artist

I wish to post these thoughts for consideration on why a Martial Artist must be more than “dojo” fit, he/she should be “incident” fit.
Dojo Fit:
*Able to pick and choose opponents. Even when testing, the constant stopping and starting does not always lead to fitness.
*Absence of stress. Teacher, coach, moderator present, situation is a learning one, and corrections must be made.
*Ability to modify situation. This is isolating certain weak points and working solely on them, once again picking and choosing time, pace, opponent, etc.

Incident Fit:
* Opponent chooses you and possibly has de-humanized you already, which means he will resort to anything to win.
* As the “incident” gap closes, a tremendous amount of stress is put on the defender. There will be no “time outs” or any other saving things until the attack has concluded and the results are in.
* You may be able to modify the situation, especially if you’ve done the mental prep as well as the physical prep in your mind. The confidence is heightened if you’ve done some battle practice with a partner or partners who think as you.

There will be pain. It might be yours.
There will be blood. It probably will be yours.
There will be anger, hatred even. It will be directed towards you.

Here are some other things to ponder:
1. Actually, we all are built to be athletes.
2. We’ve become a Nation of spectators, with short attention spans.
3. We are burying more people who die from diseases of choice.
4. We’ve pretty much wiped out diseases of chance.
5. Close to 60% of us die from lifestyle choices.
6. The way we visualize ourselves, our imagery of us as persons is important. Most of us can’t resolve crises, we are the crisis.
7. Most of us lack discipline, but another word for discipline is love.
8. The first line of defense in an attack is YOU!
9. Being unprepared for an attack/battle is unforgivable, losing can be forgiven however. (I love this one)
10. Discipline is the first fruits of self-respect. (A. Hessel)
11. I, and other Martial Artists that I respect want heroes, not Kings.
12. If your physical fitness is so bad, and during a confrontation you become spent quickly, you will resort to anything to survive including those things that will cause deadly force. Called the “Continuum of Deadly Force” it is well proven in Law Enforcement and Military communities throughout the world.
13. You can control your destiny and you can do it now. You are in charge of your well being. Your teachers, friends and family all depend on you to listen and stay safe and healthy. They will be with you during the most stressful of times. Don’t let them down…

“All men are essentially the same. He is greatest who is trained in the severest school” (Socrates)

 

[MA-Caver]

I do not feel that I have experience to explain this from my own trials of life. However I found this article posted on Mr. LaBounty's website to be quite usefull in helping clear this barrier.

http://thesigung.com/dojo_fit.html

I myself have been placed in a situation where my skills were necessary and without really thining about it I sucessfully managed to exit without injury to myself.

Most excellent and should be posted here rather gone to the link. (The underlines, italics and colors are mine to "answer" Quick Sands initial questions)

Sigung Stephen LaBounty
Issues of Fitness for the Martial Artist

I wish to post these thoughts for consideration on why a Martial Artist must be more than “dojo” fit, he/she should be “incident” fit.
Dojo Fit:
*Able to pick and choose opponents. Even when testing, the constant stopping and starting does not always lead to fitness.
*Absence of stress. Teacher, coach, moderator present, situation is a learning one, and corrections must be made.
*Ability to modify situation. This is isolating certain weak points and working solely on them, once again picking and choosing time, pace, opponent, etc.

Incident Fit:
* Opponent chooses you and possibly has de-humanized you already, which means he will resort to anything to win.
* As the “incident” gap closes, a tremendous amount of stress is put on the defender. There will be no “time outs” or any other saving things until the attack has concluded and the results are in.
* You may be able to modify the situation, especially if you’ve done the mental prep as well as the physical prep in your mind. The confidence is heightened if you’ve done some battle practice with a partner or partners who think as you.

There will be pain. It might be yours.
There will be blood. It probably will be yours.
There will be anger, hatred even. It will be directed towards you.

Here are some other things to ponder:
1. Actually, we all are built to be athletes.
2. We’ve become a Nation of spectators, with short attention spans.
3. We are burying more people who die from diseases of choice.
4. We’ve pretty much wiped out diseases of chance.
5. Close to 60% of us die from lifestyle choices.
6. The way we visualize ourselves, our imagery of us as persons is important. Most of us can’t resolve crises, we are the crisis.
7. Most of us lack discipline, but another word for discipline is love.
8. The first line of defense in an attack is YOU!
9. Being unprepared for an attack/battle is unforgivable, losing can be forgiven however. (I love this one)
10. Discipline is the first fruits of self-respect. (A. Hessel)
11. I, and other Martial Artists that I respect want heroes, not Kings.
12. If your physical fitness is so bad, and during a confrontation you become spent quickly, you will resort to anything to survive including those things that will cause deadly force. Called the “Continuum of Deadly Force” it is well proven in Law Enforcement and Military communities throughout the world.
13. You can control your destiny and you can do it now. You are in charge of your well being. Your teachers, friends and family all depend on you to listen and stay safe and healthy. They will be with you during the most stressful of times. Don’t let them down…

“All men are essentially the same. He is greatest who is trained in the severest school” (Socrates)

 

[dubljay]

I should have posted the whole article, I was just trying to keep my post length down is all.