That smile

[DeLamar.J]

Everyone has been givin that smile, by your instructor as he is owning you. It took me a while to understand what he was all happy about, and now I give the same smile to my students.
As your sparring with a lower skilled partner, you can see it in there eyes, you can see that confused look, trying to figure out what your going to do, and they are trying to figure out what they should do. They dont understand how you can beat them to the punch everytime, or why they keep loosing there balance and getting thrown. They see you with that smile on your face and it sometimes makes them mad, which causes even more problems than they had before.
As he was smiling at me, he was happy about the lessons I was learning, he could see me improving each day. And that joy he felt, giving the gift of his knowledge, would sometimes make me angry and want to smack that grinn off his face, and that anger would cut my skill in half. I took it as a taunt, and that only exposed my small mindedness to him. And him being happy only increased the value of the lesson, because it taught me to control my temper. He was also happy because he was relaxed, and did not have to think about what he was going to do, because his body was trained what to do through intense martial arts training(muscle memory).
Now here is where I am going to loose a few of you. I feel that a person can sense an attack, they can sense the rage and adrenalin flowing in the air from your brain if they are sensitive enough. Being happy as you are destroying your opponent is a must, and if you have to sneak up on a person, it is also a must. The reason for this is, there is no psychic energy flowing from you that will make the other person weary or expecting no matter if your opponent is facing you, or if you are comming from behind.
As hard as this might be, I feel you must be thinking of loving and kind thoughts, you must be thinking, thank you for giving me the force I needed to put you down, and you must be thinking this sincerely, or its no good.
I hope you all enjoy my post, even if you dont agree with all of it. I also want to say that I really enjoy talking to all of you on this forum, I always get good feed back here. Martial talk is without a doubt the best martial arts forum on the net. If I posted this in other places I would get things like, fury is all there is to fighting and thats that ect ect. Everyone seems to have an open mind around here.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

I agree that some can sense an attack; but, I think it has as much to do with pheromones as it does with 'psychic' energy. This doesn't detract from you initial statement, however, keeping yourself in line, balanced and calm minimizes production of certain pheromones and the instinctual response in your opponent will, as well, be reduced.

 

[kempo-vjj]

I can agree seeing that smile on your instructors face makes you want one as well. One day my instructor had me in a stand up submission, where we walks me around, drops me,picks me back up, walks me, drops, picks back up, after about 7-8 times of this, and he's really enjoying it, I mean reaally I was like show me. Sometimes if its a move outside of our belt, the only teaching well get is to watch while its happening to ya and if ya get it down good for you. Me I need to work through it personally. There has been a few times I've got one good on the instructor, now that'll really make you smile.

 

[jdinca]

Everyone has been givin that smile, by your instructor as he is owning you. It took me a while to understand what he was all happy about, and now I give the same smile to my students.
As your sparring with a lower skilled partner, you can see it in there eyes, you can see that confused look, trying to figure out what your going to do, and they are trying to figure out what they should do. They dont understand how you can beat them to the punch everytime, or why they keep loosing there balance and getting thrown. They see you with that smile on your face and it sometimes makes them mad, which causes even more problems than they had before.
As he was smiling at me, he was happy about the lessons I was learning, he could see me improving each day. And that joy he felt, giving the gift of his knowledge, would sometimes make me angry and want to smack that grinn off his face, and that anger would cut my skill in half. I took it as a taunt, and that only exposed my small mindedness to him. And him being happy only increased the value of the lesson, because it taught me to control my temper. He was also happy because he was relaxed, and did not have to think about what he was going to do, because his body was trained what to do through intense martial arts training(muscle memory).
Now here is where I am going to loose a few of you. I feel that a person can sense an attack, they can sense the rage and adrenalin flowing in the air from your brain if they are sensitive enough. Being happy as you are destroying your opponent is a must, and if you have to sneak up on a person, it is also a must. The reason for this is, there is no psychic energy flowing from you that will make the other person weary or expecting no matter if your opponent is facing you, or if you are comming from behind.
As hard as this might be, I feel you must be thinking of loving and kind thoughts, you must be thinking, thank you for giving me the force I needed to put you down, and you must be thinking this sincerely, or its no good.
I hope you all enjoy my post, even if you dont agree with all of it. I also want to say that I really enjoy talking to all of you on this forum, I always get good feed back here. Martial talk is without a doubt the best martial arts forum on the net. If I posted this in other places I would get things like, fury is all there is to fighting and thats that ect ect. Everyone seems to have an open mind around here.

Great post! Add to that smile, the memory of being on the opposite side.

I can't really disagree with the more esoteric part of your post either. Ever feel that there's somebody behind you and there is? Even though there was no noise or warning that they were there? When facing somebody, I also think that there are things our conscious mind doesn't always pick up on but our subconscious does. Fine nuances of facial expressions and body language, etc.

 

[Flatlander]

Hey James, this is one of the more interesting topics that I've seen in here in a while. I have to agree with some of what you've said. It seems to me that whenever my mind is clouded with rage, there is less opportunity for me to do things like think, strategize, and evaluate. Thus, I may be less effective tactically, and might be caused to make unwise decisions.

The challenge for me lies within controlling my emotions. Particularly if I'm not dominating. It's tough to stay calm, and I have by no means mastered this art. However, I do see the value of remaining unfettered. Having said that, I can't say that I can fully agree that forcing myself to be happy or to smile is going to be a useful option, either. I think that my most efficient and clear state of mind is one of no emotion. That way, there are no thoughts in my mind outside of the physical interaction. So, I'd say that both extremes, anger or joy, aren't beneficial. Rather, the middle way is the way to clarity.

Once again though, I'm by no means there yet.....

:asian:

 

[green meanie]

The only time I smile at my students is when they start getting good enough to give me a good fight. When they start being able to counter what I'm doing to them and launching a few attacks of their own that's when things finally start to get interesting.

 

[Sam]

I know that smile well; it sometimes makes me mad - but mostly, it just really revs me up. I want to see that smile drop and a look of actual surprise cross his face, because the smile comes back after that, just a little bit bigger...

ah... I love sparring blackbelts...

 

[jdinca]

Hey James, this is one of the more interesting topics that I've seen in here in a while. I have to agree with some of what you've said. It seems to me that whenever my mind is clouded with rage, there is less opportunity for me to do things like think, strategize, and evaluate. Thus, I may be less effective tactically, and might be caused to make unwise decisions.

The challenge for me lies within controlling my emotions. Particularly if I'm not dominating. It's tough to stay calm, and I have by no means mastered this art. However, I do see the value of remaining unfettered. Having said that, I can't say that I can fully agree that forcing myself to be happy or to smile is going to be a useful option, either. I think that my most efficient and clear state of mind is one of no emotion. That way, there are no thoughts in my mind outside of the physical interaction. So, I'd say that both extremes, anger or joy, aren't beneficial. Rather, the middle way is the way to clarity.

Once again though, I'm by no means there yet.....

:asian:

Give slow motion sparring a try. About 25% speed. It's quite an eye opener when paying attention to how your body/emotions respond. We use it on occasion to train in looking for openings and to learning how to control emotions. It's amazing how difficult it can be keeping to the slow tempo.

A couple of minutes into it, the instructor is usually laughing and saying "I thought I said slow".

 

[muffin_cup_of_death]

This is a hilarious post. I never once saw ANY of my instructors smile during our sparring. The reason being: I have always been a good fighter, ever before I took MA. And I was always serious, and intent on not being defeated no matter who I fight. So, if anyone while fighting me would even have time to smile, I'd be really surprised. When The bout begins, I'm all over them, I am a real offensive fighter, I dont allow a moment to rest. The first time I sparred my instructor, we did so in front of the girls dance team as they cleared out of the gym ( My sensei was hoping to recruit some ladies into our class) LOL. I had only been training with him for three months, and i worked him to the point where he said he wouldnt ever spar me again. Given I was about a foot taller, and have a lot longer arms and legs, his karate was totally useless. After that day, we started studying JKD, and we both became better, but he still never sparred me again.

Even when I took Kyokushin, and my sensei really was alot better than me, he was so pissed when he couldnt knock me down, that I got punished for it.
He beat me to the point I could not even see anything, but I never went down. Every other student he trained, he had knocked down, and could easily beat them. But he never smiled like I was owned by him. If you allow yourself to BE owned, you will be. And being an instructor, I would never do something like that. I believe training should be serious, and without the mind games, and trying to feel big sparring novices.

 

[Sam]

Well, we're just a bright ray of sunshine and modesty and fun aren't we?

You can be completely serious about your training and still have a good time. Serious doesn't mean you can't have fun. You say you were intent on not being defeated; to me, and most I know, sparring isnt about winning and losing.

And you say you worked your instructor over so much he would never want to spar you again. Personally, I wouldnt take it as a compliment if someone told me they never wanted to spar me again. If your sensei's karate was 'useless' due to your height and reach advantage, I might question the authenticity of the sensei, of the karate.

If your instructor was 'pissed', and you were 'punished for it' I would seriously question the situation

You say as an instructor you would never allow yourself to 'be owned' - what do you mean by that? Consider if you were a student of an instructor who wouldnt let you score, wouldnt give you opportunity, wouldnt 'allow yourself to be owned'. How would the student learn? Why would training be fun if you were only continuously beat on?

When I get the smile, I definitely dont feel as though my instructors are trying to feel big by beating on me - they are giving me a hard fight and making me look for my openings, making me push my advantages, making me try new things - in short, they're teaching me. Getting beat on is not a conducive enviroment to learning, but neither is having zero challange.

 

[green meanie]

Well, we're just a bright ray of sunshine and modesty and fun aren't we?

:boing2:

 

[Gemini]

I smile all the time. Usually it's because I'm having fun. I save "that smile" for those who think they're just sooo good. They can't stand it.

 

[DeLamar.J]

This is a hilarious post. I never once saw ANY of my instructors smile during our sparring. The reason being: I have always been a good fighter, ever before I took MA. And I was always serious, and intent on not being defeated no matter who I fight. So, if anyone while fighting me would even have time to smile, I'd be really surprised. When The bout begins, I'm all over them, I am a real offensive fighter, I dont allow a moment to rest. The first time I sparred my instructor, we did so in front of the girls dance team as they cleared out of the gym ( My sensei was hoping to recruit some ladies into our class) LOL. I had only been training with him for three months, and i worked him to the point where he said he wouldnt ever spar me again. Given I was about a foot taller, and have a lot longer arms and legs, his karate was totally useless. After that day, we started studying JKD, and we both became better, but he still never sparred me again.

Even when I took Kyokushin, and my sensei really was alot better than me, he was so pissed when he couldnt knock me down, that I got punished for it.
He beat me to the point I could not even see anything, but I never went down. Every other student he trained, he had knocked down, and could easily beat them. But he never smiled like I was owned by him. If you allow yourself to BE owned, you will be. And being an instructor, I would never do something like that. I believe training should be serious, and without the mind games, and trying to feel big sparring novices.

Well, I have to say that I'm not as good as you make youself sound. Here is a little story about my instructor.... I have been with him since I was about 10, and just now, I can give him a challenge. His buddy, is equally skilled as him, and I have seen them hit each other so hard that I began to question there friendship.
Now here is the kicker, both of them can go up against there instructor, and get owned, AT THE SAME TIME!!
This is how it should be, if not than its time to start researching the lineage of the people your training with.
Also, there are some great instructors out there who have had a "fall out" with previous instructors, and there for the legal paperwork wont be there, but those types are hard to find in the swarm of mc dojos out there. So many people throw around the grand master and great grand master title today, if anything will ever destroy martial arts, it will be the posers.

 

[DeLamar.J]

Hey James, this is one of the more interesting topics that I've seen in here in a while. I have to agree with some of what you've said. It seems to me that whenever my mind is clouded with rage, there is less opportunity for me to do things like think, strategize, and evaluate. Thus, I may be less effective tactically, and might be caused to make unwise decisions.

The challenge for me lies within controlling my emotions. Particularly if I'm not dominating. It's tough to stay calm, and I have by no means mastered this art. However, I do see the value of remaining unfettered. Having said that, I can't say that I can fully agree that forcing myself to be happy or to smile is going to be a useful option, either. I think that my most efficient and clear state of mind is one of no emotion. That way, there are no thoughts in my mind outside of the physical interaction. So, I'd say that both extremes, anger or joy, aren't beneficial. Rather, the middle way is the way to clarity.

Once again though, I'm by no means there yet.....

:asian:

I get what your saying. Being to much one way is being unbalanced, and that will leave room for defeat. Your absolutely right, I need to change up the way this article was written. Thanks.

 

[Kreth]

So many people throw around the grand master and great grand master title today, if anything will ever destroy martial arts, it will be the posers.

By posers, do you mean self-professed 20-something martial arts "experts"?

 

[DeLamar.J]

By posers, do you mean self-professed 20-something martial arts "experts"?

Did you mean 20 year old experts? If so, then yes, among many other things. Hell, I have been training since I was about 10, and I am no where near "EXPERT" status.

 

[Lisa]

It would frighten me as a potential student to find an instructor that believed he was the be all and end all of MA training. I am there to learn, what could he possibly have to teach me with an attitude like that? I would never step on the mats with him. That kind of attitude is dangerous IMHO.

 

[ninhito]

I hate that smile, im not an instructor...but it makes me want to do some extreme damage, i dont know why, but it does...and i usually get put down hard...lol

 

[MJS]

This is a hilarious post. I never once saw ANY of my instructors smile during our sparring. The reason being: I have always been a good fighter, ever before I took MA. And I was always serious, and intent on not being defeated no matter who I fight. So, if anyone while fighting me would even have time to smile, I'd be really surprised. When The bout begins, I'm all over them, I am a real offensive fighter, I dont allow a moment to rest. The first time I sparred my instructor, we did so in front of the girls dance team as they cleared out of the gym ( My sensei was hoping to recruit some ladies into our class) LOL. I had only been training with him for three months, and i worked him to the point where he said he wouldnt ever spar me again. Given I was about a foot taller, and have a lot longer arms and legs, his karate was totally useless. After that day, we started studying JKD, and we both became better, but he still never sparred me again.

Even when I took Kyokushin, and my sensei really was alot better than me, he was so pissed when he couldnt knock me down, that I got punished for it.
He beat me to the point I could not even see anything, but I never went down. Every other student he trained, he had knocked down, and could easily beat them. But he never smiled like I was owned by him. If you allow yourself to BE owned, you will be. And being an instructor, I would never do something like that. I believe training should be serious, and without the mind games, and trying to feel big sparring novices.

Well, this is certianly an interesting post. IMHO, I've personally never thought much of people who run around A) thinking that they are the end all-be all Martial Artist and B) ones that have to prove a point when they spar. Sparring should be a learning experience, something that is done to better each person, not to kick someones ***, make them fear you, etc. There is nothing wrong with kicking up the intensity level, but to the point where someone is getting hurt...sorry, that is a poor attitude.

I've sparred some high ranked people and some low ranked people. I've taken and given shots to both, but I take those shots that I get as again, a learning experience. Obviously I had an opening, they took advantage of it, and it taught me to better position my hands, make a change in my defense, etc., not to turn around and haul off and break their nose!

Seems to me that some people need an ego check!

Mike

 

[DeLamar.J]

I hate that smile, im not an instructor...but it makes me want to do some extreme damage, i dont know why, but it does...and i usually get put down hard...lol

Sounds like someone I used to know. Keep up the training.