I've been training for the tournament at Longpoint and doing quite a bit of fighting (thanks to all of your for your help in that regard). One thing that sank in was how much of your fighting performance is in your head.
This is one of those things I've known for a long time, but never really appreciated until recently. It really sank in for me over the last few weeks. With all the fighting I've been doing, I sometimes just didn't feel like it, and my mind wandered. This gave me a chance to see how mental state affects results, and let me tell you, if I had to fight to the death, I'd rather fight hopping on one leg than with a messed up head.
It doesn't matter who I'm fighting, our newest student or our best fighter, if my mind is somewhere else, I get hit. Sometimes a lot. If I get into it, put myself in the zone, then I fight well and rarely get touched. It's almost like a magic switch. On, kick ass. Off, get hit.
What does this mean for you guys? Well, you may want to think about how your mental state affects you. Do you get scared? Confused? Does Crazy Steve intimidate you?:) Whenever you fight, consider it an opportunity to practice. Not just your technique, that's the easy stuff, but your mental state. That's where the real fight takes place.
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I couldn't agree more. Sometimes (rarely) I feel like I can do no wrong then I catch myself thinking that and suddenly wack!
ReplyDeleteI find getting myself to this point and keeping myself there very hard.
With me the self imposed pressure (not looking stupid) of a tournament atmosphere provokes almost as strong a physical response as if real violence is about to take place, sounds silly I know. But working through that is a very interesting process.
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ReplyDeleteJapanese attitude: Don't be afraid to die.
With a Viking twist: You're already dead.
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Son of Odinn