How to Smash Through Your Fear of Violence! (Part 2 )
So now we get down to HOW to recondition your mind, your emotions, your neurology to respond to violent confrontation with calm, determination and even aggression.
The framework of the "Core Visualisation" Process I teach is based in essence on a Sports Psychology Framework. It's not some spooky or exotic "ninja mind control" tactic, it's an honest, objective Performance Psychology tool for those people looking to learn to protect themselves in a street fight.
This is key to the psychology of violence, and the mental training needed for a street fight: in essence this is Combative Psychology.
There 6 steps and 3 key elements to this process.
Step 1: Choose a specific skillset
Don't get greedy, choose which particular element of your total self protection training you want to work on and just focus on that. It could be the verbal confrontation, de-escalation elements, use of a socially camouflaged targeting strategy or fence before delivering a pre emptive strike, the clinching and mauling range, finishing the fight, whatever it's up to you, but the rule is: KEEP IT SPECIFIC, KEEP IT CONSERVATIVE
To use a sporting analogy a golfer could visualise their whole game ahead of time and indeed they should do, but only after they have repetitively worked on the separate elements of their game, over time FIRST. If this was a golfing article I would say: Start with just your "drive" or just your "putting".
As it's an RBSD/ Street Fight /Self Protection/ Combatives article I would give you a hint and say: start with a fence and pre emptive strike.
Why?
Because this is a key moment in a street fight and one that causes people the most fear. The line is being crossed and you are now moving from the verbal to the physical- a lot will be decided in that moment. So get good at it by physically and mentally training for it over and over, regularly.
Step 2: Choose the "Ideal State" You want to be in to deliver that Skillset
Everything I teach people who want to learn self defence techniques is rooted in psychology and more specifically in "state". Your state is your emotional, mental and physical condition in the moment.
What state would you want to be in when facing violence with skill?
It's not for me to dictate to you how you train, but I will give you some pointers.
If you are panicky and over excited in your emotional state, your movements will be frantic, ineffective and you will tire quickly. You aren't going to move with the skill and timing that is likely to land you the knock out shot and you aren't going to make good decisions.
Remember the rule:
PEOPLE IN GOOD STATES MAKE GOOD DECISIONS; PEOPLE IN BAD STATES MAKE BAD DECISIONS.
So by altering your emotional and mental state you immediately impact your physical skill and effectiveness.
Here is another clue, especially if you are very fearful:
Rage and Righteous Indignation trump Fear of Violence- every time.
Anger and fear cant exist in the same space, so if you are very fearful I suggest you ramp up the aggression in your choosing of your state. If you haven't hit the tipping point of righteous indignation then you've never been pushed to that place in a real fight (nothing you can do about that) nor have you used your imagination properly (something you can impact immediately).
This is not pleasant.
This is not "nice". We must move into the darker realms in order for this to be effective. If you use your imagination in a weak way you will get weak results. To access the kind of righteous indignation that allows housewives to defend themselves with cast iron savagery and determination against hardened street criminals you need to ask yourself the question: what would I need to experience happening in order for me to switch from fear to rage, to access that primitive survival instinct brutality WHICH WE ALL HAVE and to take massive, determined action?
For most people who can't access that point they simply need to imagine someone attacking someone near to them. For some of us we struggle to access righteous indignation when we ourselves are being attacked, but that strong protective instinct can be brought to bear when it is a loved one who is under threat.
Remember a good Combative Psychology principle:
People will do ANYTHING if they have a good enough reason.
It's your body, it's your brain, learn to run it.
Learn about yourself, explore what pushes your buttons.
USE your imagination. And I do mean "use" it. Your imagination is a tool, and if you don't master it and learn to use it, your imagination will master and learn to use you.
List the "Ideal Combative State Attributes" you want to build, for example:
· Cold,
· Determined,
· Tenacious Resolve,
· Righteous Indignation,
· Focussed Aggression etc
You choose what works best for you and your training.
As a counter balance example, think again of Golf, what state would you want to be in to play at your best?
Calm, focussed and zen like?
Probably almost the opposite of a "Combative State" but the point is you CAN CHOOSE and you should do. Ahead of time.
It's no different in principle: fighting back, protecting yourself is an emotional and physical skillset no different than any other. Treat it as such, rather than as some mysterious, exotic, otherworldly superhuman ability and you will get MUCH BETTER RESULTS.
Go now and write a list of 10 emotional attributes you would want to be experiencing when fighting back and protecting yourself. These will go toward creating your "Ideal Combative State".
I will show you how to build this State in the next article.
So now we get down to HOW to recondition your mind, your emotions, your neurology to respond to violent confrontation with calm, determination and even aggression.
The framework of the "Core Visualisation" Process I teach is based in essence on a Sports Psychology Framework. It's not some spooky or exotic "ninja mind control" tactic, it's an honest, objective Performance Psychology tool for those people looking to learn to protect themselves in a street fight.
This is key to the psychology of violence, and the mental training needed for a street fight: in essence this is Combative Psychology.
There 6 steps and 3 key elements to this process.
Step 1: Choose a specific skillset
Don't get greedy, choose which particular element of your total self protection training you want to work on and just focus on that. It could be the verbal confrontation, de-escalation elements, use of a socially camouflaged targeting strategy or fence before delivering a pre emptive strike, the clinching and mauling range, finishing the fight, whatever it's up to you, but the rule is: KEEP IT SPECIFIC, KEEP IT CONSERVATIVE
To use a sporting analogy a golfer could visualise their whole game ahead of time and indeed they should do, but only after they have repetitively worked on the separate elements of their game, over time FIRST. If this was a golfing article I would say: Start with just your "drive" or just your "putting".
As it's an RBSD/ Street Fight /Self Protection/ Combatives article I would give you a hint and say: start with a fence and pre emptive strike.
Why?
Because this is a key moment in a street fight and one that causes people the most fear. The line is being crossed and you are now moving from the verbal to the physical- a lot will be decided in that moment. So get good at it by physically and mentally training for it over and over, regularly.
Step 2: Choose the "Ideal State" You want to be in to deliver that Skillset
Everything I teach people who want to learn self defence techniques is rooted in psychology and more specifically in "state". Your state is your emotional, mental and physical condition in the moment.
What state would you want to be in when facing violence with skill?
It's not for me to dictate to you how you train, but I will give you some pointers.
If you are panicky and over excited in your emotional state, your movements will be frantic, ineffective and you will tire quickly. You aren't going to move with the skill and timing that is likely to land you the knock out shot and you aren't going to make good decisions.
Remember the rule:
PEOPLE IN GOOD STATES MAKE GOOD DECISIONS; PEOPLE IN BAD STATES MAKE BAD DECISIONS.
So by altering your emotional and mental state you immediately impact your physical skill and effectiveness.
Here is another clue, especially if you are very fearful:
Rage and Righteous Indignation trump Fear of Violence- every time.
Anger and fear cant exist in the same space, so if you are very fearful I suggest you ramp up the aggression in your choosing of your state. If you haven't hit the tipping point of righteous indignation then you've never been pushed to that place in a real fight (nothing you can do about that) nor have you used your imagination properly (something you can impact immediately).
This is not pleasant.
This is not "nice". We must move into the darker realms in order for this to be effective. If you use your imagination in a weak way you will get weak results. To access the kind of righteous indignation that allows housewives to defend themselves with cast iron savagery and determination against hardened street criminals you need to ask yourself the question: what would I need to experience happening in order for me to switch from fear to rage, to access that primitive survival instinct brutality WHICH WE ALL HAVE and to take massive, determined action?
For most people who can't access that point they simply need to imagine someone attacking someone near to them. For some of us we struggle to access righteous indignation when we ourselves are being attacked, but that strong protective instinct can be brought to bear when it is a loved one who is under threat.
Remember a good Combative Psychology principle:
People will do ANYTHING if they have a good enough reason.
It's your body, it's your brain, learn to run it.
Learn about yourself, explore what pushes your buttons.
USE your imagination. And I do mean "use" it. Your imagination is a tool, and if you don't master it and learn to use it, your imagination will master and learn to use you.
List the "Ideal Combative State Attributes" you want to build, for example:
· Cold,
· Determined,
· Tenacious Resolve,
· Righteous Indignation,
· Focussed Aggression etc
You choose what works best for you and your training.
As a counter balance example, think again of Golf, what state would you want to be in to play at your best?
Calm, focussed and zen like?
Probably almost the opposite of a "Combative State" but the point is you CAN CHOOSE and you should do. Ahead of time.
It's no different in principle: fighting back, protecting yourself is an emotional and physical skillset no different than any other. Treat it as such, rather than as some mysterious, exotic, otherworldly superhuman ability and you will get MUCH BETTER RESULTS.
Go now and write a list of 10 emotional attributes you would want to be experiencing when fighting back and protecting yourself. These will go toward creating your "Ideal Combative State".
I will show you how to build this State in the next article.
Source...