The
Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
By Dr. Russ Horine, President, Fight-Fast Direct, Inc.
Part 9
Alright -- in
my last chapter I talked about how fear can often lead
to runaway Internal Dialog or "brain freeze".
Now unless you’re
a Zen master, you’re never going to shut this little
guy up – but you can put him to work. The simple
key to controlling him – and this is BIG… is to direct your thoughts to an “external focus” of potential targets.
You must initiate Target Awareness.
Seeking out and gathering “target
acquisition” info almost instantly begins to focus and
channel your internal dialogue – suddenly forcing the
“little guy” to start talking strategy instead of allowing
him to overwhelm the mind with introspective panic.
Now it’s the elephant who’s
in charge with the little guy put to work asking questions
like:
“He’s
approaching me -- is he in range?”…
“Is there anything in his hands?”…
“What targets are open?”…
“Are there any friends around?”…
“Now…
what targets are open?”…
“Is anyone behind me?”…
“What targets are open now?”…
“Do I have an escape route”…
“What targets are open now?”
Hopefully you’ve noted the need to
continually evaluate which targets are open. A common
rookie mistake
is to focus in on one target and then try to “wait”
for it to open up or even strike at it when it’s not
open. This is called Target Focus and it’s the wrong way to choose targets. You’ll need every shot to count big,
so keep your target acquisition fluid and in a state
of constant flux -- because that is what’s happening
in real life. Don’t
bet that one target will remain open. Instead –
at the very least -- keep in mind the “high value” targets
-- the side of the neck, throat, eyes, inside thigh, outside thigh,
groin, and the angle of the chin.
Always, always, maintain target awareness during a fight.
Here’s a specific target hint for
you. Your opponent – even if he’s NEVER been in a fight
-- will likely be on guard for a right punch to the
face – so it’s wise to do something he’s not expecting.
Also…
1.)
Do not pay attention to the yelling and verbal
threats. It’s easy to allow the verbal side of your
brain, (which is where the “little guy” lives), to get
caught up listening to (and preparing a response to)
insults and verbal abuse. Ignore this. I know that’s
often easier said than done – but if you maintain your
thoughts and energy on external targets, it will automatically
“phase out” this interference and avoid activating your
internal dialogue.
2.)
Do not look into his eyes. It’s the same
principle at work here. Staring him down triggers all
kinds of internal mumbling that only distracts you from
your target awareness. Don’t do it. Sure, it looks tough
when a couple of boxers stare each other down face-to-face
a couple weeks before the bout, but that’s a bad idea
in a street fight.
A
good streetfighter wants you to “buy into” his distractions.
Mad-dog staring... insults… yelling… the whole works.
It’s doubtful he knows the science of internal dialogue,
but he does understand that it’s easier to win after
he “gets into your head”.
So I can’t stress this external target
awareness enough. It’s a simple solution to a big problem.
This is why so many martial artists
-- even accomplished black belts -- have their asses
handed to them in a real street fight. They wake up
(if they wake up) wondering what the hell happened.
Well in the well-lit dojo they’ve trained with plenty
of room on padded floors. They bow politely. Their opponent
also bows politely, and then comes at him in a predictable
manner.
But later on, in the tiny dimly-lit
bathroom at the local mini-mart, this same martial artist
is suddenly confronted by some big dude screaming threats,
insults and foul language about taking his parking space.
Confusion hits, the “internal dialogue” goes berserk,
and all that cozy training flushes right down the toilet.
Fade to black.
Now don’t get me wrong, studying
martial arts is better than spending your time on the
couch watching reruns of “Gilligan’s Island”, but these classes won’t teach you how
to get around this internal dialogue or how to use fear
to your advantage.
That’s why you’re here. You’re getting
stuff that really works – in the “real world”. I’m giving
you pearls here.
Anyway… the actual physiology of
fear is a simple “sympathetic system” prompting from
the brain -- more commonly referred to as “fight or
flight”.
If you learn anything, remember this:
fear is part of the “autonomic”
response system. You have NO direct control over
it. It’s like trying to control your digestive system
with “willpower”. You can’t. As the saying goes, xyz@#!!
happens -- and it happens
automatically.
And
so it is with fear. You simply cannot stop the physiological
factors that come with fear. The heart rate immediately
increases, mental focus on the adversary increases,
peripheral vision narrows, and a whole bunch of other
physical “alarms” go off.
Combat soldiers
or police officers involved in a fire-fight laughingly
refer to one physical response as the “300cc check”
– which is simply a nice way of saying “pissing your
pants”. Really… it’s your body’s way of dumping excess
baggage to help in the “fight or flight”.
Here are some more,
(perhaps less embarrassing) physical responses that
happen automatically when the body feels threatened.
1.)
Increased heart
rate…
2.)
Increase in blood
pressure…
3.)
Face goes white (your blood is rushing
from your skin to your muscles)…
4.)
Blood is drained from the brain’s cortex (responsible
for rational thinking), which is why there’s a
loss of “higher thinking”…
5.)
The brain’s “primitive
emotional centers” are fired up and take charge…
6.)
Flood of endorphins shoots through your body, making
you more resistant to pain….
7.)
Your fine motor skills deteriorate, (say goodbye to
that cool-looking spinning back kick), and your gross
motor skills become enhanced. You become stronger. Yes, the “inhibitors” that normally
protect you from straining or pulling muscles are suppressed
so that you can have max use of your strength.
8.)
Your peripheral
vision narrows, (tunnel vision) which helps you
focus on your target. Carnivores (tigers for example)
have eyes in the front for better target acquisition
(better depth perception), while prey (a cute little
bunny rabbit) has eyes on the side for improved peripheral
vision and superior predator detection.
9.)
Hearing impaired to avoid distraction…
10.)
Leg and hand tremors (which are actually your nerves
getting ready for “action”… because a lower neural threshold
means quicker reaction time)…
11.)
Eyes and pupils will widen (for visual
acuity)…
Now, of course the military is interested
in just how all this affects their soldiers, so let’s
take a look at the research for sympathetic response
as it relates to heart rate for soldiers in combat:
1.)
An adult at rest typically has a heart rate of 60-70
beats per minute. During a confrontation, the heart
rate will quickly rise to 115
beats per minute. This is where a person starts
to loose his fine motor skills and dexterity.
2.)
At 145 bpm higher
level thinking begins to
disappear. Taking action, such as running or fighting
will (surprisingly) actually level off this increasing
heart rate. Not acting and allowing your “internal dialogue”
to run wild will result in a rapidly increasing heart
rate.
3.)
At 220 bpm
you enter into “hyper vigilance” or the classic deer
in the headlights syndrome. It’s where the internal
dialogue has complete dominance over your brain. It’s
kinda like that movie “Invasion Of
The Body Snatchers” as once this “hyper vigilance”
takes hold of your brain, it’s tough to overcome it.
The trick is to act soon than later -- at
around the 115-145 bpm stage -- before
the aliens melt your brain.
So use
the sympathetic system’s physical “signals” (often called
fear) as clear alarms to begin an EXTERNAL focus on
the potential threat. This is KEY. Fear is nothing more
than an early warning system and a powerful ally.
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