What about heart

[Vicious cycle]

We've often heard that, "It's not the man in the fight, but the fight in the man" and all the other phrases like it. My question is, if you don't have heart or are just a little scared to fight for whatever reason, is it possible build up heart or confidence? If so, how?

All the muscles in the world and all the training in the world doesn't mean you have it in you to fight for real. How do you get the heart for it?

 

[Judo Tom]

yes you can definately build it..

i have seen many different approaches to this but they all involved having a good/great coach.

one thing that has worked for me is having my coach push me to do things I wouldve never thought possible in training.. for example we do an exercise where you walk on your hands and feet around a room (bear crawls) now when i could only do 10 my sensei would tell me to do 13 and i would be dead at 10 but he would just get next to me and shout encouraging words as i went along like "how bad do you want to win" "think about your opponents.. what are they doing now" "you can do it.." "DONT STOP" "Its in the bank" and out of the enormous respect i have for him I would just not allow myself to stop no matter what .. it builds heart..

same thing goes when we are fighting.. i am basically not allowed to tap from pain or exhaustion, so long as safety is not a concern. so he would pin me and have me in a super dominant position and just keep encouraging me to get out or fight or try.. and there were times where i wanted to quit so bad i cant even tell.. but again out of respect for him i would not stop trying.. a few times i got out of his holds after being pinned for 3-4 mins... now in a judo match i wouldve lost at the 30 sec match.. but thats easy.. staying in and fighting for 4 mins is super tough ..

i have more examples of how my coach/sensei has helped me in this way!

i also found that i had to shed my ego almost 100% to build this up.. you have to allow yourself to fail, in training, so you know what its like and so you never want it to happen for real.. it is a very motivating force for me.

 

[ass_face]

Tom, great explanation...

Basically it is exactly like you explained... pushing yourself beyond points where you think your body can take you. I know ... especially in ju jitsu... I just get so worn out, that my mind starts telling me to just let yourself get submitted... it will all be over... but you have to press past that and dig up some courage from down below.

 

[Kane Fan]

sparrin ghelps
I take it your scared to be hit in the face yah?
I personally alternate between incredibly heart and a never quit attitude and 'fuck it'

 

[Vicious cycle]

sparrin ghelps
I take it your scared to be hit in the face yah?
I personally alternate between incredibly heart and a never quit attitude and 'fuck it'

No, not really. I've hit and been hit lots. It's just everytime, I'm not very calm. My heart feels like it's in my throat and my hands shake. I think I'm more worried about going to jail than anything. Oddly enough, no matter how much someone wants to hurt me, I'm just really not interested in hurting them that bad. I guess I'm a pussy and a nice guy; bad combo.

 

[ass_face]

No, not really. I've hit and been hit lots. It's just everytime, I'm not very calm. My heart feels like it's in my throat and my hands shake. I think I'm more worried about going to jail than anything. Oddly enough, no matter how much someone wants to hurt me, I'm just really not interested in hurting them that bad. I guess I'm a pussy and a nice guy; bad combo.

In a sparring situation it is hard to cut loose. These guys are friends and the last thing I want to do is unleash a left hook and dislocate their jaw. I tend to work on foot work, jabs, defense, clinching, and low and mid kicks. In a real fight, I would be inside throwing hooks and elbows.. of course, your opponent when sparring is probably thinking the same thing... so sparring is really just a vehicle to make you push yourself... something you may fail to do hitting a bag.

 

[Big Rick Rock]

Heart is really a mindset, it is when nothing else matters but winning. When your brain shuts off that alarm that says "you just got hurt, stop this activity". It is when the noise of physical pain and discomfort is drowned by your brain screaming WIN WIN WIN! As a fighter, it is also taking an almost orgasmic pleasure in hurting an opponent, in watching him colapse under your attack. Being hit by your opponent does not scare you but makes you angry, makes you want to show him you can hit him even harder.

You have to have been born with that fire in your belly. it is there since birth! Bad parenting and influences as an infant can break your spirit as an adult... But to really have it as a grown up, it has to be in you since birth... You can always build on it and try to bring it out if it is not a dominant mindset.

In a tough fight, the kind where you take a lot of punishment, you are really having two battles. One against your opponet and the other against yourself. After being tired, hurt and fatigue sets in, you start hoping your opponent will land a good shot so that it can all be over. Your brain starts to tell you how nice it would be to stop fighting and go to the locker room to drink some Gatorade. The reward is not important anymore, the win means nothing, your brain just wants to spare your body from any more damage... Either you have the heart to tell you brain to "Shut The Fuck UP!" or you don't, you listen to it, and you give up the win.




-BRR

 

[Snypr]

Very well put

 

[Judo Tom]

No, not really. I've hit and been hit lots. It's just everytime, I'm not very calm. My heart feels like it's in my throat and my hands shake. I think I'm more worried about going to jail than anything. Oddly enough, no matter how much someone wants to hurt me, I'm just really not interested in hurting them that bad. I guess I'm a pussy and a nice guy; bad combo.

how long have you been training?

this doesnt sound like a lack of heart as you first mentioned..

when i first started training or before i trained i would feel like you mentioned above.. but after training, sparring and competing those feelings leave and you are able to focus on technique and strategy during a fight not those emotions.

as you become more confident and as you get used to those situations through training the nerves will leave and you will be able to think clearly and things will s l o w down during the fight.

good luck