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[Editor's note] This is a guest post by Allision Gamble whom I received an email inquiring about guest post opportunities. I always like to explore martial arts from all angles and am happy to share her ideas here. About the author – Allison Gamble has been a curious student of psychology since high school. She brings her understanding of the mind to work in the weird world of internet marketing.
Most of us have heard the quote: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” And in the forensic psychology of a fight, there might be reason to believe it. The brain is an organ comprised of more than a hundred billion nerve cells that together create a network of communication for our entire body, physical and psychological. In conjunction with the spinal cord, the brain relays messages of pain or fear or threat. However, in the case of combat sports, the psychology of the brain can be a powerful tool one may utilize to overcome the body’s physical autonomic responses.
When you experience pain, it is because a pain signal has reached the brain and has been transferred to the thalamus where it is then sent to various other areas of the brain for translation. For instance, signals are sent from the thalamus to the limbic system, which is the emotional sector of the brain. Feelings are encountered with every sensation you feel, and the limbic system translates these emotions and then initiates the proper response in terms of physicality or emotionality, such as an increase in heart rate and respiration, or those feelings of fear and potential ‘fight or flight’ responses. Though the last two responses are autonomic and inherent to everyone, the athlete, particularly those trained in martial arts and other combat sports, can train him or herself to attenuate those feelings and continue fighting the good fight.
Focus and confidence play into a fighter’s ability to overcome the brain’s autonomic reactions and the pain he or she may be encountering. In addition to mental preparation, the body and mind are intrinsically trained to optimize (up to a point) in states of arousal that are encountered both mentally and physically. In psychology it is called the “The Yerkes-Dodson Law,” and it proposes that when the body and mind are sufficiently aroused, peak performance may be achieved. The catch here, however, is that this remains true up until the point the stimulation has become overwhelming. Which is why it is key for those athletes participating in sports that involve fighting, martial arts or otherwise, to stay cool, focused and confident in their ability.
In martial arts, the aforementioned ability may be gained in several ways, but always includes intensity and discipline. In the physical sense, a big part of martial arts is technique and muscle memory. Muscle memory is the body’s ability to “ingrain” a movement and to then be able to react in a way that is in itself almost autonomic. In “Motor Learning,” by Dr. Richard Schmidt, it is suggested that it takes roughly 300 to 500 repetitions for the body to fully integrate a movement.
With patience, dedication, repetition, focus, and confidence, it is within any fighter’s grasp to overcome the distractions and pain he or she might experience during a fight. Though our bodies and minds are inextricably linked, measures can be taken to balance one’s response to the other. Winning a fight requires more than bodily strength and technique, it takes a strong mind. Strengthen your will, prepare your mind, and weakness will leave the body.
October 9th, 2011 at 11:08 am
I studied a lot of psychology in my education and even though I had some brutal courses, no teacher ever laid a hand on me
I’ve been hit a few times. Usually, I was able to take it and for the most part ignore it till later when the soreness came, even with a punch that broke my cheekbone. I think the focus and intensity of the fight was the reason. When my shoulder dislocated, however, that got my attention
My fighting has always been the best when I just fought or reacted without thinking. Usually when I started planning to much on what to do, I would be the nail before the hammer!
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October 11th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Saw Al Gebhart in a fight downtown years ago against a power-lifter dude. The whole time Al was fighting he was yelling at the guy. Not only did it scare the hell out of the guy, it made Al fight that much harder. Needless to say, the guy (who started the fight in the first place) did not stand a chance. Psychology!
Matt Klein recently posted..Learning About Teaching from the Best in the World
October 11th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
I feel like fear is our most primal emotion. It goes back into the annals of time when our modern thought process had yet to develop. It is our fear that transcends thought and taps right into the heart of our most basic instinct as humans- to survive.
A professional sky diver still feels a level of fear every time he jumps from a perfectly good airplane. Yet thousands of descents later, the fear has benn “dulled” to the point where he is not overwhelmed emotionally and can think clearly and confidently under severe duress.
The same should be true of our training. Having a fear of heights, would fifty practice jumps from the six foot staging area suffice to prepare for a real plunge? Subsequently, if your greatest fear is getting hit, is the training practiced sufficient enough to dull the fear to the point where we can think clearly if a real threat presents itself?
Sometimes doing the very thing we fear most leads to the strongest gains in training and life. This could be true in many contexts, not just getting hit, but to stay on point- to quote one of my favorite training sayings from those boys over at Dog Brothers, “Higher Consciousness Through Harder Contact.”
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October 13th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
i studied psychology at the university, and there was a faculty for the psychology of fight. it is a very special area of this science, the human beeing functions an other way while fighting. that was the reason, that i understood my sons (kickboxer) words:fear is the only mindkiller…
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October 31st, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Hi Dr J!
Thanks for your response. I too did best when reacting. I guess the martial arts training did us come good!
Hey Matt!
Al is an animal! Yep psychology plays a role. I remember Steve Anderson after the start of a match – yelling wait and the other fighter would stop and Steve would hit him. You see the judges never said break.
Hi Ryan. I agree with you here. I’ve always done best when confronting the hardest thing in my training to get to a new level.
Hi Klara!
How true – if you do not believe – everything is lost.
November 3rd, 2011 at 12:09 am
These are the reasons why I want to go into fighting classes such as Balintawak. It is a Filipino fighting art that promotes focus and discipline. I like the way it heightens my senses and strengthens my mind.
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November 25th, 2011 at 12:28 am
So with training I can reduce the pain I feel? This is really a good idea but I think I don’t have the time anymore to practice a certain discipline but I love how the idea behind this. Might as well have my son train for this.
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