Your results

Hi Nick,

I loved your posts on the thread (forgot the title) where you spoke about how you felt before a confrontation vs. how people often say you will feel ie; scared, weak and so on.

But, do you really think anyone could get your results if they put the effort in? I'd like to believe so, but I have a bit of doubt.

Must say, I think you mentality is the best I have read for confrontations. I envy the fact that situations that would be a BIG deal for most people are apparently just another day in the office for you.

I also agree that very often the stuff people say like, you'll be crapping yourself, you'll feel weak, and so on; is often quite a self defeating mindset.

Do I think anyone could get the results if they put the effort in? In a word, yes. (but few are willing to put the effort in)

The confidence and attitude comes from having done it before. I certainly wasn't (confident) when all I'd done was played with things like Tae Kwan Do et al at school. It wasn't until I went to Zen Do Kai and played with the big boys - and got hit and found out I could keep going - and saw that what we did worked - watching my brother fight, and then fighting myself until the confidence came.

I don't think that's different in any other game by the way. How many public speakers are confident the first time they have to get up in front of a crowd? How many musicians? How many fighter pilots? How many soldiers?

It all comes from coming out the other side unscathed going "well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."

Do you need the door work to ensure that confidence? Not really. If the training is harder than the real world - and remember, the Zen Do Kai 2nd dan grading was 30x3 min rounds without breaks, with a fresh black belt every round, where was I ever going to have to fight like that in the street? - which means taking and giving hits then you should be fine.

Now, having said that, you have to be careful about training that isn't "real." You've no doubt seen the clip of the no touch knock out master taking on the young kickboxer. This idiot actually thought his stuff would work because it worked on his students. That type of confidence can get you killed. There was more of the same nonsense during the Boxer revolution in China where imbeciles were convinced their training would turn the British bullets to water

The Boxers also believed that they had a magical power, and that foreign bullets could not harm them. Millions of "spirit soldiers," they said, would soon rise from the dead and join their cause.

Hope that helped answer the question.

Nick

Hi Nick,

Yes, thanks for your reply. I understand your fundamental point that confidence comes after having done it for real.

Cheers again,

BN