In
my April 2018 blog, I discussed the fact that if you have to use your skills in
a real situation, most likely you will experience an increase of stress (higher
heart rate, rush of adrenaline, etc.) and you need to physically train in that
state, so you can be effective under those conditions. In this blog I will describe ways you can
also train mentally so you are more effective in a stressed situation.
First
off, one reason your heart rate will increase quickly and a rush of adrenaline can
be magnified is if you were not ready or aware of the attacker and it was a
surprise. Being aware of your
surroundings at all times is a critical part of self-defense. If you see someone coming at you, you have
more time to react and prepare a plan and will be more effective, including
avoiding the situation altogether. It
may also mean you are aware of when you may be at risk and choose an
alternative. For example, when Brian and
I go on travel internationally we do not wear any expensive jewelry which may
make us more of a target – we leave that at home and only wear some inexpensive
wedding bands. Another example is when
we travel on public transportation, we tend to skip any trains/busses that are
extremely crowded if we can avoid it and wait for one that is less crowded and
we can find a place to sit or stand against a wall to limit our
vulnerability. For more information on
awareness, I recommend reading or revisiting my August 2009 blog “More
Awareness; Principle #16” and my March 2014 blog “Awareness Revisited”.
That
leads into the second way to prepare mentally – have a plan. This means imagining various scenarios and
how you would respond. You need to think
about how your response might change if there are multiple attackers, you are alone
versus with friends or family, it is at night versus the day, in a public place
versus secluded area, if you on travel in a foreign county, if the attacker has
a weapon, etc. Depending on the scenario,
it may change your response, so you need to spend time going through various
scenarios and determine what your initial plan might be. When Brian and I travel and are carrying a
decent amount of cash, we choose one person to carry most of the cash. The one carrying the cash stays focused on
the surroundings while the person not carrying the cash focuses on the person
carrying the cash.
And third, after you have thought of your plan for various
scenarios, you need to practice your plan.
This can, at first, be mentally going through your plan and imagining
the results. It also means physically practicing
your plan against different attackers and seeing how it plays out, adjusting your
methods based on what you learn.
While training physically in a stressed state is very important,
training mentally is also important. We
were talking to a Back Belt from another style once, who said they were at a
bar and were so surprised someone took a swing at them during a verbal encounter;
they just sat there and did not respond with any of the training they had
had. I encourage all of you (if you have
not already) to start training mentally for various scenarios and physically so
you are effective if you need to use your skills.
Regards,
Kelly
"See first with your mind, then with
your eyes, and finally with your body." ~ Yagyu Munenori (1571 – 1646)
Japanese swordsman, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū
Reference:
1.
http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics-training/training-stress-6-ways-prepare-defensive-scenarios/,
Retrieved 3/11/18
