FEAR!!!

[LEGEND]

Well guys here's my story...I look back when I was a KID...I never had fear...for some odd reason I like to rumble...I remember trying to fight 2 kids at once in MIDDLE SKOOL...but they chicken out. I don't know what the motivation was...why I was soooooo anger back then. But for the last couple of years...I felt FEAR when nearing an altercation...I don't understand how can one become so SOFT. Fear of dying etc...I don't even feel ANGER anymore...when my ex cheated on me and left...I didn't feel ANGER...I felt SORROW and cried like a *****. My question is do u feel u can lose the EDGE...lose the ANGER...I never use to feel FEAR...

A

[Johnny Hot Shot]

the older you get the more you acuire, wealth possesions, friends, Wives, children. these things mean a great deal. The older you get the more you have to lose. A fight is never predictable no matter how much you train or how much you think you know. All it takes is some dick with a knife or gun to take it all away.

So you ask if your losing your edge? I say no, you are gaining responsibility and caring.

"Life's a great Adventure, Mate"
Jacko Jackson

[LEGEND]

Thanx Johnny...it's true...I look at my life with more respect BUT **** dood...I use to be pretty tough...a warrior...NOW...
I'm OPRAH "LET'S TALK ABOUT IT".

A

[JWTAYLOR]

Reality is a bit(ch.

When you were little, you didn't see anyone really getting hurt much from fights. A 5th grader is likely to get smacked down, and get right back up. Two days later there isn't even a bruise.

Now, as an adult, you should know that fighting could really mean dying. And that's something to be afraid of.

Now, the anger thing I can't help you with.

JWT

If you pr!ck us, do we not bleed? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that the villany you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. MOV

[Johnny Hot Shot]

That's good. Look at all the old stories of the masters. One that comes to mind is of Gichin Funakoshi when attacked by robbers not only did he talk his way out of fighting them but he ended up taking them back to his home and cooking for them. Something like that.

I don't think fear can be avoided it's just how you deal with the fear that counts. Training helps you to deal.

I think your being very mature, Opra :D

"Life's a great Adventure, Mate"
Jacko Jackson

[rogue]

Some of it was hormones, some of it was feeling invincible and others was finding your place in the pecking order. You may have fought more as a kid but you're probably more dangerous now. Also like stated above, you have more to lose now.

It's also more perspective and experience than outright fear.

"Americans don't have the courage to come here," Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban who right about now is getting jiggy with his first of 70 virgins.

“Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” Last words of Todd Beamer heard over his mobile line right before rushing a hijacker.

[tsunami surfer]

Thats not fear legend that is called maturity. These days a man cannot afford to lose his job over something like a fist fight over some trivial matter. Only when defending life and family can we storm in without worry of a job to lose. These days you can lose your livelyhood to something like a DUI. About 10 years ago a DUI on your record would just jack up your insurance, now it can cost you your job. Some punk could goad yyou into kicking his ass and after he presses charges against you(dont the losers always call the cops) he could probably sue you. Thats your paycheck and intelegence talking top you legend not FEAR!!!9

[ewallace]

I had many fights too when I was younger, and they were pretty much "meet by the bike racks after school" type affairs. In which case you had from after-lunch recess until 2:50 pm to figure out exactly what kind of attack you were going to use against this guy. Maybe a few butterflies, but mostly I thought "man, I hope there are some chicks there to see me break this guys head".

Many years later you are at a bar or at a concert/crowded event and you look at someone the wrong way or his chick bumps into you and spills her beer and all of a sudden you have someone who wants to fight right now!! That's when reaction/training comes into play. If you don't feel fear in your mature years before an altercation then something maybe wrong with the way your cogs are spinning.

Victory goes to he who makes the next-to-last mistake.

[Ryu]

This is a good thread. :)
Legend, don't sweat it, man. Maturity and wanting to solve your problems with your head and not your fists is a sign that you are becoming a "warrior" in the real sense of the word.
I have had fear and butterflies in every altercation I've had. You just have to do it regardless. AND, it doesn't go away either. I've had plenty of self-defense situations AFTER the high school crap, (which didn't make me afraid either) and everytime I approach a possible altercation, even though I've been through them and won them before, I still feel fear. It's a good thing. It makes you more cautious, and less likely to do something stupid.
I used to think I was a "phony" for feeling fear in altercations, and so I got into fights, and had challenge matches to prove that I wasn't.
But the fear never went away even when I won. I just thought "Well next time I'm gonna lose."
It was very negative thinking, and something that I'm still trying to get a handle on. I've lost to better judo and BJJ guys before, but I've never lost a streetfight (except one when I was a young kid.) So the more obsessed I was with it, the more I felt worse and worse. Right now, I accept the fact that I have some decent self-defense skills, but I'm not the best fighter out there.
I know, however, that ANYONE is going to have to work hard to beat me. And that's the last I think about it. The whole thing showed me that I don't like to fight either. Sparring, and testing yourself, rolling, etc is fine. I do it a lot. You've got to. But all the "let's see who can beat who" tough guy stuff I don't do anymore... at least I hope I won't in the future.

Doesn't matter how many people you defeat...
fear is something you gotta deal with inside of yourself. I think it's important for fighters to be more honest with those kind of emotions.

Good thread, everyone.

Ryu

http://judoinfo.com/images/kimuraosawa.jpg


"One who takes pride in shallow knowledge or understanding is like a monkey who delights in adorning itself with garbage."

[Rolick]

Hey this is all about Kung Fu. Learning from animals. It is very interesting to note that Lions in the wild, espcially the males, will do almost anything to aviod a fight with another lion. This is due to the incredible weapons each posseses, and the prospect of getting injured means almost certian death. It is even worse for Bears. It almost has to be life and death or a cub before a bear will actually fight another bear. There is nobody to take care of you or protect you if you get hurt in the wild.

Most animals are not willing to get injured

[joedoe]

I would be more worried if you didn't feel fear. Fear in a confrontation is normal.

My theory on this is that as a child you have not experienced the results of a serious beating (well, most children anyway). Even if you get in a fight, your opponent is only capable of doing so much damage. Also, your body is young and able to mend quickly - you don't suffer the post-fight aches and pains as badly or for as long.

As you get older, your body doesn't mend as quickly and you understand that your opponent may have the capability to do serious and permanent damage. Then you fear for your wellbeing.

I disagree that a child has less to lose - they have a whole lifetime of experiences to lose. They only perceive that they have less to lose.

cxxx[]:::::::::::>
You're fu(king up my chi

[Wongsifu]

Most of you guys have adressed the matter perfectly so i'll tell you a story i heard from a close friend of the families about 3 years ago , this guy was really close he was only about 40 odd and was very rich and succesful self made. And he said when you are young you are invincible you never know death and fear nothing , He says i remember racing bikes when i was young whilst smoking weed in my shorts , and i didnt know th emeaning of fear, unti lthe day my dad died , then i understood how vulnerable we all are.

Sadly my friend died about 2 years ago from leukimia, it was all sudden he had woken up one morning felt funny and went to the doctor 3 months later he was dead, he was also a good martial artist in his younger days.

I remembered those words and he really makes me understand now how vulnerable we all are.

what do bin laden and general custer have in common????
They're both wondering where the fu(k all of those tomahawks are coming from. - donated by mojo

[Sharky]

i'm an angry mf :mad:

has your situation changed? socially? Were you growing up in a rough area, and now live in the suburbs where nothing happens?

All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.

[rogue]

To have you know Sharky my last several altercations have been in the burbs. :D

"Americans don't have the courage to come here," Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban who right about now is getting jiggy with his first of 70 virgins.

“Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” Last words of Todd Beamer heard over his mobile line right before rushing a hijacker.

[straight blast]

Up until I was 18 I really didn't give a rat's a** about getting hurt/injured/killed whatever. I was involved in several car accidents (all of them through stupidity on my part) and did a lot of stupid s**t.
Now I'm 24. I'm married (very happily), I've got a life, and suddenly I've got a lot to look after. As someone said before, it's maturity.

"Childhood's over when you realise you're gonna die" -Top Dollar (Michael Wincott)"The Crow"

"Pain is merely weakness leaving the body"

[LEGEND]

Thanks for the replys...I just hate feeling fear...when back in the day I was unafraid of anything and anybody.

A