how have you confronted your fear?

[lkfmdc]

Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you: it can warm you in the winter, cook your food when you’re hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy. Let it go out of control and it can hurt you, even kill you….Fear is a friend of exceptional people.”
- Cus D'Amato


we all know how Cus D'Amato's proteges faced their fear

how do most TCMA students address this essential issue?

[Kellen Bassette]

we all know how Cus D'Amato's proteges faced their fear

how do most TCMA students address this essential issue?

By comforting themselves with reassuring compliments.

[Drake]

What is fear?

[pazman]

How can a man know fear, when he feels so comfy wearing silk pajamas?

[YouKnowWho]

I have heard something like this. "We all have fear. How to deal with it is the difference."

[xiao yao]

Most kung fu students dont deal with fear. Their thinking is along the lines of "I dont wanna know what its like to get hit, so Il just tell everyone I train for health.

Actually training for "self improvement" should involve a lot of getting hit, that is overcoming a fear which can transfer over into other aspects of life, whether its fear or public speaking, fear of quitting smoking etc etc

[David Jamieson]

Here we go with the supposition :rolleyes:

Just tell your own story instead of pretending you know how "most people" or "most schools" operate.

because you don't.

I overcome fear by simply facing it.

Work issue with a co-worker? Face it. Speak to it. Resolve it. Know where you stand.

Physical beef? Fight. Win or lose. Get it done with if you think that is what is required for you to resolve.

and so on.

The same thing that stops you from telling your Dad you love him. that same ego bull crap applies as fear. That fear of intimacy. etc.

You won't get over fear in one experience where you face it, Fear is with you your whole life and will present itself. You will learn to deal with it. How you deal with it is how you will identify yourself and how others will identify with you (if that has import for you.)

[SPJ]

I have heard something like this. "We all have fear. How to deal with it is the difference."

Fear is nothing more than fear itself.

Some people like to say that fear is a beast or a demon.

Fear feeds upon fear. It grows like a tumor.

We acknowledge its existence and move on.

Do not feed the fear with more fear.

Or cut it out or off with a surgical blade.

:)

[JSE]

I remember a t-shirt that said "pain is just fear leaving the body" Training brings forth a lot of pain for me, so I cant have any fear right???

[bawang]

I confront my fear by calmly performing siu nim tao to Tibetan chanting.

[Lucas]

when you learn to believe in yourself, and learn to control your mind in stressful and difficult situations, such as fighting, then it doesn't matter what you are afraid of, or if you have fear or no fear.

fear, anger, hatred, love, happiness, etc. are all meaningless within a calmed mind.

like all others, fear is just an emotional response to circumstance and attachment.

you will begin to believe in yourself when you have practiced, and tested yourself, and you will learn to control your mind in various high stress situations through meditation and/or the act of putting yourself in that/those position(s).

when you have achieved a state of mind that allows you to control your emotional state, you can then use your emotions as tools to help you succeed.

fear can teach you and show you a path, or it can control you, and lead you to failure.

[Scott R. Brown]

I don't have any fear that I can identify.

I may be cautious about something, for example meeting a bear on the trail, but I don't think I fear anything.

To fear you must first have something to lose. If you are already empty, you have nothing to lose, and thus no fear.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I was/am afraid of heights.
So I sky dived.
When I was younger a got a good scare in the Atlantic, so I learned how to swim PROPERLY and I learned to respect the ocean ( I swim any chance I get).
Fighting was easier.
I was never really scared of fighting BUT being, typically, the runt of the litter (LOL) I knew that size mattered, so every chance I got I would fight bigger guys.

Fear teaches us what we need to overcome.
How we go about doing that is quite easy.
DOING it, now that is another matter.

[David Jamieson]

You could also just get up and answer the door naked one day.
Conquers your own fear and transfers it to the other guy/girl who knocked on your door.

[Rover]

we fear for things valuable for us.

[bawang]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YY4f4OF0BM

HAY GUYSE WATS FEAR LOL

[Kellen Bassette]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YY4f4OF0BM

HAY GUYSE WATS FEAR LOL

That was pretty awesome....

[Dragonzbane76]

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

[Blacktiger]

Dune - checked that the other day great film....

Bawang is on the money.....

[David Jamieson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YY4f4OF0BM

HAY GUYSE WATS FEAR LOL

Apparently it's tied to how hungry you are.

If you are really hungry, you will have less fear.

[Scott R. Brown]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YY4f4OF0BM

HAY GUYSE WATS FEAR LOL

Fear is bawang sneaking up behind you in a men's room!!!

[Syn7]

Fear is bawang sneaking up behind you in a men's room!!!

With the strength of ten ronnie colemans!

[GeneChing]

You could also just get up and answer the door naked one day.
Conquers your own fear and transfers it to the other guy/girl who knocked on your door.
But this image was just too timely.
https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/64969_320922068007743_315153903_n.jpg

[David Jamieson]

see! It totally works. :p

[TenTigers]

I have always worked on my weaknesses.
My Tang Soo Do teacher taught me that.
When he found I was backing up, he stood behind me, with his hands on my shoulders pressing me forward as I fought. (worse, it was against the PKA fighters that were training in our gym....not a wonderful experience, but a valuble one)
Or, he would put me in a corner and have me fight.
When I was standing too high, he swung a chain overhead.
When I was exhausted, and wanted to quit, he pushed me past my (percieved) limits-and that's, as we know where the magic happens.
Those lessons taught me to embrace my weaknesses and my fears, and turn them into strengths.
I realized my infighting was no good, so I boxed, studied Wing Chun and SPM.
I realized I was physically weak, so I trained with weights.
I always was the runt of the litter, like Sanjuro, so I always trained with bigger guys..not that I had a choice!

spiders..? well, that can wait, I suppose.
yeah. That can wait...a real long time..
fuqin spiders..

[David Jamieson]

http://i.imgur.com/jEsu5BM.jpg

[sanjuro_ronin]

mOTHER****ER !!!
:eek:

[David Jamieson]

http://i.imgur.com/G6mNAXV.jpg

[sanjuro_ronin]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D_Z-D2tzi14/S5A-g_EOstI/AAAAAAAACBA/2zoWZe3PUkU/s400/SPIDER9.png

[sanjuro_ronin]

http://epicdemotivational.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/so-demotivational-posters-hey-spider-woman.jpg

[GeneChing]

"Follow the spiders? Follow the spiders?! Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?"-Ron Weasley

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdb2hh2cEu1rklujlo1_1280.jpg
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/029/0/d/evil_spider_by_franzauruz182-d38ag25.jpg
http://www.allmystery.de/i/tCkkb5n_stupid_evil_spider.jpg\
http://www.lubpedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Scary-Spider-Wallpaper-12.jpg

[sanjuro_ronin]

http://cdn.crackberry.com/sites/crackberry.com/files/styles/w325/public/images/wallpaper_20110908090146_11480970692.jpg?itok=ysO_ iWA8

[xcakid]

I have a fear of Mr Happy not standing at attention. I face my fear by asking my Dr. for a Viagra prescription. Problem solved. ;):cool::D

[Jimbo]

"Follow the spiders? Follow the spiders?! Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?"-Ron Weasley

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdb2hh2cEu1rklujlo1_1280.jpg
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/029/0/d/evil_spider_by_franzauruz182-d38ag25.jpg
http://www.allmystery.de/i/tCkkb5n_stupid_evil_spider.jpg\
http://www.lubpedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Scary-Spider-Wallpaper-12.jpg

Lol, that top pic looks like ZZ Top.

[TenTigers]

29 FEAR definitions

False Evidence Appearing Real
Forget Everything and Run
**** Everything and Run
Face Everything and Recover
Failure Expected And Received
False Emotions Appearing Real
False Evidence Appears Real
False Expectations Appearing Real
Feel, Elevator, Aileron, Rudder
Feeling Everything's Awful Real
Feelings Every Alcoholic Rejects
Feelings Expressed Allows Relief
Fighting Ego Against Reality
First Encounter Assault Recon
Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly
Forever Escaping And Retreating
Forgetting Everything's All Right
Frantic Effort to Appear Real
Frantic Efforts to Appear Recovered
Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment
Face Everything And Rejoice
False Experiences Appearing Real
Force Elements at Readiness
Foreign Export and Recovery
Forfeitures Endanger American Rights
Forget Everything and Relax
Forgetting Everything About Reality
Future Events Already Ruined

[Alex Córdoba]

http://youtu.be/Gl_h0IP3Vf0

[bawang]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QFwo57WKwg

[crazychang]

well sas soldiers can pick up spiders and eat them and can also swim with great white sharks. Are Shaolin temple monks like this? Some schools are like this and only want the students who are fearless, meaning you can live the rest of your life with Ted Bundy or the Boston strangler and sleep comfortably in your bed at night.

[Raipizo]

Clearly the most fearsome activity, eating spiders. No but if you can do that stuff you would probably be feared in prison or something for being batsht crazy

[Syn7]

Eating spiders inspiring fear in prison? Nah, you would end up being victimized and/or stuck on the bug range(no pun intended). There is "this guy is crazy, i respect him" and then there is "this guy is crazy, get him off the range or he's gonna get hurt". Big difference between the two. Eating spiders is most likely to be viewed as the latter.

Swimming with sharks isn't as crazy as people seem to think. There's a time and place, with the right gear and attitude... anyone can do it.

I find this one far more brave...

http://youtu.be/jsSq8IYznJs

jump ahead to about the one minute mark. Watch how she deals as they try to flank her. Her body language, her footwork. I love how she simulates prey then flips it on em and backs them off. Seems like it's only a matter of time, huh. Now that is some brave **** right there.

[Raipizo]

Eating spiders inspiring fear in prison? Nah, you would end up being victimized and/or stuck on the bug range(no pun intended). There is "this guy is crazy, i respect him" and then there is "this guy is crazy, get him off the range or he's gonna get hurt". Big difference between the two. Eating spiders is most likely to be viewed as the latter.

Swimming with sharks isn't as crazy as people seem to think. There's a time and place, with the right gear and attitude... anyone can do it.

I find this one far more brave...

http://youtu.be/jsSq8IYznJs

jump ahead to about the one minute mark. Watch how she deals as they try to flank her. Her body language, her footwork. I love how she simulates prey then flips it on em and backs them off. Seems like it's only a matter of time, huh. Now that is some brave **** right there.

That's pretty crazy :eek:

[RickMatz]

I've been married nearly 30 years.

[YouKnowWho]

The following was my personal experience.

One night I walked in a dark alley in Rio de Janeiro, a guy stood with his back on the wall. He looked at me, looked at my watch, looked at me, and looked at my watch again, he then turned his head away. I knew he tried to decide whether he should attacked me for my watch. Next evening, I (a long hair China man with blue jean and leather jacket) stood on the opposite side of the same dark alley and looked at all the people who walked by. Not only street walkers started to walk on the other side of the street (away from me), those stranger guys who had their back against the wall started to disappear one after another. I suddenly realized that in a good guy's eyes, I might look like a bad guy. In a bad guy's eyes, I might look like an under cover cop. After that personal experience, whenever I had fear, I always thought that I was the bad guy. Why should a bad guy be afraid of anything?

[Drake]

To be fair, I am deathly afraid of zombies. It's the ultimate "No matter what happens or how this ends, you are f*cked anyway." Fortunately, they are fictional.

I sometimes have dreams about being attacked by the enemy, them trying to sneak inside the compound, or shooting from concealed areas, but they aren't really nightmares. I simply react to the threat... they are very fascinating dreams, actually.

[JamesC]

Eating spiders inspiring fear in prison? Nah, you would end up being victimized and/or stuck on the bug range(no pun intended). There is "this guy is crazy, i respect him" and then there is "this guy is crazy, get him off the range or he's gonna get hurt". Big difference between the two. Eating spiders is most likely to be viewed as the latter.

Swimming with sharks isn't as crazy as people seem to think. There's a time and place, with the right gear and attitude... anyone can do it.

I find this one far more brave...

http://youtu.be/jsSq8IYznJs

jump ahead to about the one minute mark. Watch how she deals as they try to flank her. Her body language, her footwork. I love how she simulates prey then flips it on em and backs them off. Seems like it's only a matter of time, huh. Now that is some brave **** right there.

Well hang on a second. No one is going to mention the huge bare ass in this video?

I am disappoint.

[FullPotentialMA]

The larger fight is internal. Only by confronting our fear and knowing ourselves can we hope to truly succeed in the fight that is life.

As Sun Tzu said in "The Art of War":
"
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
"

[crazychang]

Swimming with sharks isn't as crazy as people seem to think. There's a time and place, with the right gear and attitude... anyone can do it.

Most people will **** themselves if they swim openly with a great white shark in the water (well some people can do crazy things but a lot are talk). Some sharks aren't that frightening because they're are not that dangerous.

I was reading a book by an ex special forces soldier (SAS who are the best in the world) who stated that he was extremely scared of parachuting but he conquered it! So even they can fear.

haha throw a tarantula or huntsman in front of most people and see if they can eat it at a whim. Some military people survive off that sort of thing. I suppose the Chinese eat insects though.

[David Jamieson]

JTF2 is your go to team in special forces.
Even the Americans know that. lol :p
They're the only ones accepted into Tier 1 with them (American SF).

Not that I don't admire SAS, but lets not get carried away with who's best here. :D
JTF2 is ridiculously classified as well.

anyway...

[Syn7]

I imagine all 5 eyes have pretty decent special forces.

[Scott R. Brown]

Everyone has Special Forces these days. It has become no different than all these people claiming to be MA Masters!

I think most people know the "Extra"-Special Forces:cool: are the best anyway!

You can tell because they are "Extra"-Special!:cool:

[Jimbo]

haha throw a tarantula or huntsman in front of most people and see if they can eat it at a whim. Some military people survive off that sort of thing. I suppose the Chinese eat insects though.

Once in Taiwan, I saw an outdoor food vendor selling very big grasshoppers on sticks. They *might* have been cooked, I don't know; but they were whole, and at least they were dead. If I were obsessed with confronting every fear, I might have bought one and forced myself to eat it. But since I wasn't stuck in a jungle starving, and a few feet away were foods being sold that were actually appetizing, I opted not to.:p

[Syn7]

Hunger will lead you to do things you may not normally do. In natural disasters, the stuff really hits the fan when the food starts getting low. That's when people turn on eachother real quick. People who have been friends for years will kill eachother. I don't think many people would choose death over eating a spider.

As for doing it for the sake of doing it? Why? To make some point? To me that's like that dumb knife game where you go back and forth between your fingers. That's lil dick stuff. Unless you like the taste or it's a part of your culture or you are put in a situation where it's necessary, or training for that necessity(which would mean doing it once and being able to identify and deal with them for food), why would you eat a huntsman? Come on. That is not strength, it's insecurity. A weakness, in my opinion.

[Kellen Bassette]

I've ate a lot of weird stuff, not to conquer fear or to prove any point, just because it was set before me. When in Rome....

[Syn7]

Yeah, for sure. That's another beast. And I highly doubt you walked away telling everyone how hardcore you are cause you did it. In my opinion, what makes some soldiers hardcore is the sheer amount of work they put in to perfect their craft. The excellence of it. The ability to persevere through the harshest conditions. Eating a spider doesn't even make the list.

As far as conquering personal fear of insects by eating them... do what ya gotta, but we shouldn't confuse that for anything other than what it clearly is.

I've eaten some unorthodox stuff, just to try it out of curiosity. Most tastes fine if you can get past the ick factor. Some people won't eat anything other than what they are desensitized to. That's all well and good, until it's not. Those people would be the first to go in a survival situation.

[Jimbo]

I've ate a lot of weird stuff, not to conquer fear or to prove any point, just because it was set before me. When in Rome....

Good point. I've eaten some things I wouldn't normally consider because I was served it as a guest. Any aversion I might've felt was put aside, because I knew it was far more important not to hurt or offend my hosts. And once or twice, I actually found myself enjoying the unusual food. (Luckily, no grasshoppers on a stick yet, though).:)

[Sima Rong]

Eating something strange has nothing to do with conquering fear. I'm still afraid of the animals I have eaten coming back to bite me. The ghosts of snapping turtles, dogs, ducks, donkeys and bambi haunt me nightly.

[Lucas]

Hunger will lead you to do things you may not normally do.

Donner Party anyone? :D

[Syn7]

Eating something strange has nothing to do with conquering fear. I'm still afraid of the animals I have eaten coming back to bite me. The ghosts of snapping turtles, dogs, ducks, donkeys and bambi haunt me nightly.

When I was a kid, my mom told me to be careful in the lake because snapping turtles may bite my toes. She had a weird sense of humour like that. It stuck in my mind for years anytime I was swimming in water where I couldn't see the bottom. But only in lakes, for some reason swimming in 300 feet of ocean never really bothered me. Funny how that works.

[Syn7]

Donner Party anyone? :D

Ummm. prolly not, but thanx for the offer. :p

[Raipizo]

When I was a kid, my mom told me to be careful in the lake because snapping turtles may bite my toes. She had a weird sense of humour like that. It stuck in my mind for years anytime I was swimming in water where I couldn't see the bottom. But only in lakes, for some reason swimming in 300 feet of ocean never really bothered me. Funny how that works.

I just don't swim in the lake because it's dirty as hell and I have a pool. James I did notice but I didn't wanna be the one to point it out :p. Anyway yeah that is weird, the time I did swim in the ocean the salty water burns my eyes, I guess you probably get used to it over time or something.

[Syn7]

It's just a part of coastal life. Vancouver has a pretty kick ass playground in it's back yard. Mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers and ocean, and lots of it. Lots of pristine lakes too, outside of the city of course. I wouldn't even let my dog swim any of those toxic dumps in or near to the city. But an hours drive can get you to clean lakes. Go far enough and you can see the glacier lakes. It's really blue but foggy from the silt. It's funny, cause I can swim with my eyes open in the ocean all day, but 20 minutes in a pool and I'm rubbing them like crazy. There is something refreshing about swimming in water you can actually drink. The canyons are pretty sweet, cliff jumping and all that. But it's freakin' cold in the spring. You jump in and climb out. You'll get an ice cream headache if you swim around under water. In the summer it's much much warmer, but still cold by lake standards.

[GoldenBrain]

Vancouver has a pretty kick ass playground in it's back yard. Mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers and ocean, and lots of it.

I really must visit this playground of yours one day.

We have some really clear lakes around my neck of the woods, but there are others that are so red from the red clay that you can't even see your hand in front of your face, and thats with a mask on. As a kid we used to dare each other to dive to the bottom holding our breath and grab a handful of sand as proof. Most people can't make it 5 feet before extreme panic sets in.

Here's a true story from when I lived in Oklahoma. A friend of the family races speed boats. He wrecked one of his boats close to the dam on lake Thunderbird one time and sent in a salvage crew to retrieve the motor. I was about 14 at the time. We were all hanging around in our boats watching the production when the two divers surfaced in a panic saying there wasn't enough money to get them to go down again. They told us about the catfish at the bottom that they ran up on which they estimate to be at least 7ft long. They couldn't really see it, but instead they said as they were feeling around the bottom for the motor they touched what felt like a slimy rock and then it's 2 to 3 ft wide mouth opened up. There are rumored to be dozens of them of that size that just sit at the bottom near the dam letting food come to them on the current.

On a neighboring lake Eufala, a year or two after the lake Thunderbird incident I read a story in the newspaper about a 12 year old boy who was almost eaten by a catfish. He fell while water skiing and as his parents were circling back to pick him up they noticed him bobbing up and down and when they got close they saw the catfish which was in the process of spitting him out. Apparently the kid survived only because he was wearing a life vest and the catfish couldn't drag him under. He was swallowed up to his armpits.

Here's a catfish caught on the Po river in Italy.

7824

[Scott R. Brown]

Donner Party anyone? :D

Donner Party, or Dinner Party?:eek:

[Syn7]

Donner Party, or Dinner Party?:eek:

Fine line. :p

[Syn7]

Here's a catfish caught at lake Texoma which is where I live now.

http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7824

lol, hand fishin? :p

That's a big fish man. What's the weight on a cat that big?

[GoldenBrain]

lol, hand fishin? :p

That's a big fish man. What's the weight on a cat that big?

Sorry for the misinformation, but the catfish in that photo was actually caught on the Po river in Italy. It was caught on rod and real using live eel. Length 215 cm (7.05 ft), and weighed 85 kg (187.4 lbs). I'll also edit the post with the photo to correct the location error.

The record catfish for Lake Texoma is 140 lbs. The Oklahoma record is 118 lbs. Officials say a 140 lb catfish is well over 100 years old and could eat a human.

Imagine hand fishing and getting a hold of one of those monsters...:eek:

[Raipizo]

Start carrying a knife if you swim there, if you get swallowed carve yourself out.

[GoldenBrain]

Start carrying a knife if you swim there, if you get swallowed carve yourself out.

I never leave home without it.;) Besides, even if I didn't have a knife on me I'd just use my tiger, dragon, leopard, cranes beak, monkey, mantis claws to rip that bad boy open and then it's filets for everybody. Bwaaaahahahahahahahaha!!!

[Raipizo]

I never leave home without it.;) Besides, even if I didn't have a knife on me I'd just use my tiger, dragon, leopard, cranes beak, monkey, mantis claws to rip that bad boy open and then it's filets for everybody. Bwaaaahahahahahahahaha!!!

I believe you mean monkey beak, have you learned nothing from great master Jake Mace? I wonder if it is actually possible to cut yourself out, they swallow their prey whole.

[GoldenBrain]

I believe you mean monkey beak, have you learned nothing from great master Jake Mace? I wonder if it is actually possible to cut yourself out, they swallow their prey whole.

The magical master Jake Mace is well, magical. hahahahaha!

I've learned a monkey form, not the mimicking a monkey type show form, but a form that actually teaches real applications. Just about every time I practice it a funny thought pops into my mind that if one wanted to really fight like a monkey they'd prolly just throw a handful of **** at the person attacking them. I guess I could use the famous monkey beak for that. :D

I'm pretty sure if you were motivated and still had oxygen you could cut yourself out. You'd have to survive the crushing action of the swallowing and jaw work as well as the HCL in the stomach but I think it's doable. It's best not to fall when waterskiing in Oklahoma and Texas lakes.

[David Jamieson]

The traditional monkey stuff I've seen looks like old traditional shaolin kung fu. Not saying it is, it's just that it looked like that to me. The Pek Kwar aspect I guess. Although some would argue it's the Tai Shing part. You find the pek kwar weapons styles in a lot of schools. Especially the Dan Dao stuff.

[Lokhopkuen]

we all know how Cus D'Amato's proteges faced their fear

how do most TCMA students address this essential issue?

Oneness of self