"I believe that fear and intelligence are two things very close together. If someone tells you I don't have fear, this guy is silly, he is stupid. I am affraid of everything" That was the words of Rickson Gracie, the MMA legend, in the documentary called " Choke ". I think that each person who trains in martial arts struggles with his fears, especially when you are a beginner. You walk down in the streets, you see the violence of humanity (physical or even verbal violence) and you feel insecured. You are affraid because you are small, because you are slender, because you are not prepared to deal with extreme situations.
I saw this guy beating another one in the street, I saw hatered, I saw power and blood. What would I do if I was this victim ? How can I handle crisis situations ? This is the fear of confrontation, of fighting, the ultimate one for every human I think. And then, there is this marvelous moment where you come across a poster that says : " Tired of feeling insecured in the streets ? Prepare yourself to the worst situations with our experts in self defence. You'll never be a victim anymore!" That's the big day, the day where you decide to overcome your fear by get in a dojo. Personnaly, I have a wide range of fears. Fearing of talking to women, fearing of the boss, fearing of my brother, fearing of not giving my opinion, fearing of not pleasing to others... And fearing of confrontation, the ultimate for me... Now that I registered in an MMA club, sparring 3 times a weak in Muay Thai rules, grappling rules, free fight rules, I feel that my fears decrease gradually. We fight a lot in my club. Now, I feel that my body and my spirit are forging. I am ready to confront all my fears one by one. I am ready to rule my life. I am ready to face my demons. I am here, and I'm not going to run away. Testosterone is increasing in my blood, so does self confidence and assertiveness. The rules of the game are changing. The pieces of the chessboard are moving. I'm preparing a maneuver.
I saw this guy beating another one in the street, I saw hatered, I saw power and blood. What would I do if I was this victim ? How can I handle crisis situations ? This is the fear of confrontation, of fighting, the ultimate one for every human I think. And then, there is this marvelous moment where you come across a poster that says : " Tired of feeling insecured in the streets ? Prepare yourself to the worst situations with our experts in self defence. You'll never be a victim anymore!" That's the big day, the day where you decide to overcome your fear by get in a dojo. Personnaly, I have a wide range of fears. Fearing of talking to women, fearing of the boss, fearing of my brother, fearing of not giving my opinion, fearing of not pleasing to others... And fearing of confrontation, the ultimate for me... Now that I registered in an MMA club, sparring 3 times a weak in Muay Thai rules, grappling rules, free fight rules, I feel that my fears decrease gradually. We fight a lot in my club. Now, I feel that my body and my spirit are forging. I am ready to confront all my fears one by one. I am ready to rule my life. I am ready to face my demons. I am here, and I'm not going to run away. Testosterone is increasing in my blood, so does self confidence and assertiveness. The rules of the game are changing. The pieces of the chessboard are moving. I'm preparing a maneuver.
The day I saw Louis Geoff Thompson in the documentary called "Martial arts : the real story", I was immediatly fascinated. Why ? Because he is a true expert in self defence, one who know the reality of street violence, and who studied the internal process of fears even at a spiritual level. He analysed street fights and separated them in three phases : the pre fight, the in fight and the post fight. Very interesting ! The pre fight is the most psychological moment, the one where you fear and instinct are pushed to their limit and your body is sending you several kind of alert signals. Then, the fight begins and it becomes ferocious, just like a fight between two animals. When one or several fighters is down, you express your self like a lion screaming someting like " fucking get back ! " and you walk away.
I am very happy to share with you this interview of Louis Geoff Thompson, very kind, psychic, spiritual and realistic person. It's not only about fighting. It's about someting much more profound. Most fears are illusions. They are fooling our perceptions and then we make wrong decisions. Geoff is explaining you how to conquer your fears. The most interesting quote from him is for me : " When we change perceptions, we change reality".
