zanshin
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I just found and listened to this interview. And I came to a surprising conclusion...
If this is catch wrestling, I've been a catch wrestler at heart ever since I joined HEMA. Funny, that!
OK, but that was just for fun. We have spoken about this kind of things quite a few times already! Your Martial Arts Animator doesn't want to bore you (and Friend Computer said that would be a bad thing to do).
So instead, I'd like a discussion about something else today... listen to this as well, especially towards the end.
So...we all need to get in the mental range for doing the job. That much is self-evident to anyone who's been in a fight (or who has ever frozen at the start of one, we don't judge...).
But what can this mental state be?
According to a Belorussian practitioner (who claims to be a psychologist, though there were some issues with his qualifications) there are at least three possible mental states. OK, I might be mixing up some stuff.
Anger. "Go amok", "berserk state", whatever you call it..."kill them all and take no prisoners". That's often too much for a combat sport, since the mind tends to forget what the rules say, especially if there's a perceived (real or not) rules-breakage from the other side - leading to stuff like Tyson biting an ear off. He claimed afterwards that his opponent has been headbutting him. Also, reportedly, practitioners of this mental state might develop anger management issues... If you're wondering what that would look like, check the reports for the Boxers' Rebellion in China (also: not recommended against guns!)
"Fake it until you make it". Imagining yourself to be something else, like a huge grizzly, a terminator...not recommended without psychologic help - from a guru who knows how, for example, or from actual psychiatrists!
Absolute spontaneity. The hardest to achieve, yet the least threatening to your psyche (reportedly). You just act as you're taught, reacting spontaneously. Also known as "mizu no kokoro" and "flow state"...but really, it's all about the same thing. Alas, it seems to be only available to people who've been trained for the specific kind of conflict that they're having, and feel absolute security (and, reportedly, being "one with everything around"). A variation of it is "leaving yourself to be the instrument of the Lord", where the user literally lets the Lord do his will and he's just fighting to the best of his ability. Reportedly practiced in some monotheistic schools.
So, do you know of any other mental states? Yes, not many people have ever encountered the second one, but it obviously exists as well. (I remember a report from someone kinda-using it in self-defense training to show a normal suburban woman what she is already capable of: he gave her a rubber knife and told her to imagine that she is a Native American woman, and the man in front of her is a soldier who was planning to kill her and her kids afterwards. Reportedly, the man got demolished and was lucky he had protectors on).
Read a book by a martial artist who did alot of door work; cannot at this point remember the details, but he argued against martial artists learning to react rather than respond. He described the distinction as you are still making choices - the training gives you enough of an edge that you can then decide on your best next step.
I guess as it would usually be trained vs untrained, the extra decision time would not hamper a quicker response and allow you to pick less deadly force.
Certainly in sparring (not a deadly environment) my blocks are instinctive but my attacks feel like choices.