SD V combat sport,

Ger Healy

Psychology of martial art training for SD only V Psychology of competitive training

Which training ideology has the healthier mindset?

This is not a question regarding training method but more regarding the end goals of these training systems and the reasons people train in either of these activates.
I ask because after reading some other post, a few comment where made in about people who train in martial art for SD only. That they may be training in martial art because of their fears. Fear of the unknown i.e. what if I’m attack? What will I be able to do to defend myself?
Some poster felt that to train for SD only was a negative process and not a healthy mind set unless of course you are involved in the security business to which this type of training is important.

Then we look at the combat sport training individual clam that this is healthier because it's competition based and that these tools can be translated for use to the SD environment. This type of training get you thinking about beating you next opponent and developing the tools to accomplish this goal.

Which training ideology has the healthier mindset? And why?

Millionaire

Neither have a healthy mindset!

Training to KO someone either for SD or Sport is not a healthy thing to do! Period!

In fact what the fcuk is this "Healthy Mindset" ideal?

At the end of the day, weather your a defending against 5 people trying to kick your head in, to get your wallet (happened me last year) or your going into say a kickboxing ring to fight (thats me too!), your going in to do something that can cause potential fatal injury to another human being, as if punch them in the face and knock them out, so you can be the champ and win.

In SD, which I am very interested the 1st ideal is to avoid the situation all together, as in do not walk down O Connell Street at 4am alone pissed out of your brain. 2nd ideal is to descalte to escape. last option is defend with physical force. Thats sort of SD in my own words. Most SD people do not want a conflict, alot of us view it like a life skill, like CPR, or swimming, or being able to defend yourself to escape.

Also alof of SD training (and indeed other MA training) has EMPOWERED ladies who before had been mugged or rape, men who have been attacked by thugs and have little confidence. So it is help these people feel empowered it is a good thing.

I am not sure where all this healthy mindset talk came from. I am in MA over 20 years and most of what I did has been Combat Sport orientated, and I never heard such an expression before.

I personally think if I have to hit someone an UNAVOIDABLE situation, it is still not a desirable thing to do. perhaps it was a necessary evil, to avoid greater injury to me.

If I am training for sport and I kickboxing, and I hit someone and break their ribs, so they cannot work properly for a few weeks, is that healthy???? or if I was a cage guy, and I break their arm, so they cannot work for months, is that healthy?

And lets be honest, when your going into the ring, I do not care what way you try to dress it up here as in "healthy mindest" , your not going into a ring, to give your oponent a tickle and a massage either!

Its easy for us to talk on here, as we all enjoy what we do.

I think many people outside MA, view it is a violent activity.

If you want to make MA healthy, just take out all sparring and contacts, and we can train against pads, bags, and kick the air, and 1 step sparring, that way no one will get hurt.

Lets me honest, as well as skill, conditioning, drive, commitment, to excel in a combat sport you do need to have somewhat of an aggressive mindset.

Me enjoy MA, for a good feeling of fitness, I like punching bags, a good pad man session, have a good spar with good contact (still controlled though, I do not mind taking a bang as long as it don;t break me nose !LOL!!), I like the good feeling after a good trainining session. and if I need to, there is a better chance I can defend myself.

The fact that I , say yesterday, visualized KO ing a fighter who was standing across the gym and who nearly KO'ed me last week, when working my punches. Does that make me unhealthy??? Maybe not???!!!??? Get Oddeysious to post, he s a Physoanlayst by trade!

However, I did do yoga for near a year, last year, and it is a hell of alot more healthy than any MA, be it TMA, MMA, SD or The Way of Gerry Nolan Do!

This talk of healthy, then next thing he will have you all down in central america, drinking, poision laced cool aid, jim jones style. Them Yanks can get you to believe anything!

A KO is A KO is a KO, is a potential fatal injury to another human beings, and regardless, of what you style it as, or what you try to dress it up as, is not the most healthy thing to do in life.

there are better options....like growing roses, charity work, helping needy people get back on their feet, helping alcoholics recover.

Thats my view on it!

Michael O Leary

Basketball or sport mma. Which has the healthier mindset? People who play golf would look at sporting martial artists and view it as unhealthy. Do you really think anyone here is going to be objective? (Including myself:rolleyes: )

I would say that both can be have healthy and unhealthy aspects but comparing one against the other only polarises opinions and stirs sh1t. Go back to Columok's thread, "Is fighting safe on the streets?" I think that everything that could be said has been said.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Tim_Murphy

Ger,
There's really no question that training with a friendly sporting mindset is much healthier for a person than training with some other mindsets I've come across. But I think some people will never be able to see that or maybe they do but just don't realise it.

Dragan

Good question,

but i don't think you can look at what the person is training in as being an issue so much as the person themselves.

I have met people training for "sports combat" whose every intention and desire was to hurt their opponent and they would take joy from that, and i have met people who were training for "self defence" who were some of the nicest, most grounded people i have ever met.

Put simply, the mindset of the person will always shine through at the end of the day, and those training in anything for the wrong reasons can generally be spotted.

Millionaire

The last time I got punched in the face in sparring from a "healthy mind set" left hook, hurt just as much and I saw as much stars, as a "bad asses, bouncer type" left hook I got from sparring an individual(an ex world kickboxing champ) who had a bad mindset!

I train because I enjoy it!

Musashi

Like Gerry said, it's a life skill I wanted to pick up. Like CPR, Occupational First Aid, AED training, Free Diving, driving a car, shooting, giving a good back rub, wilderness navigation and survival, or any other physical skill I felt I wanted to learn. I do it because I want to primarily, and keep it up because I like it and the benefit I feel I get from it.
I hated free diving the first few times, but I wanted to be able to do it. Like SD training taken to an extreme, if my car ends up crashing into the sea and sinking , I'm pretty confident I could get my wife and child out of it without losing my head and panicking.
Is that why I took it up? Nah, but as a benefit I'll take it, may never happen but I like to be prepared. Shoulda been a boy scout but they spent a lot of time playing games, that could have been spent out in the woods learning fire starting or shelter building. So I went MMA Ethos on it, got the texts and went and learnt by doing
People think it's unhealthy to keep a weather on the the reality of violent altercations when training. I don't see why? To paraphrase another site, most of ye who drive have car insurance, isn't that just as unhealthy? Dwelling on the chances of getting killed in a road Traffic accident? Even carrying a spare tire and jumper cables, isn't that dwelling on the negatives? Or is it just accepting that sometimes these things happen and it's better to be prepared?
In fairness, forums like these tend to polarise views as they focus very tightly on one aspect of our lives, our chosen sport. I think I would find any member here with a wide and eclectic range of hobbies and interests far healthier than one who focuses on his sport to the exclusion of all else. Family, friends, a good book or even a decent movie might be a better choice than another protein shake and a run before bed time (except for Odysseus, but he's training for a specific goal and then presumably will chill for a while )

Clive

It doesn't really matter - whether you're training for sport, self-defence or anything else - whatever your "mindset" is, and whatever you think it is, fundamentally it's all about getting laid. Animals in action.

Boru.

Intresting stuff -

This is an article coming out in my newsletter next week but its pertinant here so I'll give you a preview.


Does Reality Based Training develop an unhealthy mental attitude?

I'm asked a similar question quite a lot. Particularly when people first find out the martial arts I practice, particularly when they see stuff like Crime and Terrorism Survival.

Does Reality Based Training develop an unhealthy mental attitude? They often ask that question having a predetermined opinion that goes like this...

"Competitive sport attracts people with a healthy competitive attitude who wish to test themselves and have a bit of fun in a slightly rougher manner than other martial arts - but then again boys will be boys. RB or SD on the other hand is full of hardcore extremists - paranoid delusional wanabee special forces who are obsessed over street crime because of a deep-seated and unresolved violent issue in their childhood."

This attitude particularly applies to those who only practice SD or RB styles. Does a constant focus on lethal force techniques or frequent exposure to realistic violent scenarios cause you to develop an unhealthy crime obsessed personality?

Yes it can if they are a poor student and disregard the teachings of RB and if the practitioner is already that way it will certainly make it worse.

The primarily concern of RB is with the avoidance of any possible conflict. That's Rule no.1. The first thing I teach is situational awareness and how people unwittingly place themselves in the position of a victim. Do I do this to make them afraid and paranoid? To constantly tremble and lurk over their shoulder for fear 30 ninjas may drop from the roof? No. I teach it so they can fix it, so they can become more aware and prevent being selected as a possible victim. If a criminal considers you too HARD A TARGET - guess what, he won't attack you. (and yes I do teach how to handle those who are mentally unbalanced as well).

This isn't a discussion on Pre-conflict tactics so I'll tell you about my own experience and mindset.

I practiced Shotokan Karate for over 15 years. It took me from being a shy scared kid to a confident fit young man. I competed in tournaments, placed well, and even won a few. I developed an enjoyment for sparring. For watching and responding to the movements of my opponent, for the strategy, how to subtly influence their movements to create openings. I enjoyed the adrenaline and the competition.

When I came to study RB I was shocked. I learnt just how easy it is to really hurt someone. Now I wasn't naive when I sparred or competed, I knew there was a risk of injury but I never realised how easy it was to go from injury to a very serious injury. I stopped competing. I did not want to engage in an activity where I could inadvertently hurt someone badly.

If nothing else RB taught me a greater respect for people. It taught me to not needlessly spend time reinforcing an attitude that could hurt someone or worse hurt me.

I believe that the only consequences - mentality at any rate of RB and SD training is a greater understanding and awareness of people. You learn what they can do to you and you learn what you can do to them. You learn to respect that ability and you learn the beauty of the human being and life because of its fragility.

In traditional martial arts there were always stories on the spiritual aspects of the arts. On the nature of the warrior and its spirit. The constant comparisons to cherry blossoms comes to mind.

I never truly understood that aspect until I trained in Reality Based. The warriors of the past used the marital arts in a very practical sense - to take life. With that comes a healthy respect for life because you realise how easily it can be taken away.

When I trained in competitive arts my attitude was that of fun - the rules and regulations kept things safe and for a time I can safely say abstracted the art - it wasn't a method of preserving or taking life it was a sport. My attitude was more cavalier.

Does realistic SD training result in an unbalanced mindset? I don’t think so. It develops and encourages a healthy comprehensive understanding of technique, observational skills and common sense. Sports based competition develops a healthy understanding of fun, competition and character development.

The real question isn’t what effect the art has on mental health – it should be “does the students mindset effect his art?”

If you enjoy this you may want to check out the other articles on the site and in the newsletter.

Michael O Leary

Dragan wrote:

I have met people training for "sports combat" whose every intention and desire was to hurt their opponent and they would take joy from that, and i have met people who were training for "self defence" who were some of the nicest, most grounded people i have ever met.

Put simply, the mindset of the person will always shine through at the end of the day, and those training in anything for the wrong reasons can generally be spotted.

Hi Dragan,

I know that we have disagreed strongly at times but that is one of the most sensible things that any of us on this forum has said. Good post.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

ShaneT

Hmm... for me it's about the focus. For example "Combat Sports" is something of an oxymoron in the manner that "War Games" is an oxymoron.

War is war. A game is a game. A war is far removed from a game and a game is far removed from war.

"Combat Sports"? Combat is combat, sport is sport. Sport is far removed from combat, combat is far removed from sport.

For combat - a focus on combat is healthy (in order to survive).
For sport - a focus on the sport at hand is healthy (in order to win) and some sports may have self defence applications just as some self defence systems may have sporting applications.

So, if you practise for sport and believe yourself prepared for combat - you will likely fail (to survive).

If you prepare for combat (to possible degrees) and believe yourself prepared for sport you will likely fail (to win).

Dragan

Michael O Leary wrote:

Hi Dragan,

I know that we have disagreed strongly at times but that is one of the most sensible things that any of us on this forum has said. Good post.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Nah, we only disagree because we're both perfectly willing to express our opinions, there is no better reason to disagree if you ask me!!!!

On another note, Clive is now my new Sig quote, love that!!!!

Millionaire

If I think of cage fighting...

ground & pound..what ever its called. one guy on top of the other, pummelling his face, and his head boucing off the matt, untiled his is KO 'ed.

That to be is Fcuking horrible. Pure Violence.

I was looking at UFC for a little bit the other day UCF 51 i think it was or 53. The attitudes of some of the fighters when interviewed was horrible, ego ridden.and arrogant "He showed he no respect so I am going to finish him in the cage" talk.

Just horrible.

I see nothing sporting or healthy about cage fighting. I think it has brought IMO combat sport to low levels of violence. Of course big TV networks are behind it = Money of course. They won't be happy until someone dies in the cage.

And for young kids to be able to see some guy pounded some guy to KO. Not good...not good at all. Look at all the proven studies about kids and the violence they see on TV. Not healthy either.

Tim_Murphy

Mill,
You train Thai and have done kickboxing so I presume you have no problem with people getting knocked out on your feet? Why is it different if people are on the ground? If ground and pound is 'pure violence' then surely thai (where you can punch, kick, knee and elbow until you KO the person) is too.

I see nothing sporting or healthy about cage fighting. I think it has brought IMO combat sport to low levels of violence.

IMO, a person is likely to take much more abuse in an average Thai (or even boxing) match than in an average MMA one. To paraphrase Chuck Liddell "in a boxing match you might get hit with 200 power punches, I haven't been hit with 200 power punches in my career."

I agree the attitude of some fighters isn't great, but there are plenty of good role models too, Randy Couture etc

Vegeta

yeah i don't think there's anything worng with the cage fighting, but the attitude/ thrash talk of some fighters does drives me nuts.

Dragan

Vegeta wrote:

yeah i don't think there's anything worng with the cage fighting, but the attitude/ thrash talk of some fighters does drives me nuts.

Oh come on guys, lets not confuse the issues here. At the end of the day you have two guys stepping the ring with the sole purpose of submitting or knocking out your opponent.

Simply human nature and very basic psychology says that not everyone will be able to do so and remain friendly before hand. A lot of people do really need to convince themselves that they don't like there opponent in order to be able to get the job done.

Should that aspect of the fight game be splashed across tv shows and PPV's , nope, but it will be.

Millionaire

Hi Tim:

Just to me personally, I think its taking it too far. headshots on the ground. One I saw recently, (sorry cannot remember who or what), the guys jaw was wobbling loose, he was well on the way to out cold, and his still getting whacked out with punches. To me thats just taking it too far. too violent. letting it go on too too long. theres not need for that. if people need to go to do that, to win, or prove to themselves or whatever...I just think its too much.

Sure I love to watch thai, (I ve never fought in a ring thai style and probably never will ), sure there is contact., and KO s but not someone getting pounded into the ground.

Kickboxing the same, have I KO'ed people , sure have, especially if someone intraining tried to KO me first, however once I d see them go, I d back off , I would not be following them with punches. There is a difference i think.

I just think head shots on the ground is going to far, too violent.

to me. its bwtn that and the arrogance of some of the fighters...it has sort of taken from the what MA was all about.

Dragan

Millionaire wrote:

I just think head shots on the ground is going to far, too violent.

I wouldn't agree, i think it adds to a level or perceived violence, but thats it. If you look at sports you need to examine injuries and deaths.

The majority of injuries are fairly superficial, cuts and bruises, maybe a broken bone.

There has been one death, a foolish man who was refused permission for sanctioned fights due to medical reasons. So he went off, took an illegal fight ( which i would not consider MMA anyway as it had no governing body or sanctioning ) and he died.

Many more people have died in Boxing rings since MMA was set up.

It also boils down a lot to the ref, once the fighter is responding, trying to work position and is intelligently defending himself the ref will let the fight go on, until the point the ref feels that nothing more can be done by the fighter in the disadvantaged position.

Roper

I think it LOOKS more violent, simply bacause it doesn't look as pretty as a stand up fight.

Basically, in the K.O.'s you see when a guyu gets pounded on the ground, you usually see him interviewed afterwards, 2 minutes afterwards. SO what it looks like is not necessarilly what it is.

And what, Millionaire, does MMA take away from "what the MA was all about"? Fighting, violence? Or is it that respect word again? Could some of the fighters do with being more respectful?, yeah, of course.
Are some of them arseholes? Yeah.
Are some of them decent, respectful sportsmen? Yeah.

You could say the same about "attitude" in any sport. Look at pro footballers. Pure cheats, admitted cheats, feigning injury, diving, trying to get fellow pros sent off. Is that better for kids to watch?

Tim_Murphy

We are talking about two separate issues here, lack of respect/arrogant fighters, and headshots on the ground.

I agree with you Gerry, I hate fighters that don’t show respect and who talk crap, particularly after the fight. BUT you this to a greater or less extent in every sport, it’s nothing exclusive to MMA. If you go to any MMA show in Ireland you will see that there is never any hassle between fighters or any disrespect, in any of the shows I’ve competed on anyway.

With regards to headshots on the ground. As Dragon points out, it adds the level of perceived violence. Yes sometimes it can look brutal, it’s the job of the ref to stop it when it needs to be stopped (i.e. when the guy on bottom can not intelligently, not when he is mashed into the mat). Having been on the receiving end of some hard shots on the ground and standing up I can safely say that they both hurt but to say that one is more violent than the other makes no sense to me. One really needs to look at the amounts of deaths and injuries in something like boxing before talking about violence in MMA.

Millionaire

The thread started about SD vs Sport end , what was healthy.

I said none were...neither...be SD, or training for a combat sport. Yoga is healthy, golf etc. I feel that non MA people or fans...think MA/Boxing...Karate as many people call it. etc. is a violent past time. as a teen, my father tried all he could to stop me kickboxing, as he thought it was a scum bag sport (an this was an ex 60s ballroom manager and show band manager, my father, who was well know for kicking scum bags in the nuts, and dragging them out if the cause fights in the dance hall!!! double standards!!!!)

anyway, I said that I felt say head shot on ground in MMA, was taking it all to far. OK I know how MMA wins, and maybe I am naieve in thinking, but like if ya have got him down, do you have to totally pound him into the floor????

once this guy came to our kickboxing, and I sparred him gently, and he has experience and he tried to KO me, after his 3rd attempt to KO me, I laid him out with a right. My teacher said I made one mistake...I should have finished him altogether with the left hook. and I was like...look he took the piss, I proved my point, there was no need to really finish him. like job done!!! there was no need for me to pound him into the floor.

maybe I am a bit set in my ways! and if you lads enjoy it and are happy, fair play! your tough fighters, and that I admire and respect you greatly!

ok Percieved to be more violent that is actually is..... if you try to tell me a ground and pound to KO is a healthy thing...I ll throw up!!!

I asked how did this "healthy" thing come into MA talk. It is an expressionof a certain Head Coach from NW Pacific coast USA of a certain MMA Gym... I think!! ; -)

Its as bad as the other tall american Tony Robbins!!! fcuk I am going to puke now!

Dragan

Millionaire wrote:

and maybe I am naieve in thinking, but like if ya have got him down, do you have to totally pound him into the floor????

To be honest, yeah, in MMA just because your on the ground doesn't mean that your out of it, or even in a bad position, some fighters have made being on top the equivilent of being in hell for there opponents.:eek:

Tim_Murphy

The thread started about SD vs Sport end , what was healthy.

Not really, it was about the psychology behind training for different reasons, which is a completely different subject to what you are talking about.

I feel that non MA people or fans...think MA/Boxing...Karate as many people call it. etc. is a violent past time. as a teen, my father tried all he could to stop me kickboxing, as he thought it was a scum bag sport

Again, you are talking about perceived violence here, not the actual reality.

OK I know how MMA wins, and maybe I am naieve in thinking, but like if ya have got him down, do you have to totally pound him into the floor????

No, you can also submit the person. Very few fights end by anything resembling somebody being pounded into the floor. Infact headshots on the ground can in some cases lead to a fighter taking less abuse than he otherwise might. I can think of numerous examples where a fighter gets dropped by a shot and his opponent quickly follows up with more strikes on the ground at which point the fight is stop. Sometimes the fighter is KO’d but often he isn’t either, he just got a flash knock down and didn’t have time to recover, if there was a 10 count he would easily been back on his feet. Bang Ludwig’s 4 sec KO in the UFC recently was a good example of this. A second after the ref had stopped the fight the other guy was on his knees looking p%^sed that he got caught. He definately didn't look like somebody who had just been pounded into the floor!:)

ok Percieved to be more violent that is actually is..... if you try to tell me a ground and pound to KO is a healthy thing...I ll throw up!!!

Nobody is saying that. What I am saying that it is often not nearly as brutal as it looks and certainly isn’t anything worse than getting hit standing. As an example I fought Greg Loughran a while back. Sometime in the second round he got mount and started pounding away. The ref gave me time to escape, I didn’t, so the fight was stopped. Now I wasn’t KO’d, I wasn’t even particularly hurt (was able to stand up straight away) but at the same time I wasn’t intelligently defending myself so the fight was stopped.

Millionaire

OK OK OK OK!!! as thai people say machine gun style!

Agree to disagree!

As long as refs do the job, and keep it sports man like, and safe (ish) then that is good! Enjoy!

One thing on perception...its a bit like, juding people by say the clothes they wear. here s me some in MA years, and I judge a ground and pound..even though I never been in a cage to experience one...(maybe elsewhere...ahem..! ;- ) thank god for Bil Jee,,cough!!! LOL!!) .

Thing is people will always perceive things into their minds eye. and if I as some one who was a kickboxer, though that...i think you have a good idea what mr joe non MA citizen thinks of this!??!

Odysseus

Millionaire wrote:

Neither have a healthy mindset!

Training to KO someone either for SD or Sport is not a healthy thing to do! Period!

In fact what the fcuk is this "Healthy Mindset" ideal?

At the end of the day, weather your a defending against 5 people trying to kick your head in, to get your wallet (happened me last year) or your going into say a kickboxing ring to fight (thats me too!), your going in to do something that can cause potential fatal injury to another human being, as if punch them in the face and knock them out, so you can be the champ and win.

In SD, which I am very interested the 1st ideal is to avoid the situation all together, as in do not walk down O Connell Street at 4am alone pissed out of your brain. 2nd ideal is to descalte to escape. last option is defend with physical force. Thats sort of SD in my own words. Most SD people do not want a conflict, alot of us view it like a life skill, like CPR, or swimming, or being able to defend yourself to escape.

Also alof of SD training (and indeed other MA training) has EMPOWERED ladies who before had been mugged or rape, men who have been attacked by thugs and have little confidence. So it is help these people feel empowered it is a good thing.

I am not sure where all this healthy mindset talk came from. I am in MA over 20 years and most of what I did has been Combat Sport orientated, and I never heard such an expression before.

I personally think if I have to hit someone an UNAVOIDABLE situation, it is still not a desirable thing to do. perhaps it was a necessary evil, to avoid greater injury to me.

If I am training for sport and I kickboxing, and I hit someone and break their ribs, so they cannot work properly for a few weeks, is that healthy???? or if I was a cage guy, and I break their arm, so they cannot work for months, is that healthy?

And lets be honest, when your going into the ring, I do not care what way you try to dress it up here as in "healthy mindest" , your not going into a ring, to give your oponent a tickle and a massage either!

Its easy for us to talk on here, as we all enjoy what we do.

I think many people outside MA, view it is a violent activity.

If you want to make MA healthy, just take out all sparring and contacts, and we can train against pads, bags, and kick the air, and 1 step sparring, that way no one will get hurt.

Lets me honest, as well as skill, conditioning, drive, commitment, to excel in a combat sport you do need to have somewhat of an aggressive mindset.

Me enjoy MA, for a good feeling of fitness, I like punching bags, a good pad man session, have a good spar with good contact (still controlled though, I do not mind taking a bang as long as it don;t break me nose !LOL!!), I like the good feeling after a good trainining session. and if I need to, there is a better chance I can defend myself.

The fact that I , say yesterday, visualized KO ing a fighter who was standing across the gym and who nearly KO'ed me last week, when working my punches. Does that make me unhealthy??? Maybe not???!!!??? Get Oddeysious to post, he s a Physoanlayst by trade!

However, I did do yoga for near a year, last year, and it is a hell of alot more healthy than any MA, be it TMA, MMA, SD or The Way of Gerry Nolan Do!

This talk of healthy, then next thing he will have you all down in central america, drinking, poision laced cool aid, jim jones style. Them Yanks can get you to believe anything!

A KO is A KO is a KO, is a potential fatal injury to another human beings, and regardless, of what you style it as, or what you try to dress it up as, is not the most healthy thing to do in life.

there are better options....like growing roses, charity work, helping needy people get back on their feet, helping alcoholics recover.

Thats my view on it!

Hi Gerry,

Sorry for the delay in responding, I've been jumping off mountains with a paraglider the past few days is that unhealthy;) even if it is its great fun. My own thoughts on it is that from a psychoanalytic perspective, firstly there is not such thing as a perfect mind, subjectively we all carry our own pathologies.

However, does that mean that I am paranoid, not it most certainly does not, I work mostly with addicts, the type of people that a lot of people do not want to mix with, and I can understand that. Most of them are fine, but we does get some live ones, and I think you need to be ready for that. Most of the clients were I work know nothing about my SD background.

I try to talk people down first, but lest face it, I seen lots a weapons used in my clinic, over the years. I think I told you why me and and a psych nurse started training in SD over four years ago, it was following a sick incident in a near by clinic, and we say to each other that we could'nt stand by and watch something like that, the end result was we started training in the same place.

In addition, i'm a member of the health boards critical incedent support team, which means I work with staff members who who have been attacked by clients. Furthermore, I work with people who have been raped. My thoughts are its a violent world out there, do your best to enjoy life, but also be ready to fight in order to defend it, [only, if and when you need to] I have no time for social violence. However, I know for a fact that over 60% of my clients carry a weapon, people say there is no need to do knife defenses!

With saying all of that I enjoy my work, I enjoy my life, and I really enjoy anything that some people may call unhealhty, I like to jump out of planes, I like to shoot, I like train hard, I like to push myself, I like to experience things, but most of all I like to respect people, and expect that respect back, does that sound unhealthy to anybody?

Finally, I must say it does pi** me off when [not meaning anyone here] I'm called paranoid by people who do not even comprend the full meaning of the term. Spend an hour listening to a client with "Delusion Disorder" and then you will understand paranoia. By the wat Freud belived It was an expression of repressed homosexuality, and there is something to that:) Hope this makes some sense


P.S. Most importantly the point I was trying to make was the people I see training in SD are generally caring respectful people. I do think there is a difference between the "mind set" of SD and "sports combat" people. However, I also think that both are positive, and certainly neither one is healthier than other, just different.

Millionaire

Odysseus said it well! and he's our resident shrink on here!

I know what work he does, and in past he describes incidents that happen.
given the nature of come of the clients.

Thats scary that 60% carry knives.!

I love living in Thailand (i am not saying there is no crime here) but the general attitude is so much more relaxed and agnst free. I think cause its a buddhist influenced country. where in dublin, I never felt this relaxed.

Tim_Murphy

Thing is people will always perceive things into their minds eye. and if I as some one who was a kickboxer, though that...i think you have a good idea what mr joe non MA citizen thinks of this!??!

Given the fact that MMA has experienced a huge boom in popularity over the past few years I would say that in general most don't have a problem with it. Of course, it is not for everyone, but no sport is.