The first time I ever used the martial arts skills I had learned from the initial approach to kobudo that I started studying in high school, an interesting thing happened.
Of course, over the years there are details I don’t remember – this was high school. And, now that I’ve learned enough about the likely results of what must have included some adrenaline in my blood at the time, I recognize that it’s entirely likely that most of the “actual” details that I might remember would be at least partially wrong.
With that in mind, I’m not so interested in recounting what skills got used or what worked and what didn’t work – I only remember a very little bit. What would be useful, though, is to discuss an odd thing that happened, that I actually DO remember … one that I have recently learned happens a lot to people doing something stressful and “new”.
I say it was something “new” because it was the first time I had found myself in a position where I had a whole set of fighting skills that I had been practicing, and this was where they were supposed to work. In years prior growing up, I had found some use for the sports-style Judo skills I had learned (and I assure you that if you ever throw a person outside the context of a Judo match, their expression is likely to be worth watching). But, this was different – I was supposed to have a whole new set of skills available that were supposed to be supremely useful.
I don’t know if in this case I threw him, or he threw me (honestly, unlikely) but somehow, things in this particular little “Monkey Dance” of a scuffle ended up with both of us on the ground (luckily at the beach – sand is MUCH more forgiving than concrete for this kind of thing).
My Brain’s Funny Trick
I’m not sure that there was a normal “freeze” moment involved that I would expect to see in a high-adrenaline response. However, what I do remember is that we got to a bit of a stalemate, and while trying to figure out what to do, I could honestly hear my own voice giving me instructions that I had heard in class: things like “twist the wrist forward” and “kneel on the arm” … I distinctly remember, “step on that hand to pin him down while standing up .”
For years I thought this was a strange phenomenon, and I didn’t regard it much. It only happened that one time (as far as I can remember – of course adrenalized response could have altered memory of subsequent occurrences). As such, I didn’t think it deserved much attention for folks training – after all, it’s not something I had trained to do, or expected to do, etc.
It turns out though, that it’s a particularly common thing. Rory Miller’s book Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected
Some survivors of assault have described hearing their self-defense instructor’s voice yelling at them with useful commands. Usually, those stories involve more emotive than technical commands heard, with things like “keep going” or perhaps “don’t give up” etc. This might be a curious point of consideration for the methods used in their training, as opposed to what I experienced. Beyond instructional paradigm considerations, it does point to a common occurrence of this “voices in your head” thing happening in these circumstances.
Thanks For The Help, Brain
At the very least, it’s an interesting thing to know exists. Beyond that, it’s a useful thing to at least be comfortable accepting. If you find yourself needing self-defense skills, the last thing you need is to be surprised and confused by your own brain – chances are good that there is already enough mayhem going on externally.
I am curious to know if this is at all familiar with anybody else – have you experienced this, or anything similar?
