# mental block



## denmyos (Jan 7, 2009)

I have been doing MT for a couple of months.
Have been sparring 5-6 times.
Yesterday, i was sparring against my kroo and some 12 year old kid, (im 42) which kick my ***.. 
Yesterday i had this mental block during sparring, my brain came up with excuse for not hitting or kicking back.
when i was sparring with my kroo, one of the excuse my brain came up with was, "that i repectet him to much to hit him, and if i did, the consequences would be so and so. So ill better hide behind a double block, and take it. "
Which i did.

I more or less did the same with the kid ( which btw is 160 pound, and has a mustache) But this time it has his age, that my brain came up with for an excuse.

The same thing happend when i sparred with my friend, which i usually can beat. But this time the excuse was that i felt sorry for me. 

So all in all, a very very dissapointing session. 
I have been doing sport for almost 20 years, and has always been doing it with a 100 % effort. But has never done a contact sport before.

This mental block is very new to me. Is this common for beginners in combat sports.?
Has anybody else tryed it?


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## jarrod (Jan 7, 2009)

this kind of thing is pretty common.  basically you need to discipline your mind, & make it do what you want it to.  right now you're letting your thoughts run the show; it's like you're a victim of your thinking.  

not everyone's mind tells them not to fight, but everyone has to learn to direct their thoughts.  combat sports are a little tougher because they tend to be more stressful: it feels like there's more at stake than losing a game of tennis.  at least for me that's how it is.  

just concentrate, & you can make yourself do it.  after awhile it will be second nature.

jf


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## denmyos (Jan 8, 2009)

Thx,  you made my day. 
I know you are right, i just need to get control of my thoughts when sparring. 

But thx again..

PS. why can't i edit my post, i've notice alot of typo.
especiale this one: But this time the excuse was that i felt sorry for me.= him.


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## jks9199 (Jan 8, 2009)

denmyos said:


> Thx,  you made my day.
> I know you are right, i just need to get control of my thoughts when sparring.
> 
> But thx again..
> ...


You have a limited window to edit your posts.  The easiest fix is to take a few moments before you hit send, and proofread.  (This isn't a bad idea, anyway, because sometimes what we write in the heat of the moment may not be a good idea to send, or may simply not be as clear as we'd like.)  If it's a significant issue in a post you can't edit, you can PM a staff member for assistance.


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## morph4me (Jan 8, 2009)

denmyos said:


> I have been doing MT for a couple of months.
> Have been sparring 5-6 times.
> Yesterday, i was sparring against my kroo and some 12 year old kid, (im 42) which kick my ***..
> Yesterday i had this mental block during sparring, my brain came up with excuse for not hitting or kicking back.
> ...


 
The difference between martial arts and other sports is that if you are teaching each other by pointing out your strengths and weaknesses and if have respect for your partner you do hit him, if contact is allowed, so both of you can learn.


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## denmyos (Jun 11, 2009)

well, almost 6 months has gone by since this post and i still stink at sparring.
I don't have a mental block anymore, but im still not hitting back.
I really enjoy sparring, but i don't get a rush out of it. (meaning, that im not all fire up, its just another day at the office)

I don't really know why im not hitting back, i do jab once in awhile but thats about it.
Something tells me, its because im not really getting hit hard, im getting hit alot, but it really doesnt have a impacked on me. 

So im not really getting that,, damn you son of a ..... you hit me hard, now there is hell to pay, feeling.

Im just like, oh i got hit,,well it was not that hard, so no reason to hit back.
My sparring partnes will sometimes say, you can hit me, im not gonna more or hit back, when we sparre. But that i hate, i don't want them to cute me any slack, i want to work for it.   

It really bothers me, im seriously feeling like a lesser man, every time i get my *** kick.

any advice will do. thx.


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## morph4me (Jun 11, 2009)

Tell you sparring partners to hit you harder, once you get that fire lit, it may help you break that block. Just be aware that once you do break that block, you don't do a 180 and try to take everyone's head off when you're supposed to be going lightly.


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## jks9199 (Jun 11, 2009)

You still have a mental block; it's just shifted.  You're afraid or unwilling to hit your training partners.

It's good that you aren't becoming angry or acting out of some sort of rage.  But you have to cross that mental threshold to strike your opponent -- or find an art that doesn't include striking as a key element of defeating the opponent.  Aikido is one that's more commonly available.

There's no easy way to do this; you have to simply decide that you will hit and make yourself do it.


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## denmyos (Jun 11, 2009)

shifting to another MA, would mean failing at MT. And failing is not an option.

The class more or less went from pads to full contact sparring in no time.
I don't know if going a few step back, and do some 50-60% contact sparring, would help me. 
So i could get my confidence back and get the combinations to work.


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## Akira (Jun 15, 2009)

It's just a mental problem.  Relax.  It's good that you're staying calm while you're sparring.  

But it's definately a state of mind.  Naturally I'm not an aggressive person.  I'm pretty calm, easy going, do anything to avoid an arguement.  But once I pull my gloves on, that all changes.  I have to be aggressive or I'll lose a fight, get cut, broken nose or worse.  Even when I go to training I have to conciously 'put on my aggressive hat'.  Usually I do this by listening to angry music or watching some of my favouite knockout videos.  

Are you confident in your combinations?  You're hitting ok on the pads?  You have a good variety to attack with?  These also may be factors in your problem.

One of the best pieces of advice I heard was from a style of kung fu I did for a while "Respond to violence with more violence" meaning if someone attacks you, you have to steam roll them to the point where they're too intimidated to attack further.  This is also true with muay thai.  

If someone's a heavy puncher, head kick them every time they punch you.  This will make them afraid to punch you.  If they are good at knees, use your elbows.  I guarantee they won't want to come in close to you.  

It's all a mind game.  And your brain is the hardest muscle to train.


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## morph4me (Jun 15, 2009)

denmyos said:


> shifting to another MA, would mean failing at MT. And failing is not an option.
> 
> The class more or less went from pads to full contact sparring in no time.
> I don't know if going a few step back, and do some 50-60% contact sparring, would help me.
> So i could get my confidence back and get the combinations to work.


 
Shifting to another martial art doesn't mean failn any more than changing direction to get to a destination means failing. If you live in Florida and want to go to California you can go east and get there, but it makes more sense to go West, you get there faster and with fewer stops. Changing strategies is not failing.


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