Normally this would go in the Locker Room or somewhere else under "Not Martial Arts". But it's particularly relevant for martial arts students who haven't had to use what they've learned in a real physical conflict.
Girl Genius is one of the best comics in any medium. Phil Foglio simply made a business decision to put it online and bundle it up in dead trees a couple times a year. It's funny. It's sexy. It's smart. And Phil was the guy who turned me on to Lord Dunsany, so he deserves a round of applause.
Today's issue touches on one of the important but seldom-mentioned parts of a fight, the aftermath. It's something the dojo kun doesn't cover. It's not in The Book of Five Rings. Most of the cops I've talked to didn't hear about it in the Academy but picked it up the first time they had to mix and weren't sure they were going to win.
After it's all over your body is left with a lot of cleanup to do. There's lactic acid to get rid of. There's an oxygen debt to make up. And there's adrenaline to dispose of. Blood heads back to your extremities and your gut. The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems do the Mambo. The combination of "I'm alive!", "I could have died!", "I'M ALIVE!", the shakes, the changes in blood pressure, nausea and all sorts of other things can make what happens after the fight as hard on you physically and emotionally as the actual event.
Some other good ones from GG...
The difference between martial sports and fighting, not to mention between being willing to hurt people and being willing to get hurt as much as it takes to win.
The ideal student teacher relationship
Good hard training
Trusting your instincts.
The Right Attitude for a fight - if you can't avoid it, enjoy it.
Using the right tool for the job or the wrong one.
Girl Genius is one of the best comics in any medium. Phil Foglio simply made a business decision to put it online and bundle it up in dead trees a couple times a year. It's funny. It's sexy. It's smart. And Phil was the guy who turned me on to Lord Dunsany, so he deserves a round of applause.
Today's issue touches on one of the important but seldom-mentioned parts of a fight, the aftermath. It's something the dojo kun doesn't cover. It's not in The Book of Five Rings. Most of the cops I've talked to didn't hear about it in the Academy but picked it up the first time they had to mix and weren't sure they were going to win.
After it's all over your body is left with a lot of cleanup to do. There's lactic acid to get rid of. There's an oxygen debt to make up. And there's adrenaline to dispose of. Blood heads back to your extremities and your gut. The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems do the Mambo. The combination of "I'm alive!", "I could have died!", "I'M ALIVE!", the shakes, the changes in blood pressure, nausea and all sorts of other things can make what happens after the fight as hard on you physically and emotionally as the actual event.
Some other good ones from GG...
The difference between martial sports and fighting, not to mention between being willing to hurt people and being willing to get hurt as much as it takes to win.
The ideal student teacher relationship
Good hard training
Trusting your instincts.
The Right Attitude for a fight - if you can't avoid it, enjoy it.
Using the right tool for the job or the wrong one.
