A very key idea in military training is that one should fight the way they train and train the way they fight. To not do that is to be inefficient. So if what you say above is true, it is simply an indicator of how far traditional martial arts have departed from their combative roots.
I have to agree on this point, to an extent. My last response will clarify the "extent" bit.
I have seen many martial arts schools where they will practice a self-defense application, but then the person defending stops their punch about an inch (sometimes more) away from their training partner. Those are schools I choose to not train in.
Maybe it is because we live in a litigious society. I still can't believe though, that people would join a martial arts class and not expect to get hit. I mean, it's going to happen out on the street...except there, the person who hit you won't stop to apologize like they do in class!
Well I see a place for stopping short with new students from both sides. The new student attacking likely doesn't know how to use speed without full power yet. The one defending doesn't have the reactions or the ability to maintain the proper structure needed for a solid defense.
I think that these 2 ideas are not necessarily opposed to one another.
While I wholeheartedly agree that our response in a stressful encounter is going to revert back to the lowest common denominator of our training, in other words, the things that.happen automatically because we've practiced it thousands of times; there comes a point where our body just moves naturally as a result of our training, seeking the most economical solution to the problem.
It all depends on the final part. Do you "close" the deal with pressure testing. There will never come a point where you move naturally through the techniques of your training without some sort of pressure testing and it's actually a scientific fact that has undergone a lot of study lately.
This Is Your Brain On War
A SUMMARY for those who don't want to read the whole article.
fight or flight kicks in the heart rate climbs due to a hormonal dump. The heart rate soars and the higher it gets the more fine motor skills, and thus many TMA techniques, go right out the window. The only way to stop this is a few things.
1. Control your breathing. You can call it "tactical breathing", dantian breathing etc. If you do this during moments of stress it actually helps to keep your heart rate down but you have to practice this breathing under stress, even if it's just while doing your daily run. When you start this it will actually hurt because it's not what your body wants to do naturally. Train it.
2. Figure out how to turn fear into something else. Fear will actually exacerbate the physiological response of fight or flight. If you can turn it into anger, focus, even compassion, loyalty to a cause. The last two may seem odd but compassion for a victim can be the reason the fire fighter runs into the burning build and still can use his gear properly, even with that bulky bunker gear. Loyalty to a cause? Think of soldier after soldier who in the wars of old laid down their rifle to pick up the Flag and Battle Standard to guide the marching of their unit.
The article covers other issues BUT if you do not pressure test you don't build tools equally important to the drilled techniques, the resistance to the inescapable effects of fight or flight.
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