Phobias and training

[Steve]

I posted a short article on my blog about claustrophobia and grappling.

http://www.stevebjj.com/2010/01/claustrophobia-and-grappling

I'm claustrophobic and among the many things I've had to overcome in BJJ is panicking under mount or a side control. While I've learned to deal with it, for the most part, it's never going to completely go away.

What sorts of phobias, if any, have you guys run across or dealt with personally?

 

[K831]

As far as grappling goes, I have a phobia for getting my face stuck in some sweaty guys arm pit. I don't know what the name of that phobia is.

With Kenpo, I have a phobia of getting kicked in the balls. It hurts and I hate it.

 

[K831]

After posting above I felt bad for making jokes on what I realize is a more serious post.

Props to you for dealing with and overcoming a phobia through your training. After all, that is one part of why we all train right, to become better all round people?

I wasn't born with any phobias (none that I have discovered anyways) I was always the guy who jumped off the cliff first, scurried into the unknown and small tunnel in the cave, rode my motorcycle way to aggressively and so on.

However, I was free climbing a couple of years ago and I fell from about 20 feet. The odd angle that I landed dislocated one of my shoulders. I fell and rolled and ended up dangling off a 200 footer that was a little way below where I was climbing. It was scary. Took me a long time to climb out of there with one are dangling out of joint.

When I got out I was miles from anywhere, but one of my trusty dogs had gone for help.


Anyhow, got the shoulder back in, did my therapy, got back to the gym, lifted hard, shoulder is solid.

About a year after, we were swimming at a place in AZ with lots of cliffs. I had jumped off a couple of the 20-30 footers. My wife had climbed up to a 60 footer (she has absolutely no fear of heights) so I started climbing too. It got a little sketchy and I looked down.

Bang. Got dizzy, legs got weak.. weirdest thing. Had to stop and work very hard to gain enough composure to climb down. Been working hard to overcome this new found fear of heights. I am getting much better, but far from the fearless climber / repeller I used to be.

I never considered I could gain a phobia I didn't have.

 

[MattJ]

Hey Steve, great article. I don't think I'm phobic per-se, but sometimes I feel like I can't breathe when guys are crushing me. It's kind of scary, and makes me feel pretty girly to tap from just pressure, LOL. Luckily, the longer I do it, the less it happens. Seems like that is the key - just keep at it! Great point about the elbows, too.

 

[Steve]

K831, funny's always welcome! I am actually okay in a cave as long as it's big enough. When things get tight, that's when I begin to lose it.

You bring up a good point, though. I said phobias, which implies irrational fear, but really what I'm interested in are the group's thoughts on facing fears in martial arts. These can be full on phobias or maybe more appropriately labeled as "issues." I know that some threads have mentioned personal space issues or fear of confrontation. Stuff like that. We all have our demons.

As we start training, there's no such thing as a level playing field. Conditioning, aptitude, age, flexibility, intelligence... these are physical traits that affect training. But we also all have baggage.

I'm not sure why I enjoy BJJ like I do. Truthfully, it's a difficult, uncomfortable art for which I have little natural aptitude. But I do.

 

[KELLYG]

I have issues with personal space. Especially when working in supine positions. These are especially difficult for me. I do work them but I have to work them with someone that I am extremely comfortable with.

I also have a fear of leap frogging over someone. I can't get over my mental picture of getting stuck in the middle of the jump and face planting on the mat totally squashing my partner.

The height thing too but I does not come into play too much in my training.

 

[ATC]

I totally get the claustrophobic thing. I hated wrestling in high school as I feared being stuck or pinned down to the mat. Being on my back was the worse for some reason. I could handle being on my front and working from there, but on my back I would panic and go wild as to do anything not to feel stuck or pinned in.

My son has this same fear. He hate to have anyone pin him down to the point he goes crazy and even cries. It is kind of funny as when being sat on or pinned down he will always say I have to use the bathroom, in a panic voice like it is urgent.

Glad to know it is not only me.

 

[Steve]

I totally get the claustrophobic thing. I hated wrestling in high school as I feared being stuck or pinned down to the mat. Being on my back was the worse for some reason. I could handle being on my front and working from there, but on my back I would panic and go wild as to do anything not to feel stuck or pinned in.

My son has this same fear. He hate to have anyone pin him down to the point he goes crazy and even cries. It is kind of funny as when being sat on or pinned down he will always say I have to use the bathroom, in a panic voice like it is urgent.

Glad to know it is not only me.

I think it's actually pretty common, particularly in a grappling art. But I'm totally going to try that at class as a mount escape. "Dude! I have to go to the bathroom!!!!" I wonder if it will work.

 

[Stac3y]

I used to be afraid of being pinned, and of flipping out when I was pinned. I broke an ex-boyfriend's nose when we were play fighting and I freaked out. The fear went away, though, and I don't know when or why. Weird.

I'm still afraid of falling, though not as much as I used to be. Years ago, I started taking aikido, and loved it at first, but quit because I couldn't make myself fall down. I would just panic and freeze. Now I can make myself do breakfalls, but (as I posted earlier) I'm clueless on front rolls. I think I'm so clumsy with those because I have some lingering fear (and also because I haven't had enough instruction--working on that.)

 

[KELLYG]

Front rolls are cool with me I can do them all day long, but let someone keep control of either of my hands as I do a front roll then I end up power driving my shoulder into the mat.

 

[Gordon Nore]

As far as grappling goes, I have a phobia for getting my face stuck in some sweaty guys arm pit. I don't know what the name of that phobia is.

Years ago I was at a grappling seminar with my son. We were practising the triangle choke, and he kept tapping persistently. I couldn't figure out why, as I barely had it locked. Turns out I was absent mindedly breaking wind.

True story

With Kenpo, I have a phobia of getting kicked in the balls. It hurts and I hate it.

I have this aversion to getting teeth knocked out. I always put on a mouthpiece when grappling with a new partner or at a seminar.

 

[kungfu penguin]

i am really phobic of wasps so a lot of times i dont like outdoor training i scream like a wuss when they buzz near me but i almost died as a child because i was swarmed n its the buzz not the sting that scares me

 

[Nolerama]

I fear the Skeksis.

They haunt my dreams.

Actually, I have a problem with getting punched in the face. I get really angry if I get caught in an errant jab during boxing sparring. It stems from getting hit repeatedly in the face during a street fight. I get angry with getting hit in the face because I fear it.

But it's overcome through sparring and corner drills. I even let my partner tap me on the jaw before we start a round. There's an entire routine/ritual developed around my fear of getting hit in the face.

Don't get me wrong. It happens. A lot. I'll never say I'm the strongest boxer in my gym. But sparring rounds, "surviving" a corner drill, and the need to be a good training partner keep me on the level.

 

[Flea]

When I was a kid, I had nightmares about the Skeksis. No lie.

Seriously though, I've found that preventive maintenance is the key to fighting phobias. On your bad days you find out exactly what your fear triggers are. It's a good thing, because it enables you to confront them directly on your good days when you're most able to.

Then on your bad days, you have lots of empirical evidence to fall back on that ___ will not kill you.

 

[dancingalone]

Years ago I was at a grappling seminar with my son. We were practising the triangle choke, and he kept tapping persistently. I couldn't figure out why, as I barely had it locked. Turns out I was absent mindedly breaking wind.

I'm not sure I could gracefully recover from that myself. I'd probably apologize and then fall straight on my sword.

 

[Kneevsface]

Well i have a fear of hights an needles. Funy thing is im covered in tatoos lol. But its more like medical needles. When i was 16 my doctor went to take my blood an as soon as the needle went into my vain i cracked him one. I opologized like 100 times an felt realy bad. But now when i get em i look at my tatoos an say come on u went through hours of pain for that an this wil be over in a secound. My ma fear would be getin hit in the solar plexis. Ive tryed an tryed to condition it but as soon as i even get poked there itdrop, i cant fix this problem ither so i guess i have to deal with it lol

 

[Big Don]

Truthfully, it's a difficult, uncomfortable art for which I have little natural aptitude. But I do.

That applies to a lot of things in my life.
For me grappling isn't claustrophobic, it's knowing if I lose my wind or nerve before the other guy, I'm gonna get beaten on that scares me.