Why do you like fighting?

[Jenna]

Is different for every person I am sure.. Do you like fighting? I am asked this question and find it difficult to explain to a person who does not routinely fight.. I do not mean training drills and technique. I mean fighting. Any fighting that is not training drills or technique, in any circumstance, why do you like it?

Also, have you ever been engaged in a fight out of necessity and got what might be called enjoyment, or a buzz from it? Just a question.

Thank you.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Is different for every person I am sure.. Do you like fighting? I am asked this question and find it difficult to explain to a person who does not routinely fight.. I do not mean training drills and technique. I mean fighting. Any fighting that is not training drills or technique, in any circumstance, why do you like it?

Also, have you ever been engaged in a fight out of necessity and got what might be called enjoyment, or a buzz from it? Just a question.

Thank you.

I've never enjoyed fighting. Every time I've had to physically defend myself, it was as a solution to the problem of the moment. I never get a pleasing rush out of it, just a case of the adrenaline shakes when it's over. As a child, I got into a few fights out of anger, and those had much the same result for me.

 

[Jenna]

I've never enjoyed fighting.

Even a little? It is a semantic thing? or you get no enjoyment from sparring or from termination of conflict through physical means? If not you can say to me please why you enjoy your NGA? is about defence maybe and defence is not fighting, I have that correct?? Your NGA it is not about fighting at all? I am interested.. pardon my questions

 

[Midnight-shadow]

I'm going to separate my answer into controlled fights (i.e. sparring) and uncontrolled ("real" fights). I personally enjoy controlled fights because I like being able to test my skills against an opponent and see the efforts of my training. As for uncontrolled fights, the only thing I feel while I'm fighting is the adrenaline rush, but then when the fight is over, I feel afraid. I am afraid not only of the strength of my opponents, but my own strength too. Even though I'm not the strongest guy around I know that I could seriously injure or even kill someone if I'm not careful, and that scares me more than anything else. I could never forgive myself if that happened, which is why I'm fearful of uncontrolled fights.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Even a little? It is a semantic thing? or you get no enjoyment from sparring or from termination of conflict through physical means? If not you can say to me please why you enjoy your NGA? is about defence maybe and defence is not fighting, I have that correct?? Your NGA it is not about fighting at all? I am interested.. pardon my questions

No worries. My training has always centered around defense. I've never competed, because the idea of fighting for fun was never appealing. As my personal training focus has become more intellectual (once you have solid defensive skill, that's what keeps me going is the intellectual pursuit), I've come to appreciate sparring more. I'd compete now if I had the time to commit and found a competition that wouldn't leave my arthritic joints screaming at me for days afterward. But I'd do the competition now for the camaraderie, the chance to learn something new (that intellectual pursuit again), and just to have a new challenge to work on. I wouldn't get into anything nearly no-holds-barred or full-contact - I just can't see myself hitting that hard without the necessity of self-defense or something similar.

For me, I liked from the beginning the potential for control that exists in NGA. I know there would be circumstances where I'd need to hurt someone, but I liked the option to control them without injury if the circumstances permit. It fits me.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I'm going to separate my answer into controlled fights (i.e. sparring) and uncontrolled ("real" fights). I personally enjoy controlled fights because I like being able to test my skills against an opponent and see the efforts of my training. As for uncontrolled fights, the only thing I feel while I'm fighting is the adrenaline rush, but then when the fight is over, I feel afraid. I am afraid not only of the strength of my opponents, but my own strength too. Even though I'm not the strongest guy around I know that I could seriously injure or even kill someone if I'm not careful, and that scares me more than anything else. I could never forgive myself if that happened, which is why I'm fearful of uncontrolled fights.

That's interesting. When you say "uncontrolled fights", are you referring to defending yourself?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Is different for every person I am sure.. Do you like fighting? I am asked this question and find it difficult to explain to a person who does not routinely fight.. I do not mean training drills and technique. I mean fighting. Any fighting that is not training drills or technique, in any circumstance, why do you like it?

Also, have you ever been engaged in a fight out of necessity and got what might be called enjoyment, or a buzz from it? Just a question.

Thank you.

Don't like fighting.

Been in a few fights, never got enjoyment or a buzz from it.

 

[Midnight-shadow]

That's interesting. When you say "uncontrolled fights", are you referring to defending yourself?

Any fight that contains no rules or isn't part of a training session. So yes, defending myself is one of those cases.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Any fight that contains no rules or isn't part of a training session. So yes, defending myself is one of those cases.

When I think of defense, I'm not so worried about them getting hurt. I'll prevent it if the situation permits, but they created the situation, so them getting injured is on them, not on you.

 

[hoshin1600]

consensual fighting like sparring or UFC can be great. it is a test of your abilities.
actual self defense fighting out in the common world,,not something i really want to take part in, unless i am forced to. there is 2 % of the population that feels little to no empathy. for the rest of us it can be on a sliding scale. as i get older the idea of taking away someones ability to provide for their family or taking them out permanently hurts my heart, and it happened over what? my own inability to control my emotions or not walking away? every fight you are in will change you ,just a little every time. on some rare occasion that i will have to fight for real, and that person loses something of value, i will know it was not of my free will to have taken it away.

 

[Flatfish]

I have not had to defend myself, so I cannot comment on that type of fighting. As for sparring, I enjoy the challenge, trying to outwit and outperform my partner and yes even in sparring there's a bit of an adrenaline buzz, especially when both partners get fired up and go a bit harder.

 

[Midnight-shadow]

When I think of defense, I'm not so worried about them getting hurt. I'll prevent it if the situation permits, but they created the situation, so them getting injured is on them, not on you.

I wish I could detach myself from the situation like that, but I cannot. Even when faced with someone who intends to hurt me, I find it hard to fight back for fear of hurting them. There was one case in particular where someone got angry at me and grabbed me by the throat, aiming to choke me. I waited until I was about to lose consciousness before hitting them back. One punch was all it took to get them off me, but I still waited until it was clear I had no choice.

 

[Martial_Kumite]

Personally, I don't go looking for, or like to fight (physically anyways). If it is a controlled situation then that's different. That type of fight is controlled, and more than likely both parties are in compliance and respect each other enough not to kill one another. UFC fights are different also. The majority of UFC fighters show a level of sportsmanship and respect that is not going to be found when you are defending yourself.

So, sparring or UFC, sure no problem with that. Getting satisfaction out of defending myself or having to hurt someone to ensure that I live another day, no. Not at all.

 

[CB Jones]

Is different for every person I am sure.. Do you like fighting? I am asked this question and find it difficult to explain to a person who does not routinely fight.. I do not mean training drills and technique. I mean fighting. Any fighting that is not training drills or technique, in any circumstance, why do you like it?

Also, have you ever been engaged in a fight out of necessity and got what might be called enjoyment, or a buzz from it? Just a question.

Thank you.

Thereis some satisfaction out of coming out on top of a fight that comes out of necessity.


Now my knees hurt, my shoulders hurt, my back hurts....the last thing I want is to be in a fight.

 

[Martial_Kumite]

Also, have you ever been engaged in a fight out of necessity and got what might be called enjoyment, or a buzz from it? Just a question.

I had to defend myself a few times while I was at school (this specific one was is when I had about .... I'd say 5 years of training). I was talking to some friends when a higher classman came and charged me from behind. Just out of instinct, I dropped my hip and turned enough to get him in a guillotine and a front stance. It through him off balance and he immediately stopped and grabbed my arm. I loosened up a bit but did not let go (I was smarter than that), and waited until he had calmed down and stopped struggling. I let him go, and he walked off looking awfully pissed. Looking back... I am thankful that I did not go any further than that head lock. It was cool when I first started (and I knew a little), but now I realize how lethal (not meant to sound like a brag) that I have become. I am scared of the possibility of snapping on someone, whether it is accidental, or someone pushes me too far.

 

[Buka]

I love to fight in training, hate to fight in real life. Absolutely loathe it. Never enjoyed hurting or beating someone. Never enjoyed the emotion involved - or the aftermath.

 

[kuniggety]

I am a non-competitive person. I think as a kid I went to one karate tournament and all I remember was just being annoyed with the point sparring rules as it was essentially just playing tag. I never did sports. As an adult doing BJJ, I roll (spar) every time I go to class and if I tap someone then I can go "okay, that worked" and if I get tapped, then it's "that didn't work... what can I do different?". I've never done a tournament. I'm thinking maybe next year I'll do one or two just to say I've had the experience.

 

[Psilent Knight]

Unfortunately, growing up in bad neighborhoods and living pretty much below the poverty level may be the reasons why I have been in more fights than I can possibly count. The reason WHY I fought in those situations was pretty simple....to establish my place in the hierarchy of the streets. Plain and Simple. I fought to protect myself from the neighborhood bullies and (in some cases) to remind others where their place is compared to mine. It is my personal assumption that this is the number one reason kids, preteens, teens and young adults fight in the schoolyard and backyard.

I used to enjoy point competition as a teen and young adult in my early 20s because I was good at it, it was fun and I won way more times than I have lost. For me, personally, it was not so much the thrill of victory or even the thrill of combat. To me it was the feeling, I would even say elation, of accomplishment. Possibly somewhere in the back of my mind I may have also enjoyed the narcissistic belief that I proved that I was better than someone else; meaning the people I defeated in point competition.

Now, as an adult in my mid 40s this may shock alot of people to say that I LOVE Martial Arts but I ABSOLUTELY HATE violence!!!! I LOATHE it! Especially senseless unnecessary violence that could have been resolved by more civilized means. It will take a whole lot to get me fired up enough to engage in mortal violence. But if I am pushed that far or if someone is threatening my wife or kids WATCH OUT!! When it comes to certain things that I must protect I can very, very easily turn that switch on and go into that dark place to defend mine. And I'm NOT fighting to hurt you. I embarrassingly admit that I am actually trying to end your existence and take my chances in court.

OP asked the question of WHY some people like fighting. I cannot answer for every human being on earth but I can offer personal observations and pearls of wisdom I was able to pick up in my lifetime. In the uncontrolled arena, some do it for survival while others do it for sociopathic thrills. Some do it to defend themselves and their loved ones against street predators while others do it because they love being street predators. Some do it to have enough while others do it to have it all.

In the controlled arena, some do it for fun while others do it because they feel they have something to prove. Some do it to test themselves and have goals for their training while others just enjoy fighting....just because. Some people enjoy hurting others. Some may even do it because they would love nothing more than to be able to hurt, maim and mortally wound other people without facing legal consequences and some forms of combative competition allow them to do just that.

TO ME, all of these reasons really point to one reason and one reason alone......that human beings are still a violent, primitive, savage and unevolved race of beings that still have such a long way to go. THAT'S WHY WE LIKE FIGHTING!!

My apologies if that answer seemed too personal, judgemental or forthright but that is my personal observation.

Btw, I stopped competing even during my 20s because I eventually had a personal epiphany about competition and came to view competition as more harmful than beneficial.

Take Care Everyone and PLEASE Have A Great Day,
OSU!

 

[Headhunter]

No I don't and I don't include competing or sparring as fighting as there are rules and restrictions and most of the time your friends with the other person. I consider fighting to be no rules and people trying to hurt the other.

I've had to defend myself before and I have never enjoyed it since pretty much every time has been someone who knows nothing about fighting, are either drunk or on drugs or have mental illnesses. So basically I don't feel good about fighting a amateur who's not in his right mind. Then there's always the chance you'll hurt someone or even kill them then that's not just the other guy who's life's been wrecked its his families and friends so no I don't enjoy it one bit and hope ill nevrr have to again.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I don't like any sort of real world violence where there is actual harm intended on either side. I do enjoy sparring and sometimes actual competition where the adrenaline is ramped up a bit. I enjoy the chess match and the experience of having someone else push me to discover my strengths and weaknesses.

I like the distinction made by these folks: Love Fighting Hate Violence