When pushed to extremes, humans can overcome amazing obstacles. Fueled by nothing but primal emotions, they gain the determination they didn’t have before. Emotions effect everything we do. The performance of martial artists are fueled by many different emotions for better and worse. Anger has shown to be both a source of fuel and a hindrance to fighters. Some fighters are defeated before they even began the fight. They go into the fight and allow anxiety to defeat them. Being calm and controlling emotions has proven to be key in improving the performance of fighters but that isn’t always a fighters style. Some fight wild while some fight reserved.
Anger definitely makes for an action packed and aggressive fight. It changes a fighters performance in different ways. Some learn to control it and others let it control them. Some people simply become stronger and faster when angry. According to Newscience.com, “Across multiple studies, we have observed anger increasing the strength of a kick by about 20 per cent compared with when the same individual kicks as hard as possible in a calm state.” This is how anger gives fighters an edge. When controlled , anger is a boost of energy. On the other hand when someone lets anger control them in a fight, it can make them fight less favorably. As part of the fight or flight system built in every human, the body is supplied with large amounts of adrenaline when a threat is imminent. Anger does to adrenaline what gasoline does to fire. When someone becomes angry, more adrenaline can make them fight much more sloppy. Too much adrenaline has a toll and it isn’t designed to be used for more than a minute. According to studies, “That unlimited strength, speed, and stamina you get during an adrenaline production aren’t free. Your body pays for it with energy and oxygen. That can leave you feeling drained when the period of increased adrenaline production is over.”These adrenaline dumps can change a fight. Grudge matches make for a different type of fight. One where less skill is involved. In these fights you really see what anger can do to alter a fighter. Wild punch exchanges and all out brawls is what happens when an anger driven fighter loses control. Alot of fighters operate this way and while they may catch there opponent with some heavy strikes, fighting this way is not strategic and leaves you open for a well timed counter shot. This is why fighting with anger has hang ups. Anger is a great motivator and energy boost for fighters but only if they have a positive perspective on the fight to come. That is key to controlling emotions like anger and maintaining adrenaline.
There is a lot more to winning a fight than having skills. How a fighter deals with anxiety before a fight is crucial to performance. Like anger, anxiety or nervousness are just other emotions that can improve a fighters performance if controlled. It’s all in how a fighter deals with anxiety that decides how it effects them. There are physical and mental handicaps that occur when you let anxiety take control. Muscle tension leads to physical and mental fatigue that can wear you out before the fight even starts. There are mental exercises that will help with this. According to webMD “Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a deep relaxation technique that has been effectively used to control stress and anxiety, relieve insomnia, and reduce symptoms of certain types of chronic pain. Progressive muscle relaxation is based upon the simple practice of tensing, or tightening, one muscle group at a time followed by a relaxation phase” Another way anxiety defeats a fighter is when it causes self doubt. This happens when a fighter tries to fight there nervous feelings instead of accepting them. Alot of fighters are burgeoned with anxiety the day before the fight. The key to being in control of anxiety is to use those nervous emotions in a healthy way. A fighter can practice developing emotional intelligence by simply being aware of there own thoughts and emotions as well as practicing meditation. Then they can focus on what they need to do, using the anxiety as motivation to not want to lose.
So should a fighter stay aggressive or calm in a fight? Well it’s safe to say the brain works more clearly when it’s calm opposed to angry and riled up , so calm fighters fight smarter. It is possible to fight with aggression while being calm but the trick is being able to stay calm and still fight with ferocity. This sort of ideal calmness in fighting is acquired through perspective and proper control of emotions. Being calm can effect the performance of both fighters. Pushing the pace and fighting with pure anger inevitably makes both fighters more emotional and calmness is no longer a thing. But fighting with calmness also has a similar effect where the calm fighter subdues the others rage by simply keeping the fight more strategic and methodical. They do not get sucked into a war. Another way being calm effects one performance is in the way it mentally prepares you for battle. You see many fighters waving there arms around, yelling, pacing around and other things to get there body and minds prepared for battle. They are amping up there hormones and adrenaline. Remember that emotions are tools when controlled properly and provide motivation. Some fighters lack motivation and drive when they are in a calm state before a fight. There is no sense of urgency until they feel that first strike and it might be too late by then. On the other hand, a fighters calmness may simply be an indicator of a fighter who is in control of there emotions and is in the perfect mindset for fighting.
You see many personalities in combat sports. Some fighters are like a chaotic storm. Others are the complete opposite. A quiet storm that remains calm but is still capable of destruction in the ring. Fighters are shaped by the way they handle emotions which makes for interesting matchups. Will an aggressive striker be frustrated by the methodical approach of the calm fighter or will the aggressor bait the calm counter striker into an all out brawl? Knowing how to fight is just one small factor that determines the outcome of a fight. It’s the mindset and mental health of a fighter that allows them to perform well. If a fighter lives an unhealthy lifestyle this will effect them mentally and make them more emotionally unstable. Fighting is more than an event. It’s a lifestyle.
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Well written and to the point. In a way we must be “emotionless” yet simultaneously being “emotionful”, meaning not devoid of anger, but letting it not be in charge. Full of calmness and flow. It is a state of mind that we always try to achieve, but we won’t know until we are in crazy situations. Nice article.