Gross vs. Fine Motor Skills: Formidable Fighter, #12

Fear drains a person of his will to fight; it denies him the ability to mount a sufficient defense. Fear reduces a strong man or woman to inaction. Fear makes us cower in a corner, look for a way out, or stand quietly at the sidelines unable to act. Fear eats our souls, little by little. Fear steals from us our fine motor skills. When we are afraid we can no longer poke an adversary in the eye, apply a joint lock, or coordinate movement for a throw or takedown. The conquest of fear lies in the understanding of fear and in its acceptance. We drill the same techniques over and over in the training hall, we drill thousands of times, we drill with the intent of letting muscle memory take over in a dramatic situation, we drill so that we can respond automatically and don’t have to think. The idea is sound, but the failing element lies in the lack of realistic stress in training. To understand fear, you must introduce uncertainty, chaos, and pain to your training regimen. Not until your body has experienced stress in a semi-realistic way can it relate the techniques you learn to your performance in a real encounter. Formidable Fighter: The Complete Series, a compilation of all 14 books in this series, is available in both electronic and print format.