Combat Psychology and Mindset
Mike Parriski, November 11th, 2007
Several years ago, Harry, a fellow Wing Chun student and powerlifter, was having problems with an ex-Marine. The Marine was rather large and stocky and had threatened to beat him up the next time they ran into each other. Worried, Harry approached my instructor about training with full contact. After several weeks of badgering, my instructor conceded and set aside some time after class where Harry and I could spar in private under his watchful eye.
Harry wasn’t an average Wing Chun student by any means. His speed was incredible, and his forms were precise and crisp. He had just finished Chum Kiu at the time of our agreed upon spar, and he could perform the movements with well-practiced execution. Technically, his skill far surpassed mine, and to be frank, I haven’t had a student since who matched his level of progression.
As we stood apart from each other (wearing plenty of protective equipment), I assumed the role of the Marine and would not use any Wing Chun, except to block possible kicks. Harry pressed into a relaxed fighting stance and raised his arms, or at least he tried. I screamed as loud as I could and Harry froze. In that moment, I charged, knocked his arms aside and proceeded to pummel him with uppercuts to the body. A well-placed hook to his ribs followed, and he was knocked off his feet. Total time of the encounter was under 10 seconds.
After he caught his breath and recovered, we repeated the exercise. Each time I used a new tactic and often enough, I would wade through his blows and strike him hard enough to stun him. His punches were ineffective and light, and he projected fear after the first encounter. He eventually began to cringe and cover himself when I struck him. Needless to say, my instructor ended our session abruptly due to concern that someone might become injured.
What happened?
Harry was an excellent martial artist, but he did not understand the mindset of the fighter. When confronted with a combat situation similar to real-life, he froze, forgot his Wing Chun, and became nothing more than a victim. His training had essentially amounted to nothing in regards to self-defense. Seeing this, I realized that fighting is composed of many aspects, with the most important being Combat Psychology. An important part of that Combat Psychology is mindset.
What is mindset?
For the fighter, mindset is the conscious or subconscious willingness to commit harm (lethal or non-lethal) against another. When engaging in combat, mindset, more often than not, will be the determining factor as to your success or failure, regardless of technical proficiency. Anybody can train in a martial skill, but few have the mind and will to use their skills for killing or serious injury. Mindset’s partner is “mental trigger,” and this trigger is the defining moment that forces you to engage your opponent with the goal of injury or death. I elaborate more on mental trigger below.
How is the combative mindset developed?
Culture, rearing, personality, moral upbringing, and social mores are issues that play a decisive factor, and the ability to suspend anyone of those varies from individual. Western society generally teaches violence as a last resort and we are conditioned throughout life to refrain from hurting others, either through threat of imprisonment, religion, or societal acceptance. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer for developing mindset or teaching one how to develop it. It requires a forceful commitment of the suspension of conditioned behavior, which can be activated consciously or subconsciously by the mental trigger that must be defined internally.
For the sake of discussion, I have provided below a list of general rules for developing the fighter’s mindset, and those with elite military experience might find them familiar. These are by means definitive but merely a guide and most overlap in one way or another.
- DEFINE YOUR MENTAL TRIGGER
What will make you want to hurt someone? What about killing someone? A threat to your family? A threat to yourself? Foremost in developing mindset is the defining of your own personal mental trigger-a point in time where you commit yourself fully to the use of force with the intent to stop your opponent at any costs. - CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS
The mindset of a fighter is controlled, collective, and calculating. Uncontrolled anger or fear will allow your opponent tools to be used against you, even chide you into actuating your mental trigger. The choice to react with violent force should be your choice and not induced due to heated passions. This may seem contradictory to responding to an attack, but it is not. In all conflicts or events preceding, the choice to return violent action remains. - ACCEPT THAT YOU WILL GET HURT
Many let the fear of pain or physical damage traumatize them to inactivity in a confrontation. Regardless of technical skill, you will at one time get hurt. Fear can control you and knowing that you may die can cause immobilizing panic. The fighter must accept the reality of possibly grievous injury and control his emotions. - KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
A small 130 lb. should not try to fight the way a strong 220 lb. would. A fighter must assess his strengths and weaknesses from a mental and physical standpoint. A fighter must be intimately acquainted with his art and choose his arsenal wisely. As an example, I cannot use
Bong Sau effectively due to physical deformities, but on the other hand, my Tan and Lop Sau are extremely powerful; thus, Bong Sau is a weakness while the others are strengths. - KNOW YOUR ENEMY’S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
A good fighter should be able to size up a combatant instantly and have a generalized idea on how that person will fight. This ability is developed through Combat Perception, which is also known as perception learning, and is comprised of three areas:- Situational Awareness
- Environmental Awareness
- Visual and Auditory Cueing
Unfortunately this is a very complex topic and will require to a future article for elaboration.
- FIGHT YOUR FIGHT, NOT YOUR ENEMY’S
What is the common denominator in regards to the losers in most UFC matches? They disregarded years of training in their particular art and tried to emulate their opponent. Here, we often see strikers try to grapple and vice versa. If you’re a Wing Chun fighter, use your style of Wing Chun! The compliment of this is to force your enemy to disregard his own training. - DEVELOP YOUR OWN FIGHTING METHODOLOGY
A corollary to Know Your Own Strengths and Weaknesses, this is supremely important for being a successful fighter. Every fighter must take the time (over years of training) to develop a fighting strategy that works for that individual. It must never be stagnant, though, and the fighter must be willing to learn and change as needs be. - ADAPT TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Practicing in the kwoon is nice, but what happens if you try that lovely shifting strike on loose gravel on a hill or in six inches of snow? This is a part of physical portion of Environmental Awareness, and the good fighter will have a fighting methodology or methodologies that adapt to any location. - INTIMIDATE YOUR OPPONENT
A fight can be won without a strike thrown if the opponent is intimidated. A good fighter should be able to intimidate with his body, his presence, and his mind. This area is a subset of Combat Projection, where you project a fear-inspiring presence, and can even be useful in a surprise situation if one has maintained a certain status in Combat Conditions. (NOTE: Combat Conditions are color-coded stages that determine a level of alertness and reaction. I will elaborate further in a future article) - ACCEPT MURPHY’S LAW AND NEVER ASSUME
Even if you are the grandmaster of 20 different martial art styles, Murphy’s Law can beat you every time. Just as you throw that beautiful Wing Chun strike that is textbook perfect, you snag your sleeve on a piece of wood and your arm is temporary immobile. Your assumed quick win becomes a fight for your life.
These rules are not complete or written in stone by any means. Mindset is a complex topic that requires mental instruction by the student on himself and the ability to suspend environmental conditioning. Is it necessary to become proficient at Wing Chun? No, but it is necessary to be able to use Wing Chun as a form of self-defense.
In the arena of teaching Combat Psychology and mindset, the teacher may be able to instruct the student in the art of fighting, but only the student can define what causal events lead him to becoming combative. You cannot force a student to fight and no amount of learned knowledge will matter if he will not morally accept the consequences of such an action.
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