Recently stumbled upon an interesting concept and it’s really made me think. I read that in a violent situation, the body’s “Fight or Flight” response can wreak havok on a martial artist’s training.
The basic idea is this: Under pressure, due to adrenaline and thought process breakdown, a person will generally only respond with gross motor skills. This is terrible for the person who has trained for years, but not so bad for the person with no fighting experience at all. The latter one will have no finely tuned motor skills to deteriorate and so, will fight the same way no matter what.
Ex: If all the person knows how to do is throw wild punches, then that’s what they’ll do in every situation.
While I can certainly see some logic in this, I instinctively feel that there’s more to it than just that. I believe the key is that a person who has been exposed to many different challenging situations will be better prepared for them when they arise. Isn’t that why the military, medical, Law Enforcement, and emergency response communities spend so much time training? A level head can overcome any of the body’s natural reactions; up to a point, of course.