thegirlsclub

[freiman the minstrel]

Ladies,

There is a lot of great stuff happening here right now. Some of you are making great strides toward attaining the weight that you want. Some of you are finding that you have attained goals you never thought that you could, and making even more heroic goals for next year.

These are good things.

Lets also talk about fighting.

One of the things that I sometimes have trouble with is aggression. On days when I am hyper aggressive, I do much better than days I am less so. I have come to believe that there is no substitute for aggression.

So, what do you do, or perhaps what do you think about, when you decide that you just want to open the entire can of whoopass on your opponent? How do you go about getting in the mindset that say "All right, you sorry bastidge, now, you are mine!"

How do you take your aggression to the next level? Did somebody at some time give you a trick that you use? Do you have a mind trick that helps you to be aggressive whenever you fight? Can you offer any ideas for newer fighters (who are almost always too passive)?

f
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Surf less, fight more

[Wrenn]

I use music - I get a god "Kaboom! Kaboom!" going in my head and jump up and down a few times.
Then I fight the person that scares me the most, and laugh- for some reason laughing and agression are linked for me, I try to stay really relaxed and have fun (like growling, doing stupid muscle man poses etc) right up until my salute, then I take a moment think "KILL HIM/ HER" and a deep breath and focus on my opponent and my fight.
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Adwen Wrenn, Squire to Sir Hrothgar Thorvaldsson

[Amaris]

I stretch for about 15 minutes prior to putting on my armour,... this helps me concentrate.

I just move and swing stick to get the body moving, but I need about 4-5 pickups, before I'm ready for a good fight. I have found that I need about 15 minutes of fighting to get my adrenaline going.

Otherwise, I'm just not "in the game".

I can't go from Zero to WHOOP#SS. I need a running start, like an old Buick.

...my best lone ranger intro voice....
and in a cloud of blue smoke and a hardy "pop-pow" its AMARIS!

Amaris

[freiman the minstrel]

It was pointed out to me that I need to move this thread. It really belongs in "the brain"

Sorry.

f
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Surf less, fight more

[Caileigh]

I've not been in combat, at least not on a list field. But I've found that being a mother has brought out a level of aggressiveness that I never would have thought possible. I've never really been competitive or aggressive, or wanted to be. However I've found that when my kids are involved I will fight. Childbirth also did some things to me. It'd take a long time to explain so I won't but I had to battle on many levels to get the kind of birth I wanted, and by the third time around I got it. It was long, hard and absolutely triumphant. It turned me into a warrior in a way I don't think anything else could have.

In battle finding that part of me, and letting her take the lead, will make me very dangerous.

[Cunian]

I can see what Caleigh means, but on a practical level motherhood has been a rather major problem for me getting my mean on. I fought a fair bit while nursing, (2nd kid nursed for YEARS), and being in the middle of a fight, hearing a cry from the sidelines and having that letdown response is interesting. And practicing/watching kid simultaneously is hell on one's attention. (Place yourself such that kid is roughly behind opponent. Throw some blows. Check for kid. Block some blows. Check for kid. Advance and do some stuff. Disengage. Check for kid.) But even if you aren't having to do that, there are years where it seems like a little piece of you is off with kid instead of with you. And now there are all these sweet young fighters and I am old enough to be their mother. (Hell, kid #1 will be fighting heavy in less than a year.) And I have a hard time not being "nice".

So, at this point, the best way for me to get my mean on is to get tagged a few times. But usually I just try to fight well without a particular attitude. I find that going through some yoga sun salutes, either actually or in my head helps focus me and pull the attention in. I am gradually getting my head into the idea of being an obnoxious old crone and realizing that those young whippersnappers don't need my maternal attentions and should just be beaten on general principle. I am staying in practice now better than when the kids were younger, and it is easier to be in fight mode because it is a more familiar, practiced mode, not an abnormal once-in-a-while thing.

[Ingrid]

Like Caileigh, I haven't yet been in actual combat. At this point of my training (the beginning, that is) the difficulty of getting my adrenaline going is actually my greatest problem. I still sometimes have problems of dealing with the fact that I'm actually being hit by guys much stronger than I am, and when my mean is not on (can you say that?), I'm afraid and tend to cower, rather than attack.

Thankfully, I train with a small group of guys who are roughly my age and who I know well and who know me well. Although we've never really discussed about the thing, they know what my problem is (not hard to spot, I think) and they've developed a habit of teasing me verbally while fighting, in order to get me pissed. Usually that works.

Another way that works sometimes is getting a blow to the back of my thigh or some other unarmored spot in my body. When the blow isn't so hard that it would cause hindering pain, but is hard enough to sting, it usually makes my adrenaline flow again.

[audax]

The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack gets me in a good mood. I fight best when I'm in a good mood. When I'm in a good mood, I can be aggressive without getting mean or pissed which means I'm in control. I never want to be angry when I fight. Very bad juju.

Controlled aggression wins fights. I've been winning alot lately.

I've been in harness a while now and no longer fear the pain. That helps alot.

I've also stopped wearing my contacts when I fight. I don't get distracted and I can't be intimidated or psyched out because I can't see anything(especially eyes) in detail. I can see openings and large movements.
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Martel le Hardi
squire to Meser Lyonel Oliver Grace, fostered to Sir Gaston de Clermont
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The Minstrel's Champion

[Caileigh]

[Hakon]

Freiman why do you think aggression is so important? Wouldn't calm and focus be better?

OK you need to be aggressive to an extent, after all we are trying to hit people with a stick.That said I think aggression, like physical strength, can become a red herring. Once you have enough you will gain more benefit from working on technique. I know that for a certain level of opponent highly aggresive fighting will cause them to shut down and you will win but it doesn't scale up to more experienced oponents.

H

[Wrenn]

I'm with Audax on the controlled agression.

For me there is a differnce between fighting at practice, where I'm trying new things and being aware of x y or z and staying more calm so that I'm receptive to advice during the fight that I try to turn off for a "real" fight.

In a tournament I try to be able to foccus my agression in the moment, and be really relaxed and silly etc out of the moment/ off the feild between pairings.
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Adwen Wrenn, Squire to Sir Hrothgar Thorvaldsson

[audax]

I think one can be aggressive without being agitated or unfocused. In fact that is the essential emotional skill of this game. Intensity and aggression without malice or loss of control.
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Martel le Hardi
squire to Meser Lyonel Oliver Grace, fostered to Sir Gaston de Clermont
-------------------------------------------------------

The Minstrel's Champion

[SuGyong]

Getting me "mean on"? I put my armor on away from people. I pull on my shield, I heft my sword a few times. Somehow, feeling my sword in my hand is all I need.
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Opinions? Great! Flames? Oh well. I probably deserve it.

[Hakon]

Audax, couldn't agree more on the control, if you haven't got self control you shouldn't have an authorisation card.

What gave me pause was terms like 'hyper agressive' and 'you're mine'. Maybe what they brought to mind is not what Frieman was thinking of.

As to the original question I like a little slow work to warm up my brain, if I'm feeling slugish then I like some nice high octaine music.

H

[audax]

I can see why those might give you pause.

To me such phrases come across as just typical American sports jock smack talk. So it may be why they don't trigger me in any way. I don't know if there is similar stuff in European sports.

Funny story: Back when I competed in karate tournies, one opponent started smack talking ("you're goin' down" "i'm gonna own you" getting in my face, etc, etc). It was all I could do not to laugh in her face (I'm really hard to intimidate so it really amuses me when people try) and when she was done, I said "Well, thanks for letting me know all that."

I then proceeded to whup her ass. I didn't want anyone that mean to lay a hand on me.
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Martel le Hardi
squire to Meser Lyonel Oliver Grace, fostered to Sir Gaston de Clermont
-------------------------------------------------------

The Minstrel's Champion