How can I work on my aliveness training?

Question

Other than sparring on occasion, can you tell me some good drills to keep the adrenaline down and to prepare me more for self-defense situations?

Answer 1

Well, I'd work on multiple opponent training....and often. Keep it regimental, almost religious, within your standard training.
At first, slow things down and work on increasing speed and intensity of the attacks progressively.

The best way, start with two on one, then increase the number as you go. Focus on quick-disable or maiming techniques....don't piss around with silly stuff in a situation like that. Keep it basic, simple, effective.

Now, within this, you can always throw training knives or what have you into the mix as well.

Also, it's always fun to train in close quarters techniques blindfolded....or with the lights off with loud music playing. This method gets the visual senses out of the way, and allows to the body to react to touch responses only. Somewhat like simulating a night club or bar environment.

Doing stuff like this will help with controlling an adrenal dump response, and it'll take you further outside of the "dojo mentality" trap most folks fall into during a fight.

Now, when it comes to some form of randori (aka, sparring)....what kind of sparring are you doing? Is it comprised of tippy tapping hits with a ton of rules and padding...ala TKD. Or are you actually experiencing a man pretty much trying to run you over? The latter will help you with controlling the physical and mental reactions to an adrenal dump, the former will not. The former's just for cardio exercise and fun moreso than anything.

Answer 2

I think "aliveness" has it's place in training, but it isn't and end all be all criteria. Static training, like hitting a bag or practicing locking, are essential for you to get down the technique first. If you don't have a good enough base how can you train in anything at a higher level? There are also time when you can't go full on without hurting someone, as is the case in many joint locks. Dynamic training is less important than safety in my opinion. However, dynamic training also an essential place in training. This is what sparring and higher level joint-locking accomplish. Sparring helps you get both to the techniques and how to use techniques in a more realistic situation. But at a basic level, less aliveness and more basic sparring are more important in order to develop technique and from there you continue on the slowly build in more aliveness.

Answer 3

Sparring is the best practical training for street situations. In a self-defense situation you can control the tempo, center-line, and range but you can't control how many people attack, when you get attacked, what weapon they have, what their motive is, etc...
Try to polish the things you CAN control and be aware of the things you can;t control. Prevent situations from occurring, that is your best defense. Stay in lit areas, avoid seedy parts of town, use the buddy system, carry pepper spray, do not talk to strangers, do not allow questionable people to approach you. Use your mind before you are forced to use your body for defense.
Being attacked in the street is way different then sparring. It is fast, unexpected, dangerous, unfair, sloppy, and you can never practice being a victim but criminals practice being criminals everyday.

Answer 4

Man I love those ninjitsu guys lol....

Sparring on occasion? That is not alive training. Alive training is done with progressive resistance, and the idea is not to keep the adrenaline down, but to control it to your advantage.

Tournaments and competetions are EXCELLENT sources to getting the adrenaline pumping but maintaining focus. Nothing on earth prepares you more for dealing with a stranger in combat, then actually dealing with a stranger in combat.

Sparring should be a MAJOR point of your training.

Check out this article on Aliveness:

http://www.straightblastgym.com/aliveness101.html


Understand what aliveness in training means.

I promise you there is not a person alive whose adrenaline doesn't start flowing once they are hit in the face. (Aside from people in a vegetative state or coma.. or have facial paralysis or something, or have a sexual fetish well you get what I am saying) anyway.

If you sparring is intense enough you will get into adrenaline situations period, you will learn how to control that anger and rage and maintain focusing on defense and technique.

For example, after getting punched in the face, you will learn through trail and error, that getting pissed off dropping your hands and charging someone throwing haymakers just leads tto you getting punched in the face even more. Whereas putting up your hands and circling out, leads you to not get hit in the face... (amazingly simple really).

Forget blind folds, strobe lights, dental drills. That **** doesn't help, especially when it is still cooperative opponents attacking you. I am willing to wager a months pay, or the salary for my next fight, that I can beat ANY blindfolded opponent to a bloody pulp.

Hell I will wager airline ticket price. You beat me, I pay your ticket. I beat you, you pay your own ticket, and get "Judomofo owned my @ss" tattooed on a body part of your choosing.

p.s. we can even include eye gouges and the like, provided I am allowed to break a joint instead of just submitting you.

(I pick the blindfold)

effing crazy ninjers...

Sorry for that tangent...

Seriously, hard sparring is one of the best ways. The next is to actually get in some tournaments and fight against strangers given a rule set. Ideally the least amount of rules as possible (being MMA or Kumite if you believe the Ninjers)

Test yourself, control your adrenaline, beat skilled opponents, and unskilled ones come a little easier.

Self defense is still a roll of the dice, as spider says there are plenty of things outside of your control, all you can do is be prepared for the things you can control..

Be aware of your surroundings, avoid any confrontations possible. When faced with more than one person, run, scream, get help. If not given that choice, do all that you can.

Depending on your state, conceal and carry licenses along with gun, and some training in reactionary shooting (available in most cities through police departments) can be of great help. Pepper Spray, improvised weapons etc.

Most of that is unnecessary, as you have about as much chance getting hit by lightning then being attacked (depending on the crime rate of your city).

Good luck, check out the article. Spar hard, go to other dojos and spar with their guys. Go to competetions, and learn through experience.

Experience is the ultimate teacher.

Unless you plan on getting attacked during a dental drilling, near some jackhammers, in a disco, while blind folded, I would stick towards actual sparring one on one.

Good luck my friend.

Answer 5

Self-defense is all about timing. Your reactions have to be timed correctly and done FAST. I would practice some self-defense techniques with a few friends. Have them grab you in different situations, (headlock, bearhugs, wrist-grabs..etc.) and try to react to them as fast as possible. Make sure they are grabbing you randomly, so you aren't aware of what they are going to do. This will increase your reflexes greatly. If you continue doing this exercise on a regular basis, you should be ready to react in a real-life situation. Good Luck! (Also, this won't make your adrenaline rush...)

Answer 6

Have a friend stand ten feet in front of you with a gun, then ask him to shoot you while you run away from him as fast as you can and try to dodge the bullets. You'll know it works if you're still alive by the time he runs out of bullets. Now if that ain't aliveness training, I don't know what is. : P

Answer 7

Nothing in the world can prepare you for defending against someone trying to harm you than someone actually trying to harm you.

You can train every day for 100 years... but when you see a flurry of punches whizzing towards your face, you will realize that you wasted 100 years because you have no practical experience.

Answer 8

You cant substitute sparing or tournament fighting, less you go look for real fights, a ful contact tournament is the best thing to prepare you, there is just no substitute for another person doing his very best to cause harm to you, believe me, a million hours of meditation will not give you as much experience under pressure as ONE full contact tournament fight

Answer 9

i dont practice martial arts but i am very fascinated with it. i would say just be calm. you can do amazing things once you have a clear mind. once you can achieve that, then limitless possibilities will come your way and you wont have to think too much on how to defend yourself. it will just come to you.