Fight or Flight: How Can You Be a Better “fighter?”

Introduction:

Tactical, defensive preparations are more than simply training in front of paper targets once a week, or occasionally moving forwards and backwards while firing from the hip, or occasionally running and sliding over a car hood, or boxing at the gym with a two time welterweight champion from a small town golden gloves program. Tactical, defensive preparations are largely mental, one should attempt to be physically fit however, lack of well-defined musculature and an Arnold voice does not preclude tactical, defensive ability nor does it ensure you have it.

Many of those reading this have hunted small or even large game; some have been involved in situations in which other humans were targets or active participants in the decision regarding our current life status. Some of us have been in "fight or flight" situations, whether it be a motor vehicle accident or being attacked; additionally for those who have been in any type of active combat, whether it be IEDs as you travel to your next FOB or active participation in firefights there is a certain disconnect that occurs to some degree, this disconnect is almost preternatural in its appearance to those involved. However it has a very logical medical explanation, adrenaline and the natural "fight or flight" response.

Definitions:

Adrenaline is a natural hormone produced by many animals, humans produce it in high stress, activity or emotionally charged instances. Adrenaline is a "super drug" which allows the body more oxygen, faster responses, increased strength and unfortunately reduced fine motor skills. It is the reduction in fine motor skills and subsequently some reasoning ability that makes it invaluable for the "weekend warrior" or hardened "professional" to understand and be able to control their adrenaline usage or at least better meter the production and usage of this.

There are individuals who are able to control this via breathing exercises, mental preparation and more. While this control does not necessarily take a large amount of mental or physical ability it does take more concentration than would normally occur in most humans. One very simple exercise for this is the breathing routine popularized by Bruce Lee and utilized by professional and amateur fighters around the world. While many of these individuals may not understand exactly what they are doing their actions are assisting them.

The "fight or flight" response has been documented in numerous studies among which what is guaranteed is the large range of different reactions that will occur between females and males, young and old, and each individual. No single individual will react, exactly the same in any given situation. However, generally speaking each reaction and action can be categorized under either fight or flight reactions. In some cases humans will either flee or freeze (categorized under flight) and in some cases humans will lash out violently, categorized under fight. It is the degree and method of the "fight" action that is of interest in this paper.

Physiological reactions:

The human body is designed to repair and protect itself, when your mind enters the "fight or flight" stage your body begins to produce copious amounts of adrenaline and this results in physiological reactions ranging from increased heart rate, large amounts of perspiration, involuntary evacuation of one's bowels or bladder and very violent shaking. There are other symptoms however; it has been my experience in times of high stress that these are among the most easily recognizable of the "symptoms" of your body's natural fight or flight response.

Humans are not designed to engage in warfare, we are designed to protect ourselves from what occurs in warfare or home invasions or otherwise. This is why fully 75% and more of humans engaged in warfare or life or death situations will, freeze up, run away or even if able to get "shots" off will miss their target. Engaging what we fear causes an immediate and violent reaction that manifests itself with shaking, verbal cues and many of the other physiological cues listed above.

Fear is a great motivator and generates a large adrenaline rush for most individuals, this is why "horror, suspense" films, plays and "rides" are so popular with the masses. Being scared generates an intense "adrenaline" rush, which can also result in the release of endorphins giving the "fear junky" an intense pleasurable rush of energy. To reduce the initial response it than becomes important to reduce ones fears to the external stimuli occurring.

The idea that one may lose their life is to most enough to dissuade them from practicing dangerous acts in life. There are those humans however, who enjoy the "thrill" of danger, examples in common life are those individuals who enjoy bungee jumping, parachuting, bridge diving, free climbing or any one of a hundred activities that could result in permanent severe injury or death. These individuals have learned to embrace the idea that death is close and have learned to master many of their fears. Being attacked physically or fired upon can cause many of the same fears to surface, understanding the role of one's mental conditioning in this regard will allow for a much higher rate of survival.

Training practices:

Breathing techniques are among the easiest of the "muscle memory" approaches for those desiring to maintain additional fine motor and cognitive reasoning abilities in high risk, high stress situations. One very simple exercise for this is the breathing routine popularized by Bruce Lee and utilized by professional and amateur fighters around the world. While many of these individuals may not understand exactly what they are doing their actions are assisting them. Watching an old Bruce Lee movie you will see him making funny noises, hisses and even grunts occasionally with his mouth, if you watch carefully you will notice his breathing mimics those movements and sounds being made.

For instance upon realization that a fight is imminent one may begin breathing in shorter, shallower breaths, their adrenaline levels begin to rise and before they know it they are experiencing multiple side effects of a massive dose of adrenaline. If one realizes that a fight is imminent, and proceeds to center oneself by breathing deep, steady breaths and focuses on reducing their heart rate they can in fact spread the adrenaline out, instead of a massive burst of adrenaline they will experience a much longer, smoother surge that can be extended to add power to them for upwards of 45 minutes and longer depending on the individual.

To help train muscle memory in this area one can use vocal breathing cues, as well as train with a partner and work on inducing periods of adrenaline "highs" and then work on slowing the heart rate and thereby slowing the flow of adrenaline through breathing. The first time I attempted this I was thinking what you are all thinking now; I firmly believed my instructor had lost his mind. It was only after practicing this for several weeks that I realized I had control of a very powerful weapon.

Regardless of injury (unless absolutely debilitating) regardless of weather, incident, action or surroundings by learning to control ones adrenaline a person is able to do more than what they should be able to do regularly. On a personal note as someone with a severe spinal injury, grade V spondylolisthesis/spondyloptosis since 2005, and having lived with Grade IV spondylolisthesis since the age of 12, I have found this ability to be extremely beneficial. With the loss of my L5 nerve in my left leg, and the added relatively minor nerve damage in other areas below my L5 the ability to control my adrenaline production and dispersal has proven to be beneficial in allowing me the semblance of a normal life.

Conclusion:

It is important to understand that not everyone will be able to do this. And more importantly that not everyone should do this, after all we are each of us individuals and this simply means that we should not expect the same results as our neighbor, friends, family and even "tutors." I would leave you with the following suggestion, while each of us has our own approach for "combat" or "extreme" actions; I firmly believe that without mental preparation of some sort we are more likely to end up on the casualty list than those individuals who are constantly mentally prepared, even when sitting in condition yellow.

A mind is a muscle, and like your arms, legs and hands your mind can be "trained" to react certain ways to certain stimuli. Prepare, train, and remember above all be an individual.