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The other night I was teaching my fighting group (we train No Holds Barred/Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai fighters) and to prefix the technical part of the class, I was going over some of the biological, psychological and physiological aspects of training. The room was filled with 7 men and 1 woman. I was talking about how abstinence and strict dieting can physiologically and bio-chemically bring about changes in mentality. This lecture was based on some hypothesis I had formulated as a result of research I had done (Dog Brothers http://dogbrothersvideo.com/rumination.wmv, Konrad Lorenz On Agression, Ret. Col. Dave Grossman On Killing and On Combat, Brandon Kiser for his research into the evolution of the human body and it's digestive abilities based on mankind's existence pre-agriculture, Tuhan Leo Gaje Jr. for his starting me on the path of training the mind and spirit as well as the body) regarding aggression, violence and the psychology thereof.
The idea was that we can make lifestyle and behavioral changes that will help to cultivate and bring to the forefront, the hard wired, biologically engineered psychology and machinery that enables males to engage in aggressive and violent behavior with a lower level of anxiety and battle stress. The example being that in nature, aggression in males generally serves an actual purpose in the evolutionary and biological sense (males will compete for females and for territory), by contrast, sport fighting serves no direct biological or evolutionary purpose and is thus not as supported by the psychological and physiological machinery that is within us. This can be seen by contrasting the male psychology present when a man faced by an intruder in his home (many will be anxious but will fight with a sense of anger and thorough aggression) as opposed to the male psychology present when a man is faced by an opponent in a sporting event (for which the prize is not territory, a female, or enough money to buy access to either). In the later case, the man (at least in his first few fights) will be anxious but will not have the same inherent level of motivation to attack or be aggressive.
The goal of this lecture was to impart on my students, ideas which would help them to harness and make use of the hardware and software developed within them many millennia ago in the callous and unforgiving forge of Mother Nature. I want them to be able to use that hardware and software to subdue and limit the stress and nervousness they may feel before and during their fights.
But as I looked around (and saw the look on my female students face) I realized that my research was shortsighted and one sided. The behavior modifications and lifestyle changes I had recommended were useful in bringing out aggressive traits in males, not necessarily in females. I have at least four female students who could use the information for their competitive sport fighting pursuits as well as for self defense.
As a result, I have been feverishly searching for more information on this topic. I have contacted a number of leading experts in the field of women's self defense and with the exception of Erin O'Toole (who was so kind as to share her valueable knoweldge and insights with me) I am still awaiting feedback.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of litterature on the subject, and I would like to talk with some sociologists, anthropologists and military personnel before I conclude these studies. But until then, do any of you have any input or resources that you would like to recommend?
Best Wishes,
The idea was that we can make lifestyle and behavioral changes that will help to cultivate and bring to the forefront, the hard wired, biologically engineered psychology and machinery that enables males to engage in aggressive and violent behavior with a lower level of anxiety and battle stress. The example being that in nature, aggression in males generally serves an actual purpose in the evolutionary and biological sense (males will compete for females and for territory), by contrast, sport fighting serves no direct biological or evolutionary purpose and is thus not as supported by the psychological and physiological machinery that is within us. This can be seen by contrasting the male psychology present when a man faced by an intruder in his home (many will be anxious but will fight with a sense of anger and thorough aggression) as opposed to the male psychology present when a man is faced by an opponent in a sporting event (for which the prize is not territory, a female, or enough money to buy access to either). In the later case, the man (at least in his first few fights) will be anxious but will not have the same inherent level of motivation to attack or be aggressive.
The goal of this lecture was to impart on my students, ideas which would help them to harness and make use of the hardware and software developed within them many millennia ago in the callous and unforgiving forge of Mother Nature. I want them to be able to use that hardware and software to subdue and limit the stress and nervousness they may feel before and during their fights.
But as I looked around (and saw the look on my female students face) I realized that my research was shortsighted and one sided. The behavior modifications and lifestyle changes I had recommended were useful in bringing out aggressive traits in males, not necessarily in females. I have at least four female students who could use the information for their competitive sport fighting pursuits as well as for self defense.
As a result, I have been feverishly searching for more information on this topic. I have contacted a number of leading experts in the field of women's self defense and with the exception of Erin O'Toole (who was so kind as to share her valueable knoweldge and insights with me) I am still awaiting feedback.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of litterature on the subject, and I would like to talk with some sociologists, anthropologists and military personnel before I conclude these studies. But until then, do any of you have any input or resources that you would like to recommend?
Best Wishes,
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