Can you train your brain to release endorphins on command?

[Nobski]

Or is that something that only kicks in when it wants to?

[LongStrike]

You might want to consider that endorphins are basically drugs, and impair your ability to fight at your very best.

It is possible to train yourself to mentally interrupt the electronic pain signal sent from pain nerve cells to the brain. This takes some pretty extreme training, but is not particularly difficult.

When you master this, you can use it for immediate pain, as in someone hitting you, or receiving an injury, or latent pain, such as while you're healing from your injuries. This makes you able to heal without using harmful drugs, which adds to the confidence this awesome ability brings to your combat skills.

[KirkhamsEbooks.]

Sure you can

Here's an article I wrote on over-coming fear which discusses controlling the fear through emulation of it during practice

Rick
Overcoming Fear in a Self-Defense Situation by Sensei J. Richard Kirkham B.Sc.

http://kirkhamsebooks.com/MartialArts/MartialArtsArticles/OverComingFearInSelfDefense.html

[armdrag]

Yes

It's called anchoring, and it's a NLP technique. I won't write an article on it here, but it's definitely worth looking up. The best uses for anchoring in martial arts is to use it before your training session or a competition to get you into a positive state. But I don't know how useful it would be during a fight.

[LongStrike]

A couple of things. First, having an orgasm during a fight is either the worst, or the best way to approach the idea of combat.

Secondly, the answer I gave, I believe, is more in the spirit of combat, for it equips a fighter to be able to manage pain without the introduction of performance altering chemicals, and endorphins alter one's performance.

I'm not talking about anchoring either. It is possible to train oneself in a skill by which one is able to, when mastery is achieved, prevent a complete transmission of the pain signal altogether. This leaves one clear minded and at a state of calm readiness. At all times.

It is a skill one carries with them at all times, and is part of an aware, self-disciplined lifestyle. Fear is a problem, not a friend, and if more fighters learned to control the problems in their lifestyles, we would see more willful fighting and less pansy hand slapfesting.

[Nobski]

Thanks alot guys. The cutting off pain prematurely deal was exactly what I was looking for.