{"id":51,"date":"2016-10-06T04:57:52","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T04:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenukan.com\/blog\/?p=51"},"modified":"2016-10-06T05:19:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T05:19:15","slug":"fear-and-the-flight-or-fight-reflex-part-1-of-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenukan.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/06\/fear-and-the-flight-or-fight-reflex-part-1-of-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear and the Flight or Fight Reflex – Part 1 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jim Harrison (Originally Published By MA Success Magazine)<\/em><\/p>\n

Fear is a natural human emotion that causes a person\u00a0who’s facing imminent danger to have one of two\u00a0completely opposite – but mutually instinctive reactions. You either run away from the danger to totally\u00a0avoid it, or you confront it head-on. This is the “Flight or\u00a0Fight Reflex.”<\/p>\n

Fear is a subject of particular importance to martial\u00a0artists, yet one that has been inadequately addressed and\u00a0perhaps even grossly overlooked in the field’s collective\u00a0literature. No matter how much martial arts you learn or\u00a0how proficient you become at it, if the time comes to face a\u00a0genuine life-threatening situation you will experience the\u00a0two-edged sword of fear – fight or flight – and will be\u00a0forced to exercise one or the other.<\/p>\n

When the human organism thinks it is being threatened,\u00a0typically the person’s heart pounds like a triphammer, and\u00a0he becomes short of breath, sometimes almost to the point\u00a0of hyperventilation. There is nausea, often described as\u00a0“butterflies,” in the stomach. Some individuals experience\u00a0an inability to control their bowels. The degree of\u00a0emotional and physical intensity varies with the person.<\/p>\n

As undesirable as all these powerful symptoms may\u00a0sound, they are actually indicators that the body is ready to\u00a0perform at its highest level. World-class athletes and people\u00a0who freeze from terror under stress, both experience the\u00a0same series of physiological reactions. What determines\u00a0how successful the outcome will be, is how rapidly the\u00a0individual is able to either retain or regain control\u00a0of his instrument.<\/p>\n

Fear is stimulus-specific. There are people who evidence\u00a0few, if any, of the usual biochemical reactions, as cited\u00a0above, to what are traditionally considered life-threatening\u00a0circumstances. They are considered “fearless.” Yet, each of\u00a0these people has some particular personal situation in\u00a0which he finds it difficult to maintain his composure.<\/p>\n

For example, there are people who are unperturbed by\u00a0the sounds of gunfire, sirens and screaming, yet who\u00a0become rubbery-kneed at the sight of a baby’s soiled\u00a0diaper. So, the threshold for what would be considered\u00a0overwhelming stress varies drastically from person\u00a0to person.<\/p>\n

Although considered fearless by most of his peers, Jim\u00a0Harrison readily admits to being scared before every\u00a0match, gunfight, firefight or battle. In these excerpts, he\u00a0clearly explains, based on real experience – in the ring, on\u00a0the street, and in the battlefield- what fear is all about\u00a0and how you can overcome it.<\/p>\n

What exactly is fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dictionary defmes fear as “an emotion of alarm and\u00a0agitation caused by the expectation and realization of\u00a0danger.” However, a topic as important as fear requires a\u00a0far more technical elaboration. This technical analysis is\u00a0essential to your full understanding.<\/p>\n

A medical dictionary informs us that fear is “a somatic\u00a0(part of the body) disturbance or expression of anxiety\u00a0(stress), neurosis (nerves), or an anxious psychotic (mental\u00a0disturbance), which may stimulate hyperthyroidism- an\u00a0excessive condition of glandular secretion by the thyroid. \u00a0This includes an injection into our system of a\u00a0hyper-adrenal, another glandular secretion of hormones,\u00a0chief among which, and this is important, are\u00a0norepinephrine and epinephrine- “flight” and “fight”\u00a0adrenaline, respectively.<\/p>\n

This common human condition is what is known as\u00a0the “Flight or Fight Reflex” (or Flight or Fight “Instinct”or “Response”).<\/p>\n

In the upcoming series of excerpts, Mr. Harrison will\u00a0explain, in a question-and-answer format, the many\u00a0aspects of fear – and how to train to overcome it.<\/p>\n\n