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 By Rodney King RSME
Why do so many men, especially young men (18-24) hook into the extreme reality based martial art schools even though, most will never find themselves in a position to use what they have been taught outside of the Dojo?
The answer I believe is evolution.
From an evolutionary standpoint our brain and its extension of mind, evolved to survive in a world full of danger. The primitive ‘mind’ of our ancestors was essentially a ‘don’t get killed device’. Our brains did not evolve to feel good or tell jokes but rather to be very skilled at predicting and avoiding danger.
One can imagine that our primitive ancestors spent a lot of time predicting, avoiding, assessing and judging danger. These where very useful mental tools to have in a world full of danger around every corner!
Even a cursory look at testosterone- which men are often accused of having way too much off- is a necessary evolutionary requirement, as it affects key cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and spatial ability. Preliminary evidence for example suggests that low testosterone levels may be a risk factor for cognitive decline.
Without these evolutionary adaptations of the brain, one could surmise that human beings would no longer be on this planet and although we have evolved higher brain functions, our evolutionary primitive brain still remains. Along with all its adaptations.
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Play is vital to my enjoyment of martial arts.
You might find this is a puzzling, challenging, or controversial statement.
Iknow that many of my clients and MMA athletes on seminars often ask me if I set specific goals or have a game plan for training. When my reply is mainly “no, I just like to play” it is often hard for them to understand that response.
So many people that I have come into contact with in martial arts spend so much time trying to get things right. They try to break all the techniques and strategies down to their smallest components in the hope that they will find the answers they are looking for. They put so much pressure on themselves to get it right they stop enjoying themselves.
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