Nerves(fighting)

[West24]

the other thread i posted in got me thinking. i know many of you fight, or do combat sports. what are your nerves like before a fight? for me its completely opposite feelings before a boxing match, and before a fight on the street. when i went to boxing tournaments etc, some of my teammates said they felt like crying etc. and were extremely nervous before their fights. on the other hand i wasnt nervous at all and did a lot of sleeping etc. i only started to feel the nerves when entering the arena and seeing other matches. but nothing like the others. but on the other hand if i feel im going to have to fight on the street, my heart races like crazy and i feel incredibly nervous etc. almost like im going to start shaking.

what is it like for you guys?

 

[TyCooN]

Feels nervous till I till myself everyone is here to watch me. I found that people stop getting so nervous after they get hit a few times. Aggression replaces anxiety.

I wonder if I'll get nervous when Afghanis are shooting at me.

 

[DNW]

When I wrestled, I usually got nervous before matches. Once I'm on the mat, my concentration kicks in and I see nothing else except my opponent, and maybe the coach if he yells loud enough. Same thing for street fighting. I get somewhat nervous during the huffing and puffing, but once blows are exchanged, I calm down and focus on putting the guy down, ASAP. Fortunately, I've only had to fight multiple opponents once, and I had enough room to maneuver. I need to get better at fighting multiple guys, because there's no honor in fighting mano-a-mano anymore. Douchebags roam in packs.

 

[Matt]

nervous when I used to fight. Not angry at all, but certainly very nervous. Got very jumpy. Streetfight type situations...very similar to W24. I start to shake.

 

[Piobaire]

I'm way to old and fat to go looking for fights these days, but when I'd get in a bar/street fight, my eyesight would change. My focus of vision would get very narrow and I would actually see red pulsing in my peripheral vision. "Seeing red" never made sense, until it happened to me the first time. My hands would start to get a little shaky from the hormone surge and they'd have fine motor tremors for hours afterwards.

I think I'd probably have a stroke today if I let myself get that amped up.

 

[Eason]

The shaking, tunnel vision, loss of motor control and (after) chills for a real fight are a normal side effect of an adrenaline dump, you'll never stop it but you can expect it and deal with it. I get nervous as all hell in competition- even for a hard competitive training session. After the first round though, it's all out.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I'm way to old and fat to go looking for fights these days, but when I'd get in a bar/street fight, my eyesight would change. My focus of vision would get very narrow and I would actually see red pulsing in my peripheral vision. "Seeing red" never made sense, until it happened to me the first time. My hands would start to get a little shaky from the hormone surge and they'd have fine motor tremors for hours afterwards.

I think I'd probably have a stroke today if I let myself get that amped up.

This has only happened to me twice, one culminating in a full on fight, one getting broken up after a couple of pushes. This is basically how it worked for me. In the few minutes leading up to the fight, I had the same physical reactions that you describe. It was an incredible endorphin rush that exploded as the first punch landed.

The second time, when the fight never actually took place, I remember having a headache for hours and being really pissed off. I assume this is from all the adrenaline not having a proper outlet.

 

[bmulford]

For the 100's of unofficial "weekend" or exhibition fights, I was completely calm.

Entering the arena for "Real" fights, I'd be going through adrenaline spikes successively. As mentioned before, once the bouts start your training kicks in. If you're trained well, you don't think at all, your mind/body is on autopilot.

Street fights - they usually happen so unexpectedly I'd feel the nerves afterward, depending on my frame of mind. If I went past the point of caring about consequences I'd have no nerves or fears at all. but that doesn't happen very often.

The tunnel vision is very real, and is usually when I know I've had it with somebody, everything goes silent, I can't speak, I get tunnel vision and have a near uncontrollable urge to start a bout. That too doesn't happen all that often.


*edit (a member asked for clarification): I was an competitive amateur in Muay Thai, both in the states an for a brief trip; Thailand. Did a bunch of wrestling/bjj but competitions were all unofficial. It was just for sport/fun not because I was terribly good at any of it.

 

[West24]

my last fight was the most nerve racking. i was up against a guy who i really thought sucked, and knew i had a very good chance of knocking out. i saw him fight in a past tournament. my luck he doesnt show up to the fight, and i get switched with this other guy whos 6'5 and a super heavyweight while i was heavy weight. he wasnt that much heavier, but just expecting someone else, and then getting it switched kind of rattles you. add on top of that i knew i wasnt in the best fighting shape and wasnt completely prepared. during warm up i had to stop because i thought i was going to throw up, i dont know if it was because i was warming up outside in the heat, or just nerves. but it wasnt too much fun.

 

[Matt]

well now you know how Kimbo felt

 

[jpeirpont]

Where in the world do you guys have opportunities to get into street fights?

 

[West24]

Originally Posted by m@T

well now you know how Kimbo felt

yea, i really do feel for the guy!

 

[TyCooN]

Originally Posted by jpeirpont

Where in the world do you guys have opportunities to get into street fights?
Maybe they got jumped.

 

[LA Guy]

In both types of situations, right before the fight starts, my body goes very, very still. I can feel my heart beat faster and faster, and my breathing becomes very measured and controlled. I become very expressionless, and apparently, just stare and am very non-responsive. Once the fight starts though, and by that I mean, a punch is thrown, it's just... exhilirating. Until I get knocked out. Then I get very still again.

 

[rjmaiorano]

In the few 'fights' I've been in the adrenaline is uncontrollable and tunnel vision is in full force. But that is also the same feeling when someone pisses me off in general life (which takes a lot).

If I'm in any sort of competition the same feeling is there, but much more subdued and controlled. As someone else said, if you were well trained the adrenaline is in the background very quickly. This was the feeling before every tennis match I ever had.