Ferocity Part 3

The Next form and/or style of ferocity that I want to explore and talk about I like to call the Surfer.  For me this is really the most rewarding style of fight, when you have an opponent that can bring a lot of passion and feeling and energy to the exchange.  This style of fight strips away the conscious level of reason and understanding and puts you right in touch with your intrinsic ability to feel not only what you are doing but what your opponent is doing, and to take it one step further what they are thinking and about to do.

To put some explanation or definition to this style of ferocity let’s look back at my beginning definition:

“ Acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity.” 

In this style of Ferocity you are not “Leading the Dance”, you are stepping into the Wave of your opponent and responding to their Dance, feeling, and intent.  Typically you move to a close Measure and ride there, moving with effortless power, dictated by the movements of your partner/opponent.  To do this you Must be able to feel and understand what is happening at an intrinsic level.  You must give up the need for control and just be.  When you reach that moment of harmony in the middle of this encounter that is the moment where you have opened up to a pure form of passion and emotional intensity, you have matched your force to your opponents and for as long as that portion of the exchange lasts the fighting, I find, is at its purest.  You will find that sometimes in a fight like this you will discover new techniques or movements that didn’t exist for you before, they are born form necessity and because you were not holding back, and acting without false beliefs they were able to evolve.  You will also find that in fights like this you give in to much to the flow and passion of the encounter and step too far past the line and then you get a good definition of your ability…J

To fight with this kind of pure Ferocity you must be in good physical condition because when left to their own devices your mind will ask and your body will do, and if you do not have the strength or flexibility this may cause an injury.

Now I find that to really get to that perfect place with this style you need an opponent that can bring that level of passion to the fight.  Often times when you step in to fight someone in this way and they are not up to the task the exchange becomes more of an aggressive Hunter style.  Because you are so attuned to their movement you quickly smother their efforts and end the encounter.  On the other hand you may try and Surf someone whose skills are better than your own and when you give them this much energy they are able to become a much larger wave, that in the end, you are not able to keep up with….But have no fear some of the most Incredible and Fantastic exchanges that I have had I have ended up being pummeled by the wave, but to have been able to stand there even for a moment and experience the ferocity at that level was beyond epic and I would never trade any of those losses for an emotionless victory.

Lastly don’t give up if you aren’t able to “Feel” the fight completely at first.  Everytime you tap into that Feeling it gets easier and easier to find.

Octa

Principles of Ferocity Part2

Before I continue to the next example of Ferocity I just wanted to reiterate how important it is stop every once in awhile and get back to the Nature of the thing itself.  Clean out any baggage and clutter that may have snuck in and make sure that you haven’t deviated from your own truth.

Another Approach to Ferocity that I see exhibited often is the Hunter.  This style of Ferocity is aggressive like the Bull, but has more understanding and feeling for the fight at hand.  The Hunter deliberately adjusts range and tempo and holds back the more aggressive ferocity until it is needed.  Maneuvering the fight to the perfect place and time the Hunter attacks bringing knowledge and skill together in a very deliberate and aggressive attack, and has the vision and ability to adjust as needed to keep their prey on the defensive.  This form of attack stifles your opponent, keeping them defending and cutting off any chance of attack or retreat.  The hunter controls the Ferocity of this encounter by controlling the movement and tempo and dominating the engagement.  Unlike the bull the Hunter will evolve the dance, controlling it, moving their opponent with them, not letting the engagement end until they have completed the task or they realize that they are about to lose control of the fight, and therefore must disengage so that they can reestablish it their way.

To learn this style several aspects of fighting must be practiced before it can all be put together as a whole.  You must practice fighting at different ranges so that you are comfortable in them and have an idea of what to expect from opponents at these different ranges. 

You must understand your own ability to change the tempo of the fight and know what your limitations are with acceleration speed and timing. Can you create a pause in yours or your opponents timing…a flinch, a clench…different size circles…

You must also practice your awareness when fighting and understand the “tells” that you are being given and the body mechanics of movement.  Know where your opponent can/may go, know where they can’t or have to go.

The more you understand your prey the better Hunter you become.  The better tools/practice you give yourself the better you will be able to carry out this form of attack/Ferocity. 

Principles of Ferocity Part1

So let’s start with a literal definition of Ferocity… Most all of the definitions that you find center around violence, anger and rage.  The definition that I like the best when looking at Ferocity is:

“ Acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity.” 

Except I would for the purposes of describing myself replace the word emotional with passionate. 

OK so now we have the definition part out of the way, we can start talking about the different forms of Ferocity as I see them.  Some of the methods of Ferocity that  I will be talking about will require a more advanced understanding of yourself(your Nature) and of the sport/art that you are currently practicing, so not all of this will be applicable at this time for everyone.

Often times with newer fighters and those fighters that feel like they are over matched you see a sense of fear or inadequacy manifest itself as a form of Ferocity, but even though at times this can play out into a favorable result this is not based on strengths, it is based on weakness and an opponent with some understanding can not only capitalize on this but they can continue to fuel it to their own advantage.  This is the first step in understanding and taking control of your own nature, what is driving you to act, why, what is lacking from you that would limit you…Can you answer these questions or do you need to search out teachers to help you along?  Being truthful with yourself and really taking an inward look will get you pointed in the right direction so that what you are experiencing and feeling are Real, and not limited to what your opponent wants you to See/Feel.

With that said lets talk about the first real trained type of Ferocity that I see at a variety of different skill levels.  I affectionately call it “Being the Bull”, and it can be very effective against those that don’t know how to fight it…J  The Bull try’s to control the fight through deliberate aggression with little reaction to their opponent.  The Bull stocks its target, and most of the time predetermines a course of action and a set of combinations that they feel will end in success.  They stock their opponent from range looking for that ideal time to strike and then BAM away they go, and once they are “set” in motion they complete their pass.  The more experience and the more tools that the Bull has at their disposal, the more dangerous they become.  The Bull can be scary and dangerous to fight because they exude a lot of  energy at their target and if you are not ready for the Charge you may fall prey to the onslaught.  The Bull has its place, as long as you KNOW that you are being the Bull, and as long as you are in control of your triggers and timing.  A lot of folks start out here and learn to turn their ferocity on and off, they channel their energy and focus it into a very aggressive attach, and leave their fear behind.  For the more experienced fighter who brings a level of passion to this form of Ferocity the energy that they push onto their opponents can be quite overwhelming.  This type of Ferocity will evolve as your understandings change and evolve.  In practicing this I would encourage you to stay visual in the fight with both your eyes and your feelings so that you can learn from each and every encounter.  This style of Ferocity is generally very rudimentary because as one evolves they transition out of the Bull into a more well rounded and less predictable creature.

Principles of Ferocity

I was recently asked a question about how to teach ferocity.  At first I thought the answer was pretty easy…Practice being ferocious…Then that spured other questions, what is the definition of Ferocity, what are the different faces/styles of Ferocity, how/when can you use these to your advantage, how would you combat them, how do you train…So in an effort to put some order to the random thoughts and feelings I decided to write them down as if I was going to teach a class.  So I will be posting this in several installments beginning as always with some sort of foundation, and then building on it as the journey progresses.  As always any feedback would be appreciated. 

Octa...