Fighters & the "Top Dog" bloke mentality

[judogido]

I noticed the other day the "fighter" card seems to trump all others in a "what do you do for sport" conversation & it got me thinking (always a dangerous thing - results being somewhat unpredictable in the past)

I think especially around blokes theres the subconscious "top dog' mentality or pecking order that undergoes some ebb & flow whenever there's someone who could potentially kick your ass in a fight (presumably a fight for a woman's affections or a battle for the last Woolly Mammoth - I dunno)

I especially love when there's another fighter in a group.
Bloke1: "So, do you play tennis too?"
Bloke2: "Nah, I do Judo"
Bloke3: "Judo - really? I do Muay Thai"
*moment as Bloke 2 & 3 size each other up & Bloke1 tries to cope with the deflation of his manhood*

Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".
(sorry - just had to put that in)

I find myself sometimes walking into a room & trying to figure out who'd give me a good run & who I'd smash easily.

Stupid I know - you cant always judge a book by it's cover, I remember a small tourney I entered thinking I was King Sh*t and getting completely pwned by a guy 2 weight divisions under me because I didnt realise he was national champion. Wiped the friggin superior smirk off my dial very quickly. I'm a bit wiser now.

Or AM I...? I still do a mental check in a business meeting when I'm bored *Yep - I'd pwn you, yup - you too, hmmm - you'd be tough I reckon, if you took off those glasses...* "Oh, sorry? What's that - you want the forecasts?"

I'm not saying I look down on any non-fighters but being honest it DOES somewhere figure in my subconscious little mental "top dog" calculation.

Maybe that's the REAL reason why we are all fighters.. We just like to think we're top dog on our own little mental calculator.

 

[Dominic Kihlstrand]

Sometimes I'll be riding on the bus, and I might scan the seats, thinking "I could probably beat up most of the people in here. Ha! I'm awesome..."

 

[Darwinist]

I can see where you are coming from. Combat sports both attract those types of personalities and also bring them out in those ho pick them up. They bring out a very primal part of our mental make-up.

I would say that

 

[judogido]

I can see where you are coming from. Combat sports both attract those types of personalities and also bring them out in those ho pick them up. They bring out a very primal part of our mental make-up.

I would say that

 

[SmashiusClay]

Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".
(sorry - just had to put that in).

You bastard, I was drinking when I read that and have just had to clean the spray off my screen, I should'nt really do it but whenever i meet someone who does TKD I tend to reply with " Oh really, my mum does TKD", the look of deflation is so much fun.

I've got to own up that I do get a kick out of the way people react when you tell them you're a fighter and I will meet someone and immediately think "yep, I could pull you to pieces", I almost feel guilty about it but I guess it is just a primal part of being a bloke and as its not the reason I do martial arts but just a result I like to think it does'nt say anything too negative about me as a person.

 

[vanguard_anon]

I *totally* understand what you're talking about. I work in the IT department of a huge tech company. It's weird to be secure in the knowledge that none of these guys could take me, except maybe one. (More on him next.) I know, I know, IT departments aren't known for their tough guys. That's why I could beat them.

Now I'm not a violent guy. I never get in street fights. It's never even close. I'm typically polite and sometimes even funny. However, there is this one little guy where I work that's an assistant kung fu instructor. He walks around with his chest just a little too puffed out. Think I should knock the books out of his hand and see just how tough he is?

 

[Gavin LeFever]

I *totally* understand what you're talking about. I work in the IT department of a huge tech company. It's weird to be secure in the knowledge that none of these guys could take me, except maybe one. (More on him next.) I know, I know, IT departments aren't known for their tough guys. That's why I could beat them.

Now I'm not a violent guy. I never get in street fights. It's never even close. I'm typically polite and sometimes even funny. However, there is this one little guy where I work that's an assistant kung fu instructor. He walks around with his chest just a little too puffed out. Think I should knock the books out of his hand and see just how tough he is?

take the calculator out of his shirt pocket and smash it all over the floor.


>> Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
>> Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".

lol

 

[Steeltwo]

i do it, but more for the "what if's" part of things

such as

what if that dude grabs my g/f and won't stop.
Or what if that dude punches my 110lbs friend in the face while he tips the scales at 220+.


when I first started with judo and jiu jitsu I did size people up EVERYWHERE.
But then one day at class, I got drop thrown about 6 feet in the air and 7-8 feet down the mats by a guy 5'8" and 150lbs. Got up right away, but it felt like a car hit me. :-D

after that I do not underestimate anyone in terms of combat.

In my mind I assume that everyone knows everything that I know and more. So you could say, i'm scared of everyone.

 

[Steeltwo]

>> Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
>> Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".

snot hit my screen when I read that, because that was my EXACT thoughts of what i'd say to that guy.

 

[Bubble Boy]

At my work there's a sign over the doorway out that says: "Intimidate those who intimidate others."

Me and my co-workers also observe people and decide if they're predator or prey. A methaphor to the animal kingdom. That is, if a guy's walking around very alert to his surroundings, in physically good shape, makes eye contact, etc, he's a predator. The lady who walks away from her shopping cart to look a hair products and leaves her purse in the cart, she's prey. Try it some time. Some people are to close to call.

That said: I constantly size people up. I look for signs of cauliflower ear. Or t-shirts with fighting references. That kind of b.s.

The more I train the more clarity I gain in terms of my status on the "top dog" scale.

Good thread Judogido.

 

[Waxwingslain]

In my mind I assume that everyone knows everything that I know and more. So you could say, i'm scared of everyone.

I think this is a good attitude. You should probably assume that everyone you meet is dangerous and willing to fight very dirty.

Most of us have probably been humbled at some point by smaller guys and humbled bigger, meaner-looking guys ourselves in return.

Having said that, I ALWAYS look round the gym at rolling time to see where I am in the pecking order at BJJ.

One of the things I try to teach Japanese women is how not to be "prey" when they go abroad. They generally have no clue about leaving their Louis Vuitton bags unattendad...

 

[Oktavius**]

Great thread Judogido, this is one of those things where you wonder if your the only person who thinks like this . Glad to hear im not a freak.
Its strange though, i think the more you train the more humble you become because you have rolled with so many different types of people that can kick your ass, but on the flip side the more you train the better you become so you also start thinking your king shit at a party or down the pub.
Sometimes you notice other guys trying to work out in there head if they can take you, but if you have been training hard and your self confidence is high you can smile to yourself and let them stress over there inscurity
Also when your out having a drink have you noticed that when you enter the place sober and fresh you suss out the situationand think 'no sweat i can handle these guys easy', but if you stay around a while and get a few drinks into you and 'loosen' up, smile, and have a good time you start to notice guys giving you the 'look' that they wouldnt even dream of having done while you were sober? Ruins a good night out when you have to be on guard at all times

 

[DirectDrive]

i think all guys have that. the thing that's funny is when guys that are into combat sports talk about fighting people they talk about it as if they could loose. guys that don't train think they are tought because they have the alpha male in them that just tells them they can kick a lot of ass.

random story about sizing people up: i was flying recently and got a searched, they seach me every time and they still haven't figure out i am not a terrorist. anyway, i got through the x-ray and i go over to get scanned by the TSA guy. I'm wearing a jiu jitsu shirt and he looks at it and says "you do jiu jitsu eh?". i answered "yes". then he says to me "i'd give you $50 if you could kick my ass!". i looked right at him and said "i'm sure it'd be an easy $50, but i'm in a hurry". he really seem to know what to say after that.

 

[Waxwingslain]

Also when your out having a drink have you noticed that when you enter the place sober and fresh you suss out the situationand think 'no sweat i can handle these guys easy', but if you stay around a while and get a few drinks into you and 'loosen' up, smile, and have a good time you start to notice guys giving you the 'look' that they wouldnt even dream of having done while you were sober? Ruins a good night out when you have to be on guard at all times

I'm the opposite. I used to go out clubbing completely off my face and never notice anything.

Then I quit drinking and I felt so paranoid and out of place when I went out.

That airport story was funny. What a tool, asking someone to kick his ass...

 

[ClubberLange]

edited after realising how gay it sounded

 

[Oktavius**]

edited after realising how gay it sounded

LOl , now youve left us in suspense? common, what did you write?

 

[judogido]

i looked right at him and said "i'm sure it'd be an easy $50, but i'm in a hurry". he really seem to know what to say after that.

LOL@ "I'm sure it'd be an easy $50". I love it - give some attitude/confidence & leave him wondering....

 

[judogido]

Great thread Judogido, this is one of those things where you wonder if your the only person who thinks like this . Glad to hear im not a freak.

You're not the only one .... but you're still a freak...