Killer instinct

[jarra22]

do u guys believe that before you start a match you should be in the f*** u mind set and wanna kill ur opponent?

 

[platfox]

Different people have different motivations.

For myself, I like to be friendly and put things in perspective...its a sport and we are both just competing. Takes the edge off for me. If I were to treat it like war, I think I'd be more nervous.

I have a teammate that imagines that his opponent just killed his family. He has an awful competition record. Not sure if there is a connection or not.

 

[unhommefou]

do u guys believe that before you start a match you should be in the f*** u mind set and wanna kill ur opponent?

​

 

[jarra22]

​

im serious!

 

[codemonkey76]

I treat it like a roll in class.

 

[wiseguy$$]

i was to "nice" 2 weeks ago and lost! went for sweep and didnt let the guy crash into juddges . guy elbowed my nose and mouth.

 

[platfox]

i was to "nice" 2 weeks ago and lost! went for sweep and didnt let the guy crash into juddges . guy elbowed my nose and mouth.

Thats different. Thats "how do you behave during the match". The question is about your mindset going into a match. Unless I misread the OP.

 

[Neuro]

I treat it like a roll in class.

Really? That's interesting, man. Could you elaborate?

My first competition is coming up soon, and I wann go in there friendly, smiling, ready to roll hard, but I was also thinking I'm gonna have to be a bit meaner. Rolling, I don't cross face too hard, and I rarely dig elbows in or anything like that, but in a competition I assume that's par for the course-- things like the "rape" choke (can someone please give me a better name for that, really?), butterknife choke, etc.-- things I don't ordinarily do in rolling, I feel like those are definite.

Also, if I throw or sweep someone real hard, or they give some indication of an unusually painful thing occuring, I check and see if they're okay.

 

[Neuro]

Thats different. Thats "how do you behave during the match". The question is about your mindset going into a match. Unless I misread the OP.

Good point, true. Though I have to note that the former interpretation of the topic is interesting to discuss, too.

 

[jarra22]

Thats different. Thats "how do you behave during the match". The question is about your mindset going into a match. Unless I misread the OP.

u are correct. i mean before a match what should i be thinking

 

[platfox]

Really? That's interesting, man. Could you elaborate?

My first competition is coming up soon, and I wann go in there friendly, smiling, ready to roll hard, but I was also thinking I'm gonna have to be a bit meaner. Rolling, I don't cross face too hard, and I rarely dig elbows in or anything like that, but in a competition I assume that's par for the course-- things like the "rape" choke (can someone please give me a better name for that, really?), butterknife choke, etc.-- things I don't ordinarily do in rolling, I feel like those are definite.

Also, if I throw or sweep someone real hard, or they give some indication of an unusually painful thing occuring, I check and see if they're okay.

My advice (might not work for everyone) is to go into matches relaxed and ready to have fun. But once you slap hands and the match begins, don't hold back. Use any technique that is legal. The guy across from you will try to break your arm in a heartbeat if you let him.

 

[Irenaeus]

I treat it like a roll in class.

Yeah, me too. I'm not doing to great, though, and I actually ment too turn it up a little, I just never seem to do so.

On the plus side, I don't get butterflies before the match, and I think I enjoy competitions more because of that.

 

[ozyabbas]

My advice (might not work for everyone) is to go into matches relaxed and ready to have fun. But once you slap hands and the match begins, don't hold back. Use any technique that is legal. The guy across from you will try to break your arm in a heartbeat if you let him.

I agree entirely and its what my instructor tells me I should be doing. He says not to treat it like a roll in class, to be prepared to do some things that you wouldn't do to people in the gym on a regular basis such as putting tons of pressure on the jaw so that they remove their hands away from their neck.

 

[ZenMojo]

I have formed my opinion over a lot of years of observation and competition in combat sports. In a nutshell, for tournament mode you definitely need to up your level of ''aggression" and "pressure."

BUT working up too much emotion/"killer instinct"/super-aggression is usually detrimental to your game - you forget your game plan/strategy, you try to bully techniques when there are much better options available, etc. In other words, all that training you put in just got blown out of the water by all that testosterone.

Going super-aggressive can sometimes compensate for a lack of skill at white and sometimes blue belt level but it starts to taper off quickly.

In the case of equal skill levels, I think being super-aggressive makes you wildly inconsistent and being inconsistent rarely gets you all the way through a large bracket. In the cases where you have more skill, going hyper is giving your opponent a gift.

For me personally, I treat it like a "super" class roll. I'm keeping continual pressure, I'm taking everything I can away from my opponent and not giving back an inch. Would I jump on something I knew would hurt my opponent (so out of position/balance that he couldn't tap before he broke). Probably not. To me a tournament is just a game (like basketball). It is a test of skill not violence. I'm there to make new friends and have fun.

I realize that not everybody shares this view, and when I think there are more people out to "hurt" me than there are those who want the challenge of a good "game" I'll probably stop competing.

The "killer instinct" only gets kicked on in a life/death situation. My life is not threatened in the least if I lose a tournament match.

Peace,
Zen Mojo

Get your grips, use your shoulder for pressure and whisper something dirty to the mat as you pass...

 

[Varth]

Well I usually try to be chill and friendly but two guys have already come up to me and said I have this "I'm going to kill your family, make you watch, rape your dog, make you rape you dog, break all your bones, rape your dog again, pound you out and set you on fire" look when I'm competing. I just try to chill.

 

[knoxpk]

I dont think getting angry or being friendly are good options. It should more or less be a state of Zen, or no mind. You go in there knowing you are prepared and have encountered everything you are about to see in practice already. You relax, use your set ups and seize opportunities to score or finish with explosiveness.

 

[Shulom1***]

I go in there like Miyamoto Musashi. I have every intent on destroying the person to become a better fighter. Of course I'm friendly before and after the match, but I am not nice once we hit the mat.

 

[MMA junkie]

I'm much more aggressive. I don't think about killing the guy but I definitely am not as friendly as a regular sparring session. You tap and release in sparring, you don't want to hurt your partner, there's things you do in a tournament that you wouldn't do to your sparring partner. That said, I do try to be calm and focused to not tire myself out.

 

[rowdstar]

when i have tried to compete 'angry' i have not done so well. i also don't do well if my family is at the tournament.

i need to have my mind totally clear and open. that way my training and such kick in and are totally in control.

the more exterior to myself distractions or thoughts i have, the less mental power i have to focus on the task at hand.

i think nothing about the other person. this is the 'before the match' mindset to answer the question of the OP.

how people have also answered about how the think during the match is a different question. again, i am trying to keep my mind open and clear so that it will "see" things sooner that i should be doing. so that my timing is perfect.

the only time 'killer instinct" comes into play at this part is taking, or better yet making, an opening in your opponent and immediately doing what you need to do to capitalize on it. then finish them. using your confidence and killer instinct together.

 

[codemonkey76]

Really? That's interesting, man. Could you elaborate?

My first competition is coming up soon, and I wann go in there friendly, smiling, ready to roll hard, but I was also thinking I'm gonna have to be a bit meaner. Rolling, I don't cross face too hard, and I rarely dig elbows in or anything like that, but in a competition I assume that's par for the course-- things like the "rape" choke (can someone please give me a better name for that, really?), butterknife choke, etc.-- things I don't ordinarily do in rolling, I feel like those are definite.

Also, if I throw or sweep someone real hard, or they give some indication of an unusually painful thing occuring, I check and see if they're okay.

I compete, a lot. I find I get less nervous if I put less pressure on myself. I go into the match wanting to win, but not really worrying too much about wether I win or lose... During the match though, I turn it up a notch, compared to a roll in class, and I have been pretty successful in competition.