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Thread: Mental Training

  1. #1
    Alan Guest

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    Hi All,

    Can anyone recommend either some good books or good web sites on how to use NLP or visualisation in martial arts. In particular how could you use NLP to prepare yourself for the stress of combat, or use it to improve one's own skill by modelling someone else. I have seen mention of some US Army projects in a magazine article I read once on the Jedi Project written by Dennis Martin, but I am after more information.

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    Default The Jedi Mind Project!?!

    Hi Alan...

    If you're going to follow that path, watch out for the Sith

    Eric Bookin

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    a magazine article I read once on the Jedi Project written by Dennis Martin

    I remember that article. That was in Fighting Arts International, either the last, or second to last issue before they folded. I've also heard of NLP, but it seems that I am either hearing lengthy descriptions of it's many wonderful self-empowering abilities from people who have entirely bought into the idea, or those who are harshly skeptical and see it as another piece of pseudo-scientific New Age nonsense. I wonder if anyone could give a more balanced description of it's principles and methodology.
    Krzysztof M. Mathews
    http://www.firstgearterritories.com

    Every place around the world it seemed the same
    Can't hear the rhythm for the drums
    Everybody wants to look the other way
    When something wicked this way comes

    "Jeremiah Blues, Part 1"
    Sting-The Soul Cages

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    The only person I know of (there may be others I don't know about) who has combined NLP and martial arts is Dr. John La Tourette. I would go to his website (www.thespeedman.com) and ask about the videos they have. He has also written a book (still sold through Paladin Press and his own company) called "Mental Training of a Warrior" that deals with alot of these issues.

    I hope this helps some.
    "Hard won, buy easy lost. True karate does not stay where it is not being used."

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    Alan,
    As the author of the cited FIGHTING ARTS article/interview I would like to make some comments.
    “NLP asset for combative training, or, NewAge junk?”
    When NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) was first developed it was seen as a technology to assist therapy, “fixing people who are broken”. However, co-founder Richard Bandler was also heavily involved in sub rosa projects for the US Governments (and other entities, such as the Israeli spec-ops community). This aspect has been fairly close held over the years. The JEDI PROJECT, which I discussed in the article is just one aspect which we know now about. For example NLP was used as an aid to interrogation
    training.
    The therapy stream has led to the new age emphasis. If you try to find out about NLP you will more than likely be swamped by what we call the woolly jumper brigade, getting all "touchy-feely". About 99% of available material on NLP is related to therapy. Obviously,this tends to turn off those interested in applying NLP for combatives.
    I was lucky. My guides into NLP were Marcus Wynne (the subject of the original article), who was a US Government operator at the time, and Tommy McNally, a former
    pro-wrestler.
    I can state that NLP can be applied to combatives, in three main ways:
    1] It can be used to accelerate learning, as a trainee.
    2] It can be used to accelerate learning, as an instructor.
    3] It can be used to enhance the mental posture for operational commitments.
    There is nothing new age, or psychobabble about NLP, it’s simply the study of excellence, and how we can model such excellence from others.
    It’s very outcome based, you don’t accept anything on blind faith. A principal of NLP is “if whatever you are doing does not produce the desired outcome do something
    different”.
    We have had tremendous results utilising NLP in CQC and especially, tactical firearms training.
    Marcus and I co-presented courses on these topics to Close-protection personnel in South Africa in 1997. Feedback was very positive. More to the point, in the pistol training, which is highly quantifiable the improvements in speed/accuracy were obvious to all.
    I presented a CQB class for the IALEFI Regional Training Conference in Ohio in
    1998, and was asked to deliver an evening elective class on MINDS’ EYE SHOOTING.
    The attendees were all professional law enforcement firearms instructors. The results were amazing... not my words, one instructor told me simply “That’s amazing” Another said “I wouldn’t have believed it to be possible to do what we just did”. The class received the highest attendance of any elective at any RTC.
    Since then I’ve presented the Minds’ Eye module to a police unit in South Africa who operate in an extremely high-risk environment... they loved the stuff.
    I wish I could claim credit for these results, but I’ve just carried on the work. The concepts were Marcus’ interpretation of Bandlers’ ideas.
    We still incorporate this type of stuff in our training programs, especially the WINNING EDGE.
    I’m glad to see interest in Mindset is still high. In my opinion this is the most critical area of training. There is a lot of good stuff being presented in this area, and I believe that neuro- based systems, such as NLP have a contribution to make.
    Dennis Martin

    [Edited by DenCQB on 12-02-2000 at 11:03 AM]

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    Dennis

    Now you've got me interested, I had disgarded the idea before, but I never saw your article in FAI. Are there any other sources you know of, so that I can read up on the mechanics of NLP as it relates to what we do?

    Do you still have a copy of the article? If so is it in a format you could e-mail or perhaps post to the web. I'm sure Joe Svinth would put it up on EJMAS if you wanted.

    Regards
    Neil
    Neil Hawkins
    "The one thing that must be learnt but
    cannot be taught is understanding"

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    Neil,
    Thanks for the interest. The usual source for material on the JEDI PROJECT, which was the original US Army study on utilising NLP in combative training, is "The Warriors' Edge" by Major John Alexander. Out of print, but available through Amazon I should think.
    Marcus Wynee wrote several excellent articles, mainly in Combat Handguns Magazine. Especially relevant is the "Living in Condition Yellow" article.
    I'm not able to scan. I have a scanner here but for some reason it doesn't connect to my computer. I'll try to get a mate to scan that "On Guard" Column piece and send it on to you.
    By the way, I have signed up to write a regular column for COMBAT Magazine over here. It will be the "On Guard" for the new Millenium, or, sort of. Called "Reality Check" it will be appearing in the next issue, or, the one after.
    I will be using some material from previous FAI columns, such as the interview with Lofty Wiseman, of which only the first part was published. The interview with Marcus generated a lot of interest, so I will edit/ update it and reprint.

  8. #8
    Alan Guest

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    Thanks for the replies.

    Dennis, I shall have to start buying Combat more regularly now, and try and track down that book. Are you going to run any more of the Winning Edge courses in the future?

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    Alan,
    Hope you enjoy the new column in Combat.
    Yes we're planning several WINNING EDGE Courses next year, including a weekend program in Hemel in Spring.
    I'll post full details on the forum when dates finalised.
    Thanks for your interest.

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    Default NLP and combative mindset

    Just to updaye this thread, the interview mentioned above, which originally appeared in Fighting Arts Magazine, is now online at CQB Services.
    Marcus came over to the UK in 2006 and presented an instructor program, details here
    Cheers,
    Dennis Martin

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    Gentlemen do check out the articles on Den's website. Marcus Wynne has some stuff here:

    http://www.cqbservices.com/?page_id=30

    He has some very interesting things to say. Check out his fiction, too, for some VERY realistic CQB/"operator" type stuff. I'd love to train with him some day.

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    Uhhh... Anyone ever thought about a devoted Meditation Practice congruent with one's Martial Practice?

    Works for me...

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    Training the mental state (as I call it, the will) of a martial partitioner is the most difficult thing to do. It is also the most necessary and most beneficial. Training techniques over and over makes students into robots that expect a given input, a punch or a grab on a certain location, to produce an output, epon seoinage.

    One of the skills I am constantly trying to hammer (well, tap... it is a "friendly" dojo) into students is that they must mentally prepare themselves to actually execute what they are doing. Their paired practice is not just a dance, you don't just throw your opponent because after step 1: attack comes step 2: throw. There is step 0: the fight begins, step 3: follow up, gain control and reasses... and maybe even step 4: kill your opponent.

    I can totally understand where Marcus is coming from, that the traditional training structure fails most students because the teachers are the top 5% that teach directly to the top 5% of their students. I am constantly having to remember to teach to my students, not at them... to do my best to elevate their practice to the necessary levels of immediacy, expedience and violence to equip them with the skills that I feel are my moral obligation as a sempai and assistant teacher to pass on.

    Luckily I live in Ohio. I may have to try and find some more information out about Mr. Dave Spaulding.

    NLP is dead on for what my current goals are: identify those aspects of my sensei and other dangerous men who teach me make them dangerous and reproduce them in my own mental, physical and emotional state.

    I am starting to figure it out a bit.

    - Chris McGaw

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