Thank you Dan
You (and Toby to some extent) struck at the heart of what I was trying to get. Stress is a chemical function/malfunction. I have been scared in the Dojo I have been scared in car accidents hell I've even been scared in fights but the most scared I've ever been was "WORKING" on the flightdeck of an aircraft carrier. How one deals with stress is trained not natural in my opinion. If your Dojo trains in a manner as Dan describes then stress just becomes something else you deal with if you don't well then you freeze in a bad situation and if your lucky you live and learn. I'll not stand here and say that Combat is easy (that would be stupid) but I will say that I've lived though working in the worlds most dangerous job bar none. the skills I learned on the mat made a big difference to my survival.
As for Koryu weapons, in class last sunday I notice the truely deceptive way some techniques are performed. This is not to say that my sempai was tricking me rather that his proper execution of of a simple Hontai uchi was such that I couldn't see how long the stick was or exactly where he was in the swing. I really had to rely on other cues to maitain proper ma-ai (and not get brained). I've seem security forces on base and police officers training with both battons and drawing techniques that acheive this same result. From an observers POV this isn't something you can see easily but from the business end of the weapon it proved to be down right spooky. I fell it a very defencive position that my sensei immediatly saw and commented on when we were finished. My comments about it were met with some amusement and then agreement. Now I just have to figure out how to do it myself.
Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow...
...that's what makes my thumper go