Are The Martial Arts Useful

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Here's what ran through my mind at that moment. I thought I could handle whatever might happen because of my martial arts training but I didn't think I would have to handle anything and you'll see why. When I did and the reason I did it was to give him an instant to let his reasoning take over his animal instinct.

In more technical psychological terms, what happened to him was that he was hijacked by his amigydla. The amygdala is a tiny part of the brain that is a "life saver" from primitive times. This is the part of the brain that spring springs into action instantly to save your life when a rock falls from the top of your cave or a saber toothed tiger jumps at you. It is not time for rational thought. The higher thinking parts of the brain, the cerebral cortex etc. have no time to act. The amygdala pumps in the adrenaline and instantly put us in a defensive/offensive/flight mode that saves your life when instant action is required.

Now days, with fewer saber tooth tigers leaping at us, the amygdala still "hijacks" the higher thinking processes, only now it can be for a number of reasons which are certainly not directly related to our immediate survival. For example, these trigger events can range from being cut off by another car in traffic (the famous "road rage") to some clumsy person spilling something on us. The reaction is the same, instant unreasoning, towering rage. We have all seen it a thousand times and usually the best thing to do is to stay in the background until it works itself out.

On that hot Friday evening on the New York subway platform, that young man who was being pushed at by the rather foolish fellow fighting to get in the overcrowded train didn't want to kill anybody and probably didn't want to hurt anybody either, but he couldn't help himself. But he did need a little help, and that's what I gave him I gave him an instant to let his higher reasoning functions back into the act and overrule the lower primitive part of his brain that was telling him "kill, kill, kill.”

I guess you're wondering what happened next; did he redirect his rage to me? Did he go back to kicking the fellow on the ground, who, by this time, had crawled around to the other side of the pillar? Did the "policeman" do anything to anybody?

Well, to begin with, there was no "policeman". There was a guy in a uniform poll wires some kind of subway station attendant and he not did want to get involved at all -- it was not his job. He was edging away from the whole scene. And then, in a moment, another train pulled into the station and we all, including the angry young man, rushed into it, he continuing to shout, in lower and lower tones that same set of expletives.

We were a foot or so apart in that uptown train for the several minutes until I get off at my stop. He never even looked at me. I didn't exist as far as he was concerned. Part of him, I'm sure, was glad I did exist and had saved him from doing something he would doubtless have regretted for a long time. One thing, however, I am sure about and that is, if I, or someone else, had not stepped forward within those few seconds, there would have been another one of those small items in the Daily News the next day about a fight and a senseless killing in the subway.

So, I guess I have used my martial arts training because I would've been afraid to bang that big, powerful looking and very angry man in the chest at that moment if I were not quite secure and confident that I could handle anything chose to try to do to me. But that's just a graphic and somewhat dramatic instance. I think many days in many ways I "use" my martial arts training because I feel the peace of mind and confidence knowing that have nothing to fear.

Robert Borsody has been practicing martial arts for over 20 years and is a fourth degree (dan) black belt. He practices law in New York City. Learn more at Roberts Borsodys bioe ww.phillipsnizer.com/attorneys/rborsody_bio.cfm