PART IV
It must be noted, that most of Siddle’s pre-1995 published work, with regard to motor skill performance, was based upon the research of leading sports psychologists. Prior to 1995, most of the research surrounding motor skill performance used fluctuations in heart rate to measure performance, due to the fact that it was the only biological mechanism that was “measurable” via scientific testing protocol at the time. Although Siddle’s research (based upon his book “Sharpening The Warriors Edge”) has brought to light the physiological effects to the emotion of fear such as increased heart rate, fine complex motor skill deterioration, and what we can do as instructors to limit the effects of SSR during combat, it did not fully explain why and how the brain learned and responds to the emotion of fear, thus triggering SSR. To me, this is the key question to be answered if one’s combative system or style is going to be able to consistently deal with an unexpected spontaneous assault, be it unarmed or armed. In other words, are our brains hardwired to the point where a trained response, no matter how well ingrained, be overridden by a more powerful “instinctual” response? If the answer to this question is yes, can this instinctual response be changed, molded, or integrated into a combative context?
Research into this question, specific to Survival Skills Training, has really been non-existent. Having said this, neuroscientific research into how the brain learns and responds to the emotion of fear, has taken off over the past few years, due mainly to brain mapping technology such as MRI’s. One of the more significant researchers, Dr. Joseph LeDoux of New York University, has led the way in tracing brain circuitry underlying the fear response in animals/ mammals, which have been directly correlated to humans as well. It is because of Dr. LeDoux’s pioneering research, that the neural pathways and connections that bring upon the effects of SSR are now being understood.
Dr LeDoux has stated, “fear is a neural circuit that has been designed to keep an organism alive in dangerous situations.” Through out his research, Dr. LeDoux has shown that the fear response has been tightly conserved in evolution through out the development of humans and other vertebrates. According to most in the Neuroscience field, the areas of the brain that deal with fear are located in the phylogenetically old structures commonly known as the “reptilian brain.” Dr. LeDoux believes based upon his research that, “learning and responding to stimuli that warn of danger involves neural pathways that send information about the outside world to the amygdalya, which in turn, determines the significance of the stimulus and triggers emotional responses like running, fighting, or freezing, as well as changes in the inner workings of the body’s organs and glands such as increased heart rate.” This statement explains to me, the correlation between SSR and heart rate increase as reported by Siddle in his research.
Siddle’s research drew a direct correlation between SSR and heart rate increases. The problem with this assumption is that for people such as runners who can have very high heart rates, SSR does not take effect. Why, the runner’s high heart rate is caused by physical exertion, and not the emotion of fear caused by a spontaneous or immediate threat to body or life, which triggers the neurological response of the brain and more specifically, the amygdala, which in turn begins the SSR process. This also explains why instructors, who have attempted to mirror Siddle’s research through hooking students up to heart monitors like those worn by runners, and then subjecting them to physical exertion exercises like pushups and wind sprints, have failed to see any fine complex motor skill deterioration. It should also be noted, that even Siddle acknowledges the fact, primarily due to Dr LeDoux’s post-1995 research, that heart rate increase is nothing more than a “thermostat” or “indicator” of a perceived stress level, and is “not” the driving force of performance deterioration.
Dr LeDoux has also found, “there are important distinctions to make between emotions and feelings. Feelings are “red herrings,” products of the conscious mind, labels given to unconscious emotions, whereas emotions are distinct patterns of behaviors of neurons. Emotions can exist of conscious experiences as well as physiological and neurological reactions and voluntary and involuntary behaviors.” I believe the important thing to take from this statement is that the emotion of fear is an unconscious process that has been blueprinted at the neurological level, and when triggered, has physiological reactions that we may have little, if any, control over, but which can be molded.
Dr. LeDoux has also discovered that the components of fear go way beyond feelings and emotions. According to Dr. Ledoux it is also the specific memory of the emotion. A fellow Neuroscientist, Dr. Doug Holt expanded upon this fact and said, “after a frightful experience, one can remember the logical reasons for the experience (i.e., the time and place) but one will also feel the memory, and his body will react as such (i.e. increased heart rate and respiration rate, sweating).” This is why it is not uncommon for a survivor of spontaneous assault to not only vividly remember each detail, but also when doing so, their body reacts as though they were reliving the experience. This is another reason why I believe that guided imagery, when used appropriately and professionally, will be the next nexus in combatives training. Although not all scientific research makes this particular distinction between emotions and feelings, most would agree that the fear response involves more than just the physical preparation for “fight, flight, or hypervigilance.” This initial, physiological response is followed by a slower, more detailed psychological assessment of the dangerous situation being faced, during which the individual becomes conscious of feeling afraid
So what happens in our brain when the emotion of fear is triggered? According to Dr. LeDoux and other Neuroscientist, once the fear system of the brain detects and starts responding to danger (primarily the amygdala which receives input directly from every sensory system of the body and can therefore immediately respond), and depending upon fear stimulus intensity, the brain will begin to assess what is going on, and try to figure out what to do about it using the following process:
· Information of the threat stimulus is detected via the senses of the body; sight, sound, touch, smell, taste
· Information from one or all of these senses is then routed to the thalamus (a brain structure near the amygdala that acts like an air traffic controller or a mail sorting station that sorts out incoming sensory signals)
· In a non-spontaneous threat situation, the thalamus will direct information received to the appropriate cortex of the brain (such as the visual cortex) which consciously thinks about the impulse, assessing the danger, and making sense of it. This is where the O.O.D.A. loop begin ( Observe, Organize, Decision, Action )
· Once a decision has been made as to what to do, the information is then downloaded to the amygdala which creates emotion and action through the body to either perpetuate a physical response or to abort a physical response
Again, this process takes place in non-spontaneous type situations. This neuro pathway is commonly called the “high road.” This is the pathway in which most combatives instructors teach too. In other words:
· Person throws a right hooking punch which is seen and detected by the visual system
· Visual system downloads this stimulus to the thalamus that sorts it and send it to the visual cortex of the brain
· Visual cortex using the OODA loop, observes the stimulus, organizes it (right hooking punch), makes a decision as to how to deal with stimulus and then downloads the response to the amygdala
· Amygdala then creates emotion and action through the body and the punch is blocked