Comments on: A Better Understanding of the Intimidation Factor

By: Vitor Belfort on Anderson Silva: ‘I’m Not Getting Intimidated By Anyone’ | Mr. James Ryan

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:13:49 +0000

[...] “If you should worry about anyone, worry about the quiet, serious guy who always keeps to himself and minds his own business. He is likely more dangerous. Everyone else in my opinion is nothing more than a hyped-up poser.”—A Better Understanding of the Intimidation Factor [...]

By: rory

rory — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:19:34 +0000

My favorite method of intimidation ever is the tribal dance/warcry of the All Blacks. It would seem to be very effective as well.

By: rory

rory — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:15:26 +0000

Spiders dont have to say anything or put on a show though, they just know.

By: Jon

Jon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:46:12 +0000

Great Article. . Martial Arts is psychological as much as it is a physical activity. In Martial Arts movies, big guys with ginormous muscles always get beatdown by a scrawny fighter, we saw that in Karate Kid, Enter the Dragon and many (if not all) other martial arts movies. In MMA, Royce Gracie was known to beat guys bigger and more intimidating than him. Does Royce Gracie try to put a show by showing off his muscles or doing some fancy shmanzy taunting before the fight? No. Fedor , known as the best mma fighter in the world, doesn't even talk or even show emotion on the fight and a lot of people are scared of him.

It's true that in mma there a lot of these fighters, but I hate them anyway. I only wanna see them get beat up by this mysterious silent fighter, and that's why I love watching mma. There are some really great fighters out there that really exemplify what martial arts is all about and I think that kinda balances out their image.

Oh and in terms of mainstream popularity, just look at WWE. I think they reached mainstream popularity, and they're much bigger than the UFC. And this is all they freakin do, they just trash talk all day and they don't even fight for real. I think at the end of the day, this is all boils down to the fact that people just wanna see two guys beat each other up whether they realize that the fighter image has gone ridiculous or not.

I really enjoyed reading this article, this gives great insight on fighting psychology.

By: James

James — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:02:22 +0000

Thanks.

What about Spiders?? I'm terrified of Spiders!!! LOL

By: dougwillick

dougwillick — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:28:44 +0000

Perfect example is Anderson Silva…He does not try to scare anybody..yeah, his entrance music is loud but he doesn't trash talk…and he is the best fighter in the world.Period. The one thing that goes on in every sport is trash talk..hockey,football,boxing..you name it..I don't think that will ever change.Kids learn from these”heroes”. That's why kids get bullied etc because they see their “heroes” doing the same thing. I could go on and on….Good article Jamie.

By: James

James — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:40:40 +0000

Hi Todd,

I don't think that we disagree as much as you may think.

Intimidation has always existed in the fighting arts – true. Silence can be intimidating. Posture. An expressionless look on a fighters face. A lot of things can be intimidating depending on how they are interpreted by another person. I believe that intimidation is an important tool for any fighter.

I just think that it's gone a little too far and in the process has ultimately contradicted its own purpose.

For me, I just feel that alot of what goes on, (with the intention to intimidate), is actually quite comical.

My “battle cry” used to be to yell “DIE!!!” as loud as I could LOL Yes, when used at the right time, it is a very effective way to literally stun an opponent.

Glad that you liked it. Appreciate the read.

By: Todd

Todd — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:40:14 +0000

You make in interesting points about how this will effect traditional martial arts in the long term. It really is ironic that something that was originaly designed to help villagers ward of soldiers with the simple tools they had available has now over time become a sport, but martial arts competition didnt just develop lately.
I disagree with some of your points, but overall in interesting perspective. I think the images that you speak of or the actions really attract the demographic this industry is aiming for. In that sense it is by design and not seen as a detriment by those working that angle.
Then again, it is inevitable that MMA will need to branch out and lure in a larger more diverse demographic and in the process will need to soften the edge just a bit. Tone it down I guess.
But in the end, intimidation has always been a key asset to many a fighter in many combat sports. It is not something new to MMA or the fighting arts in general. It is a tool that has been around for a long time.
I remember martial arts tournaments as a child, some of the best martial artists utilized the kiai (battle cry as Im sure your familiar with) as a weapon every bit as much as the tool it is originally meant to be. To hear your opponant hollaring out gutteral sounds while rushing you and striking is not easy to ignore. That is part of the art of learning self control though. Point being, intimidation has been engrained in some way shape or form in martial arts in particular since its inception so many centuries ago. Its par for the course and not quite the detriment you paint it to be here in my humble opinion. That said, you make some great points about imagery and appearance that holds some weight. Great read, even if we dont agree, I enjoyed the article.

By: Stoker

Stoker — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:39:40 +0000

EXCELLENT JOB !!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:08:29 +0000

hey James, really like this article and agree totally, well put