Hesitation, the Quick Freeze

Hesitation interferes with the Universal Law of Action/Reaction (“For every action there is an equal and hesitateopposite reaction” … Sir Isaac Newton). Hesitation separates the desired, conscious and calculated response from the equation, by hijacking the thought process and causing a multitude of breakdowns, first attacking the mind, and then the body. Hesitation, the quick freeze, stops all thought processes and opens the door of fear, allowing self-doubt and further hesitation to manifest. Hesitation strikes the body like lightening, turning it on itself. The heart begins to beat off rhythm, as the lungs squeeze, grasping for air. Vision is blurred and unsure. The mind becomes its own worst enemy, as it allows fear and doubt to creep in. Fear gives birth to doubt, doubt leads to hesitation, …and failure. Once hesitation enters your mind, it brings the seeds of doom with it, which is why in strategy, my rule is Know myself and strengthen my weaknesses. …Know not myself, and destruction is mine for certain.” Destruction cannot exist where there is a strong foundation of preparation. No matter how long a person may have been doing a thing, if there is hesitation, then there is also a high possibility of failure. Hesitation can paralyze the whole creative process and to be in combat, you need to be in the moment. The scattered mind that is left behind after hesitation strikes, is in a weakened state of fear and doubt.

Hesitation, the mind-killer, can turn your own strengths into weaknesses. Hesitation can strike slowly or extremely quickly. It matters not, since the seeds of hesitation are born within. The external influences that we allow to access our minds can have positive or negative impacts on our view of all things. In other words, the mental preparation for combat begins way before that first blow of the physical engagement itself. Strategic conceptualization begins silently, hiding within the conscious and subconscious minds of the individual. There are a numerous amount of obstacles that need to be prepared for. Just as water can penetrate a rock, hesitation can and will do the same to a fighter’s will, focus, mental state and ability. Slowly and steadily, they are chipped away from the core until defeat arrives. Hesitation is like quicksand, slowly absorbing all the fight until you succumb. It matters not about your physical abilities, your level of attainment, or your physical strength. When hesitation strikes deep within, the roots of your mind turn inward on themselves. Hesitation is a form of stress, and like all stress, it places a powerful impact on the body and mind. Examples are headaches, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and emotional destabilization leading to anger, anxiety, and depression. The chemical imbalances can develop into a dangerous poison that will lead to destruction. In combat, perception is all you really have. The clearer the perception, the more accurate are your decisions. A martial artist must be flexible and able to make agile mental and physical adjustments, understand the power of mastery over tenants of fear, and be able to recognize the traits of it.

Through knowing where your fear lies, filtering your experiences and renewing with positive new perceptions, you can contain or eliminate fear. So, through a careful selective process, fear, doubt and hesitation can be defeated. The tools lie within each individual and can only be discovered after gathering total knowledge of your physical and emotional intellectual aptitudes. We are an experiential combination of the things we feel and believe, and these have a strong impact us. Both positive and negative intellectual and emotional influences impact our total connection, and knowledge of how we see ourselves and our world. Attempt to become aware of the forces that resonate in the internal and external environment. A great martial artist must live inside out and outside in. This means that a great martial artist is connected inside outwardly from his soul to the external environment, sensing all life forms and energies that he is exposed to. The great martial artist must also to be able to respect the energetic expressions of the possibility from outside elements while seeking balance and nourishing his spirit. The causes of hesitation reflect upon many habits and distorted beliefs that have now attached to conscious and subconscious thoughts. This influences perception and actions and reactions. Hesitation in combat is a fatal form of self-destruction. It allows for imperfection to dominate years of striving for perfection, while derailing the brain’s harmonious distribution of energy, causing a mental meltdown.