| I agree with the 2 above posts - if they've left themselves open, teach them not to do it again! My friend told me when I first started years back (he was a black belt even then) that a little sado-masochistic response to violence (as disgruntled said - not to the level of beat your opponent to death for the fun of it, that is precisely the thing MA stands against) is almost a requirement of MA - a coping strategy for frequent pain if you like. I thought he was mad at the time, but looking back I see he is absolutely right - face pain with equanimity.
As to nerves - I have acted, played instruments in front of an audience and that was nerve wracking but NOTHING compares to waiting for your name to be called at a judo comp/grading.
For coping I agree with Shinobi's meditation idea and would add that I think back to all the times I go out to fight the black belts at training which I do all the time - as my signature says:
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"Train hard, Fight easy."  |