Fighters & the "Top Dog" bloke mentality

judogido · 10-14-2005, 04:20 AM

I noticed the other day the "fighter" card seems to trump all others in a "what do you do for sport" conversation & it got me thinking (always a dangerous thing - results being somewhat unpredictable in the past)

I think especially around blokes theres the subconscious "top dog' mentality or pecking order that undergoes some ebb & flow whenever there's someone who could potentially kick your ass in a fight (presumably a fight for a woman's affections or a battle for the last Woolly Mammoth - I dunno)

I especially love when there's another fighter in a group.
Bloke1: "So, do you play tennis too?"
Bloke2: "Nah, I do Judo"
Bloke3: "Judo - really? I do Muay Thai"
*moment as Bloke 2 & 3 size each other up & Bloke1 tries to cope with the deflation of his manhood*

Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".
(sorry - just had to put that in)

I find myself sometimes walking into a room & trying to figure out who'd give me a good run & who I'd smash easily.

Stupid I know - you cant always judge a book by it's cover, I remember a small tourney I entered thinking I was King Sh*t and getting completely pwned by a guy 2 weight divisions under me because I didnt realise he was national champion. Wiped the friggin superior smirk off my dial very quickly. I'm a bit wiser now.

Or AM I...? I still do a mental check in a business meeting when I'm bored *Yep - I'd pwn you, yup - you too, hmmm - you'd be tough I reckon, if you took off those glasses...* "Oh, sorry? What's that - you want the forecasts?"

I'm not saying I look down on any non-fighters but being honest it DOES somewhere figure in my subconscious little mental "top dog" calculation.

Maybe that's the REAL reason why we are all fighters.. We just like to think we're top dog on our own little mental calculator.

Dominic Kihlstrand · 10-14-2005, 04:50 AM

Sometimes I'll be riding on the bus, and I might scan the seats, thinking "I could probably beat up most of the people in here. Ha! I'm awesome..."

Darwinist · 10-14-2005, 05:10 AM

I can see where you are coming from. Combat sports both attract those types of personalities and also bring them out in those ho pick them up. They bring out a very primal part of our mental make-up.

I would say that´s a good thing. Violence is a part of our nature and exploring that part and coming to terms with it in the gym is far better than to say taking it out on your wife and kids or something.

Then you can also get the alpha-male idiots(who in my experience are usually also heavy-duty juicers) who just don´t "get" martial arts, even if they become good at them. To those guys it´s always about domination and submission, not healthy competition or the brotherhood of fight athletes, even if that brotherhood is often somewhat adversarial the common thread that unites is always there.

My view is that even in the most civil of companies men are just wired to think in terms of me>you.....or vice versa. In modern societies combat prowess has been largely replaced by the thickness of your wallet or your intellectual prowess if you´re an academic but the basic thought process is the same.

That´s why I love combat sports. That shit takes you back to the basics!

judogido · 10-14-2005, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwinist

I can see where you are coming from. Combat sports both attract those types of personalities and also bring them out in those ho pick them up. They bring out a very primal part of our mental make-up.

I would say that´s a good thing. Violence is a part of our nature and exploring that part and coming to terms with it in the gym is far better than to say taking it out on your wife and kids or something.

For sure. EVERY bloke's got the old "alpha male/top dog" primal mentality. It's just the way we're wired. We can trace a lot of our current behaviours back to this primal age - chicks too, like evaluating a bloke in terms of being a "provider" etc...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwinist

My view is that even in the most civil of companies men are just wired to think in terms of me>you.....or vice versa. In modern societies combat prowess has been largely replaced by the thickness of your wallet or your intellectual prowess if you´re an academic but the basic thought process is the same.

Good point. I look at some rich blokes & think "Yeah - but I could STILL kick your ass" & THEY think " Yeah - I'd just PAY a few fellas to kick yours..."

I figure while "modern behaviour" modifies our daily lifes - deep inside every bloke there's some primal neanderthal just ITCHING to burst out of the veneer of civility. Training in a fighting art just lets the beast out for a stretch every now & again.......

**SmashiusClay** · 10-14-2005, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judogido

Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".
(sorry - just had to put that in).

You bastard, I was drinking when I read that and have just had to clean the spray off my screen, I should'nt really do it but whenever i meet someone who does TKD I tend to reply with " Oh really, my mum does TKD", the look of deflation is so much fun.

I've got to own up that I do get a kick out of the way people react when you tell them you're a fighter and I will meet someone and immediately think "yep, I could pull you to pieces", I almost feel guilty about it but I guess it is just a primal part of being a bloke and as its not the reason I do martial arts but just a result I like to think it does'nt say anything too negative about me as a person.

vanguard_anon · 10-14-2005, 10:15 AM

I *totally* understand what you're talking about. I work in the IT department of a huge tech company. It's weird to be secure in the knowledge that none of these guys could take me, except maybe one. (More on him next.) I know, I know, IT departments aren't known for their tough guys. That's why I could beat them.

Now I'm not a violent guy. I never get in street fights. It's never even close. I'm typically polite and sometimes even funny. However, there is this one little guy where I work that's an assistant kung fu instructor. He walks around with his chest just a little too puffed out. Think I should knock the books out of his hand and see just how tough he is?

Gavin LeFever · 10-14-2005, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanguard_anon

I *totally* understand what you're talking about. I work in the IT department of a huge tech company. It's weird to be secure in the knowledge that none of these guys could take me, except maybe one. (More on him next.) I know, I know, IT departments aren't known for their tough guys. That's why I could beat them.

Now I'm not a violent guy. I never get in street fights. It's never even close. I'm typically polite and sometimes even funny. However, there is this one little guy where I work that's an assistant kung fu instructor. He walks around with his chest just a little too puffed out. Think I should knock the books out of his hand and see just how tough he is?

take the calculator out of his shirt pocket and smash it all over the floor.

>> Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
>> Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".

lol

Steeltwo · 10-14-2005, 12:21 PM

i do it, but more for the "what if's" part of things

such as

what if that dude grabs my g/f and won't stop.
Or what if that dude punches my 110lbs friend in the face while he tips the scales at 220+.

when I first started with judo and jiu jitsu I did size people up EVERYWHERE.
But then one day at class, I got drop thrown about 6 feet in the air and 7-8 feet down the mats by a guy 5'8" and 150lbs. Got up right away, but it felt like a car hit me. :-D

after that I do not underestimate anyone in terms of combat.

In my mind I assume that everyone knows everything that I know and more. So you could say, i'm scared of everyone.

Steeltwo · 10-14-2005, 12:22 PM

Quote:

>> Bloke 4: "Hey COOL guys, I do Sport Taekwondo"
>> Bloke2&3: "F*ck off wiener".

snot hit my screen when I read that, because that was my EXACT thoughts of what i'd say to that guy.

**Bubble Boy** · 10-14-2005, 09:57 PM

At my work there's a sign over the doorway out that says: "Intimidate those who intimidate others."

Me and my co-workers also observe people and decide if they're predator or prey. A methaphor to the animal kingdom. That is, if a guy's walking around very alert to his surroundings, in physically good shape, makes eye contact, etc, he's a predator. The lady who walks away from her shopping cart to look a hair products and leaves her purse in the cart, she's prey. Try it some time. Some people are to close to call.

That said: I constantly size people up. I look for signs of cauliflower ear. Or t-shirts with fighting references. That kind of b.s.

The more I train the more clarity I gain in terms of my status on the "top dog" scale.

Good thread Judogido.