Fwd: Re: ES - Lady Fighters

[Matthew G Saroff]

       Having reviewed the Lizard Brain site, there are some areas I
feel
compelled to dispute, though some of them may be picking nits.
--snip--
> of these hurdles. These conditionings were imprinted between the ages
> of 1 and 6 by parents, church, friends, day care, school, TV,
> commercials, public and so on. Even if your parents brought you up to
> believe one thing, "society" made up over 90% of the conditioning in
> your life and believe me, it imprinted.
> 
> That early conditioning is left behind in what I call the Lizard
> Brain. It's the reptile in us, the one that never forgets. It is
        This is a mischaracterization of the "Lizard Brain".  The
"Lizard
Brain" are the lower order functioning areas of the brain, like the
brain stem and the limbic system (which is responsable for neurologic
hormones, etc.)   The true lizard brain is instinctive.  The appropriate
term here is enculturation, which is a traind reflex reflex rather than
instinct.
        An example of these sorts of learned reflexes is the "Druggist
Reflex",
where pharmacists will put their foot under something they drop.  It
prevents the bottle from breaking, but when an engine one is rebuilding
falls off the stand, it can be catastrophic.
        The characterization is accurate, but I take issue with the
terminology.
> 
> Briefly they are:
> 
> 1) Getting out on the field: Women spend on the average 7 times
> longer, getting the armor together than men. No matter how much help
> they receive, they will not go to the field until the battle between
        What I've seen is that barring a sponsor, women don't tend to
get
positive reinforcement.  Even if there is no discouragement, a man in
that situation will get calls about the regular armoring workshops,
suggestions about armoring merchants, etc.  
        Men tend to be encouraged to fight, whereas women are simply
accepted.
--snip--
> 2) I can be hit, in fun: 90% of the times men have been hit have been
> in team building, comraderie and fun. 90% of the time females have
        Absolutely true.  Boys are encouraged to hit and shove each
other in
the context of organized activities.
--snip--
> matter). The conversation with the Lizard Brain goes something like
> YOU'VE BEEN HIT YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I'm fighting, I'm supposed to
> be hit, it's ok. NO, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. 
        I would argue that it's a matter of familiarity and comfort.  In
a
counter example, cooking, when my mom screwed up a meal, she was a bit
ticked, but when my father does, it puts him in a funk.
        Men are used to losing at contact sports, and women are not.
--snip--
> 4) I can't do this: This is a particularly vicious one. Every fighter
        I think that a lot of this is caused by the subtle lack of
encouragement that women fighters receive.
        It should be noted that frustration is a major part of much of
the
learning process, and I have seen no small number of male fighters drop
weapons forms because they couldn't make through this stage.
--snip--
[[CC:ed to the author]]
--
--Sfi Mordehai ben Yosef Yitzhak, Aka Matthew G. Saroff

This is not the Dream.  This is what I do on weekends to have some fun.

The Dream involves 4 sets of identical twins, 2 gallons of Cool
Whip, 5 quarts of chocolate syrup, 2-1/4 pounds of strawberries,
satin sheets, a magnum of champagne, a trapeze, and a python.
Check http://www.pobox.com/~msaroff, including The Bad Hair Web Page
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
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