Conditioned Responses

Posted by: tkd_high_green

Conditioned Responses - 12/08/06 03:11 PM

Last night, I was out shopping when I met up with a friend of my mothers. During the conversation, the fact that I was in Tae Kwon Do came up, and it turned out his sons had participated for several years.

Then, later on in the conversation, out of nowhere he then proceeds to speak in a very commanding voice, "Chon-bee, Chayriot, Kunyah" and it was all I could do to resist the overwhelming urge to come to attention and bow in the middle of the packed store!

"Must...resist...the...urge...to...bow!"

Laura
Posted by: clmibb

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/08/06 05:00 PM

LOL Laura! I've done the same thing. SEVERAL years ago when I was in Middle school I walked into one of my classrooms and bowed. I played it off like I was looking at my shoe and started to retie it. You aren't alone!

Casey
Posted by: Gavin

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/08/06 07:45 PM

Yep been there and done that. Think I've mention this before, but I was out having a Thai meal with an Ex, as we left each of the staff (about 4 or 5) all bowed at various points of our departure. By the time we got out my ex was in stitches as I'd bowed back to each of the members of staff. She said I got some weird looks of some of the other customers. I didn't even notice that I'd bowed, just a way that I'm used to showing respect that was completely second nature to me however it was completely alien to my partner of the time and obviously the other customers. Made me giggle!

Another thing I've noticed I actually change my bow to fit the situation. I taught at a friends club who teaches chinese martial arts and they bow with their hands cupping a fist, rather than the japanese method of hands to the side. I automatically adopted that... even when he visit my dojo. Funny old thnigs ain't we!
Posted by: Derik

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/09/06 02:38 AM

Quote:

LOL Laura! I've done the same thing. SEVERAL years ago when I was in Middle school I walked into one of my classrooms and bowed. I played it off like I was looking at my shoe and started to retie it. You aren't alone!

Casey




i did almost the same thing at my work I kind of played it off
Posted by: sunspots

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/14/06 10:11 PM

I cracked up my college advisor at graduation. Got through the whole ceremony and was just milling around with everyone afterwards. I said that I was nervous, but I at least I hadn't bowed to everyone on the stage. My advisor cracked up and said that I HAD. Bowed to the President of the College, the Speaker and everyone else I shook hands with. It was just automatic, and I hadn't realized I'd done it.
Posted by: Kendo_Noob

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/15/06 09:52 PM

Ha, its good to know i'm not alone. Several times I have found myself standing in the doorway of one of my classes preparing to bow, then looking up and seeing everybody stare at me. Then in my biology class, my teacher handed me back my test and I apparently said "Arigato gozaimashita" I carried on, looking through my test, then realized the whole room had fell silent, so I looked up, and the conversation went like this.

teacher: "What?!?"
me: "huh?"
theacher: "what is arigato go...zee...mahhs..tah"
me: "oh man... I'm tired"
---- I then went on to explain to the class and teacher about kendo... embarrassed.

Posted by: wristtwister

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/16/06 10:20 PM

Nishiyama Sensei told us about some of the classes where children were taught karate by using a bamboo cane that was flexible and about the size of a man's little finger in diameter. He said that it was used to teach the children to block.

The instructor would walk around as the students were doing punching and blocking drills and if they were too slow or doing the blocks improperly, they got a thump on the top of the head. He said that it didn't take them more than a few times to learn to block the cane before it hit them in the head, and it didn't hurt at all when they were quick enough to block it. Of course, that's "oriental" training (meaning "to orient", which is to "change to match conditions"), and too many western schools would look on it as child abuse or some other abusive demeanor... but it works and works well... and I've never seen any of his students that couldn't break your arms and legs blocking... so the "conditioned response" can be functional as well as embarressing (when you forget and do something "dojo" in public).

Posted by: Leo_E_49

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/24/06 01:31 PM

And here I was thinking this would be a thread about conditioned self defensive responses!
Posted by: Dudley32

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/24/06 02:12 PM

I know I have called people "Sir" after class just out of habit from talking to my instructor. And of course I have bowed on accident.

Matt
Posted by: budobrubbie

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/28/06 05:17 PM

I've told this story before, so stop me if you've heard it already...Our dojo is in a shopping mall, and I've mistakenly bowed while entering JC Penney, Sears, Radio Shack, etc. Onlookers just smile and...
Posted by: Ted_Karate

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/28/06 06:05 PM

I went to air cadets for the first time and they make a big deal out of standing to attention in front of senior ranks. I walked up to the leader and after finishing the conversation i automatically bowed out. Didnt make things any less awkward...
Posted by: wristtwister

Re: Conditioned Responses - 12/29/06 08:40 AM

Back when I was MUCH younger, I was on a date with someone who didn't understand much about martial arts training. We were sitting at a drive-in restaurant when she made a movement which I caught out of the corner of my eye like she was throwing a milkshake at me. Completely without thinking, I spun toward her throwing a shuto block. Needless to say, disaster followed... The milkshake she was jokingly "throwing at me" was redirected, hit her in the face and exploded... We spent the rest of the night back at her house while she shampooed milkshake out of her hair...

Conditioned responses... not always good for you...

Conditioned responses with a moment of thought... better for you...

Luckily, she had a sense of humor...