Redding Shotokan Karate

One of my usual reads, Outside Magazine, had an article about pain research (listen to the podcast here). The author visited a pain research lab at Stanford to participate a bit, and to learn about pain research.

There were two ideas that I thought would be fun to pass on. First, their research shows that humans are hardwired to recognize pain at almost the same threshold. In one experiment, the lab attaches a tube to the tender underside of the forearm, and run liquid through it. The liquid's temperature is controlled within one degree by computer; as it is heated the test subject clicks the mouse when the feeling goes from ok to "I'm freaking out!!"

Nearly everyone clicks the mouse at about 117 degrees F.

Pain tolerance, on the other hand, varies wildly depending on the person. The research shows that pain tolerance in general depends on how much pain you've already experienced. The author's example was that if you've broken your back in the past, breaking your leg is no big deal. Soldiers, women who have given birth, and a few others were mentioned as those people who most likely have a high tolerance for pain.

The second idea was that of anticipation affecting perceived pain. If you psyche yourself up for a triathlon, you're optimizing your body's tolerance for pain. Endorphins, "like small doses of naturally produced morphine", flood the pain receptors and reduce the perceived pain. On the other hand, if you're nervous and flinch from the feelings, you'll likely not be as strong.

Both of these ideas rang true to me. If you've experienced the kiba-dachi practice at Special Training, wouldn't you say the first time was the worst? And that it's easier knowing that all these other people can do it?

As martial artists, we purposefully put ourselves in danger and pain in order to become stronger. The more pain we experience in practice the less we'll experience in combat. I distinctly remember my teacher telling us, in the middle of a pushup marathon, "And this too shall pass." He also told us many times that we can do more than we think we can do - when we reach our actual limits, our bodies will fall asleep. Until that moment, we have to keep pushing.

Also, when we face ourselves honestly, we calm ourselves, thus reducing the trauma of a painful event.