How well do you respond to pressure?

Guys,
I have recently seen a couple of sparring demonstrations. They seemed fluid in their movements, as if they had reasonable mastery of them. BUT, we all know that pressure creates a much different reality. We can all drive a car easily on an empty street, but when the cars are honking, and people are zipping in and out of traffic, it makes the experience a lot more intense. The demos seemed to happen in a rhythm, jab, jab, cross, jab,jab, roundhouse. It seemed so contrived to me. Not to say that the demo sucked, not to say that it was two wannabes fighting. But I dont think that the performance was in any way indicative of how a fight really is.

I would recommend that you guys add an element of suprise to your training. Recently, I added a little bit of pressure to some beginner students, and the results suprised them. I put on a body harness, and attacked them in a helter-skelter fashion. Ya know what? Gone was the footwork, and double jabs we had worked so much on. They did what scared folks do: stood still and punched. I was not suprised by their change in actions. They were. I told them not to be ashamed, and that what they did what happens to those with limited training.

Point is that with a little distraction, your skills can fail you. Try to implement some random distractions into your workout. You will thank me