Andrew Miles: How did you come to explore the nature of fear?
Tom Sumbera: We all think we are brave, but fear is so powerful, it controls us more than we think. When I had a kung fu School in Florida a man came in and attacked me. I didn't expect it. I was scared. Instinct took over, I turned with him and when I opened my eyes I had knocked him out. It looked like I was in control, but I wasn't. I realized that I had no control of my fear. I had learned to control it as a firefighter and EMT, but I realized that you must explore it to the core of your being. For the next 10 years I looked deeply into myself to see where my fear was coming from and how to overcome it.
AM: What do we fear?
TS: We fear being hurt and we fear hurting others.
AM: How does that affect us:
TS: When we are sparring or being good people in daily life we condition ourselves to not be hit. We are told to avoid harming ourselves or others. We don't want to hurt others. Even with the skill to fold a heavy bag, it is nothing if you can't not eliminate your fear of hitting and being hit. Many young guys look strong, but their fear disperses their own energy and prevents them from delivering a good strike. They have just grown and have not fully integrated their body. They prepare a scary shell with puffy muscles, tattoos and piercings, but they are just boys. Once you break their shell they are like eggs which are soft on the inside. They do not really know chaos or combat, they know video games and convenient food. As a result they never come to face their fears and transcend them.
AM: How do you use this in your daily life?
TS: When I approach people who need help, sometimes their minds are gone and they react with instinct. Words will not affect them, so I speak through the fear to their nervous system. One time a guy who was on drugs had a knife and everyone was afraid to come near him. I approached him without hesitation took the knife and directed him to the police officers who took it from there.
AM: Were you afraid of his superhuman strength or unpredictability?
TS: His intention was week and mine was stronger and more stable. I was not angry or aggressive, it just happened. He didn't react to me any more than he would react to the wind blowing, but if I slowed as I approached or changed my speed it would trigger fear in his body.
AM: Why didn't you let the police take care of him?
TS: They were afraid to approach and he was wounded. He needed help and would have died. Everyone was afraid. It was all an illusion and everyone was frozen by a belief. I couldn't let a man die because of an illusion.
AM: What process do you use to eliminate fear?
TS: " I do this through meditation and prayer. Once my fear is gone I become empty and they do not see me as an approaching force. If I grabbing the knife or syringe with intention, they will struggle and I will be hurt. I follow the channels of the body smoothly and they feel comforted as I move them. It is as though they wanted to move in this way.
TS: It mainly comes from my training and from nature. If you go out into nature and see the way things change there is a rhythm to the changes of the weather, a rhythm to the shifting Earth and a rhythm to changes of living things. We are programed to react to the intentions of living things, but not to react when the clouds move overhead. Some things we naturally fear and somethings we don't. It is good to know the nature of a person and look at their basic motivations. By nature we avoid fighting if there is another way to get what we need. We all have the same basic fears. Only by mastering your own fears, can you control the fears of other people. This is a simple thing with applications in every aspect of life.
Shifu Sumbera teaches 8 Step Mantis to law enforcement and to select students. He can be reached at sumberat@yahoo.com
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