Following on from the "if you want real fighting, sign up or join the police" thread I think the discussion on what killer instincts are deserves its own thread to avoid derailing that one. There seems to be multiple interpretations of what killer instincts are ranging from the very literal 'desire to kill' to any kind of drive that can apply even outside combat aplications. There also seems to be some disagreement on weather or this is an innate characteristic or a learned skill. Il start with my opinions. I think of killer instincts quite literaly, the willingness to escalate force with either disregard for the consequences (sociopathy?) or a belief you are doing the right thing (self defence). I think this is a skill if your doing so within a legal construct (eg self defence of warefare) and can be taught. Some people seem to be born thinking his way and I think (my opinion-nothing to back this up with) that is a possible sign of mental health issues like possible sociopathy or psychosis. I think the will to succeed is a different trait and can exost quite seperatly from the ability to be violent. Professional drive can exist without any violent predisposition or conditioning. Discus away P.s. Mods please tie in posts from the other thread you feel will fit here
Here's an interesting "military essay" (not sure what that means) on "natural killers": http://www.sociopathworld.com/2012/04/natural-born-killer.html It's a repost from a sociopathy forum, as the original page is down. Some interesting stuff to consider in there. Especially the observation that the 4% of "natural killers" tend to be from middle-class backgrounds, as most of the poor natural killers tend to turn to crime. I think there's a lot more to learn about how we humans work, and I think we will have to let go of many cherished assumptions about behaviour and agency in the process.
What about having killer instinct in the ring? By definition it fits in with what you have said above but then also is down to having the hunger to competitively succeed through violence more than actually wanting to kill someone.
From what I have just read on Wikipedia (my only exposure to killology). I don't think killology disputes what i have stated. The Wikipedia article seems to say that the main conclusions are that killing another person is fundamentally difficult for most people, I have no disagreement with that statement. I said its a learned behaviour for most people and that is supported by the evidence listed on the wikipedia page. Military training has been designed to reinforce said behaviour and some martial arts training is also designed to do so. Aggression drills, desensitisation, group pressure/expectation and stress can all be used to increase someone's ability to deliver violence. It may still be traumatic for them after the incident though. Perhaps you could direct me to a good link to look into Hopology because I can't find much and then il see if I can adress that @ combat sports I don't think ring fighting is quite the same as I have never had any real desire to injure my opponent when fighting in competition (experience of judo, boxing and jujitsu competitions). I have wanted to win and have been willing to endure a lot and dish out a lot to get there but have never wanted to kill my opponent. I think that ring fighting utilises violence in order to win using your will power, more akin to professional will. Il admit that I have not looked into sports psychology though.
I'm not sure the intent of some of the lines of thinking, but please do not glorify sociopaths by equating them with killer instinct. While people with true killer instinct may exhibit sociopathic tendencies, and some may be outright crazy, I believe these are just surface comparisons. Sociopaths only really care about themselves, they "get off" on what pleases them with no real regard to the harm it causes others. Someone with true killer instinct, however, does not have to be a sociopath at all, they could be very compassionate, have empathy, care about others more than themselves such as family, friends, brothers/sisters in arms, and other living beings. What is killer instinct? I would say it is the ability to "perceive weakness and exploit that weakness without hesitation". In combat sports terms it is the ability to AT THE RIGHT TIME, go for the choke out or knock out blow without hesitation... to finish them off. It is the instinct of a predator when locked in mortal combat with their prey. It is both a blessing and a curse to have this. True killer instinct is very rare. I'm going to throw out a number, say in less than 1% of the population it comes naturally to be able to sense weakness and finish off an enemy without hesitation. The rest struggle with this, but it is possible to learn to fake it. One trick is to dehumanize the opponent... make them into just a target, a blip on the radar rather than a real breathing living being. Another trick is to desensitize and basically to become a robot (e.g. just going through the motions). Another trick is to strongly believe in what you are doing is the right thing to do no matter what... giving conviction and strong fighting spirit. While boldness in action can have the same effect as true killer instinct, these are still just tricks to fake it. In a way, being a sociopath allows for faking killer instinct. How can you tell them apart? I'm no expert, but what I believe is that those with true killer instinct spend their training time learning how to control it. In other words, when you spar with them, they have already finished you off in their mind at sign of weakness, but they have trained to take it almost to the point of actually doing permanent or lethal damage, but instead they stop themselves. Those without true killer instinct train to actually be able to hurt others because if they were really faced with a helpless opponent, they would hesitate (and need these tricks and training to overcome this hesitation). Those with true killing instinct are scary if you ever are unlucky enough to see that part of them. They sense weakness and are not easily fooled. Conversely someone trying to fake killer instinct may be easily fooled by an opponent that is feigning weakness. One with true killer instinct doesn't easily fall for such tricks and goes for real weakness. True killer instinct can be a curse because when you hurt others, you lose part of yourself. That is why so much time can be spent learning to control it.
According to some research, those sociopaths have won some important wars for us. Why do you think it's good to glorify one type of warrior and not another? Also, sociopaths can live perfectly productive lives. Let's not paint everyone on the spectrum with the Dr. Lector brush. As for the rest of your post, it seems as if everyone coming to the conversation has a different definition of "killer instinct".
Sociopaths are not warriors. If a warrior happens to be a sociopath or show sociopathic tendencies, that is independent on whether or not they are a warrior. Actions speak louder than words. What people choose to do with who they are is what can make them a warrior. I don't glorify sociopaths. Sociopathic tendencies can help someone accomplish things that others cannot. These can end up being things for the better good. However, sociopaths only care about themselves. This is different from those that exhibit sociopathic tendencies but actually do care about others and value human life. The latter may be more misunderstood and could become isolated from society, mostly just keeping to themselves... but it is unlikely that they would go out on a killing spree or be serial killers. IMHO. It is an instinct for a reason. It isn't a trained trait or it would be called something else. There are different definitions because of different experiences people have had with it. My experience is that I don't have true killer instinct, I tried to finish off helpless opponents and I hesitated. I needed to develop ways around this in my training. I've met a few people that do have true killer instinct and not only do they not hesitate, they have this INSTINCT to detect weakness that triggers the kill action like they were taking out the trash or doing something routine (which could be demonstrated by having an effortless knockout blow in boxing terms).
When I think of a "killer instinct" I visualize much like what Rebel Wado said in recognizing weaknesses and exploiting them without hesitation. Though I would like to take a slightly different route and say that those with a "killer instinct" have the ability to "hate" their opponent. To use myself for an example, if I were to go into the ring and had a "killer instinct", I would argue that I can make myself hate the opponent for standing infront of me. I kind of see this is in my teammates of the rugby team, when they carry the ball and going into contact or tackling, they want to take that guy out, flat on their bum or trucking straight through them. They, in a sense, and have been quoted to say, "hate" the other team. After the game, they let that go, and are back to their jolly selves. Might be training, conditioned to hate the other group and win with all their might, doing whatever means with as little risk to themselves as possible, and then reverting back after they step out off the field. Edited ring to field to keep the analogy flowing equally.
