Slightly autistic people in combat sports? Is it possible?

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I really want to know if it is possible for slightly autistic people to be confident enough in their abilties, despite their being autistic, to compete in combative sports/martial arts, like Karate, Kung Fu, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Boxing, Savate, Wing Chun, etc. I want to know if there are any of you who have competed in such sports, and did well doing them, like winning fights in competitions or just being able to use what you know in real life situations for self defense.

I'll tell you my story so you can understand where I am coming at. For two years I studied boxing and I became a boxing instructor. I mastered every technique and had the natural athletic grace to become a great amateur boxer. However, when I sparred with anyone in our gym, I would suddenly become extremely frightened inside and feel weak, and I would do crappy, despite having the knowledge of knowing how to fight and how to do it well. There was no cognitive (thinking) process, I did not think "Oh, this guy is going to hurt me, what should I do?". I just felt it instantly, just like that fight or flight instinct. I competed only one time, and I did absolutely sh***y. Before the fight, they had to take my blood pressure 3x. because I was so nervous (I had to have a steady blood pressure). The guy I fought couldn't knock out a fly, but I couldn't understand what was going on emotionally and mentally with my opponent and the crowd, and I was totally out of it, I couldn't stand the atmosphere. I told a crappy punch to the head and decided to throw the fight and pretend I got hit hard and was knocked down. I stayed down for the count. I was ashamed, and every since then I have not fought.

I blame autism for losing that fight because I couldn't understand what was going on emotionally and mentally. I am passive and shy personality wise, just like my dad, but even shy people can learn to be assertive and aggressive. They can feel and understand emotions and they don't short circuit like I did that night. I gave up boxing and I have sworn that I'll never compete again unless autism was somehow cured and I could think and react again normally. I think autism makes you shy and reclusive and it makes you lack confidence in your abilities in combat sports.

Hey AutisticMalcontent, I have also had trouble with sparring in the past. I don't know how useful my advice could be, but I'll offer what I can since I hate to see a good thread go unanswered.

I competed in my first open sparring tournament in August and did quite well. My art is Wing Chun with a fairly strong foundation in basic kickboxing. TBH it was mostly the kickboxing that helped me win.

I'm not sure what kind of focus mit drills you've done, but I found that drills where the pad holder can hit back are very valuable. It gets you to cover holes, keep your hands up, pay attention, and desensitizes you to getting hit. A good partner is key. You want one that doesn't mind messing with you, but in a constructive way. Other good drills include just general body toughening stuff, where you move around and let your opponent pepper you with various hits. More desensitization. Body toughening did a lot for me, in terms of just getting me to relax and focus. If I get hit, well, I know I've been hit before and it isn't the worst thing.

Start breaking down what actually happens in a fight. Your opponent can have a boxing lead or a south paw, so one side is blind (away from the cross) and one is open (towards the cross). He can throw either his lead or rear, in a straight line or an arc, high or low, or uppercut, etc. Figure out what the variables are and how to move in such a way that you can effectively cover any of those. The more you understand the "stages" of a fight - in a purely intellectual, navel-gazing way - the more I think you may be able to deal with all the crazy stuff going on in a fight.

Again, don't know how much this helps. Hopefully it does somewhat. None of my experiences were as dramatic as yours, and I don't know how much would be directly applicable to your situation, but hopefully something can help. Good luck!

Does amateur freestyle wrestling count in your definition of "combat sports"? If so, I have two medals in it, although I've considered wrestling more of a "contact" sport than combat. At the time I took up wrestling, I was unaware of my AS but knew that I was somehow different from most of the other boys personality-wise. I sort of shrugged that feeling off on my hearing problem as the cause and proceeded to work hard at practice to prove that "this dude with the hearing aids in his ears could wrestle as well as any of the other guys". My first varsity season was plane lousy, 0 and 11...It took me a couple of years before I was finally winning matches.

Yes, I do consider wrestling as a combat sport, not in the sense of punching and kicking someone, but in the sense of submissions. You are trying to subdue a guy and wear him out, so I certainly consider that a combat sport. You can't tell me a German Suplex is meant to merely gain points, it is meant to injure .

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't do well for your first varsity season, but hey, you learned from your defeats and finally started winning matches, that's great. I think you went through aversion therapy, at first you might have been nervous and scared to wrestle, but by repeated competions and matches, you learned to overcome your fear. Not hearing the crowd is great, because you aren't distracted, which you NEED in a combat sport more than anything, concentration.

Another thing that some fighters talk about is having a good cornerman. Someone who can get you in the right state of mind (slightly pissed off, driving to win) and keep you motivated. I don't have much experience with this myself, but a great Lei Tai fighter I know says it makes a big difference for him. Since its so psychological, it could make difference to anyone I guess.

I reread your OP. I may have answered inappropriately - I guess I had the assumption you wanted to compete again, but your last paragraph makes it clear you don't. Sorry about that.

Actually I DO hear the crowd. I insist on wrestling with my hearing aids IN my ears. I have a special vented headgear that allows me to do this, even in the few instances where I've wrestled a "deaf" wrestler and the referee started the match by hitting us on the butts simultaneously with a rolled up towel in each of his hands. If some official ever had objected to my wrestling with my hearing aids in my ears, I would have refused to participate. I think I have the right to hear things like whistles, crowd cheers and jeers, as well as shouts by my coach and teammates. I would also expect the same right if I took up boxing.
Back to my early days in wrestling, I think there were TWO factors that caused me to change from a "zero" to a "hero" in the sport. First, I started taking ballet class, which made me much less of a klutz on the mat. Then, later on, I left varsity wrestling after I was out of school and joined a sactioned amateur freestyle club. Amateur freestyle wrestling is very similar to high school or college style, but there is a radically different pointe scoring system which encourages throws and more spectacular moves, as these earn higher pointes than the "bread and butter" singles, doubles, etcetera seen in school wrestling. I also felt I was dealing with a more mature group of wrestlers in the amateur freestyle clubs as all the participants had to be over 21 and not attached to a school team. Within a year of joining the club, I won my first medal in a northern Califonia versus southern California event. FOUR YEARS later came my second medal. Yes, it was a long climb, but I'll never be sorry for taking the time.