[rhino]

I think someone has to believe they are ready before they are to engage in any well-conceived force-on-force scenarios. I'm not talking about any kind of weapons-related skills, or any kind of understanding of OODA loops or decision making. I'm talking about being emotionally ready to invest themselves (at least during the scenarios) fully into the scenario. That includes both being able to handle what happens as well as being willing to full invest themselves into their role(s).

I've seen people break down in tears after scenarios. That's not a sign that someone wasn't ready, but it's indicative of the amount of stress that is induced. Some people (and at risk of being sexist, mostly women) will need some kind of emotional release either during or after such experiences, especially when they are doing it for the first time and are not prepared for the effects of the induced stresses.

If someone thinks they are not ready, then they might not be. I would, however, suggest that such a declaration should be an informed decision based on exactly what is planned for a given scenario. In some cases, someone may very well be ready, but not believe so because they don't really understand what is going to happen (or might happen). Once much of that is explained, the anxiety of the unknown is lessened.

Some people are ready for force-on-force before they ever learn anything about "real" weapons. Some need the innoculation of the weapons instruction and practice to get them to a point where they can accept the kind of decisions they need to make. Some will never be ready, but those are also probably the kind of people who will not prevail in a life-threatening encounter unless and until they are able to make some changes in their emotional and psychological status.