A good mindset is important.  I remember being told that the mindset accounts for 90% of the fight.  Now, it is very important, but there is no way it is that important, plus I believe that most percents are made up on the spot anyway.  The fact is:  a good mindset is important and should be understood before you go into actual fighting. And the first part of a good mindset is manipulating fear.

Let's start off by talking about what happens when you are threatened.  To make this short:  Fear hits you.  Your body respondes to fear by releasing adrenaline.  The effects of adrenaline, amoung other things, is a rise in heart rate.  As your heart rate increases, you are affected more and more: 60 bpm is normal, 115 bpm you lose fine motor skills(skills beyond basic movements), 145 bpm you start going into instinct mode- and it gets worse from there.  The reason you need to know this: Understanding that an elevated heart rate will make it hard to use any fancy techniques and your best chance is to initiate with strikes that only require basic movements. 

But, there is some good that comes from this elevated heart rate.  The adrenaline dump is preparing your body for the fight.  It raises your heart rate, but it also numbs pain receptors and increases your strength.  You see, your brain knows that you may get hurt, so it send a signal to the body to suppress pain receptors and inhibitors that keep you from hurting yourself.  So, you stand a slightly higher chance of hurting yourself, but you have much more strength and feel less pain.

Ok, let's use that to our advantage: At 115 bpm this starts happening, which is about the time you start shaking. So, once you notice that you have the shakes, you are at full power.  Literally, this is the best time to fight. 

Who would have thought that you could manipulate fear into a weapon.