How do we curb, hold back, sudden impulses of our passions?

In the Prologue of Spiritual Combat Revisited by Fr Jonathan Robinson (1929-2020), he gives wonderful descriptions of our fallen human condition:

deep divisions in our nature

we are pulled to what is good

we lean to what is evil.

Spiritual combat = organized effort

to overcome these divisions

to bring our lives into line with our faith in Christ

Asceticism = spiritual combat = STRUGGLE to reorder our desires towards Christ

cut away sinful aspects of self

avoid temptations

positive improvements towards perfection

What is the goal of asceticism? Growing in the love of God.

How? By removing what keeps us from loving Him and making an effort to do what we must do to love Him.