DISCUSSION

Stretching

A lot of people view stretching as the goal, but really, stretching is an activity. You can have different goals, and those goals can be accomplished through stretching. Examples are:

• Therapeutic stretches — After an injury, a physiotherapist may prescribe specific stretches to release certain muscle tightness.
• Maintenance stretches — During a holiday, you don’t want to spend too much time stretching, but you do want to at least maintain the flexibility you already have.
• Protective stretches — Before an active game, you want your body to be able to move through the range of motion required for your sport, helping to avoid injuries. You are not stretching to any extreme positions, but simply getting the body ready to perform through its required range.
• Development stretches — The intention is to go beyond the flexibility that you normally have. You will be exploring new territory and a range beyond what you can normally do. This is where the phrase “Explore the last inch” applies.

We went through the details of the following stretches:

• Neck and shoulders
• Lower back
• Legs and hips
  • Hamstrings
  • Groin
  • Hip flexors

CONCEPTS and PHILOSOPHIES

Magic of Yes and ..

We talked a lot about the advantages of absorbing, redirecting, and going along with the forces of the aggressor. We also talked about the need to “technically relax and calm” ourselves in a confrontation. I know that, at this point, it is not natural for you because, your whole life, you have been taught otherwise. Therefore, we experimented through wrist-lock escapes, the differences between different types of responses when you push me, and many more exercises.

Saying “YES and …” starts to blend the desirable state of response you learned from “self-defense” into your normal daily life. Think of how many times you get into an argument (fighting) with your family—kids, spouse, parents, in-laws, etc.—because you are simply using your gut response rather than a goal-oriented, strategic response.

Do give it a try. The trigger is: every time you feel irked, breathe, and then think of a better response. Once you manage to at least pause and think, you will notice that you are on the path to training this seemingly impossible reversal of a default reaction. The classes and physical drills with partners will also help blend what you learn into becoming part of who you are.

Tagging

We use “tagging” to mean creating a moment where the opponent is so distracted or disrupted that he cannot respond effectively.

A term more familiar to most people is “feint” or “trick.” I think these are too specific. They are only a small subset of the many ways you can create a freeze/misdirection effect.

An effective tag can create an opening that was not there before.

Examples include:

• Disturbing his balance
• A sudden loud yell
• Blocking his vision with your palm
• And many more

The important thing is not the particular tag. It is the effect it creates.

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Importance of Play Mode

It is interesting how quickly your mental state can change—as if there is a switch in your brain.

Learn to harness that switch and you can become much more effective in dealing with people and situations.

As an experiment, I tried this with one of you using the game “slap hand.” She was surprised by the result. She described it as feeling like a shock going through her brain: suddenly alert, with work mode completely switched off.

This can also be useful in everyday life.

Getting your parents or kids to work out can be one of the hardest sells—even when you know it is good for them. Instead of talking or preaching to them, try playing with them.

(NO, I don’t mean slapping them, even though there may be some rare situations where that thought crosses your mind!)

You may get much better acceptance—and you may even have fun yourself.

You can also use play mode for yourself. Track your progress and celebrate small accomplishments. Think of the little stars kids get when they accomplish something.

It works for kids. It also works for almost everyone. You just need to be smart about it.

Focus on your goals not the noises

When confronted with a push or a punch, our attention naturally goes to the attack.

• How do I block it?
• How do I stop it?
• Can I react fast enough?

This often causes us to tense up because blocking requires precision, speed, and power. Worse, we may forget that we have another tool to stop the attack: our counter.

A better way is to look at his vulnerabilities that you can target. That usually means everything EXCEPT his attack. This opens up endless options.

If you treat the attack as simply “noise,” reduce the effect of his attack and tune it out, and focus on how you can hurt him instead, your confidence will increase dramatically.

This same strategy can be applied in your daily life as well: instead of focusing on the irritation a problem creates, focus on getting to the end goal.

SKILLS & SCENARIOS

Wrist Lock

If you go onto YouTube, you can easily find many examples of wrist locks. However, quite a few are questionable because they are relatively easy to escape from.

Individual differences in flexibility, combined with differences in how the mechanics are applied, can greatly change the time and effort required to secure the lock. Some of these examples may therefore be dangerous, or simply unusable, if the attacker is stronger than you.

For us, it is important to separate two things:

1. Entry — How do you get your opponent’s hand into the position required for the lock?
2. Execution — Why does the lock work anatomically, and how do you efficiently and effectively secure it?

You can have many different entries into the same execution.

For many people, all these combinations are classified as different techniques. For us, they are simply different entries into the same specific lock.

In class, we experimented with three different entries:

1. Hand on shoulder — same side
2. Hand on elbow — same side
3. Wrist grab — same side

The goal is not to memorize three techniques. It is to understand the entry → execution relationship.

Cannot Be Lifted Individual

We experimented with two men trying to lift a female who was much lighter than either of them.

When she tightened up, it was relatively easy for them to overcome her body weight and lift her.

However, when she was instructed to relax and gently wiggle her shoulders and body, she suddenly felt much heavier and became almost impossible to lift.

The wiggling serves two purposes:

1. Absorb the lifting force — rather than resisting the force directly.
2. Prevent a firm grip — the constant movement makes it difficult for the lifters to establish a stable grip from which they can generate power.

This is a good example of why so many of our defensive skills are based on two things:

Relaxation + understanding mechanics.

This is counterintuitive and certainly not our default response. That is why it requires practice.

The goal is not simply to learn a technique. It is to train your body to respond differently when force is applied.

SIDE NOTES

I hope you will try to read the notes from Bonsor. Ask questions if you are curious.

ADMINISTRATIVE

We are halfway through the Fall season program already. It seems like having only six classes seems to be rather rushed. If you are ever late because of traffic or whatever the reason, do not be shy, please do still come in. If you miss a class, do use these notes – ultimately, it is more for you than it is for me. 🙂

KEY CONCEPTS

Inducing Pain

You are in a self defense class. While I aim to defuse the situation as much as is possible, it is important to realize if defusing the situation doesn’t work, you have no other option but to escalate.

The following is the list of options to handle the encounter (not all options are available in every situation):

• Avoid being a target by projecting confidence, resourcefulness and alertness. Alertness gets you prepared for trouble.
• Round up available resources. For example, walk towards places with people or where you can be seen, any keys or pens in your pocket? Don’t be shy or embarrassed about attracting attention.
• Ultimately, there may be situations where you have to hurt him to get him to stop.
  – You must know what hurts,
  – You must make that tough decision, and
  – You must have the ability to cause serious damage.

Taking Impact

If you hit a fully inflated basketball, you will feel that it is hard and that it can hurt your hand. In contrast, a deflated basketball is soft and yields when you hit it.

When you are hit in the chest, you want to breathe out quickly and forcefully, allowing your chest and rib cage to yield as much as possible to the incoming force—similar to a deflated basketball.

Notice in the following animation how the rib cage appears to fold downward. This downward movement helps create the necessary space between your chest and the opponent’s attacking arm. This can be especially useful when you are pressed against a wall, where you cannot simply move backward to create space.

SKILLS & SCENARIOS

Wrist Lock Against Hand on shoulder

When you are facing your opponent and they place a hand on your shoulder, your objective is to get free while gaining control of the situation.

One option is to raise your arm all the way up. Your shoulder will naturally rise with the movement. Allow the shoulder to rise and press it toward your own face without tilting your head.

Your opponent hand will be retained in a vertical position between your face and shoulder. You will notice that their hand conforms to the surface of your shoulder and therefore vertically oriented, with the pinky finger toward the top. At this point, add your other hand to secure their wrist so that it cannot slide away.

You can then rotate their wrist while keeping the pivot point in place. This can create significant pain and stress on the wrist, so practice this very carefully and with minimal force. Your partner should be able to release or signal immediately if the pressure becomes uncomfortable.

Two-Handed Grip on a Single Forearm — Low

If the aggressor holds your arm with both hands, it can be difficult to get free using muscle strength alone. The common reaction is to yank backward. However, this can trigger his whole-body involvement, making it even harder to escape.

You can, of course, resort to punching and kicking, but that may not be your intent. Your techniques and choices should be scalable. Punching and kicking are not easily scalable: once you start, there may be no going back.

A much gentler option is to project toward the fingertips, use your wrist as a pivot, and lower your elbow using your entire body without moving the pivot point. The amplification ratio can be quite effective and should work against many people without requiring a great deal of muscular force.

Again, once you are free, take control and move to a strategic position.

2 vulnerable pain points

Sometimes, you may have tried every reasonable option, but the aggressor simply will not let go. At that point, we may need to introduce a higher level of pain as a deterrent.

There is an important distinction: minor pain may simply irritate an aggressor, while sufficiently strong pain can deter without necessarily causing permanent injury. The objective is to create an opportunity to disengage and get to safety, not to cause unnecessary injury.

In class, we explored two additional vulnerable areas besides the groin and eyes:

• Solar Plexus — If you bend your index finger into a phoenix-eye fist and apply pressure to your own solar-plexus area, you can quickly appreciate how sensitive this area can be. If you played soccer as a child, you may remember that taking a ball directly to this area can temporarily make it difficult to breathe.
• TMJ Area — The area around the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), near the corner of the jaw, contains sensitive nerves and soft tissue. The general target is the softer tissue beneath the jawbone near the joint, where controlled pressure can produce significant discomfort.

De-stabilize your opponent (via Pushhand / Tui Shou (推手) practice)

When a person loses their balance, their ability to attack is severely affected. Learning how to absorb force while simultaneously destabilizing your opponent is therefore a valuable training method.

This exercise of discovering your own balance as well as your opponent’s balance is often called Push Hands, or Tui Shou (推手).

We experimented with it a little in class and gained first-hand experience of what it feels like to destabilize someone without using a lot of force.

Guard Stance and Angles: By default, you should maintain an offset stance so that one side is leading. Keep the shoulders and hips aligned over the feet along a diagonal line, so that you are not facing your opponent squarely.

Both elbows should be bent to approximately ninety degrees relative to the upper arms. Keep your fingers pointing outward toward your opponent.

Tuck your chin so that your forehead is forward—not your nose or chin. Avoid allowing the elbows to flare outward, both to protect the ribs and to maintain readiness.

Target Movement vs. Blocking: The core defensive principle is to prioritize moving the target (your body) over blocking. Blocks may fail if they are initiated too late or against a stronger force. Even one inch of target movement can change the outcome.

Rotating the body forty-five degrees can redirect the force immediately and reduce its impact by 50%. If you keep your hands busy simply blocking, the aggressor faces no threat and therefore has less reason to stop or hesitate.

EXERCISES

Squat

A low squat can be quite taxing. Our version does not involve bouncing up and down, helping to reduce unnecessary stress on the knees. Instead, we stay in a deep squat position, with the thighs almost parallel to the ground.

Hold the position until you feel the muscles begin to burn and your legs start to shake. When you reach that point, begin a slow count of eight, then slowly return to a standing position.

This exercise develops the strength and endurance of the thigh muscles. We do not aim for a specific duration or number of counts because everyone has a different starting point. My strategy is to let your body tell you where that point is. When you reach the point where you are struggling but can safely persist a little longer, you are also training your brain’s ability to push a little further—sensibly and without forcing it.

Backward Crawl

Instead of simply crawling backward, this week we will keep the arms bent during the crawl. You will find that adding just this one detail increases the level of difficulty considerably.

Bicycle hands

Instead of doing it exactly as we did last week, this week we want the knees to remain bent. The power driving you forward should not come from simply taking casual walking steps, but from using the leg muscles while maintaining bent knees.

SIDE NOTES

You may find our Seniors Corner YouTube channel helpful, especially for topics such as fall prevention and what to do if you fall.

Please take a look, give the videos a thumbs up, and subscribe if you find them useful. It will help the channel reach more seniors.

If you have older parents or family members, please consider sharing the videos with them as well.

Seniors Corner – MartialGym

KEY CONCEPTS

Take the Target Away / Blocking Is Bad

For defense, if you try to block every attack one by one, you are bound to miss some. Furthermore, the blocking mentality is flawed because a significant part of the movement is non-productive until your arm actually makes contact with the attack. Even then, you cannot be sure that you will be able to move the attack away.

A more productive approach is to move the target away in any direction. Every inch of movement or turning contributes toward the goal of reducing the damage.

Make Yourself Smaller and Angle Yourself to the Front

Everyone knows that if the target is large, it is much easier to hit than a small target. As a general strategy, you should therefore tuck yourself in slightly and angle your body so that a straight attack will naturally be deflected.

On top of the angling, if you make unpredictable movements in different directions, it becomes even more difficult for someone to land a solid punch on you.

Conserve energy

When you watch a group of people walking normally, you will see differences in their movement mechanics. We generally don’t tell someone, “You are doing it wrong,” until they develop a problem, such as lower-back pain, knee issues, or balance problems.

In martial arts, as you age, you know that your muscle mass, speed, and cardiovascular capacity will naturally decline over time. It is therefore important to explore ways to make our movements more efficient.

In class, we experimented with a hopping style of leg switching. Everyone was panting within a minute or so. Then we tried it with a slightly different method: we “hopped” without trying to jump upward. Attempting to jump up not only uses more energy, but also slows you down at the same time.

Relax to absorb the incoming force vs tensing up to resist

When someone pushes you, most people’s instinct is to tense up to resist and fight back. However, because of leverage, you are actually making your opponent’s push more effective. You should instead relax, breath out and allow your body to turn or lean back slightly with his force. You will find that his attack is absorbed and you will be able to stand your ground without tension.

Relative speed

Having muscles do help you run faster. You must do conditioning consistently to raise your base level fitness. However, the bully is usually stronger and bigger than you and that is why he picked you.

To improve the probability of a hit landing on the intended target, your strikes need to be fast. The following are some of the things you can do “to hit faster than your opponent”.
– hide your start time, i.e. do not telegraph
– distract where possible
– shorten the distance where possible
– relax so that you are not working against your own body

Be prepared to pay a price

Even if you are a good fighter, there is a priced to be paid even if you do win. Given that in a street situation, you do not have time to warm up, or find out more about your opponent. If you are not 100% ready with a lot of unknowns, you probably may not be performing at your best.

In a world tennis event, you do not see 6-0, 6-0s all the time. While playing tennis means you lose a point or game, in fighting, the points that you lose be give you a bloody nose or whatever. Furthermore, have you thought of the time for the after-the-fight legal entanglements? All those are prices that you pay.

Given that it is not free even if you win and even worse, you are not guaranteed success, Before you escalate, you must decide if it is really worth it. Because of this consideration, do put more effort in avoiding a fight instead of flipping that switch on easily. And if you do fight, make sure you are 100% committed to ensure he pay a hefty price to pick on you.

SPECIFIC SKILLS

Bicycle Hands – This is a continuation of last week’s drills. Take note of the following common mistakes and points of emphasis:

• Keep your chin down – hits will land on your forehead rather than on your chin or nose.
• Start with single strikes, slowly. Check the correctness of each strike before moving on. Rushing takes away your opportunity for self-assessment.
• Progress from singles to combinations. After practicing the singles, do them in pairs: pop-pop, pop-pop. Then move to groups of three: pop-pop-pop, pop-pop-pop, followed by groups of four, and eventually continuous strikes.
• Progress from slow steps to fast steps. Start with slow footwork, but eventually you should be taking fast steps with the intention of chasing your opponent down.
• Do not move your hands side-by-side. Practice the movement as hand-over-hand, so that one hand follows the other.

Leg switches – This is a good cardio as well as mobility exercise. Whatever duration you choose, try to do 3 sets with one minute of rest between sets.

Take note of the following common errors:

Pausing between switches. There should be no rest between switches. Switch as soon as both feet land.
Wasting energy by jumping up and down. Try to maintain the same level rather than unnecessarily moving up and down.
Keeping the body static. The switches should not be done with just the feet moving. Your hips should turn together with the leg switches.
Swinging the arms in the opposite direction to the legs. The arms and legs should turn in the same direction.
Landing one foot at a time. Both feet should land at the same time.

Zhan zhuang 站桩

Zhan Zhuang is a common exercise practiced by seniors for health and conditioning purposes. It is also used by Yiquan practitioners to develop power for martial applications.

In our lineage, we also use Zhan Zhuang for healing purposes, as well as for martial power development.

In our lineage, we also use Zhan Zhuang for healing purposes,as well as for martial power development. It is a good tool to develop and understand “sinking”, “structural force” and “one thought.”

Some key concepts and reminders to keep in mind are:

• “Blow air into the balloon”
• “Three balls”
• “Sinking the elbows”
• “Relaxing the shoulders”

SIDE NOTES

Class notes for Bonsor has also been posted. Go check it out. Can you understand it? Let me know what you think.

The Principle of Relaxation vs. Muscle Tension: A core concept is that an impact effective force comes from relaxation, flow, and mental focus, not brute strength. Tensing up leads to stalemates, while a relaxed, “flow” state disrupts an opponent’s balance and expectations, making techniques more effective even against a stronger person.

Using Leverage vs. Strength: This principle focuses on using the body’s structure and pivot points (like one’s own feet) to gain a mechanical advantage. By applying force far from the pivot, a smaller person can unbalance a stronger one without engaging in a direct strength contest. This is a key reason to avoid “Point-to-Point Fighting”—a direct, strength-on-strength confrontation.

Adding Power of the Mind: We tried two experiments: One is with a straight arm projecting past the fingers, the other one is heavy elbow. Both scenarios, we compared the difference between focusing on muscles working against an incoming force vs taking your mind off the muscles but focus on the effect you are trying to create.

Strategic Positioning & Attacking to Disrupt Balance: This is a tactical principle focused on moving to a safer, more advantageous position relative to an opponent (e.g., to the side to avoid direct strikes). The goal of an attack is often not to cause injury but to disrupt the opponent’s balance and control by targeting areas that create an instinctive, destabilizing reaction.

Pushing Mechanics, Leg Drive & Energy Leaks: Effective pushing requires driving from the large muscles of the legs (thighs, glutes) with a bent back leg, not just leaning with the upper body. In fact, leaning can half the effective body weight against an opponent or object just like the mechanics of moving dolly. Structural integrity must be maintained to avoid “energy leaks,” where a joint (like the wrist) bends backward, dissipating power.

Non-telegraphed Movement: This refers to eliminating preparatory signals before an attack. The goal is to integrate stepping and pressing into a single, seamless motion so that force is delivered simultaneously with movement, giving the opponent no time to react.

Adaptability & Practical Application:
The overarching philosophy is that survival and effectiveness come from adaptation, not brute strength. The principles of leverage, balance, and efficient energy use are foundational concepts applicable not just to self-defense but also to everyday physical tasks like moving furniture or pushing a heavy door.

SPECIFIC SKILLS

Wrist Release & Grip Escape Techniques: A set of defensive techniques to escape wrist grabs by using physics and leverage. The core idea is to manipulate the opponent’s grip by relaxing, creating stress on their thumb (e.g., by pointing fingers down), and using structural alignment (e.g., lifting the elbow) to break free without muscular force.

Bicycle Hands Drill: A continuous, chain-punching drill where hands cycle in an oblong motion along the centerline. It teaches how to maintain an offensive flow, clear an opponent’s blocks, and protect one’s center by keeping the elbows down and in.

The Pendulum squeeze. Just like a pendulum, the following concepts are applied: 1) Anchor the pivot. 2) Settle downward matching your Center of Gravity with the path of a pendulum bob. 3) Just as important, make sure there are no leaks.

Palm strike to the nose: When desperate and in-close, an upward strike to the nose of the aggressor can be very effective and if done with full body power, it can actually flip him up and backwards.

Finger stab to the throat: Fingers pressed hard against an aggressor even without stabbing hard can be quite unnerving. This technique has been used against bullies in real life scenarios.

SIDE NOTES

Please try to come to class 10-15 minutes earlier if possible since the room is available. We can use it to ask questions, warm up and even do some partner drills to see if skills that worked last week still works this week.

Do let me know if the you like the class duration being 1.5 hours or do you prefer the standard one hour slots.

Does the current start time work for you or you prefer a little later because of traffic.

We are planning for the winter session at confederation. If the classes are strictly for seniors, the possibility of having snow and ice on the cold winter nights doesn’t seem to make sense for me. However, looking at the class we have now, it seems like all of you are reasonably young and capable, I am wondering if I am worrying too much. Your feedback is much appreciated.