DISCUSSION

Common mistakes when pulling guard

• Keeping your back too straight or stiff makes it harder to absorb shovels and hits.
• Leaning forward or backward instead of maintaining a relatively neutral posture.
• “Chicken wings” – failing to tuck your elbows close to your ribs, leading to unnecessary exposure
• Uneven weight distribution between the legs, which compromises mobility.
• Being flat-footed hinders movement and reduces your ability to spring forward quickly.
• Keeping your hands too low or too high, rather than in the opponent’s line of sight to the shoulder, may expose sections of your body without you realizing it.
• A tense body – staying relaxed allows for smoother and more efficient movement.
• Actively coiling the body by using muscle to round the back—rather than allowing the spine to collapse naturally—limits movement in different directions.
• Tensing up before initiating motion telegraphs your movements unnecessarily.
• Shoulder blade shoved forward means that you are not relaxed.
• Sticking the chin / neck out can easily lead to a knockout or concussion if hit.
• Stance too long slows down movements.
• Pulling guard indicates you are intending to defend yourself. Therefore, do not put your guards up until you have decided to go all the way.

SCENARIOS

Three different state of mind while “fighting”:

• Harmonize – Used when dealing with someone you know who has no serious bad intentions toward you. Examples include someone having a bad day, a boss who’s had one drink too many, or a student. The goal is to de-escalate and maintain control without causing harm.
• Punishing / Serious Warning – Used to issue a severe warning to an aggressor. This should only be applied when you have a clear, repeatable advantage over your opponent. The objective is to make them understand that you can seriously hurt them if they continue. They may sustain bruises, but this is their one chance to back off before things escalate further.
• Destructive – Reserved for situations where your life is in danger. The goal is to incapacitate the aggressor completely, ensuring they are unable to continue their attack. Significant or even permanent damage is likely.

Demonstration of how we can escalate from the effortless techniques easily

The effortless techniques are my attempt to show you how we have options to protect yourself and yet not escalate. We can easily change that into joint locks or can hit if necessary.

EXERCISES

The skills learned are only the key to enter a room of possibilities

We revisited all the techniques for freeing yourself from one-handed or two-handed grips with partners in a random sequence. It takes many repetitions to develop the ability to execute these movements instinctively.

Learning to square off with an opponent

We began introducing squaring off with partners. At this stage, the exercise remains very limited—no steps and no contact. The focus is on drawing responses from slow attacks using matching quadrants and developing the ability to read incoming attacks.

Common mistakes

• Hand blocks extending too far outside their quadrants.
• Relying solely on hand defense without shifting the target.
• Telegraphing an attack.
• Over committing any movement.
• Stare at opponents eyes increase your chance of being distracted or may cause hesitation when you hit.

DISCUSSION

How to hold a fist?

• This class is specifically for seniors, with an age range of 55 to just under 90. Some of you already experience arthritis pain, while a few already have deformed hands and fingers. Expecting you to perform knuckle push-ups or strike a bag of stone pebbles may aggravate your condition.
• A punch requires perfect wrist alignment as well as significant wrist strength to prevent sprains. A punching bag is static, allowing you to concentrate, aim, and prepare before striking. In a real fight, however, you may be hitting a moving opponent, often at an angle that is less than ideal. Given these risks, I don’t think it’s worth attempting to hit with your fists—at least not yet.
• Not using a fist does not mean you lack the ability to inflict damage. For example, a forceful push can seriously harm an aggressive senior and may even be fatal. Instead of fists, using the palms and fingers to target soft, vulnerable areas, along with employing elbows and knees, can be just as—if not more—effective when necessary.

Commit to Your Decision

It is crucial to stick to your decision until everything is under control. Hesitation during a fight can cost you dearly.

The “fight or flight” decision should not be taken lightly. You must ask yourself, Where is my red line? Ultimately, your life—or someone else’s—may depend on it. Think through scenarios, consider your options in advance, and avoid regretting your choices later.

Too often, we take forever to make even small decisions, like choosing a movie to watch. This is why planning ahead is essential—it enables you to make quicker decisions when it truly matters. In a street fight, every second counts.

SCENARIO

Aggressive Handshake – To get out from the grip, you relax and work on his thumb, create alignment while applying “fire-hose” from body all the way to your fingertip.

EXERCISE

Pull guard – do NOT pull guard until you are ready for a fight. Once you pull guard, there is no going back. Remember the hints covered by “ABCDE Help” (If you don’t remember, refer back to this chapter of the class notes)

Mobility of legs forward and backward – The ability to move quickly is crucial. The way you move impacts your balance, distance, effort, and level of commitment, all of which can influence the outcome of a situation.

DISCUSSIONS

Body Language and Posture

During a confrontation, it is important to de-escalate without becoming a sitting duck. Using hand gestures to apologize, defer, or redirect can be an effective strategy, as it allows you to maintain a partial guard between yourself and the aggressor.

State of Mind

Engaging in a physical confrontation is rarely advisable when the situation is “not worth it.” Always remember that every action has consequences—even if you “win” the fight, legal issues could linger for months. Additionally, the risk of permanent injury or even death, whether to you or the aggressor, is a serious factor that must be considered beforehand.

Making the right decision takes time—something you may not have in a high-pressure situation. Thinking through scenarios in advance and discussing them can help you make better decisions under pressure. Making a potentially life-or-death decision is never easy, but you can significantly shorten your reaction time by establishing your “red line” ahead of time. Planning can also make potential losses more tolerable—for example, backing up your phone’s data, storing money in multiple places while traveling, and taking precautions all help reduce the list of things you need to fight for.

When saying NO to an aggressor, make it strong and unambiguous. Additionally, make it clear that you are not an easy target—any attempt to harm you will come at a high cost.

SCENARIO

There are no universally “correct” response to handle aggression. At that moment, you are on your own. Whatever is decided, nobody has the right to judge you as there are not you and they don’t know what is felt during that moment in time.

Everyone begins to appreciate that each variation in grip requires a different solution: one-handed vs. two-handed grips, crossover vs. same-side, high vs. low, as well as differences in strength, size, height, and palm position—all of these factors lead to distinct approaches. While the details may vary, the fundamental principles remain the same:

• Focus on attacking the thumb, not the arm.
• Move with the flow and direction of the force.
• Remember the “fire hose” principle.
• Step and move your body—this allows you to strategically reposition your body while improving the mechanics.

As you can see, this is only the start, what else are there? You must repeat the drills until it become instinctive to you.

EXERCISES

Practice moving “off the line” naturally and instinctively.

Practice talking with body and hand gestures to apologize or feint a sudden spell of dizziness, or about to throw up so that it looks real.