DISCUSSION

There are so many pieces to each move—how can we possibly remember them all?

Who says riding a bicycle is easy? Learning it when you’re young is much easier because you’re not overwhelmed by fear. As a kid, you’re eager to learn because it looks like fun. Plus, if your friends are doing it, you want to do it too. From riding a tricycle to transitioning to a two-wheeler, then to an electric unicycle—from being pushed on a bike to finally pedaling on your own, going uphill and downhill, and even experiencing your first fall—it’s all part of the journey of learning and growing. Learning is fun and exciting.

When it comes to your body, there’s no owner’s manual. There are no warranties, and absolutely no return policies. You must learn to use it in the best way possible. Many martial arts teachers present self-defense skills as absolutes—you’re supposed to trust and imitate without questioning or understanding how and why each technique works or fails. This approach does make teaching easier. However, blindly imitated skills may not be adaptable when the assumptions behind them change.

We aim to teach and explain the principles of each skill. Eventually you will see we’re applying the same core principles repeatedly. The number of principles is limited, but it takes time to learn and apply each one successfully. The good news is, once you’ve learned a principle, you can apply it again and again in many different situations. This will make it more useful in real life situations.

If I develop dementia later in life, will I lose everything I’ve learnt?

You need to invest enough time and repetition so that the movements become automatic and effortless. In a real encounter, there’s no time to think or analyze—you must react instinctively. That’s why training until a movement becomes a natural reflex is essential. When you reach that point, the skill becomes truly yours, and it will emerge automatically when needed.

Speed versus more muscles

Functional use of the muscles is essential—not only to create movement but also to maintain a standing position. However, a common mistake is shifting the focus from functional intent to simply contracting muscles. Indiscriminate muscle contraction often slows down movement.

Speed matters. The ability to deliver without telegraphing—i.e., without showing your intent through unnecessary preparation—gives you a natural head start. Reducing the distance also gives you an added advantage. We all understand that having more time to focus and prepare can generate more power. But more power is meaningless if it doesn’t arrive in time. In that case, it’s just wasted effort. The priority must be getting there first—not hitting harder.

Furthermore, if you target softer and more sensitive areas, even a relatively light strike can be more effective. For example, try slapping your palm against your thigh—it might sting a little, but it’s no big deal. However, apply that same force to your nose, and it will likely make your eyes water and cause you to flinch the next time something comes toward your face.

SCENARIOS

Two hands crossed over – low

If you think the two hands version is too complex to remember, do try the following approach:

• reduce the level of complexity by taking away one hand and focus in on one arm.
• so think through what you need to do if you have limited space to work with and which direction is the most vulnerable side of your opponent’s grip. Hint: It is always the direction of where the fingers are pointing. Or imagine what is being gripped is not your hand but a pole, the direction of the length of the pole should be the general direction of your counter.
• If you attempt to move the arm in the direction you aimed at, you will find that it won’t do much because your opponent can neutralize your movement by simply moving along the same direction. To solve that. all you have to do is to use any part of your body to block him from moving with you. (e.g. use you hand to block, use his own hand to block, use any part of your body to block, reversal of direction of movement, etc.)
• When the above step works, then find a way to create a solution that can work when both arms were gripped.

EXERCISE

Flicks

A typical whip-like motion may cause pain, but it usually lacks penetration power. For self-defense, we want our strikes to be destructive.

To achieve destructive impact, you need to generate maximum pressure. This means minimizing the contact area—so the force is concentrated. For that to happen, the strike must land perpendicularly to the surface of the target.

To make this possible, you must adjust the motion slightly so that the final few inches of the strike travel in a straight line toward the target.

A common mistake is to think that “leaning in” adds body weight to the strike and therefore causes more damage. Another myth is to tense up the muscles. Our experiments show otherwise. Staying loose and relaxed allows your body weight to flow naturally to the endpoint of the movement. Muscle tension actually disrupts this transmission—resulting in a strike powered only by muscle speed. “Leaning in” during the hit suffocates the hit instead of helping.

What we want instead is an end speed that accelerates exponentially, producing a much more explosive force. The key is relaxation, not forceful effort.

(Do review the notes from last week about how to avoid “whipping of the head”)