Active Covers

Today in kid’s class we worked on keeping our covers active.  We went through some basic cover positions like framing and long covers then we shuffled them around, moved our arms about and created a blizzard of confusion for our sparring partners – hopefully.

After running through numerous drills, the students got a chance to spar as well as watch each other spar.  Happily, several of the students were trying out the new idea of having an active cover.  It’s always tough to make the transition from drilling to application so it was great to see folks taking a chance and having it work sometimes and fail other times.

Is having an active cover evasion?  Think of it as a good setup for being evasive.  It can be easier to parry and block when your hands are already moving.  It can be easier to move out of the way if you’re already moving.  It’s planning ahead – thinking about defense before you even need to be defensive.  Keep those covers active.