Go With It

It’s rare that you see the punch or push coming.  It just happens.  How you respond to that push or punch depends on what you’ve taught your body to do.  If you’ve taught the body to stiffen and resist then that’s most likely what will happen.  If you’ve taught the body to relax and yield then that’s most likely going to be the result.

So what to choose?  I say relax and yield whenever possible.

That’s why in kid’s class today the students pushed each other around… literally.  One student would stand while the other delivered pushes one at a time.  The idea was to try and keep the feet in place and yield by turning the hips and sinking a bit deeper into the feet.  The rule was that you could ask your (pushing) partner to speed up only if you were able to keep your feet in place and yield.