Payoff and Patience.

With all that hand position this week (striking and locking with various shapes) the question becomes, does it do anything?  Can you use the blade of the hand to get an armbar?  Can you manage a knuckle rake to the sternum with the phoenix eye fist?  Can you hit the hand with a knuckle wrap?

As with many of our martial experiments, we first learn techniques then we run them through several drills: street stages, four count street, chi-sao, sparring, grappling, etc.  So if the techniques don’t work immediately, we discard them, right?  No.

Admittedly, resisting partners make things difficult.  They move out of the way.  They push back.  They speed up.  They grab, they hit, they block, they roll… in general – they resist.  Knowing this, it is going to take some time and practice to get a new technique to work.  Take one you like and keep trying to get it to work.  Be patient.  Stick with it for 6 months to a year, regularly trying to work it into as many drills as you can.  Ask other students if they can get it to work.  Who does it work on?  When does it work?

Be patient.  The day you finally get that funky wrist shot to the chin to work for you will make it all worth it.