My Patch of Lawn

Imagine you’ve inherited a great big piece of land out on the edge of town.  You drive out to see it and it’s a wonderful empty lot – covered in shoulder hip high grass and weeds.  Wandering around a bit, you stumble across an old machete on the ground.  Feeling ambitious, you whack down a small square of space, big enough for you to stand in and stretch out your arms without any plants tickling you. Looking around, you see about 3,000 more square feet of untamed lawn looking back at you.

Now take the metaphor to your martial lawn.  Here you are, carving out a space of comfort for yourself in the world of responding to an attack.  Let’s suppose the attack is a right roundhouse, so we can talk and keep things simple.  You may find you’re most comfortable diving right into the attack and getting close to throw elbows and knees.  You may find you’re most comfortable stepping away and delivering a kick.  You may find you’re most comfortable ducking under and going for a take down.  You may find that no response feels particularly easy, natural or good and that’s okay.

Sometimes it takes a while to carve out a comfortable space but once you do – then it’s time to expand that space.  Why?  Because there is so much out there to learn, see and experience.  Pick that machete back up and start hacking away.

Check out what the student’s thought of today’s class here.