Friday, August 15, 2014

Playing Rough, Revisited

Something happened today that reminded me of another incident some time back.

My opponent was trying to grab my arm for a reverse arm lock. I followed his force instead and put my elbow against his chest, telling him that he should not use force, else his force can be used back against him. He tried it again, this time with the same result. He then told me that he can sweep away my elbow if I try to close in with it again. I told him that is a very dangerous thing to do because that force can be used back against him.

He tried. Even though I warned him not to.

He fell back felt and hit the back of his head against the floor. Fell like a log because he was using a lot of force and his whole body was stiff.

I felt bad because I wasn't able to control the amount of force that I used back against him, causing him to almost injure himself. But at the same time, I also tell myself that I had given him enough warning not to use force, not to try to win by brute strength.

Pushing hands is not about pushing your opponent. It is about learning to sense and use force. If we are so obsessed with pushing our opponent, we will never be able to relax and learn how to sense and use force.

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