The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is A Straight Line
A Martial Arts technique for keeping life on the straight and narrow
Disclaimer: There are scientific complications surrounding the technical complexities of this, of which I am aware. Nonetheless, the principle remains!
The story
I train regularly in the martial arts of Tae Kwon Do with my eldest son. We were at a training session yesterday, and we’re learning freestyle (boxing-like) punching combinations for both sparring and if you are in a position of trouble.
The combinations were great, but I was approaching them incorrectly.
I was overstretching my hips and overextending my arms. Effectively, this made the technique slower and less powerful (it would take me too long to build up the relevant power), and my guard was going back up too slowly, leaving me open to a counterattack.
The instructor was monitoring me (fortunately), and as such, he worked with me to tighten up the technique. By the end of the session, I was firing on all cylinders with better technique, power, speed, and defence.
A few random facts for you:
- It took me until that session to realise that professional boxing has so much more method than…
