Thud!
“Good but next time tuck your chin in more”
Thud!
“Almost got it, just be sure to keep your arm straight”
Thud! …
These were the sounds of my karate class this week. We were practicing falling, rolling, and getting back up unhurt to keep fighting another day.
When you think of karate you probably think of Mr. Miyagi, or of little kids punching in unison. Kyokushin isn’t really like that; it teaches you the basics, but it also teaches you how to really fight on the street. It teaches you a tournament punch but also a “knock-the-wind-out-of-your-enemy” punch. (And honestly, that second part is why I love it so much.)
This class was all about deflecting energy. When you get knocked down, the energy of your body striking the ground needs to go somewhere. You can either take the brunt of the impact on your body and likely get hurt, or release the energy some other way. If you fall correctly, you won’t get hurt – even if you fall on concrete.
The key to successful falling is not to flail, and definitely not to panic in the “Oh $hit I’m going down!” moment, but instead to consciously hold your arm out and slap the ground with your forearm. If you keep your arm in a T (not too high so you tweak your shoulder) the impact will be released out your arm rather than through your back, shoulder, or neck.
We practiced falling for a good half hour. If you get it wrong, you definitely feel it. But when you get it right its as if you’re landing on a soft mat in gym class.
This got me thinking about all the negative energy in our daily lives, and how with the right mindset you can deflect it with minimal pain. It’s all too easy to face a setback, and fall down flailing; emotionally panicking, giving up, or getting hurt.
But what if you realized what was going on before you hit the bottom? What if you adjusted your mindset to release the negativity energy so you could land and rebound ready to fight another day?
Over the years as we’ve faced many tough and emotional decisions, I’ve found the best deflection of negative energy to be the “worst case scenario” path of thinking. It seems counterintuitive but whenever I’ve been worried about a decision or about taking a new path, I try to imagine what we would do if things really went sour. With a little reflection more often than not it isn’t very bad at all, or if it does seem bleak maybe there are a few things we can change now to soften the blow no matter what might happen.
Then I go to work getting things done. I feel a new sense of confidence.
The point is, you can’t start off fighting until you know how to fall and get back up. You can’t strike until you know how to block. You take on risk until you know you are ready to deal with the consequences. At some point you will fall, you will miss, and you will get hurt unless you are mindful of how to deflect the negative energy.
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