Opportunities

 

(thanks for the inspiration Cikgu)

Great class last night. A full floor of dedicated kalistas, passionate in training and hungry for more. Experienced practitioners and new faces mixed together - learning, sharing. It's why I teach. I can imagine my teacher, Punong Guro Fred Evrard, watching me from heaven, pleased.

We finished with Panantukan, Filipino kickboxing. I set up a simple drill where we use the knee spike against the lead leg. It's a simple, brutally effective attack that when done correctly finishes any fight. This time, we used it with a clear telegraph to the defender - a big setup to show we were intent on attacking the lead leg with a knee spike. This is not normally the way we fight in KM, but there was a purpose here. Once the defender sees the incoming knee strike, they fear it and move their leg away. This exposes an attack of opportunity on the remaining leg that is usually very successful.

I used this specific combination to illustrate an important point, which became my mini-talk to close the class as we bowed out.

Opportunity is a very important element of fighting, just as it is a very important element of life. I think it exists in three different stages of evolution.

Recognizing Opportunity
As a beginner, we do our best to mimic and memorize the techniques our teachers show us. We focus on our footwork and body mechanics and do our best to create consistency in how we move, so that we can repeat the techniques correctly and commit them to muscle memory. Part of this training is learning the foundations of strategy. We explore and discover how to set up and maintain our focused guard, and learn what happens when we don't. As well, we start to see where opportunities can open up on our opponent. We learn about the inside and outside lines, high/medium/low lines, largo/medio/corto distances and how they can be used. Learning to recognize opportunities is critically important because until we do, we cannot act to take advantage of them. 

Seizing Opportunity
The next evolution is learning to seize opportunity. It is one thing to realize there is a chance or an opening. It is yet another thing to have the decisiveness to take action on it. We are by nature creatures of fear and apprehension. Many would say we are biased to inaction and the status quo (at least without the right training). Seizing opportunities requires rapid assessment of risk/reward and a mindset that accepts taking risk when the odds favor it. In fighting, this could be a short path to victory. It could also mean getting hit (or worse). As per the motto of the British SAS "who dares wins".

Creating Opportunity

The highest level goes beyond just recognizing when opportunities arise and then having the decisiveness to act on them when we see them. It involves something deeper and more important. The most successful people learn how to create opportunities. They no longer wait for the moment to arrive, they make the moment happen and then leverage it when it does. In fighting, as per my drill, we use one attack to open another. We use feints, deception, misdirection to cause confusion in our opponent. We attack multiple targets at the same time in order to make it impossible to avoid getting hit. We use body position, balance, weight shift and posture with our footwork to be in uncomfortable places where the opponent struggles to follow. These are the tools of an expert fighter.

In life, too, we must train to be decisive and to create opportunities for our success. We cannot sit idly by hoping it will be handed to us. Winners make it happen.

By dedicated training in martial arts, I hope we can all develop the discipline to push past our fears and doubts and go into the world ready to create the lives we want. I hope we can learn to create the opportunities we need to grow and become the very best versions of ourselves, living lives we can look back on with pride.

See you at class.