QUESTION: STICKING VS. NOT STICKING
I
have the Attack Proof book, and after reading it, I\'m confused about
one thing. It seems that much is made of the concept of sticking,
especially in the contact flow exercises. However, in several other
parts of the book, I\'m told to behave as though my assailant\'s skin
is covered in a vile substance, that he is a swarm of bees, etc, which
would seem to suggest that I SHOULDN\'T stick. I\'m just curious as to
how those two concepts are reconciled. Thanks a lot for your time, and
I really appreciate you contribution to \"martial realism\".
ANSWER:
Great
question. Your goal is this: you want to remain as disengaged as
possible, yet still connected. In other words you maintain as light as
touch as you need to still feel their intention, but you should in no
way block, pull or suppress their motion forcefully. The reason is if
you try to push or block a stronger opponent you'll lose anyway. Also
if they move, you can be so committed to a forceful block that you will
not only fall (because you're relying on THEIR balance and not your
own) but you will be unable to sense and hit thru an opening in your
opponent's defense should one develop. In addition, if you're
disconnected and only use your eyes to sense strikes, you can be hit at
will at close range.
Here's
a drill we use to develop this kind of sensitivity: hold a small object
like a softball and make believe it's a hot potato. Your job is to
carry it across a room without dropping it. You can't hold it firmly
because it will scorch your hands, yet you can't drop it. Your
connection is thus dynamic and not static, you maintain contact, but
not in a suppressive forceful way. This allows you to adapt as the
"potato" bounces around. When you Contact Flow, You need to be able to
feel where your opponent is and where he's not and be able to adapt
instantly so that you sense openings as they arise without being
hindered by anatagonistic muscles and also remove your own openings. In
KCD when you feel a strike coming, you don't try to move HIS strike,
you move YOURSELF (the target) out of the way so that you can
simultaneously slide in and strike: you want to be unavailable yet
unavoidable. Yes there will be times when you intercept and destroy his
weapons, but if you always train this way you will NEVER develop the
kind of sensitivity for dealing with bigger, stronger, faster or more
highly skilled attackers.
