PAYING YOUR BILLS

 by Phillip Starr

You know the story; you get your paycheck and before you can feel all cozy with your wallet adequately stuffed, you have to pay the bills... so much for electricity, water, and so on. And by the time the smoke clears, you barely have enough money left over to buy yourself a couple of beers. Well, that's kind of what happens when you hit your target with your best punch or kick...

Basic Newtonian physics confirms that it's simply not possible to unload 100% of your striking power on any given target (this is discussed in my book, MARTIAL MECHANICS). Even if your technique is letter-perfect, you're going to lose chunks of power. Through constant training, you strive to make those chunks as small as possible (no, you'll never eliminate them completely). You don't want to pay out any more than you have to...after all, you'll only be able to strike your target with whatever is left over.

Energy (power) is naturally lost due to Newton's 3^rd law; this is unavoidable. However, just as you strive to avoid paying too much on your bills and wasting money, so you must do your best to prevent – as best you can – to avoid unnecessarily losing energy (power). Most of the loss of energy occurs at the joints, which act something like links in a chain. If they're not precisely aligned at the moment of impact, it's going to cost you...a lot.

Incorrect breathing, lack of spirit and yi (your will) will also negatively affect your technique. Flawed timing, loss of balance or an unstable base (stance) at the moment of impact will result in loss of power and effectiveness; so will failure to utilize adequate body mass or a reduction in velocity.

And of course, there's proper alignment of the body; your structure (as outlined in my book, MARTIAL STRUCTURE). If your structure is flawed, your technique's power will be seriously affected.

I hope you can see the importance of every small detail in performing proper technique. Not only must you first be made aware of them; you have to practice incessantly until they become unconscious habits (if you have to “think” about how to perform correctly, you're likely going to foul it up). That's going to take time. And (correct) repetition. Lots of it.