KerwinBenson.com Hidden Gems of Martial Arts

Don't you just love it when a quick, little experiment teaches us a practical martial-arts principle?

Call it experiential learning ... or the proof is in the pudding ... something like that!

Are you ready for a little martial competition?

Read on ...

Have you ever played Hot Hands?

Your opponent's hands rest loosely at his or her side.

With either one or both hands, your opponent tries to slap the back of your outstretched hands, before you can remove them -- either up, down, or to the side, keeping the palms together.

Set the distance, so you both have a comfortable reach -- slightly bent arms at extension.

As long as your opponent catches skin on the slap, he or she gets to continue the hitting role. Whenever their is a clean miss, it's the dodger's turn to do the hitting.

Now, here's the experiment:

1) Try it the traditional way, as described above.

2) Play the game with the aggressor's hands in a cradled-punch position, with fists under the armpit.

3) Now, play the game where the hitter's hands are in front of his or her body, cutting the distance to the opponent's in half.

Some Martial Analysis

Which way seems pretty fair?

Which way seems ridiculously easy?

How would you apply this to the way you fight?

Experiment over.