Martial Arts: Learning a New Language

            There is something about learning martial arts that really interests me. I know I talk a lot about my love of kickboxing and how much it teaches me, but Counterpoint Tactical Systems (CTS) is different. CTS is like learning a new language—a language of body-speak. I am being taught to move my body in relation to another person in self-defense. Yet despite all the knowledge I have of my own body and its movement, these concepts initially feel foreign. And I certainly don’t know how to put them into practice, yet. Perhaps this is what’s so fascinating to me: that we don’t know the dance of self-protection, a basic instinct, until we are taught.
            Like anything we learn, it takes time to become good. The longer we study, the more nuanced our understanding becomes. I try to make it a practice to ask people that are really good at something how long they’ve been doing it. It’s always a good reminder of how much time and energy it takes to excel at things; it’s also a good reminder that being a beginner takes a lot of practice and patience. But I do believe with all we have to learn, there’s something really special about learning with the body. While actually learning a new language is strictly based on intellect, martial arts demands you rely on the intelligence of your body as well. And that’s what makes it special—we can feel when we’re doing something right.
            In CTS, and in kickboxing, we are asked to make quick twists with the hips to pack the most power behind a punch. For some reason though, this action of twisting the hips to throw a punch never felt natural to me—until yesterday. Yesterday I attended an amazing three-hour workshop led by Master Z. Lined up in several rows across the room, the class slowly made its way down the mat to practice footwork, some punches and a kick. My teacher (also part of the class as a student) was behind me. At one point during one of my steps forward, he noted that my stance was too narrow—my feet should be farther apart. I made the simple adjustment, stepped forward, twisted my hip, threw a jab and in the short time it took me to do so, realized how much more stable I felt. Not only that, but the twisting motion of my hip suddenly felt natural and strong. I couldn’t believe that simply widening my stance could solve my problem. It hit me that while my brain needed to be told where to place my feet, once I did, my body knew that it was right. I couldn’t wait for kickboxing, so I could use this knowledge on the heavy bags. The workshop was awesome in more ways than I can explain, and at the end of the day I felt like the language I was learning was a forgotten one, a language of body and instinct.