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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
Space Domination
By Phil Elmore
One of the first things my teacher
Dave
taught me was, “Stop being afraid of yourself.” His intent
was to train out of me the hesitance that characterized much of my early
training. I still remember the first time we engaged in the
exercise, working outside one sunny Spring day. Dave told me to
imagine that one of my feet was nailed to the ground. He was going
to attack me. I was to defend myself, to counter-attack, without
giving ground. I could move around the pivot point of my foot if
I needed to, but I was not to let him force me back.
It was a daunting prospect at first. Dave is much
smaller than me but possessed so much more skill that sparring him was
very intimidating. Over time, though, it became much easier. I
reached the point where I actually preferred sparring Dave, because
I knew that I would learn something each time.
Early in my training with him,
Dave and I engage in a
modification of Shanliang Li’s One-Hand Drill.
Interestingly enough, roughly one year after Dave became my instructor,
different coworkers of mine told me, at different times, that I was
“more assertive” or even “more aggressive.” They
said at the time that the change was apparent “in the last year
or so.”
Coincidentally, both of my teachers commented on the physical
expression of this change when it occurred. While working one-on-one with Dave or
with Anthony, my former Wing Chun Sifu, I repeatedly, subconsciously, and slowly backed each one of them
across the room. The process was quite gradual. We would be
training and suddenly discover that we were once again too close to the
wall. Both Dave and Anthony had to prompt me to back up more than
once to give them more room.
Dave found this almost amusing and told me that it made him
proud. To back up your opponent, to dominate the room in a way that
gives you more space in which to operate while denying this to others, is
an extremely useful tendency to cultivate. I would like to think
this habit is a natural outgrowth of becoming more confident in one’s
skills as a martial artist, but it is entirely possible that it requires
conscious thought to develop.
When you spar and when you train (where applicable and prudent), push
yourself. Resist the temptation to give ground. You may have
to back up at times to take advantage of the footwork of your style, but
when you do, follow up by driving forward to keep the initiative.
Dominate every space you occupy.