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Getting Hit in the Face Can Be a Good Thing

          The first time I was seriously hit in the face my lip stung and bled, and I was instantly a very unhappy person!  I carried this traumatic memory with me for a few weeks.  Then, one evening at a party, I expressed my distaste for being punched to one of my teacher’s peers, Jonathan Petree, or as I call him, Uncle Jonathan.  He provided me with a new way to think about it.  He plainly explained that as a student of Wing Chun Kung Fu, even if we do not like it, it is important that we get hit in the face, and it is good that it happens.  The main objective would be to protect ourselves well enough that we not get hit.  It is, of course, not reasonable to expect to never receive any punches in learning and practicing Wing Chun Kung Fu, especially when touching hands with elders.  While getting hit may not be comfortable, there are benefits to learning to overcome the pain associated with it.

          It is important to be hit because many of us, generally, are not used to it, especially those of us who are female.  God created us to be soft, gentle, and sensitive creatures.  Wing Chun was made for those smaller in stature and has female aspects to it.  For most women, due to the way our Creator formed us, when faced with a fight or flight situation, the former is not our natural reaction.  Some may flee, others, like myself, may tend to freeze.  In the wrong situation, or even in a sparring match, this is a very detrimental reaction.  In learning the art of Wing Chun, we find there is a balance to it.  Just as it is necessary for males to learn the sensitive aspects of the art, females must learn the Yang, or male, side of it.  For those of us not acclimated to receiving strikes, when we are hit, our system is “shocked”, which causes us to freeze.  We must learn to overcome this natural response.  If this were to happen in a real life scenario, it would be too late to react in a defensive manner.  The moment we freeze, our opponent has the upper hand.

          Sifu Petree explained that the brain functions like a computer.  Getting hit in the face causes it to begin to search its memory database.  If there is no memory of being punched, there is no known response.  Hence, some of us will cease all movement, in other words, freeze.  Every time knuckles make contact with our skin, or chin, new memories are input to our brain’s database.  Over time, after repeatedly taking punches, we will no longer have that “deer-in-headlights” reaction.  Our body begins to know what it feels like when someone else’s flesh connects with our flesh in that manner.  As we continue to be hit a level of tolerance is built up.  In a way, the brain gets used to feeling punches as it learns how to deal with the pain.  With instruction, it also begins to develop new ways to respond to strikes, no longer leaving us frozen in place; thus, allowing us to have more defensive reactions.

          To quote sifu Petree, “When you are attacked and the knuckles of your attacker violently crash into your face, one thing immediately occurs. Your file cabinet, otherwise known as your brain, opens its top draw and quickly thumbs through the file folders it has available. It is looking for a file named Immediate Emergency Response, or Self-Preservation. If no file is found…you’re screwed. No, seriously, your brain will close the file cabinet and resign itself to following the direction of your underlying personality. Here is a quick list of those unfavorable outcomes:  Flail about in an attempted defense, freeze, curl up in a fetal position, attempt to run, or give up and die. I don’t know about you, but I would rather train harshly in a non-lethal environment amongst colleagues, than to train comfortably, but die harshly at the hand of some lunatic assailant. Bottom line- You have to inject realism into your training. Otherwise, you are training for a sport, personal development, or spiritual pursuit, NOT self-preservation”.

In practicing Wing Chun, the proper response to punches is to maintain what we have achieved (stand our ground) and to seek an opportunity to strike back, while at the same time keeping a strong Woo Sao in place to defend our core, or center.  This can best be done by using the seven constants in the art, which include the following:

·        Relaxation -- of the mind, body, and in delivering energies

·        Forward energy -- retained through proper position and technique

·        Lok Mah -- lowness of horse or seeking lowness of posture

·        Aggressiveness – aggressively respond without hesitation or pauses

·        Hung Jai -- maintaining proper posture through the application of the six elements of good form

·        Jui Ying -- squarely facing our opponent

·        But Doan Jeong -- maintaining an immoveable elbow. 

These techniques and concepts, when properly applied, give us the ability to excel in the art, or even provide a better opportunity to survive an altercation.          During the reprogramming process we can set mile marker goals for ourselves.  For example, the first aim might be not to cry every time we are hit.  The second could be not to stop moving, and so on.  The ultimate goal may be to receive a hit, strike back if the opportunity presents itself, and to be able to say to our classmates, “Hey, that was a good punch!’”

          After hearing Jonathan’s perspective, I have slowly been able to do a little bit of reprogramming of my thought processes.  I have found that I can be hit up to seven times without crying.  Even though it is not a pleasant process, I have learned that, with tenacity, I can overcome my mental barriers and continue to make forward progress in the art.  In short, I have learned that is it not all so bad to be hit in the face.

Article submitted by Amber Brill

The quotes found in this article were submitted with the express consent of sifu Jonathan Petree. Sifu Petree is the founder of Atlantic Warriors Wing Chun Gung Fu in Neptune Beach, Florida.

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