# Anybody Left-Handed???



## Josh (Dec 28, 2005)

Hi.


Are there any left handed folks here and how do you feel against opposite handed folks while training in class? Especially with knives, but ANY attack/weapon comes into play here. 


Thanks.


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## Knarfan (Dec 28, 2005)

Yes I am left handed. I train almost exclusivly with weapons (knives, sticks ect..) I'v been trianing hard for about seven years with my right hand, so it really makes no differance, I almost can't tell what hand I am anymore. Like most classes most of the drills are done with the right hand but, what we do is work alot of our drills on the right & left side which gives me a big advantage over all of my right handed training partners. I also can box pretty effectivly from both sides. When I stick spar I usually favor my lefthand but I can use my right almost as well & I would do it in a real fight. I think that the important thing to remember is you can't just train your opposite hand weather it's your left or right but, you have to make sure that you can actually fight with it in case of emergency. So I work my right hand about twice as much as my left hand , I think that that is a good ratio. anytime I learn any thing knew I always learn first on my right opposite hand then after I'v almost mastered that hand I start with the left hand of course along the way I do sprinkle in some left hand practice just not alot. When I first started training with my right hand I felt very frustrated everything was so difficult to learn, I not only had to remember the moves but I also had to try & make my right hand do the move, It was very stressfull but, one day I just told myself that I was going to start having fun & I stopped comparing myself to the rightys. Now seven years later they think that I'm lying to them when I tell them that I'm really left handed, that is until they see me use my left hand  . One more note when you are training your right hand start very very slowly & make sure that every movement is how it should be, don't let yourself get sloppy. Of course when you start to speed up you'll get alittle sloppy so just go back to the drawing board & you'll get better, you just have to have patiance & realize it's going to be alittle more difficult then your good side but, once you get over the hump it becomes alot easier it just take a couple of years of hard training. I trian 3 to 5 times a week. I just thought of somthing, I may of misunderstood your question. You could have been asking if it was thought of an advantage or diadvantage. I guess you'll let me know.


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## Danny T (Dec 28, 2005)

Not left-handed but do have a left hand which works quite well.
I spend quite a bit of time training the left hand as well as my right. We perform most drills with the left or weak side first. I have found it really jump starts the strong side. Got into training this way years ago when training with my first Kali instructor who was left handed. He had worked his right so much over the years training others he was actually more proficient with his rt. It impressed me enought I wanted to try to become as proficient as he with my left. Something SayocFF stated, make sure you can fight with the opposite hand. Doing drills and working the movements isn't the same as actually fighting with the opposite hand. As to working against the opposite hand, right hand, left hand same same. I find for the most part it is more of a mental thing. After working the movements it is all treated the same.

Danny T


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## Josh (Dec 29, 2005)

Yea that's about how ya gotta do it.


And swining a Sword or Club or Bat from the weak side is fun to learn


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## Knarfan (Dec 30, 2005)

Josh said:
			
		

> Yea that's about how ya gotta do it.
> 
> 
> And swining a Sword or Club or Bat from the weak side is fun to learn


 
Just a curious, I was wondering why you started this thread? you haven't really said much on the subject. Are you just trying to get some insight or are you having trouble fitting in being a lefty? I am having a little trouble figuring you out. This is not a bad thing I'm really just curious.

Thanks Frank...


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## Josh (Dec 30, 2005)

insight


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## still learning (Dec 30, 2005)

Hello, I am left-handed.  Most of our stuffs we practice is for right-hand people including knife self-defense attacks.  At least 80% of the people are right -handed.

Lefties have a little advantages because of this...south paw. 

Using the right-handed forks are hard.....just joking...Ha..Ha!  Pencil and pens too.

Who ever can strike first will always have  the edge (left or right hand)

Because most people practice for right hand stance and attacks...they will have a harder time making some adjustments.....take advantage of this - split second..............Aloha from the lefty


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## Knarfan (Dec 30, 2005)

Josh said:
			
		

> insight


 
Man of few words. Thanks for answering my question  lefty  .


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## arnisador (Jan 1, 2006)

Sparring against a lefty knife-to-knife is harder for me than stick-to-stick!


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## rompida (Jan 2, 2006)

I'm a lefty, although I have learned to use my right hand for many things in this righty dominated world.  Because of this, I have actually strengthened my right hand to be stronger than my left.  However, my left is more accurate.  So... in short... I'm fairly ambidextrous.  When it comes to arnis, I learn everything righty, along with the rest of the class, but then switch to lefty.  The Prof taught alot of left handed techniques, tapi-tapi, etc.  So, when we do left vs. right tapi tapi, I tend to pick it up quicker than my right handed classmates.  

p.s.  For all you righties.  We lefties have been quietly planning to takeover the world.  Your days are numbered.  Lefties are in their right mind.:ultracool


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## Josh (Jan 2, 2006)

Haha!!! Good Good, this i like!


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## searcher (Jan 3, 2006)

I am ambi-dextrous.   I have more of a difficulty deciding which hand to use than how to defend against oposite handed people.   Being ambi is good and bad at the same time.


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## Knarfan (Jan 3, 2006)

Josh said:
			
		

> Haha!!! Good Good, this i like!


 
WOW COOL!


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## arnisandyz (Jan 13, 2006)

I'm a lefty. I see it as an advantage. All of our lives lefty's have had to live in a right-handers world. I feel more leftys are more ambidextrous than right-handers for this reason.

In a fighting sense, right-handers are use to fighting other right-handers, as a lefty your also use to fighting right-handers just because there are more of them then us, so a lefty is use to fighting a right-hander but a right-hander (unless he trains specifically for it) is not used to fighting a left hander. If you think about it, (left vs right) you both have the same advantages/disadvantages of angles, 2 strong sides facing each other, but the lefty is more used to it.


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## Mr.Rooster (Mar 5, 2006)

I have read or heard before that left handed folks lives shorter lives then right handed folks.  I have no idea of any stats or anything or if thats even true.  Just heard or read that before.

I would strongly recommend, no matter which side is dominant for the individual, that as much as possible, all techniques practiced from both sides of the body.


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