# the left side question



## Christina05 (Sep 2, 2007)

How often do you practice your techniques on your left side?


----------



## michaeledward (Sep 2, 2007)

Rarely. Some people suggest practicing everything abidexterously, but in our school, we study the techniques as written. The system certainly is focused on the right hand, because most of us are right handed. 

But, I think also, once you begin to understand the variety of techniques, and apply the various ways you can modify a technique, there are enough resources in the curriculum to deal with any situation presented, with having to think about the left side of technique X.


----------



## MJS (Sep 2, 2007)

Christina05 said:


> How often do you practice your techniques on your left side?


 
Its a requirement at my school.  Once you reach the upper ranks, my inst. has everyone start doing the material left side.  At my old school, it really wasnt a requirement, although, I found when teaching, at times it was easier for the student to follow along with me, if I was standing in front of them, rather than on the side of them.  They'd simply mirror my moves.  

If you look at some of the more advanced forms, you'll see techniques done on the opposite side.  

Mike


----------



## Kacey (Sep 2, 2007)

Christina05 said:


> How often do you practice your techniques on your left side?



All the time; that's an assumption in our tuls (forms).  From the 9 rules to be observed when performing patterns:  9)  Attack and defense techniques should be equally distributed among left and right hands and feet.  Since that's the way techniques are performed in tuls, that's the way they are practiced.


----------



## seninoniwashi (Sep 2, 2007)

Christina05 said:


> How often do you practice your techniques on your left side?


 
The first two schools I went to did not, my last one did on rare occasions. During my daily personal practice I don't however there are times, about once every few weeks when I will just to overcome the oddness of it. Currently I'm working to commit the techniques as theyre taught by the book to muscle memory - I don't want to ruin that .

I do however work a lot of my bag drills on that side and have sparing sessions where I also focus on the left side.


----------



## aplonis (Sep 2, 2007)

Fully half of the time. Nothing else makes sense at all.


----------



## John Bishop (Sep 2, 2007)

aplonis said:


> Fully half of the time. Nothing else makes sense at all.



One thing to consider is the fact that only around 10% of people are left handed.  So does it really make sense to spend 50% of your training time working your techniques on the left side?


----------



## Doc (Sep 3, 2007)

John Bishop said:


> One thing to consider is the fact that only around 10% of people are left handed.  So does it really make sense to spend 50% of your training time working your techniques on the left side?



Amen sir.


----------



## Kacey (Sep 3, 2007)

John Bishop said:


> One thing to consider is the fact that only around 10% of people are left handed.  So does it really make sense to spend 50% of your training time working your techniques on the left side?



Yes, it does.  If you can do all techniques equally on both sides, it won't matter who attacks you, or with what.  I know too many people who can only fight with their dominant side forward - and when something happens to impair that (a good shot that numbs out an arm or leg, for example) they can't switch sides and use the non-dominant side instead.  I can fight with either foot forward, with either hand, with either foot, in any direction; and it doesn't matter to me what side I'm attacked with - this, by itself, confuses people, and gives me an edge others don't have.


----------



## qi-tah (Sep 3, 2007)

Kacey said:


> Yes, it does. If you can do all techniques equally on both sides, it won't matter who attacks you, or with what. I know too many people who can only fight with their dominant side forward - and when something happens to impair that (a good shot that numbs out an arm or leg, for example) they can't switch sides and use the non-dominant side instead. I can fight with either foot forward, with either hand, with either foot, in any direction; and it doesn't matter to me what side I'm attacked with - this, by itself, confuses people, and gives me an edge others don't have.


 
I can not agree more. You have no way of knowing which side yr opponent is going to throw, left handed or not. (For instance, many ppl are right-handed and left-footed!) Also, yr environment may jam you in a position where you are forced to use yr non-dominant side, and you want it to be as strong as possible. 

In class, we drill applications and some basic line work (and all our xing yi is pretty much 50/50) on both sides, but forms not so much. I do try to make a point of practicing my other forms in mirror image on my own time tho.


----------



## agemechanic03 (Sep 3, 2007)

Kacey said:


> Yes, it does. If you can do all techniques equally on both sides, it won't matter who attacks you, or with what. I know too many people who can only fight with their dominant side forward - and when something happens to impair that (a good shot that numbs out an arm or leg, for example) they can't switch sides and use the non-dominant side instead. I can fight with either foot forward, with either hand, with either foot, in any direction; and it doesn't matter to me what side I'm attacked with - this, by itself, confuses people, and gives me an edge others don't have.


 
I completely agree here. I mean, yes I am ambidextrious, but it is good to practice both ways. If you are in a street fight for instance, the attacker is mostly gonna flail his arms around, so you want to be able to counter that next fist coming at you. Also, it can be for safety reasons. Say, for instance, you are fighting in a tourny or even on the streets. If you do a move that puts both of you on the ground, you don't want to go outside the ring, in case of the tourny, or end up dead falling off of something when you can put your attacker in that position. My $.02
My Sa Bum rarely teaches the left side with our Ho Sin Shul's, but I still believe it is better to at least know and understand with the opposite side also.


----------



## kidswarrior (Sep 3, 2007)

Another thing that might be worth considering is forms practice. Many forms will include angles and different directions (which means we are learning to fight the opponent at that angle) which we might not otherwise consider or practice. In other words, both sides are being 'worked' in most forms practice.

Also as a teacher, I still run into the old Left Brain (logical)/Right Brain (Creative) dichotomy on occasion, and sometimes find it useful with students. For example, a highly logical student may have trouble with creativity, and vice versa. The goal as I see it (if one buys into this theory--and I have found it useful, whether scientific or not) is to teach students to be capable with both sides of the brain. Anyway, my point: Practicing the techniques to the non-dominant side (Left, for most) works back from the body to the brain, stimulating the creative juices. This may be a good thing to have 'tuned up' and ready to go in case of a real self-defense scenario, as Kacey and others have said. But I do also agree with Prof Bishop and Doc that I may not give left and right sides even (50/50) billing.



			
				qi-tah said:
			
		

> In class, we drill applications and some basic line work (and all our xing yi is pretty much 50/50) on both sides, but forms not so much. I do try to make a point of practicing my other forms in mirror image on my own time tho.


Kudos *qi *for your extra effort. :asian: This is the point I'm getting at also. In fact, I've added forms from several arts to my practice, just to challenge myself to learn to move in different ways.

Just some random thoughts from an old teacher and MA instructor.


----------



## John Bishop (Sep 3, 2007)

Kacey said:


> Yes, it does.  If you can do all techniques equally on both sides, it won't matter who attacks you, or with what.  I know too many people who can only fight with their dominant side forward - and when something happens to impair that (a good shot that numbs out an arm or leg, for example) they can't switch sides and use the non-dominant side instead.  I can fight with either foot forward, with either hand, with either foot, in any direction; and it doesn't matter to me what side I'm attacked with - this, by itself, confuses people, and gives me an edge others don't have.



I think that is the primary purpose of "free sparring".  To be prepared for situations that don't fit the prearranged techniques that most systems have.  
I don't think anyone who spends a lot of time sparring, just uses their right or left side.  They adapt to what ever attack comes their way.  And they try and use everything in the arsenal.  
I feel it's much more beneficial to be able to freely adapt to any type of punch, kick, grab, tackle, etc., then to try and make all your defenses against a right punch, work against a left punch.


----------



## Kacey (Sep 3, 2007)

John Bishop said:


> I think that is the primary purpose of "free sparring".  To be prepared for situations that don't fit the prearranged techniques that most systems have.
> I don't think anyone who spends a lot of time sparring, just uses their right or left side.  They adapt to what ever attack comes their way.  And they try and use everything in the arsenal.
> I feel it's much more beneficial to be able to freely adapt to any type of punch, kick, grab, tackle, etc., then to try and make all your defenses against a right punch, work against a left punch.


I agree... and therefore I practice all of my techniques equally on both sides of my body.  If you're going to need to use both sides of your body equally in sparring - and in self-defense, where anything can, and usually does, happen  - why train any other way?


----------



## Doc (Sep 3, 2007)

John Bishop said:


> I think that is the primary purpose of "free sparring".  To be prepared for situations that don't fit the prearranged techniques that most systems have.
> I don't think anyone who spends a lot of time sparring, just uses their right or left side.  They adapt to what ever attack comes their way.  And they try and use everything in the arsenal.
> I feel it's much more beneficial to be able to freely adapt to any type of punch, kick, grab, tackle, etc., then to try and make all your defenses against a right punch, work against a left punch.



Exactly. Sport applications and performances have nothing to do with right/left efficacy in self defense techniques and their real world applications. It is an an anatomical fact there is no such thing as ambidextrous activity except in the most general of common usage of the term.


----------



## Doc (Sep 3, 2007)

*Martial Science University*​
Published in Combat Sport Magazine April 2001

 Excerpts from the Diary of a Mad  Kenpo Scientist 

The Ambidexterity Myth
By
Ron Chapél, Ph.D.​

Over the years there have been significant misconceptions regarding the efficacy of right and left side training. A great deal of discussion exists relative to whether forms performances, and self-defense techniques are or should be right, left, or balanced in teaching and training execution.

The simple truth is all are correct in certain respects, and the confusion like many other topics, comes from the progenitor himself. Mr. Parker spent a considerable amount of time looking into the concept and reached some rather interesting conclusions in our own research and discussions.

As a forms example, in most versions of Ed Parkers Short Form Two, it does indeed include the physical left side  in its right side  presentation. But, it is still considered, by Ed Parkers definition, to be the right side, or what he quietly called right side brain dominant.  However you do not reverse the synaptic and cerebellar pathway responsibilities for movement until the mirror image  is performed.

This is what Parker meant by left side.  The physical left is only motion or movement, but the true left side is an opposite or reversal of brain dominance and control. Thus all forms encompass in some manner right and left side, but to begin from the opposite side or mirror image  reverses all mental functions and changes muscle response significantly enough to have significant influence on function.

Whether this is necessary in teaching is dependent on how you teach or train. Ed Parker created a series of conceptually right-handed techniques. He himself was not ambidextrous, nor what he working to become that way. His goal was physical competency  in the physical interaction of the activity. And those who borrow sport concepts like cross training  seem to put more value into ambidexterity  than those who concentrate on self-defense as he did.

Although in his commercial schools he encouraged left & right training for a variety of reasons, he recognized in self defense, competence was more important than performing left and right equally well. He knew that practicing both sides can yield benefits, but he also knew right & left would never be equal. Either way the operative phrase is mirror image execution,  to activate both sides of the brain to create balance in any kind of physical training.

In Ed Parkers self-defense philosophy however, training should be based on a curriculum of well thought out systematically principled and progressive techniques. The mechanisms inherent in the process are designed to emphasize situational effectiveness with ambidexterity irrelevant to function. Movements should be performed on both sides to demonstrate effective basic skills generated by both sides of the brain with their own unique synaptic pathways. But, self-defense techniques are about competence and effectiveness within the sequence first, and emphasis must be place there as a top priority.

Of course basic skills should be raised to an acceptable level of effectiveness, but the goal of balance in the execution of self-defense techniques in their mirror image is unnecessary, time consuming, and not physically possible when it comes to equity.

The teachers who preach this both sides technique execution  perspective themselves are not equally proficient on both sides. Most traditional styles and disciplines and even western boxing have techniques and moves used only from the left or right side. Most styles promote a left side forward to allow use of the right (strong) hand and leg from the rear. Even when the techniques change they still favor the right side. Even in those schools that promote equal side proficiency it is never, nor is it possible to be actually achieved.

The reasons it is not possible are physiological involving a mental interaction with the bodys ability to perform. Each side of the body is controlled by opposite sides of the brain. For example, when learning a left kick, a synaptic pathway must be created or established through the right side of the brain and vice versa. No matter how you train, the left and right pathways will never be identical in function. Even though the two sides of the brain function together, they do not have identical ways of performing the same function. They may produce identical physical movement, but how the movements are produced and controlled from the brain are very different.

Additionally the human body is not mathematically symmetrical in the true sense of the term. It is normal in human anatomy for one leg or arm to be longer than the other, and even different in diameter. Every muscle, tendon, cartilage, and even hair growth varies from side to side. World-class athletes do not stride, jump, throw, or move the same on both sides of the body. What is even more interesting is when an athlete is trained to be exactly symmetrical in their execution; it has been shown that physical performance actually declines overall. The body may be visually aesthetically symmetrical, but not precisely physically or mathematically.

Most have unreasonable expectations with regard to weak side  performance. If we anticipate we can train the weak side to perform equally with the strong, we are mistaken. Because of how the brain works, you cannot attain the exact same degree of skill on both sides. It would be like attempting to teach yourself to write equally as well with both hands. You may achieve an acceptable level on the weak side but the strong will always be better and dominant.

Human beings have a natural physical preference to have a dominant side that is predetermined at birth. Even in cases where a person has activity dedicated dominance,  they are always opposite of each other. I have a student who writes on one side, throws on the other, and still in baseball, bats opposite his dominant throwing side. But these activities are still functionally dedicated. He cant write, bat, or throw equally with both. This dominance is so strong in human behavior; it cannot be overcome by external training.  

In the Chinese Martial Science, students are taught opposite most other later martial art disciplines with the strong side forward for practicality. In examining the basic idea of most techniques, they can be executed on the prescribed side or they can be executed in what Mr. Parker, called Half Mirror Image.  That is a technique may be designed for one side attacking, however just because the attacker uses the other side or mirror  doesnt mean you have to react in kind with a mirror  response.

The self-defense techniques Thrusting Salute  and Buckling Branch  as kicking defenses are both interchangeable whether the right or left kick is used in the attack. In Thrusting Salute the attack is a front kick with the right leg, and you respond with the prescribed Default Solution to that particular assault. When the attack of a left front kick is used in Buckling Branch, the attacker is now using the Mirror Image Assault of Thrusting Salute. However if you respond with the Default Solution to Thrusting Salute, you are in a Half Mirror Image Solution  response. These attacks, although mirror opposites of each other, can be responded to with the same right handed  response.

This type of training only requires one side be developed significantly to be functional. The opposite side can and will also be developed, but performing a different function. In another example, in the attack for Delayed Sword  (a right hand), you defend by stepping back with the left foot and executing with your front (right) hand.  Attacking Mace  (again an attacking right hand), does just the opposite, defending by stepping back with the right foot. Both techniques are developed independent of each other on opposite sides of the body, but they both function quite well with either right or left side dominance. Although all of Parkers interpretations of his art tend to be right-handed,  students with left-handed dominance can, and do flourish.

But no matter how well you perform in symmetrical forms, the dominant side will always be more coordinated and controlled. However, in a fight or confrontation of significant stress, and given the choice, you will always have a preference for one side over the other.

In closing, remember all interpretations of Ed Parkers American Kenpo should be about self-defense first. Many, specifically in America, have confused through clever marketing, sport training  with self-defense training. Cross training  and symmetrical performance borrowed from sport training and tradition-laden disciplines, must take a back seat to practical function and applications in reality.

For the same reasons of symmetrical dominance, with the addition of mechanical efficiency, please consider any passive  non-action while opposite body parts are moving as dysfunctional in human anatomical movement, and violate this balanced  perspective of anatomical movement as well.

The Ed Parker BAM, Slap check  (or pak sao in Chinese), and all its many subcategories and functions are always in some manner active. To achieve certain balanced skills, it is imperative that both sides of the body be active and functional at all times, and never ever passive.

True ambidexterity is a myth and although it is worthy of pursuit, it should not overshadow the quest for practical application first. They dont fight  in tournaments they compete.  On the street, right or left is irrelevant to survival. You should be capable of using both sides of your body, but not necessarily the same nor equal. Ed Parker was right handed, and so are the systems he created and influenced.


----------



## Sapper6 (Sep 3, 2007)

nice article Doc.  very enlightening.

i'll agree with another poster as well in saying for the most part, i believe American Kenpo has the tools already there to counter either right or left handed attacks, without training both sides, ie., Delayed Sword/Sword of Destruction.  just taking a guess on that one.


----------



## tshadowchaser (Sep 3, 2007)

In case anyone doe not know DOC is Ron Chapel

I agree nice article thanks


----------



## Christina05 (Sep 3, 2007)

Thanks for all the feed back guys. Got some pretty good insight on the matter.


----------



## Hand Sword (Sep 3, 2007)

While I agree that true ambidexterity cannot be accomplished I think some significant time should be spent doing the material with your opposite side. That side for us is weaker physically, and less coordinated overall. If nothing else, practicing that side like that will allow more comfort to be achieved. In the big picture that's not so bad after all.


----------



## LawDog (Sep 4, 2007)

I agree with Doc in part, for sport applications there is generally no need for left and right applications.
In real world street situations there is a need. In another thread like this one I gave me reasons why.
One should do what they feel is correct.
:ultracool


----------



## Flying Crane (Sep 4, 2007)

I train techs on both sides regularly.  It makes sense to me and it works for me to do so.


----------



## Flying Crane (Sep 4, 2007)

by the way, there have been some spirited discussions in the past here on martialtalk and at kenpotalk about this subject.  If you search the archives for those threads, you might get some more insights as to why people believe what they believe.  Probably the biggest thing you will notice is that this subject is sometimes pretty hotly debated.


----------



## 14 Kempo (Sep 4, 2007)

I agree with the most recent posts, there have been other threads where this has been covered. Now to add my two cents ... 

I practice my techniques both right and left side. I even do my forms both right and left, just for the challenge. However, I could agree that left handed techniques may not be neccessary as long as a person practices all of their techniques against numerous attacks, including attacks from the left side. A lot of right handed techniques won't work as practiced against left handed attacks, try it, you'll see. I all honesty, I believe all techniques should be practiced from all aspects of how a person may attack.

One of my key points always is, if your mind runs into a situation, position or whatever, that it is not familiar with, it will freeze, if only for a milli-second. Against an experienced fighter, or a street thug, that milli-second can mean life or death. So put yourself into every conceivable position and situation during training, where losing means learning, not injury or death.

Practice every technique against right/left punches, hooks, uppercuts, kicks, various grabs, pushes, double punches, jabs, etc. You'll see immediately that certain techniques are better than others in certain situations, but that most can be adapted in one way or another as long as you block or avoid contact. Defending against a left hook is far different from a left jab, so on and so forth. 

If I *DO NOT* practice techniques against a left attack, _Murphy's Law_ tells me that is exactly what I'll run into in the street. Some would say that a person can be over prepared, others would say that you can't be prepared enough. I vote for the second thought in this case. 

That's enough ... Just my two cents.


----------



## Hand Sword (Sep 4, 2007)

Murphy's Law always shows up too. I remember a string of 4 incidents back in the day. All were south paws. You have to condition the brain to address the left side.


----------

