Sharon Friedman – Vigilance and Tranquility

Developing soft hands: Many people harden their fists and tense up the muscles of the hand and wrist to keep it aligned. There are many schools of thought here and here is another view. There is a measure of activation of the muscles that keep you aligned without tension. People call it balance but I call it aliveness. It means you are aware of the nerves and placement and the muscles and you are only activating what keeps your form. Try these simple drills to develop this: Start by standing and falling toward a wall (about a step away from you) and stoping the fall with your fists and chest. Try to spread the impact on all the surface of the fists and chest and not to tense up. you will know how this is going by the measure of the sound you are making and if you feel the impact coming up your arms to the body. Next try to do this using one fist and keep the torso aligned and do not bend the hips. This will keep you from breaking form when you deliver a hit that strikes where you did not wish. next try from the knees to fall on the fists and spread to the chest and abdomen. Again try to touch with the entire fist and simply bring the fingers within the fist close together. There is enough activation there for your needs. Once you are comfortable with this try to fall forward from a standing position using the fists and chest to breathe with the floor.         I did the last thing first being curious and it was fun. You know yourself best so do what you think is right for you.