RE: Food for thought

Hello, sir. Respectfully, I don't think that the comments to which you are referring were intended to imply that the yellow belt techniques "cannot be expected to be realistically applied by the beginners learning them." I believe the point was that Checking the Storm is where it is in the curriculum because it CAN be applied by the beginner and that attempting to make it more "sophisticated" by introducing elements that require more advanced timing, perceptual speed, and basics defeats that.

For what it's worth, in my own analysis of the yellow belt techniques, I think the fact that a club attack is introduced at this level, when the majority of the other techniques are against dead and semi-live attacks, speaks to your point that violence doesn't wait to happen until you are a purple belt or better. To my thinking, the fact that the technique involves footwork that isn't typically introduced until later is also an indication that it was likely shuffled closer to the front upon some consideration and for exactly that same reason. The question I now have, then, is why did they give us Checking and not Evading or any of the other Storm Techniques at this stage of the game? Consider also that dodging to the right to avoid a right-hand, overhead club attack doesn't exactly put one in the best place to be in that the club is easily re-directed at you and you are in range of the attacker's free hand. (I'd assume it was written for the instance in which there is either nowhere else to go or you screwed up and got yourself there anyhow.) Now, the explanation I was taught as for why Checking appears at yellow belt is that, statistically, right-side dominant individuals, unless disciplined and skilled enough to do otherwise, will naturally dodge to the right under stress. Simple as that. In other words, let's give the the beginning students the technique that most follows suit with instinct, up the odds that they'll at least get out of the way, AND THEN have some sort of viable counter.

Just one opinion, of course, but it holds up to my reasoning.

Thanks,
Dan Puleo