We do a lot of striking at paddles with our fists. It is the nature of our style of Kung-Fu, called Choy Lay Fut.
Sure, it has its history and roots in violence. It is an aggressive method of self protection.
But that history has a lot of negativity in it. It is envisioning 2 negative images:
1. We are being attacked.
2. We must debilitate those who attack us, so they will stop attacking us.
For the time, it was effective.
We don’t really live in that era anymore.
Now, the pad hitting drills we do is a portal into positivity.
When we hit the pads, we are no longer envisioning purely the destruction of another being that wishes harm upon us. Instead, we are doing this from the stand point of building ourselves. Building our sense of power, by putting mechanical details together, navigating the balance between hard and soft energy, and putting our spirit behind our intellect as we execute.
There is so much self-building that goes into our pad drills that it is an exercise that weights heavily on what we create, instead of what we can destroy.
It is such a huge exercise in positivity, that it can push out any negative thoughts that might be currently residing in your mind.
Refer back to the positive feeling you get when you build, practice, and feel your power with each hit, especially when you are undergoing something stressful. Remember that your best execution happens when your body and mind are relaxed, but ready. It will bring about a calm confidence, as you face the stressful event.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of walloping on one of our pads or paddles with our Choy Lay Fut techniques, then by all means, get a pair of boxing or MMA gloves, and try one of our classes out! It might just be the very thing you need!