So I have been struggling with pivoting when not throwing a kick. There are a few techniques in our forms that require us to turn and change directions and as we land in the new direction we strike or block and need to do so effectively and with control. I struggle either with keeping my balance (control) or with the fact that the strike that follows feels powerless (effectiveness), and sometimes both. I asked several instructors for their take on how they do it, and trying these things hasn't really helped me solve the issue. But I'm starting to wonder if my issues aren't due to specific positioning or even the timing of my moves, but rather to some fundamental flows in what I thought I understood.
Centering vs contracting vs grounding?!
I think I have been in complete oblivion about the difference between all these.
I mean intellectually, I can name and identify the difference, but when Sifu told me the other day that the issue is potentially that I'm "too" centered and that I need to practice lifting without leaving the ground, so basically "un-centering" while turning, I was like, wait a second, I think I have been literally trying to achieve the opposite. I thought since I keep losing my balance, I must not be centered enough, as centering usually helps stabilize. In addition, I keep watching some of our black belts seem to contract while turning, then expand when they land the following strike. To me this contraction was equal to centering.
And on top of that, I believe I confused centering with grounding.
In any case, I don't know if this is THE issue, but even if it has nothing to do with the struggles described above, I'm pretty sure I discovered a flaw in my thinking that I need to spend some time on. I'm going to have to learn what the differences actually feel like. Shocking, as I thought I had a really good idea what everyone was talking about.
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