The 12 Principles of Presas Arnis - When It's Time to Change, Change

When you’re in a physical conflict, it pays to be flexible.

NOT LIKE THAT.

That is, you can’t stay too committed to a single idea or technique or move to prevail over an opponent.

Sometimes, "Insanity" is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, and that idea definitely applies here.

That’s why the fifth of the 12 Principles of Presas Arnis is WHEN IT’S TIME TO CHANGE, CHANGE.

It seems like something that doesn’t have to be said, doesn’t it?

Yet, there’s plenty of examples of people trying a technique, executing it properly, and it didn’t have the intended effect. It’s not uncommon to see people repeat the failed technique, to see if they can make it work - and it doesn’t. Enough time passes, and the opponent isn’t going to allow you to keep trying.

One man's knockout is another man's annoyance.

The truth is, there is no perfect technique, and there’s no move that’s going to work on 100% of people, 100% of the time.

No matter how much we wish it weren’t so.

Of course, there’s plenty of instances of techniques or moves working beautifully the first try. Think about all the video you’ve ever seen of one punch knocking somebody out. Here's an example of that: ONE PUNCH KNOCKOUT.

Those images are cherry-picked because they’re outliers. Search more, and you’ll find a lot more video out there of people getting repeatedly punched, kicked, and stabbed and NOT going down. Here's a big fight that includes improvised weapons and nobody gets knocked out: EXTREME FIGHT IN SADDAR MOBILE MARKET.

This is a cartoon. If you don't know what this is, click HERE.

“When it’s time to change, change.” also relates to another of our 12 Principles that we’ll talk about later: “There is always a counter”. Long story short, the script of a conflict doesn’t always go the way you plan it in your head, because the opponent might know something you didn’t expect them to know.

It pays to be mentally flexible, prepared with more tools in your toolbox, and if things aren’t going your way, try a different way.

You can learn how to change when it’s time to at Kindred Protective Arts. Come join us for a free trial lesson (click HERE) - and learn how!