If you have to use your skills to defend yourself, you
should and most likely will use your dominant side.
So why is it important to train our non-dominant side?
First off, your dominant side may be injured or get
injured when trying to defend yourself so it is important you have all your
weapons effective and ready to use.
Another benefit is when training the non-dominant side,
we usually have to slow down and think more about the movements, alignment, and
therefore we are more likely to perform them correctly, engage the muscles more
effectively, etc.
As you probably know, the human brain is divided into
two parts: the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the
right brain controls the left side of the body. “According to the left-brain,
right-brain dominance theory, the left side of the brain is considered to be
adept at tasks that are considered logical, rational, and calculating. By
contrast, the right side of the brain is best at artistic, creative, and
spontaneous tasks.” [Ref. 1]
I will approach this from a right-hand dominant
perspective since “Almost 85% to 90% of humans are right-handed.” [Ref. 2]
So, a benefit to training your body’s left side is that
you invoke more creativity and imagination – this is in of itself an important
attribute to your training. Through
imagination and creativity, you can determine more possible applications, more
training techniques, etc. In addition,
the right side of the brain invokes more of your intuition which is another
aspect that can be critical in self-defense and sparring – just “knowing” what
technique feels right or just “knowing” someone is a threat based on your
intuition and trusting that intuition can save your life.
So, while working out, consider on some days
practicing 10—20 % more on your non-dominant side, and perform hyung mirrored
(if right hand dominant, since most hyung are right side dominant).
And outside of class consider doing routine things
with your non-dominant hand (some examples: such as brushing your teeth, using
your mouse, tying your shoes, eating, buttering your toast, etc.).
While it may feel very awkward and uncomfortable,
especially at first, I encourage you for the next 30 days to spend more time
training your non-dominant side and seeing what differences it makes for you.
Regards,
Kelly
"The only way to improve in martial
arts is to consistently push yourself out of your comfort zone." ~ Unknown
References:
1. 1. https://www.simplypsychology.org/left-brain-vs-right-brain.html,
accessed 8/24/2024
2. 2. Why
Do We Have Dominant Hands? Exploring the Theories of Handedness in Humans |
Science Times, accessed 8/24/24
