In Kung Fu San Soo classes, we are working on being and staying close to our opponent. The advantages of this principle are numerous. The closer you are, the more opportunities there are:

• Overwhelming your opponent
• Limiting damage from their punches and kicks
• Free hand, free limb, and vital areas are accessible
• Opponent can’t always see what is coming
• Openings to use alternative fighting movements:
• • Biting
  • Spitting (for distraction)
  • Head butts
  • Elbows
  • Inside knees to inner thighs
  • Skin grabs

To be effective with close fighting, you have to be comfortable with being extremely close and okay with taking up someone’s space. You can’t fight to get away; your closeness is to fight to hurt.

While some techniques may require adjustments, virtually everything practiced in our standard workout can be executed up close or on the ground.

Because Kung Fu San Soo is a holistic Martial Art, being close to your opponent has to translate into a real-life application. To me, being close to my opponent is synonymous with being connected to someone.

One of the ways we connect is with our words. If you communicate with the intention to connect, your words are heard, and we listen without the wall of the protected Ego.

Because I want to connect (and closeness is part of the art), when I talk to someone, in my mind’s eye or visualization, I picture myself close to them, touching them in a comforting way. Sometimes, it is as simple as a visualized handshake or as intimate as a hug.

Seeing yourself close to someone, even though you are actually a comfortable distance apart, is felt by others and helps them feel safe in the conversation. 

For example, I have a friend who does not like to be hugged, so when I see them, I greet them with a handshake, fist bump, or caring, respectful words. At the same time, I visualize myself giving them a hug. On a few occasions, they have commented that our handshakes feel like hugs, and they appreciate feeling comfortable when we talk.

I also practice this when I’m in a challenging conversation, or there is a misunderstanding between myself and someone else.

Try this visualization technique the next time you are in conversation with someone and see the difference in how you communicate and connect.

This is all possible because in Kung Fu San Soo we are okay with being physically close to someone and them to us.