Look for the Weakness

A ominous title yes?

As martial artists this is something we should be doing all the time. Albeit, we do it for different reasons at different times.

Looking for and discovering weakness in someone else is a valuable tool. Something which requires a large amount of focus and awareness. As a martial artist, is a technique that consistently needs improvement. Our ability to detect another's weakness is a direct relation to our anticipated level of success when working with anyone.

Obviously, if we are defending ourselves, discovering weakness is something that will help anyone successfully disengage a potentially threatening situation. Additionally, a heightened level of awareness would also serve well to help anyone avoid the confrontation to begin with.

As a martial arts, when working with partners, we work hard to see someone's weakness. This level of observation allows us to work well with partners to push them hard, but not to the point of injury.

A leader works hard to identify someone's weakness as a way of making sure the best person is assigned a duty that he or she is ideal for.

An instructor works hard to identify a weakness as something that a student needs to work on.

We all have our shares of strength and weaknesses. Working hard to identify and strengthen our own weaknesses  will help us with assisting others through their weaknesses. Additionally, identifying the weaknesses in our students will greatly enhance our ability to communicate with them, and help us prioritize what is needed with the students most.