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The Weakest Punch in the Room
The thing that kills a beginner’s punch is the same thing that kills your performance on the day.
Last night at my club, Kenshō, I had three beginners in front of me, and all three threw their first proper punch the same way.
Shoulders up round the ears. Jaw set. Breath held up in the chest. Their whole body clenched into one long effort with a crooked fist when it finally landed. Everything switched on at once, and left on.
Huge work but almost no power.
And I wouldn’t change a single thing. That’s where it starts. That’s where it started for me.
But there’s something that stiff, straining punch is actually teaching us, because you’ve thrown it yourself.
Maybe not with your fist.
But on a start line. In an interview. Over a putt, before a presentation, that second just before the whistle.
The body always does the exact same thing as those beginners’ punches, and it costs you the exact same way. The people who don’t seize up on the day aren’t tougher than you.
They’ve just found something that you haven’t… yet!
