Today Sensei spoke about the use of power in training. The main point he was trying to make during this session was that by relying on power you will fail in the end. He said if you have to use power to make your technique work, then you will most likely be killed.

Sensei went on to say, one of the reasons for this is that the instant you decide to use power that is when you have already defeated yourself. It is a sign that you are not in control of the situation. He also said, when you have to use power you will have to think about what you are doing, which means you are already too late. In the time it takes you to think about what you are going to do you can be killed.

Sensei says it is far more important to be precise in what you are doing. People will try to hide their lack of precision by using power. But if you are precise you won't need power to make the technique effective. (As we illustrate in our ShinkenTaijutsu training, action is always going to be quicker than reaction. This has been proven over and over again in live and simulated combat scenarios. Moving in a precise manner; accounting for timely, distance, balance, natural movement, etc., will help cut the time difference between action and reaction. This gives you that fighting edge you will need in real combat. More on this subject at a later date.)
When someone resorts to power in a technique it means that they really don't know the technique (maybe don't want to know it either) and are trying to hide behind the power to make it work. Resorting to power in battle means you are not in control of the situation. It also means you will tire very quickly and thus can be defeated. You can easily test this concept by going flat out on a heavy bag with all you have got. Time yourself. How long could you keep up a constant flurry of all out punches and kicks before you were exhausted? Surely no more than a minute or two, right? After you have adequately rested, try it again. This time use good breathing, angling and slow steady punches and kicks to the bag. Get the bag to swing away on one punch/kick, intercept it with another punch/kick to stop it from swinging. Control the movement of the bag by using proper timing, distance, balance and measured strikes. You should find you can go for a lot longer period of time by being precise and the end result is you have really given that bag a working over!

That is why Sensei tries to do everything without effort. And that is why when you see Sensei do something it appears to be magical, because he does it without even trying. He allows opponents to wear themselves out trying to do something to him. And that is how he uses his opponent's power against them