Ask not what your enemy can do to you (at least not ALL the time...)
Every style has its precautionary measures. Kickboxing coaches will tell you to keep that guard up, Wing Chun teachers will tell you to parry towards the opponent's centre line and with classic Shaolin you have to keep your hand over your groin when you do high side kicks or roundhouse kicks... That is all well and easy to remember until the free sparring starts. Back in 1997 I have used a free form of sticking hands when I trained with friends. It worked well, but there were numerous times where I used an inward block against the inside of a sparring partner's arm. This was not intended, of course, but then again- when we block and redirect a volley of punches- how much of what we do is actually intended? The hands go where they need to without you thinking and when you realise what has actually happened you realise that some of what has happened during the bout was not as prescribed by the text book. With a full-o...