Another Punch to the Head Until You Learn

This week's trading was rough. 

We had big wins, big losses, and flat days. 

The difficulty in trading this week reminded me of my years studying the martial art of Kenpo. 

I had already decided after Tuesday's trading session that this weekend's article would focus on a specific lesson I learned in Kenpo—then I read Professor Bierman's discussion of his daughter's martial arts training. I guess it's true: great minds think alike.

My experience unfolded during my years from 16 to 19 in a garage converted into a martial arts studio. 

I gained tremendous experience and learned hard lessons in that garage, with very little padding on the concrete floor. I'm sure I'll share additional stories in the future.

But today I want to tell you about one of the more physically painful lessons I learned.

Each week, we trained on technique and always concluded with 15 to 30 minutes of one-on-one sparring. I held my own during these sessions, but I had a tendency not to block my left side. 

Maybe I relied too heavily on my speed and the strength of my right side—but here's where that behavior caused me real pain. I may have been fast, but my opponent (in this case, my instructor Scott) was faster and stronger.

One day during a sparring session, my instructor decided enough was enough. Using his stronger, faster right hand, he delivered a razor hand strike to the left side of my head.

Pow—ears ringing and a little dazed, I stepped back and shifted my footing to put my right side forward. He quickly stepped to his right (my left) and delivered another razor hand to the side of my head. Bam. The first strike was a surprise; the second was unsettling.

We continued to exchange strikes and counter-strikes, and I thought I was doing well. Then he ducked under one of my swings while rotating his feet underneath and finished with a spinning closed-fist punch to the left side of my head.

I should mention that when we sparred, we didn't spar for "points" like in tournaments—we sparred for time or until someone hit the ground, like an actual fight. In less than one minute, my head was spinning. 

Scott backed up, dropped his hands, stared into my bewildered eyes, and said, "I'm going to punch you in the left side of your head until you learn to protect that side."

Why three punches wasn't enough to teach me this lesson, I don't know—maybe I'm stubborn. But knowing his intention made me more vigilant. For the rest of that three-minute round, he would try to get me to lower my guard and attempt to hit that left side. He landed a couple more shots, but fortunately for me, I got better at blocking and defending that weak side.

The Trading Parallel

When we're trading, we have weak sides—or maybe multiple weak areas. It could be discipline, allowing emotion to take over, poor risk management, or unclear trade signals. Our weaknesses can be numerous.

Rather than take three punches to the head before being told to defend that side, let me tell you what Scott told me: defend your weak side. This week's trades were difficult, and we could have easily lost control and flailed our arms, hoping to land a hit or block an oncoming punch. That doesn't work.

We need to always fall back to the fundamentals of our trading. We must understand that we'll get punched even when we're doing everything correctly—but we'll be knocked to the mat if we don't protect against our weaknesses.

So again, as Scott taught me: the market is going to hit you in your weak side until you learn to block. 

I'm giving you advance notice that the punches are coming, so keep your guard up.

Blake Young