I was having trouble throwing punches in my Muay Thai lessons, so I asked my instructor Dave for some pointers. He told me, “Fighters are always relaxed until they strike.” They conserve energy this way, only releasing with each punch and kick. Dave showed me how to punch correctly, keeping my shoulders down and relaxed until I’m ready to draw energy up from twisting my foot, through my rotating hip and then through my throwing shoulder. “Stay relaxed with your shoulders down until you’re ready,” he said.
We spend our energy on unnecessary things throughout the day. Checking our phones, worrying about things that don’t affect us, focusing on non-urgent tasks like emails. If you can avoid dancing around the ring with your shoulders pulled up to your ears and reacting violently to every small movement, you’ll have that much more energy to use your muscles when it’s actually time to strike.