Everything I know about kung-fu, I learned by raising kids

/ Shane
  1. Stay on the balls of your feet – You gotta be ready to move. The second you’re caught off balance and flat footed, disaster is going to strike.
  2. Control the hips – It’s all about the core; you can’t trust the extremities. If you’re holding an arm or a leg or something, you might as well not be holding on at all. I learned this one during diaper changes. If you want a struggling kid / slippery eel not to move, you gotta hold on to the hips.
  3. It is important to center yourself before conflict – If you’re not zen going into a situation, then things are going to go bad fast. This isn’t just for physical conflict either, it’s doubly true for head-to-head power struggles with your toddler. Your mental health is a tenuous balance at best when you have small kids, but it’s important to hold it together as much as you can, or everything else is going to suffer.
  4. The best defense is a good offense – Get out of the house! Don’t put yourself in a position to fail. Occupy your kids before they get a chance to even think of mischief. Sometimes it might seem easier to just sit back and handle things as they come, but you always end up regretting it.
  5. The bigger you think you are, the harder you’re going to fall.Enough said.

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