There is a martial application to the concept of polar opposites, like the Western Twin Pillars of Mercy and Severity, the Eastern Yin and Yang, or the computer's binary code.  All actions in the martial arts may be viewed through this filter, which allows us to better understand the ever changing reality of combat in a simple mathematical way.

    Working in single attacks and defenses is the most basic form of learning.  As a beginner learns to cut along the segno, how to do the passing and gathering steps, the volts and so on they first learn these skills in isolation, but these all must be reintegrated into the overall performance package before they become useable in a contested (ie. fighting) situation.  These Duality drills then help to make the connection between all the basics and the way they are strung together in the flow of combat.

Attack	Defense
Right	Left
High	Low
Forehand	Backhand
Slash	Thrust
Standing	Moving

Thrust

Thrust

Slash

    How you train the sequence is up to you.  How you slash or thrust is up to you, what you know, and what your style dictates. Only when we add more Dualities into the mix will we have more specific types of attacks. For now, hitting any kind of pell, a heavy-bag, or hanging tire is good.  Having a partner work with you using focus mitts is also good, but remember that the reason you work with a live person is to develop timing and reflexes - save your "Conan power-swings" for the pell!  The mitts are great for any kind of rapier and dagger work.  Always give the trainer a helmet and consider elbow and forearm protection as well.  Accidents happen, and a bag full of gear in the other room, unworn, will not help you.

Defend	Defend	Attack
Low	High	High
Forehand	Backhand	Forehand
Slash	Thrust	Slash

Now that we have established the basic ideas of duality and random patterning, let's look at more specific applications for training.

One simple method for training the Dualities involves cutting out a number of squares of cardboard (maybe 2"x2" or so) and writing one part of a Duality on each side (so one would say High on one side and Low on the other, etc.). Make one for each duality you are interested in using and place them all in a box large enough for them to shake around with a removable lid (like a shoe box or something).

To practice, simply shake up the box, see what you are told to do...then do it! Once you have this motion, then shake the box, create a new technique, and add this to your first one. You can develop all kinds of interesting technique chains to practice this way.

You can create random patterns for practice within a range of techniques most effectively by randomizing with dice. If you have all the "funny" dice, you can create charts with 4, 8, 10, 12, 20, or 30 items each! For the scope of sanity, we will stick to good ol' 6 sided dice for now. Using boxing for a technique sampling, we might select to make a chart with:

1	2	3	4	5	6
Jab	Cross	Lead Hook	Rear Hook	Lead Uppercut	Rear Uppercut

To use the chart, you simply roll a few times to make a combo. If you roll different colored dice then you can preselect an order based on color (ie. red, green, white).

If we wanted to apply the same kind of theory to kicking, perhaps we might select:

Now if we wanted to combine these charts, we could do so by the addition of a random element which will choose between them. To do this, just like in the I-Ching, we will use coins to give a basic heads / tails (+ / -) reading. If we wanted to create several moves at once, we could use different size coins (penny, nickel, dime) along with the different colored dice (so the penny and red die would be technique #1, the nickel and green die technique #2, the dime and white die would be technique #3)

The great conceptual thinker Ed Parker once wrote a simple formula regarding the importance of Rearrangement in the Kempo system. It was simply Kempo x Rearrangement = Infinity

If you have even a few basics (let's say 18, to give the nod to Shaolin) then Rearrangement means you can have 18! possibilities, or (18 x 17 x 16 x 15, etc.) specific combinations.

Let's explore the possibilities with 2 and 3 step combinations of just 2 things (we will call then A and B for the sake of clarity). There are only 4 possible 2 step combinations: