Entering vs. Blocking: Shifting the Timeline, Not the Mechanics
Most self-defense systems teach how to deal with force once it
appears—when alignment, balance, and power are already present. At that
point, the defender is reacting to an organized attack.
Entering is not about changing mechanics. It is about shifting the timeline.
We Interrupt the Formation of Force
An attack becomes dangerous when several elements are complete: weight transfer, structure, balance, and
timing. Entering occurs before those elements fully organize.
We are not stopping attacks—we are interrupting their formation.
Blocking is one response that occurs when one or more of these elements have already been completed, often
as a result of late recognition.
Cutting Is Movement Through Space
Cutting does not mean striking a limb or meeting force head-on. A cut is a movement through a plane
using mechanically sound, physics-based power generation.
We cut through the space that makes the arm or fist effective.
The hand defines the plane. The body supplies the power. Extended correctly, the cut acts as a moving
wedge—separating structure and forcing change rather than absorbing force.
Relaxation Allows Structure to Work
Effective cutting is relaxed rather than muscular. Power is released, not applied.
When cutting is driven from the core—often described as a “momma slap”—the result is whole-body
connection without tension.
If you tense up, the cut dies.
Occupying Space Forces Reaction
Cutting is the deliberate occupation of space that the attacker is attempting to enter or control.
Because the attacker is committed and moving with force; occupying that space produces exaggerated movement
and loss of balance.
We do not force reactions—we give the attacker’s force a way to go wrong.
Flash Recognition and Continuity
Disruption reveals opportunity. The ability to instantly recognize involuntary movement created by the
cut is flash recognition. It is recognition after disruption, not anticipation.
Cuts do not have predetermined endpoints. The cut continues, redirects, or resolves based on bio-
Feedback from the attacker’s movement.
The cut ends when the problem ends. The cut becomes the technique.
Entering Isn’t Faster — It’s Earlier
Daniel J. Gilbert is a senior Aikido instructor and a founding board member of the American Self-Defense
Federation (ASDF). His teaching emphasizes traditional, self-defense–focused principles that transfer
across systems, with particular attention to timing, structure, and spatial control. He works to articulate
universal mechanics that allow practitioners from different arts to train and communicate effectively
while remaining true to their own systems.
Nice article!