• "I can do the kick perfectly with my right leg but not my left"

• "My right leg is my weak leg"

• "I can't punch as hard with my left arm"

If I had a pound for every time I have heard one of the above sentences in the dojo, I would be a very rich man.

Let's start by getting one thing straight - Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has one side of their body either stronger, more flexible, or more capable than the other side. Try writing, playing tennis, or even eating your dinner left handed if you are normally right handed - it is not so easy is it?

Some people are lucky enough to be nearly as capable on both sides of their body - the snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan springs to mind, who can play at the very highest level either right or left handed. Watch which way he plays when it is a crucial shot though. Look around the Premiership and notice how many multi-million pound footballers cannot hit a barn door with their 'wrong' foot!

My point - why should you be any different and expect both sides of your body to perform at the same level. You will always find a particular technique, maybe a kick or a punch, or even a pressure point strike, that just seems to feel more natural on one side of your body than the other. Therefore, do not feel bad when your body is behaving in the same way as 99.9% of the world's population.

However, if you naturally favour one side of your body over the other, it can cause you some problems:

• If you are attacked in the street and need to defend yourself you may not have time to 'change sides'

• If you are sparring, your opponent will notice that you favour one side and attack accordingly

• The 'stronger' side of your body will naturally develop better and faster than the other side

• As your technique improves, you could injure your 'weaker' side as it is not as strong or as flexible

• What if your 'good' side is injured?

So what can you do?

You should first of all recognise which is your 'weaker' side, and make sure that you focus and concentrate harder when working that area. In all of the sessions that we run, we spend an equal amount of time working each side of the body.

You should not become annoyed with yourself because you cannot achieve as much with one side of your body as you can with the other. This is natural, although practice, as they say, makes perfect, so keep trying and you will see the benefits.

Take yourself out of your comfort zone - if you always spar with your left leg forward, try changing so that your right leg is forward, and vice versa. If you always favour your right side for a round kick, change to the left, and so it goes on.

In summary, everyone has a POTENTIALLY 'weaker' side of their body. With the proper training and focus, it should be very hard to tell which it is, and most important of all - never tell anyone else which side it is, especially someone you are just about to spar with!