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May 9, 2016 5:40 pm  #21


Re: John is left handed

Even people who are left-handed (like me) do some things with the right hand. And vice versa, I suppose. 


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"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

May 9, 2016 5:52 pm  #22


Re: John is left handed

Sure, but if I gave someone a thump on the nose I would use my strongest hand.

 

May 10, 2016 4:11 am  #23


Re: John is left handed

Danielle80 wrote:

Sure, but if I gave someone a thump on the nose I would use my strongest hand.

Actually, when you are trained to fight, you learn to use both hands, depending on where your opponent shows an opening. (Do you say that?) I did kickboxing for a while and was trained to decide when to use which hand, regardless of the fact that I am right-handed.


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May 10, 2016 5:45 am  #24


Re: John is left handed

And John isn't just trained in self defence.
He's a trained killer, a bit like his wife.


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May 10, 2016 8:01 am  #25


Re: John is left handed

I boxed a few years too and I used to lead the fight with the jab and archieve the effective hits still with strongest right hand. Even my jab is very well trained I would still use the right hand in reflex. The Inspector did not cover himself, was completly "open" and not prepared for a fight so in my opinion there was no reason for John to use his right hand. But you are right, we don't know how and in which martial arts John was trained and we had not even seen the hit itself, only how he striked out with his right shoulder. Maybe he feint with the right and hit with the left :-) Or it had something to do with his injured shoulder, wasn't it on the left side? This would explain it.

 

May 10, 2016 8:44 am  #26


Re: John is left handed

John is indeed left-handed but he isn't very left-handed. He seems to do several everyday things with either hand.  There was a lot of discussion about this post-Season 1 when people noticed that sometimes he holds a fork in his left hand and sometimes in his right, or he'll pick things up (e.g. the little pot in the Lucky Cat Emporium) with his right hand.  I'm assuming that this is a Martin thing rather than something scripted or directed.  I don't think Martin is actually ambidextrous but it seems that he's comfortable using either hand for some simple tasks. 

It was noted that John shoots with his right hand probably because it's easier to hold and fire a pistol with the right hand, and that many left-handed people undergoing training to fire guns give up trying to use their left hand and make the adjustment.  It's only people who are very left-handed and simply can't use their right hand easily who have no choice but to use their left hand and have to cope with the problems of the fact that guns are designed for right-handed people. 

Whether Martin decided to hold the pistol in his right hand or was asked/advised to by the armourer is something I don't think has ever been answered, but seeing as Martin seems to have little difficulty using his right hand for most tasks, I imagine that he automatically used his right.

As far as punching Sherlock with his right hand is concerned: it's possible that John can punch better and harder with his left hand than with his right, but when Sherlock says, "Punch me in the face," he gestures to his left cheek.  In order to hit that side of Sherlock's face, John would find it easier to use his right hand and so, being the good little soldier who automatically obeys orders, he uses his right to aim for the cheek which his commanding officer(!) gestured to.  I also think that he knows that if he punches him with his stronger/dominant hand he'll do him far more damage, so instinctively switches to his weaker hand, which is why he also uses his right hand when he has a second go at him a few seconds later.

While we're on the subject, I'm sure this has been mentioned elsewhere but I loved the observation from sharp-eyed viewers that in TAB, Watson takes notes with his right hand.  Many left-handed Victorian children were forced to write with their right hand, so whoever remembered this and advised Martin to hold the pen in his right hand deserves a million kudos points.

Last edited by Ariane DeVere (May 10, 2016 8:47 am)

 

May 10, 2016 8:55 am  #27


Re: John is left handed

Oh, very good observations. I love the one about TAB. I am the first generation who was not forced to use the right hand but my mother-in-law still was. And she is sometimes a bit confused in the use of her hands. It shows again how meticulous and careful the show is done. 


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"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
 

May 10, 2016 9:13 am  #28


Re: John is left handed

Thats right, I can remember that there was a time that left handed children were forced to use the right hand.
I looked after Johns background story again and found out, that he actually had a gunshout wound on his left shoulder, so that could be also a reason why he used his right fist.

 

May 10, 2016 3:46 pm  #29


Re: John is left handed

Yes, if he sustained nerve damage as a result of the gunshot injury--and there is a very good chance that he did--that would make doing things with his dominant hand somewhat problematic for him.  We know that his left hand has an intermittent tremor, and who knows to what extent that tremor creates difficulties for him, or in what other ways his damaged left shoulder causes him problems?  That, in itself, would make it necessary for him to use his non-dominant right hand at least part of the time.

 

Last edited by kgreen20 (May 10, 2016 5:55 pm)

 

May 10, 2016 4:45 pm  #30


Re: John is left handed

I apologise in advance...
am giggling very childishly at the thought of John doing things with his hands.


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