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New starters
New starters seldom consider the fact that
martial arts training is
actually pretty hard work.
They expect to just join in and do well.
Typically, new starters are unfit, undisciplined and lazy.
They may have enthusiasm, but they never
possess the required level of
fitness.
Fitness
There are 3 areas of fitness:
Cardio
Strength
Flexibility
In order to exercise the body
properly, you need to gain aptitude in all 3 areas.
Many people can lift heavy weights but they are not flexible/breathing hard
after mild cardio.
This is not good enough for martial arts
training.
Conventional fitness
The ability to lift heavy weights, run, swim or workout in the gym
may well improve your overall
fitness level.
But this kind of fitness only helps to a certain degree in
neijiaquan
training.
A student must learn how to use their body in a very different way.
The body needs to become agile, flexible, adaptive, sensitive and strong.
Engorged biceps are not going to help.
Martial fitness
All martial arts require the student to be fit
for combat.
Tai chi students train: massage, leg stretches,
qigong, neigong, form, partnered work, martial sets &
drills, combat and weapons.
The training is done carefully, gently - in a
controlled manner - without exertion or
strain.
Tai chi for health
Faced with a major health crisis in the 1950's, the People's
Republic of China turned to the old/classical Yang style tai chi for a solution.
They wanted a form of exercise that could be
performed by students of all ages.
The simplest way to achieve this was to remove
the more demanding fitness component
and the combat.
Most modern tai chi classes are
teaching an art that an old person could cope
with...
By definition this cannot
conceivably be a
martial art.
Tai chi fighting method
We are not interested in pitting strength against
strength.
Our aim is to evade strength, re-direct power and destabilise the
attacker.
Instead of force against force, we circumvent.
We break the root.
We lead into emptiness.
You do not need to be immensely strong in the upper body.
The power will be coming from the ground, so stronger legs are more
important.
Repetitions
Qigong exercises should be repeated 5-10 times
per side.
This encourages the body to relax more and the root to grow.
Mind
The weakest part of any new starter is the
mind.
Modern minds are lazy, distracted, eager for gratification and
entertainment.
The calm, detached, logical, disciplined mind of a martial artist is very
different to that of a 'consumer'.
We recognise that there is more to life than shopping, celebrity, fleeting
fads and fancies.
Patience, tenacity, endurance... these develop a quiet strength.
Because simplicity seems
easy we believe it is easy to achieve.
When it is not easy to achieve we give up too quickly.
(Edward De Bono)
Shallow
Most people quit within a lesson or so, others within a year.
The hype surrounding modern tai chi leads new starters to have high
ambitions and low commitment.
For some inexplicable reason new starters forget that using the body for
hours at a time requires strength.
Combat necessitates concentration and stamina.
Unfit
It is common to see beginners gasping for breath minutes after a
melee
exercise commences.
Their minds are reeling in confusion.
They are not breathing properly.
They are incredibly unfit.
Unprepared. And yet these same people wonder why they are not being shown
advanced-level skills...
A martial athlete?
Combat is not easy and there is a risk of injury if the student is unfit.
This is true of any martial art. To reach a high level of skill, the student
needs to take a lesson from sport.
They must become a lot fitter, but not necessarily a martial
athlete.
Hard work
The key to getting stronger is to understand the fundamentals.
Spend a lot of time just doing standing qigong.
30 minutes once a week is great.
10-20 minutes a day is a must.
Deliberate practice
Hard work alone is not enough, though.
Simply working hard will not necessarily lead to progress.
It needs to be deliberate, focused improvement designed to improve your
practice by developing key skills outlined by
your instructor.
The student must implement corrections, study the recommended books,
undertake assignments and challenge their comfort
zone.
Build
Moving qigong in its various forms will supplement standing, training the
body to move in the correct way.
Form accomplishes the same.
Partner drills build up awareness and sensitivity.
The ability to affect another person.
A striking post or wallbag ensures that your strikes possess power, rather
than just being empty.
Effort/reward ratio
Internal body use challenges conventional wisdom and the conventional
application of strength.
The body must be strong.
The application of that strength is unorthodox.
The aim is to unite the entire body in application.
Every action is a complete action.
Every part of you does every movement.
Not strenuous
This may sound strenuous but it is not.
Instead of delegating the workload to your arms and shoulders, every part of
the body is involved.
Instead of forcing your will upon the entire attacker, you limit your
attention to a small part of their body and use everything you have on that
target.
The strategy comes from The Art of War.
Mainstream tai chi
Most tai chi classes are not teaching a
martial art.
Consequently, the students are not encouraged to become fit.
They are more interested in coordinated movement, relaxation and feeling
good.
Tai chi requires more of the student.
There is no shortcut
Building up your strength takes time, practice, commitment and
patience. In truth, you may not even realise it is happening.
Internal arts training is not strenuous or stressful.
You undertake regular training and let the mild exercise build up layers of
strength.
Little & often
Rather than train for a lengthy period of time, aim to
practice little & often.
20-30 minute increments, with rest breaks in-between is ideal.
Instead of pushing your body hard and putting it under duress,
just do a little exercise.
Resting will keep your
concentration sharp and offset fatigue.
Grow
An hour of training every day mounts up over time.
Pretty soon you have a level of strength you never
expected.
This is not the strength required to lift a massive weight.
It is the strength to deliver a penetrating strike, snap a limb or flip an
opponent without trying.
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023