|
|
||
| Biomechanics (2) | ||
classes qigong tai chi kung fu about us reviews a-z
.JPG)
Look around you
It is useful to look at how other
arts use the body.
Examine the differences with an open mind.
Become more aware of human anatomy and determine
medically sound ways of using the human body.
Look at why common sports injuries occur and what the usual remedies entail.
Fault finding
Be open minded enough to look at your own training and your own daily habits of
body use. Are you stooping? Do your
knees hurt? Is your back sore? Your neck stiff?
Do you experience problems with balance? Question
long-held historical practices. Do not assume that a method is ideal simply
because it has always being performed that way.
Everyday life
It can be very useful to look at how you use the body in everyday life.
Alignment, ergonomics, range & reach, poise, gait, posture, imbalances...
Many people sit and stand in an adult version of the foetal position: an
appalling by-product of modern technology.
Chores, hobbies, gardening, work, sport, leisure and exercise can all be
considered in terms of the manner in which the body is being used.
Poor usage
Most people are not very energy efficient. They put strain on certain muscles,
tax a particular joint, meanwhile other parts of the body no longer move
correctly (e.g. sacroiliac).
What 'feels right' is not necessarily healthy or advisable - since 'normal' is
outcome of habit and familiarity - not understanding.
It is very common to see people over-reaching, over-striding or over-working
without any awareness that they are doing these things.
Form movements
Tai chi form is uniquely complex. It is very different from the katas and
forms found in external martial arts.
The three dimensional nature of human movement is explored in exquisite detail;
tai chi has refined movement into a work of art.
Understanding form
A novice or a non-practitioner could no more understand the biomechanical
complexities of form than they could play a Mozart piece on the piano or dance
Swan Lake.
It takes years of practice and tuition to dismantle even one form (and the Yang
system features several forms).
Beyond the use of balance, leverage, weight shift, spiralling, bowing, turning,
hinging, rising and falling of the body there is the in-depth question of how
those movements are to be used in combat.
Effort to reward ratio
If you approach tai chi combat as though it was kung fu, karate, judo, ju
jitsu, aikido or kick boxing... you will go astray. Tai chi is altogether
different. The art is far less concerned with results.
It is much more interested in how the results were achieved. By working on the
'means' the student is able to produce a greater result with far less effort.
Faux tai chi
Tai chi applications that are fuelled by external sensibilities look wrong
from the onset. There is local arm movement, tension, extended body use,
holding, blocking, force against force.
Instead of using blending, yielding, sensitivity, stickiness, jing, centre and
balance - a crude parody is being practiced.
You will begin to feel that your tai chi practice
goes beyond simple form training, and you will be able to perceive things as
energetic combinations, rather than as static physical objects. Your
training partners will appear to your senses as dynamic patterns of energy,
rather than as clumsy physical bodies. When this happens, you can skilfully
switch strategy and tactics in any situation.
(Yang Jwing-Ming)
Learn how and when to breathe
Once a movement pattern is ingrained, a
student learns how to 'breathe' the movement.
The breath is the bridge between intention/mind and
the body.
It will lead to greater bodily unity and an increase in power.
People often seek to add breathing into their
form; resulting in a predictable,
regular rhythm which is martially unsound.
Patience
The main challenge facing the student is their own prevailing habits of body
use and their ability to comprehend the complexity
of the tai chi skills.
Students typically underestimate how hard it is to move in an internal way;
and lack the patience to let the art unfold by itself.
Forcing a result will lead to failure.
How can I tell?
If you want to determine whether or not your use of the body is
skilful, consider the following questions:
Were your actions successful?
Did you achieve the desired outcome?
Did you compromise yourself?
Were you over-committing?
Was there any adverse feedback?
Did you allow for multiple attackers?
What did your actions do to the opponent?
Were you forcing an outcome? Or did it flow?
Was it easy to perform?
Smooth or jarring?
Was it hurried and quick?
Were you calm and composed?
Did it feel comfortable?
How tiring was it?
Did you connect the limbs to the torso?
Was yielding employed?
Were your limbs flexible?
Did you tense-up?
Were you composed?
Did you move your whole body?
Were your limbs loose and heavy?
Did you go with the flow of the attack?
Did you respond without thinking?
Give it time
The sophisticated body mechanics of tai chi are the result of many years of
daily practice. Cultivate your own sensitivity, awareness and understanding
of how and why the body is used in tai chi.
Then be patient.
The wisdom of using
soft against the hard was originated from Lao Tzu. It is from this concept
that tai chi was created.
(Yang Jwing-Ming)
Page created
5 October 2003
Last updated
16 June 2023
▲