Three Vectors Simultaniously

[klonk]

I agree, Conn! The more more muscle-tendon groups you involve in moving the whole body, the better the result. So if your hips and back, etc. are contributing power, not just going along for the ride, your whole-body motion will be stronger. The reason is they are not contributing drag on the body's motion. Depending on the motion, they are contibuting thrust, a little or a lot.

The way I look at it is, if some part of the body can contribute to the motion, it should, rather than riding along passivlely and robbing strength and speed.

Visualizing the forces involved is a good way to get to this, whether you think about three vectors, six directions or eight jins. We are merely talking about different coordinate systems. Whatever happens is, of course, expressed through the body, not the geometry. The body works the same whether you talk about jins, vectors or directions.

This applies to any sort of move, not just the bitch slap example you started with, but you knew that part.

[Walk the Torque]

Yes you can apply this to pretty much all motions. Also, making whipping motions or lateral waves of body parts, (no matter how large or small) would by the same token use more muscles during that action. Abduction followed by adduction, flex/stretch, etc all seem to shunt the force through the body to create stronger movement of force.

[klonk]

Yup. It all starts with being aware of what your body is doing. What works? What doesn't?