Dynamic isometrics

[somatai]

So at this point in my practice it seem so me that what I am actually doing is a type of whole body isometric stretch guided by the discerning quality of mind (yi, ting) regardless of art or shape. The requirements vary by the specific context of shape or art but what is being done is essentially the same. Whole body stretch(ding). Whole body contraction (he). Whole body release (song). Does this resonate with any folks out there.

[Bao]

So at this point in my practice it seem so me that what I am actually doing is a type of whole body isometric stretch guided by the discerning quality of mind (yi, ting) regardless of art or shape.

How do you work with yi? Care to explain what you mean?

Does this resonate with any folks out there.

Not really. Earlier I practiced some similar things, but that was a long time ago. I think it can teach you a lot of good things about body mechanics, especially about longjin, or long movement/"energy", how to use your body from the core. If it also can give the practitioner some hints about internal connection it's great. But the practice itself is something I consider external practice.

Yes. He Jinbao's Yin style baguazhang. Feng Zhiqiang's Hunyuan Xin Yi Chen Shi taijiquan. Dan Harden's work.

It's there in Hunggar and White Crane and many other external arts. No difference really...

[yfaway]

This is especially true with lok hub ba fa. The core body mechanic is the same, so it doesn't matter whether you express it through the shape of taichi, xingyi or baba.

So at this point in my practice it seem so me that what I am actually doing is a type of whole body isometric stretch guided by the discerning quality of mind (yi, ting) regardless of art or shape. The requirements vary by the specific context of shape or art but what is being done is essentially the same. Whole body stretch(ding). Whole body contraction (he). Whole body release (song). Does this resonate with any folks out there.

[somatai]

@bao. Yi is filing, emptying, extending, contracting....etc...what it is is "moving like your hair is on fire". Full participation with enthusiasm.

@tom. Guess I'll press on then

It is my hypothesis after many years of study that the single biggest differential in "internal" arts Is that the load is internal vs external it is self generated your mind creates the resistance and therefore your body is constantly figuring out how to increase capacity. Of course that is true in an externally driven load but we tend to be less conscious of the how because the demand overwhelms our ability to cognize the how. So in ima, body and mind develop and strengthen concurrently and there is perhaps a unique synergy. To squeeze your whole body like a sponge and then release it, to draw your structure like a drum and your leading edge to a frictional point so fine it is like the head of a match, to empty out kinda like the air puppet at the car dealership.

[Bao]

@bao. Yi is filing, emptying, extending, contracting....etc...what it is is "moving like your hair is on fire". Full participation with enthusiasm.
...
It is my hypothesis after many years of study that the single biggest differential in "internal" arts Is that the load is internal vs external it is self generated your mind creates the resistance and therefore your body is constantly figuring out how to increase capacity. Of course that is true in an externally driven load but we tend to be less conscious of the how because the demand overwhelms our ability to cognize the how. So in ima, body and mind develop and strengthen concurrently and there is perhaps a unique synergy. To squeeze your whole body like a sponge and then release it, to draw your structure like a drum and your leading edge to a frictional point so fine it is like the head of a match, to empty out kinda like the air puppet at the car dealership.

"Yi is filing, emptying, extending, contracting".... Can't you do that without focusing on yi? What is different from external arts? They work with filling, emptying, extending, contracting as well. They also work very focused when they work with these things. Just wondering what people think about this in general.

@tom. Guess I'll press on then

Do you know in what direction you want to take your art? Could you describe it? Just curious.

[Ian]

It is my hypothesis after many years of study that the single biggest differential in "internal" arts Is that the load is internal vs external it is self generated your mind creates the resistance and therefore your body is constantly figuring out how to increase capacity.

Derek, couldn't the same be said for, say, tensing your neck as hard as possible, and figuring out all ways to increase the tension? What's the difference?

[yeniseri]

Perhaps, it is due to my laziness but it seems better to stick with the "functional tools" of training like using a heavier than usual staff like instrument (I use a 'heavy' 6 1/2 foot or so) or a non competition dao as part of regimen and while doing x routine, purposefully hold x posture at varying points, count 1001, 1002, etc then move to next postural intersection.

NOTE: Routines tend to be fast and without enough focus and the weapons used are usually flexible and made of aliminum type 'light' material. That does not develop the maximum muscle training memory in my view but I could be wrong. It is what I have seen

[somatai]

In what I am describing there is no single muscle tension. It is the whole front line of the body that is gathered, like the closing of a baseball glove. The effort is spread across the whole structure. Like wind in a sail.

[windwalker]

edited:

[Patrick]

I practice a lot of western tension exercises, the "tension" feeling in Nei Gong exercises feels like "stretching" or always "expanding" while the
other tension exercises feel and are just contraction exercises. This is just a very subjective and colloquial description of how it feels to me.

[somatai]

I agree with that description and difference. What seems to me to be the uniqueness of ima is maintaining that tension between open and close as it moves like a wave through the body while the body also moves. In xylhq it is more binary and obvious than it is in tai chi at least as I understand it,but nevertheless it is the same macro skill. Tense down, calm up.

[Ian]

In what I am describing there is no single muscle tension. It is the whole front line of the body that is gathered, like the closing of a baseball glove. The effort is spread across the whole structure. Like wind in a sail.

I thought that's what you meant.

Since you were talking about 'load' and 'resistance', it sounded like you were talking about tension.

Thanks for clarifying.

[Bao]

I agree with that description and difference. What seems to me to be the uniqueness of ima is maintaining that tension between open and close as it moves like a wave through the body while the body also moves. In xylhq it is more binary and obvious than it is in tai chi at least as I understand it,but nevertheless it is the same macro skill. Tense down, calm up.

But whole body stretching is extreme "open", it's not a balance between "open" and "close".

[middleway]

Stuff i am working on for sure. However there is always an opposite to the 'extreme stretch' in my practice.

If for instance your stretching or opening the back from the heels to the finger tips by curving the entire body forwards, stretching everything up and down, away from the ming men. Simultaneously the front would be 'actively' closing, essentially trying to pull all the tissue to the qihai point. This is what i call 'pairing' or paired opposites, they are simultaneous opposite actions in perfect harmony with one another.

Every movement i do is looking for this quality first. Then after this you twist the paired opposite actions so that they wrap around one another, then after this you have spiraling which is where things get a bit trickier but where things really start to get interesting!

[Overlord]

In what I am describing there is no single muscle tension. It is the whole front line of the body that is gathered, like the closing of a baseball glove. The effort is spread across the whole structure. Like wind in a sail.

I like the baseball gloves example, I used arch bridge to describe, where load is distributed evenly across bricks.
Thank you for sharing this~