Re: Body and Arms, I have no shoulders
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:54 am
The point is not that the shoulders never move. The point is that the shoulders move by the action of the torso not by action of the arms. This is what is called brute force, for the arms to drag the shoulders along, bringing some residual body mass into the strike but actually preventing the whole mass from being delivered. This is what is called "tossing" in Taiji, that the movements of the arms toss the shoulders along with them, causing the body to wobble. This is not a small and obvious issue. On a practical level, The process of fully differentiating the arms from the body and then re-forming their relationship is, to my understanding, a very important function of martial art. It can be very difficulty to truly understand the process of moving the body and arm in a coordinated relationship. In order to begin the process of re-forming, we must be clear on what is the body, and what is the arm. The arms is the limp itself which can reach and rotate, comb your hair and brush your teeth. Your shoulders are that part of your torso on which the straps of your backpack hang. Taken in this sense, do you really think you need to move your shoulders to move your arms? or that they have a common role in making actions? The arm and shoulder have completely different jobs to fulfill. Move your arms with your arms, move your shoulders with your body, move them separately but together through coordination. Connect with your arms, transfer mass with your body. Do one thing and do another in harmony. Don't let your shoulders get dragged into what is your arms responsibility.