people who are rooting experts

[Bao]

Rooting is a dynamic balance skill which is developed by practice - "balance gongfu"

[mixjourneyman]

I met some Austrailians who told me that rooting means to have sex in Aus.
Reading this thread through that interpretation has been a blast!

[Sprint]

I met some Austrailians who told me that rooting means to have sex in Aus.
Reading this thread through that interpretation has been a blast!

There have been a few posts about "entering" and how to hold your "weapon" that have made me smile, but this has been the best one by a country mile. Maybe we should start a thread on double entendres in martial arts.

PS Thanks for the other explanations as well.

[Mut]

... yup rooting definantly has that meaning here.... nice thread keep it up!

[Ian]

this came up in the ben lo thread but i think it's worthy of it's own thread.

have you ever met anyone w/ a very strong root who did not do a lot of standing? i haven't yet. but if you have, please tell me how.

one way is to keep your eyes closed, hands in your pockets, stand on one leg and draw large figure-of-eights with your free leg.

the tailbone shouled be directly over the heel.

[wiesiek]

Some interesting points here from Dmitri and Lars.

in SC you try to lift each other around. .

is it really "lift"?
not " let them fly over u"/

[Bao]

Some interesting points here from Dmitri and Lars.

in SC you try to lift each other around. .

is it really "lift"?
not " let them fly over u"/

And in taiji you don't "push". . . I just wanted to have an opposite to "push", so I called it lift. Maybe it sounds wrong with "lift", I don't know.

[juz]

I thought the "rooting" double entendre was fairly universal...?

[Mut]

... it seems that state side a root is just a root...

[Andy_S]

So what is the point of "rooting?"

This idea of being "immovable - like a tree" strikes me as being martially ridiculous; it's only use is in push-pull type PH games, which, I think, completely lead people up the wrong garden path.

IMHO, rooting is designed to be used offensively, not defensively.

Ian:
Great exercise (we do it too -very difficult...one key is to keep the head level) but more for balance than rooting, IME.

[Ian]

Following Andy's question, how do you suddenly become nimble in footwork and adept at 'changing' if you spend most of your time learning how to be immovable?

[Walk the Torque]

So what is the point of "rooting?"

This idea of being "immovable - like a tree" strikes me as being martially ridiculous; it's only use is in push-pull type PH games, which, I think, completely lead people up the wrong garden path.

IMHO, rooting is designed to be used offensively, not defensively.
.

Rooting can be used very effectively for countering throws, sweeps, locks, take-downs.

Countering throws for instance is dependant on being able to root the opps force and bounce it straight back into his body, and beyond. This I still believe is the true meaning of borrowing force. Yes it can also be used offensively, however the act of rooting ( as I understand and practice it) is in taking an external force and channeling it to the earth. This being the case, the line between offence and defence becomes a wee bit blurred.

[Walk the Torque]

Following Andy's question, how do you suddenly become nimble in footwork and adept at 'changing' if you spend most of your time learning how to be immovable?

You don't!

What is it they say? everything starts in stillness?

I think learning to hold ground is just a stage. Imagine if you could hold the ground that your moving into

Seriously though, it takes time to be truely nimble whether you have rooting or not. Learning to root and then become nimble takes even longer. Also even though they are two different skills, learning how to root properly gives you a great foundation in terms of stability and so will always enhance your nimbility!

[Andy_S]

This idea of taking an external force and channeling it into the ground is useless against some of the most common forms of striking - have you ever seen a master who could 'root' a face punch, or 'root' a groin kick?

Even in grappling, I suggest rooting is only very, very momentary. And as for stability...there are times when you yield when you actually give up stablity.

Being able to spiral force UP through your joints, whether you are taking a step or applying a technique, though...that is something else.

The thing is, this is often best trained by force going DOWN....or "rooting" in other words. Training and application are different things. IME and IMHO, etc, etc.

[Bao]

This idea of taking an external force and channeling it into the ground is useless against some of the most common forms of striking - have you ever seen a master who could 'root' a face punch, or 'root' a groin kick?

Even in grappling, I suggest rooting is only very, very momentary. And as for stability...there are times when you yield when you actually give up stablity.

I really don't agree that rooting is a momentary thing. it is quite the opposite. It should always be there and it is ultimately a dynamic quality.

Rooting is not only for channeling. It is there for every defensive or offensive move you make. It is there, in every way you move, shift, block, strike. If you block or evade strong force, you need a very strong structure, even if you use less than "4 ounce" to deflect. Rooting is what secures your pengjin and over all stability. The Taller and wider a tree wants to grow, the deeper and wider it's roots needs to grow.

Understanding and giving structure to your own body and balance as a moving-dynamic object is really what rooting skill is all about. And not so much about transforming yourself into an un-movable object.