Re: Tai Chi mechanics — Mark Rasmus
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:35 am
windwalker wrote:One question he asked was whether I could relate taiji some taiji movements using my understanding to what are called
six degrees of freedom. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_freedom
This is an interesting starting point. An object in space can be moved ("translated") along any of three axes or rotated about any of those axes, for a total of 6 "directions" of motion (degrees of freedom). The human body, however, can distort/alter its shape, offering additional possible types of motion than simple translation or rotation. In at least some of the "internal" martial arts, this additional type of motion - expansion/contraction - is used as a primary source of developing "power" or "force".
I have a 100-minute video that describes the foundation of movement in Taijiquan as being comprised of expansion/contraction, translation and rotation.
Degrees of freedom don't readily apply to an amorphous, readily deformable object, such as, say, squishing jello or water. The human body is somewhere in the middle, a rigid structure, but one that can deform under applied loads.
I have consistently found that using physics combined with traditional IMA termanology goes a long way to understanding and challenging ones own understanding based on it.
As have I.