Giles wrote:bruised wrote:robert wrote:The Chinese have a saying - something like seeking the far, they missed the near. FWIW.
is the near how to fight better?
i seek excellent baseline to start specific training on how to fight better, but that is not my main goal. main goal: body feels clear, head feels clear.
I'd say generally, and almost certainly in your case, the "near" is not about fighting, but about learning to move with "heaven-earth connection", i.e. very gently raising the crown of your head and freeing up your neck, and simultaneously letting your spine and the tissues around it relax downwards through the sacrum and to the tailbone. "Hanging the bucket in the well" is another image for that. Then generally doing your silk-reeling movements in a slower and much more relaxed manner while maintaining this heaven-earth connection. While breathing gently but deeply, and with general body awareness, not focusing on specific 'energies' or 'energy centres'. This should gradually (!!) loosen up and simultaneously connect all parts of your body. After a few months of moving like this, preferably with direct feedback from a teacher, you might be ready for a next stage. Anything else is trying to run before you can walk, and can backfire healthwise as well.
Good luck, enjoy...
PS. My signature line is always this, not specially for the occasion...
thank you for feedback! will slow my roll and hang the bucket! i usually think of my back as stacked. i've recently started focusing on "heavenly pressures" vs "earth pressures" which kinda sounds like what you're mentioning you see in my movements. it's been very helpful! you hit the nail on the head too, my biggest mental challenge is not to rush, i'm definable "chasing" or "reaching" something.