oragami_itto wrote:johnwang wrote:Steve James wrote:I know that you can be double weighted while standing on one leg.
Now you have really confused me. Is this double weighted?
Depends, what happens when you pull on his hand?
I am addressing these two old posts, because, IMO, they give the best lead-in into what my perception of "double-weightedness" is.
Basically, if all of your mass and balance are concentrated on one side of the body, so that you can be pulled, pushed, knocked, or leg-hooked off your center, then you are double-weighted. In the photo of Yang Jwing-Ming doing an application of "Jin Gi Ju Li," he has great balance; however, he is double-weighted with all his mass dedicated to the right side of his body. He's using passive balancing of his mass with his alignment to maintain his stance and structure.
In the internal martial arts, there is a complementary-opposite/counter-weighting of the opposite side of the body that keeps you stable, even when you are on one foot. However, it is not a passive process of simply positioning an arm or leg in such a way that its weight provides the counter-balance. Rather, it is a very active process of contracting very specific muscles on opposite sides of the body to create a simultaneous "push-pull" or "draw-propel" effect, cross-body. The manipulation of connective tissues is like an "X" with the right hip connected to the left shoulder, and the left hip connected to the right shoulder. The right hip draws down as the left shoulder area draws up; the left hip draws down as the right shoulder area draws up.
This has the effect of sending power into the hand and foot that feels either "full" or "empty" (depending on what the practitioner wants it to be) when the opponent contacts it, because there is counter-force feeding it or drawing it from the opposite hip and foot. It also allows the practitioner to manipulate the degree of contraction and expansion to maintain stability while standing on one foot. In that photo of Yang Jwing Ming, if he were using this cross-body dynamic, and someone pulled his right arm, he would counter it by condensing in his left hip and some other areas of soft "Yin" tissues, drawing his opponent down to the ground, without losing his own one-footed stance.
Again... an active process requiring specialized use of particular muscles and connective tissues - not one of passively shifting one's weight and alignment to deal with changes in force from an opponent.