Yeung wrote:I think this is a good definition of Taijiquan from the writing of Shen Jiazhen (1963).
https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/explaining-taiji-principles-taiji-fa-shuo/ON THE TRAINING METHOD FOR THE EIGHT GATES & FIVE STEPS
八卦五行是人生成固有之良必先明知覺運動四字之本由知覺運動得之後而后方能懂勁由懂勁後自能接及神明然用功之初要知知覺運動雖固有之良亦甚難淂之於我也
The eight trigrams and five elements are innate within us. You must first understand that they are based in these four terms: perception, realization, activation, action. [These four terms amount to “moving with awareness”.
This is a breakdown of four words – 知, 覺, 運, 動 – which would typically, and especially so for modern Chinese speakers, only be considered as two terms: 知覺 and 運動. To break movement (運動) and awareness (知覺) into their component parts results in: moving = the activation (運) of movement + the act (動) of moving, and awareness = the perception (覺) that something is + the realization (知) of what it is. In short, moving with awareness.
This idea is further elaborated upon in the next section, where the purpose of breaking down the two terms into four becomes more clear.]
Once you have achieved moving with awareness, then you will be able to identify energies. Once you can identify energies, then you will be able to be miraculous. But in the beginning of training, you should understand moving with awareness. Although it is innate, it is nevertheless hard to achieve within oneself.
everything wrote:seems like every single one has to have good mind-body integration, stretchiness, and springiness. heck, same with all sports for that matter (but most of those aren't specifically for self defense). yes, same with yoga ^^^
Shen Jiazhen wrote:6.4 Different tensions and completion in one go
7. From low tension to high tension, from high tension to low tension, the exercise of coordinating tensions
7.1 Coordination of tensions
7.2 A period of getting rid of stiffness to seek low tension
7.3 A period of training to produce high tension from low tension
7.4 Interchange of low tension and high tension
7.5 Mastering the coordination of tensions ...
8.3 Timing, coordination, and different tensions in slow and fast
Dr. Stuart McGill wrote:Great fighters simply get more out of their bodies to create fantastic performance. Teaming up with some top MMA/UFC fighters, we were able to document the “tricks” of striking fast and hard (see the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010)
Our objective of the testing was to document their motion patterns through video, together with muscle activation profiles, when striking a heavy bag. A muscle contracts from pulses from the brain sent via the nerves. These pulses create waveforms in the muscles that are detected by electrodes adhered to the skin overlaying the muscles. Special amplifiers and electronics capture the muscle activation profiles at a rate of 1000 times per second. The technique is known as Electromyography. We also wanted to precisely quantify the 3D motion of the lumbar region to examine how fighters use their core (McGill is a spine specialist and Chaimberg is a strength and Conditioning coach to many elite fighters).
Interestingly, we measured the same qualities that we find in many top athletes, from many sports. If we had to name a single variable common to these overachievers, it would be the incredible rate of muscle contraction and rate of relaxation.
First, the paradox linking muscle force and speed: when muscle contracts it creates force, but also stiffness. Force creates faster movement but the corresponding stiffness slows the change of muscle shape and joint velocity. For many the instruction to relax to obtain top speed seems counterintuitive. But this becomes instantly apparent hitting a golf ball. Try and hit hard using muscle and the ball never goes far. This is because muscle stiffness slows the motion down. The great long ball hitters relax through the swing gaining top speed but rapidly contract at ball contact to create a stiffness that is transferred to the club and ball. This is the “pulse”. Then the musculature instantly relaxed to maintain speed of follow through.
Similar principles apply for the hand strike and kick. The top fighters undergo a total body contraction and stiffness to initiate the foot motion of a kick. Then as the foot travels through the air gaining speed and covering distance, a relaxation phase occurs. This is followed by a second total body pulse just before impact to deliver maximum force into the opponent. This is akin to setting the entire body as an unyielding stone – thus hitting the opponent with the entire mass of the fighter. Failure to “double pulse” results in a slow kick or a soft impact, or both. Consider the activation of the back musculature demonstrated by Pavel – the great kettlebell coach and martial artist who has visited our lab. As a side note, Pavel has the strongest pound for pound “core” we have ever measured – his training works.
Dr. Stuart McGill wrote:Principle # 1 - Rapid contraction and then relaxation of muscle
I have measured muscle contraction in many top athletes. Their ability to rapidly contract muscle is astounding, but even more astounding is their ability to rapidly relax the muscle. Too many coaches train for speed with more strengthening approaches, actually slowing the athlete down. True speed requires rapid reciprocating limb motion. Rapid limb motion requires rapid transitioning between compliant muscles for speed but very active and stiff muscles for force and joint torque production. A muscle that cannot relax quickly will slow the athlete. ...
We have measured some of the great UFC mixed martial arts fighters recently who create a double pulse that results in impressive strike speed and power. World Champ Georges St Pierre shows the form (see figure 15.2). The first pulse initiates the foot or fist motion. Then some core muscles relax as speed increases while the hand/foot close the distance. Then the second pulse is timed to impact which stiffens the entire body. This is known as "effective mass" where the body is instantaneously turned to stone and the impact has the full weight of the fighter behind it. Rapid relaxation allows for a quick return to a defensive posture. ...
The professional golfer who has a relaxed backswing and initiation of downward club motion, but rapidly obtains super stiffness at ball impact, is the one who achieves the long ball (see figure 15.4). The one who tries to swing too hard with muscle activation too soon actually decreases speed of movement. This is why trying to "kill the ball" only results in a shortened distance. The axeman splitting wood uses the same technique. Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee and Vasily Alexeyev all knew the secrets of Superstiffness. Understand the relationship between speed, compliance and stiffness and you will be achieving ultimate performance. ...
As a side note, Pavel has the strongest pound for pound “core” we have ever measured – his training works.
Trick wrote:So TJQ(solo form) is not as Yoga. Although the Yoga we see today was created by Scandinavians and implemented into the physical training regime of the British armed forces...that’s why GrahameB is fascinated with it?
https://www.vikingmartialarts.com/dragaThe roots of modern yoga are not just Indian, they are also Scandinavian. What we now call yoga goes back a little over 100 years, and is a mix of Indian yoga and Scandinavian gymnastics / physical training techniques that were employed as British military exercise drills.The original Scandinavian source for modern yoga exercises come from Per Henrik Ling (1776-1839), founder of the Swedish gymnastic system. Following on from Ling's work, Niels Bukh (1880–1950) from Denmark, developed a system called Primitive Gymnastics, which “emphasized continuity of movement, rhythmic exercise, and intensive stretching to seek elasticity, flexibility, and freedom”. Bukh’s system became part of the official British army training program in 1906, and via the British Army, found it's way to India, where it came to occupy a central position in the Indian physical education scene in the early 1900s.
Stretchy movement will improve awareness, and that is why most practitioners were told to stretch their muscles instead of shorten then.
robert wrote:I think that is interesting. I watched a documentary on Yogananda, the guy who pretty much introduced yoga to the US in the 1920s. What he taught was basically meditation. The asanas that are so popular today was just stretching before meditating. Kind of like warm ups. IIRC the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali don't say much about asanas, it's mostly about developing the mind. FWIW.
TrainingDummy wrote:
If you want to read about yoga postures (asana) in their traditional context, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika , Gheranda Samhita and Shiva Samhita are good places to start. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are explicitly about Raja Yoga, not Hatha.
Yeung wrote:
Trick: the root of Yoga
The root of Taijqiaun is from Daoyin (guided stretching) and breathing exercise and meridians dated back to the Warring States period (before 221 BC).
Yeung wrote:Windwalker: “ what we use in my work
"open close, empty full, swallow, spit, move with awareness
基於開合、虛實與吞吐 的知覺運動"
Stretchy movement will improve awareness, and that is why most practitioners were told to stretch their muscles instead of shorten then.
Yeung wrote:Marvin8: Dr McGill and double-pulse
The problem with electromyography analysis is that it does not differentiate between eccentric and concentric muscle contraction, so it has the pattern of contract-relax-contract-relax instead of concentric-relax-eccentric-concentric. Shen Jiazhen suggested springiness in Taijiquan.
Yeung wrote:You should have access to electromyography, mechanomyography, and time and motion equipment to differentiate the lengthening and shortening of muscles to ascertain movements that do not use brut force or concentric muscle contraction.
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