I-mon wrote:Have you considered putting in some sort of structure testing with a partner to help people understand the concept of "root"?
Well, that's an interesting question. If we unpack it a bit it assumes there is a concept called "Root" which we can agree on and we can test it with "structure testing".
Hmm...One of the things I've noticed and come to understand about martial arts over the years is that a lot of people substitute "structure" instead of creating a proper connection to the ground. These are two different things in my opinion.
What I'm trying to show in week 6 was how to work on developing that connection to the ground - basic jin - from an incoming force without using "structure" or a "frame" to support it. Obviously there needs to be some substance to the body (Qi) for this to work - you can't be just a sloppy bean bag (weak qi!) but the usual reaction is to try to do too much with the structure - creating a frame to support weight, rather than letting it drop to the feet (ground). This is working with gravity, not against it.
Sure, there are lots more exercises that could be done to support this, but it gets too far away from the basic course I'm trying to present.
Good question.