Qing Gong

[Doc Stier]

well,
thank you for reminding me the basic, dry, school booklet,
but
it is not the answer,
and
you know it, of course.
You choose is- the Wayne`s way,
let it be ,

always better, than
let it bleed

I accept, that this is internet and everybody are free to:
say/do, as much, as they like to,
even more:
do whatever they like to do.
just, as they say - hope die last

Ok. Fair enough. Sorry to disappoint you, but short of posting a lengthy, in depth description of how to do it, I'm not sure what you want me to say. In answering your question, I clearly stated why reverse breathing is cultivated and practiced in our SMT System.

[wiesiek]

clear,
I hadn`t wall to wall description in the mind.
Most of poster here, has nuf experience, to grasp ideas from few words.
I`ve been thinking about some point/s/ more personal, from your experience.
Not only serious one, like what was lookin` hard but came out easy, or in revers, for ex.,
maybe something funny happens , why not?
We aren`t diggin` charcoal all the time.

[Doc Stier]

The most difficult part of IMA training for me was the blending of internal and external power components into a single, unified entity. Each half of the equation presented significant challenges to address by themselves, before I even got to a point where I could realistically consider unifying them correctly and efficiently.

The external physical study of proper structural alignment, correct stances and footwork, along with learning the principles, postures and movement sequences of form sets and drills, was a bitter and exhausting experience as instructed by a demanding and uncompromising Old School teacher. Most students either dropped out or were kicked out for not training seriously enough.

The internal aspects were even more difficult, because they required a 'feeling' awareness of unseen factors that I simply didn't possess initially. To simultaneously be aware of feeling a correct structure, relaxed joints and muscles, where weight was distributed, where the center of gravity and body mass was located, where unnecessary physical tension and stiffness was located, and so forth, was at first far more than I could successfully keep track of while practicing. Each of these things had to be focused on individually until they no longer required my conscious mental attention to maintain, and then had to be brought together under the mindful awareness of an overall 'feeling'.

Adding regulated breathing methods and mental intention training to the mix, plus properly integrating these with the coordinated synchronization of the external postures and movement patterns required yet another higher level of conscious awareness and monitoring in order to bring a unified body, mind and breath simultaneously to the same points of contact, both defensively and offensively, at the same time.

Among all of my primary teacher's students over several decades time, only five of us successfully completed the entire training process. Most others resigned themselves somewhere along the way to being satisfied with the smaller achievements of focusing mostly on improved health and fitness, personal self-cultivation and self-realization, or a minimal self-defense capability.

As in most skill related activities, small efforts produce small skills, while greater efforts produce greater skills. Perseverance always furthers personal achievement.

[wiesiek]

Thank You very much.

[wiesiek]

..."Among all of my primary teacher's students over several decades time, only five of us successfully completed the entire training process...."

Very truth for humans behavior .Not to many is able to reach the top of their mind/body ability, not because lack of talent, they simply quit...
In my school, only two from my 30 classmates crossed 1st dan level, and didin`t quit.

ps
funny example from TJ Chen school, where I`ve been for while:
there was a guy, which quit after couple trainings weeks, `cause he realized, that is unable to fly, and even worse, shifu will not teach him flying ...

[Doc Stier]

..."Among all of my primary teacher's students over several decades time, only five of us successfully completed the entire training process...."

Very truth for humans behavior .Not to many is able to reach the top of their mind/body ability, not because lack of talent, they simply quit...
In my school, only two from my 30 classmates crossed 1st dan level, and didin`t quit.

ps
funny example from TJ Chen school, where I`ve been for while:
there was a guy, which quit after couple trainings weeks, `cause he realized, that is unable to fly, and even worse, shifu will not teach him flying ...

Hahaha! A quick Google search would probably have turned up a 'master' who could teach him how to fly. As always, fools and their money are quickly parted. Delusional teachers and misguided students are everywhere these day. Lol

[Quigga]

Feeling like flying is fun though

Disengaging the muscles near the spine feels like a mistake

Letting muscles have some basic tension and contraction (they're Yin tissue after all) in opening stance - helps to avoid crumbling into the floor

Flatness of torso important

Muscles contract, hang, store
Fascia twists, bounces, releases
Bones support, absorb, shockwave
Blood and Qi flow, nourish, distribute
Senses open, inform, cleanse
Journeyman follows Light along the Way

Blind yet seeing
Hearing yet deaf
Tasting yet dead
Smelling yet rotten
Feeling yet untouched

Way is big, we are small

[Doc Stier]

And as the old kungfu saying goes...

"Looked for, cannot be seen; listened for, cannot be heard; and reached for, cannot be touched."

[Quigga]

I like your version a lot, too