Models for Internal Development and their Application in Martial Arts

Continued from Volume 6 Issue 1

The arch

The principle here is that there should be an arch from floor to point of contact with the opponent and no part of the body should be behind the foot transferring power generally the rear foot but it may be the front foot. This applies whatever part of the body is in contact with the opponent but is most easily seen with the fist or foot the principle is the same for the shoulder, elbow, knee or head making up the Chinese nine stars.

Thus in punching

.... and in kicking.

As with a flying buttress which has weight above to stabilise it, the body in kicking should be above or slightly in front of the foot on the floor. An arch with a kink in it cannot transfer force. Effectively this means that the hip should be in front of the foot and the body leaning slightly forward.

This combines with centre (Hara or Dantien) activated hip movement to create an expansion in the centre of the arch. For example, in kicking and punching, hip rotation generated from the waist gives the final explosive power by extending the arch from the immovable floor into our opponent.

We can place the punch or kick on our opponent very quickly by a closing process. This fast delivery system is then followed by an explosive opening and the effect has the feel of a punch-push or kick-push with much greater speed and penetration than often experienced.

The stabilisers and the mobilisers

from Karel Koskuba Chinese Internal Arts Association

Stabiliser muscles are short-action, slow-twitch fibre muscles near to the joints and bones and are the ones used by statue artists and free climbers to maintain static positions. Mobilisers are the large, fast-twitch muscles that power movement. Generally it is optimal if we can isolate these somewhat so that our position is retained by stabilisers, which also resist external action. This gives a relaxed but poised condition ("Sung" in Chinese) such that the mobilisers are relaxed and correctly extended with "slack taken up" so that when the correct ones are fired their action is extremely rapid and powerful.

Use of the Dantien/Hara to initiate this firing in an outward propagation results in Fa-jing, which enables us to form a direct connection from the floor to our opponent.

The structural model

Non-linear alignment stabilisers hold the structure to allow the force to go round a corner, but may require some other force (eg weight) to ensure the force is still transmitted in the direction required.

This model is akin to pushing a bicycle chain. If all the links are exactly aligned then the chain may be pushed (eg on a table top). However one misalignment will create a kink, which simply gets bigger the more one pushes.

The stabilisers serve to lock this link in place so that it can still transmit force. But the better aligned we can get all these links, then the more force the structure can bear.

Thus we have a need for skeletal alignment, which also incorporates a need to be dynamically positioned such that the mobilisers have maximum leverage when required (ie the muscular structure then needs to be arranged such that each muscle is in the best position to contract powerfully). Exact linear alignment is therefore not optimal. Angles of 45° are nearer dynamic optimum for initiation of action. Equally, of course, joints at +90° are in their weakest position. In particular we should of course pay strict attention to joint orientation such as with the knees which should always act in a strictly one dimensional hinge fashion careful in-line alignment of the hip-knee-foot being important when seeking to transfer power through the knee.

Body usage based on these models is not "natural", but then neither is upright posture which is why we need to learn specialised ways of moving. They do enable us to use our bodies in a lightly loaded (low stress) way and to maximise movement and power. Greater efficiency from a relaxed body then enables the body to last longer and stay mobile and healthy for longer. The principle being that if we find the best way of working then it will require less effort and create less deterioration.

The emotional model

In order to achieve the condition implied by these models, we also need to address the controls exerted on our bodies by our emotional states. Tense emotional states, fear, anxiety, etc feed through to our mobiliser muscles in low/high level fight/flight/freeze reaction. In order to maintain a flexible connected condition, it is important to maintain a relaxed emotional state matching the state of readiness we seek to maintain in our muscles.

There are many ways to address this fear reaction how it is done is perhaps less important than that it should be done at all, since without it progress soon reaches a physical ceiling. Processes such as meditation and psychotherapy can assist with this. Likewise, gaining confidence in our technique will help. Indeed, the simple process of frequently repeating bodily actions has a calming effect.

Each student therefore needs to find a way to approach their basic primal fears not just of confrontation but of simple things such as falling over.

Implications in fighting applications

The body condition implied from these models is thus able to resist outside action with minimal effort (by use of stabilisers and good structure) and to operate in a way that is fast, light, grounded and centred, able to generate power very rapidly over short distances by unifying the whole body to the point of action. The opponent cannot feel this movement easily because it is light and sensitive, he is unprepared consciously and sub-consciously he literally doesnt know what hit him.

The models can be used to describe output of power at any point of the body. Generally this will be by connection to the ground (via a Peng Path that line of force/connectivity running through the body from opponent to floor) but it can also be used when not connected to the floor in generating power from the centre against body inertia.

Thus, for example, against a punch one arm may be used to block in a relaxed way taking the energy through the stabiliser-supported structure. Energy is then fed into the mobilisers of the blocking arm, pliometrically fed down to the abdominal muscles of the waist and into the legs pliometrically. The energy is then returned by the legs and by the opposite arm in the form of a punch. The block and punch occur almost instantaneously using energy from the opponents punch absorbed pliometrically, neutralised by the stabilised structure and the waist movement, then returned to the opponent with the centre-fired, whip-like action of the mobilisers.

In practice a consequence of these models is that in order to fully utilise their principles in a conflict situation, we find it becomes important to connect with the opponent in such a way as to be able to absorb some of their energy. This means we need to meet their attack in a resilient way as it comes to us in fact psychologically we want to meet it, as that gives us the best chance of effective response. This requires that we address and deal with our fears about these situations since that fear of meeting an attack will prevent us taking the best possibility of survival. It is not a good idea to eliminate the fear which will after all provide the energy for our response but it is necessary to keep it from taking over so that we can use our training to good effect. The old taiji saying of he moves I have moved first can be applied in that our body needs to be moving internally in preparation for his attack even before he makes it physical, for example by putting the body in a state of connected potentiality. For most of us this is a conscious process but at high levels it may be possible to maintain this state continuously the prior action taking place in years of training.

Development of a body in line with these models seems to add to practice of any art and to enable us to be strong in postures that at first sight appear weak. We can then operate from whatever position we find ourselves in.

Training to achieve physical body usage in line with these theories

These models are not new; they are derived from study of various martial arts, in particular Chinese internal systems such as taiji. There are many training systems already in place such as silk reeling exercises, qigong, relaxed stretching using the out breath and many others. Ultimately, it seems we must change our bodies if we wish to develop. They should become springy, relaxed, firm and resilient. Fortunately this theoretical model of optimal body usage also seems to be a healthy way to be, so promoting mobility into old age.

The models shown are necessarily simplified into two dimensions, their combination into three dimensions with partner interaction and dynamic movement is a sophisticated process codified in the internal martial arts (such as taiji) but equally applicable to the external arts (such as karate) where this process can help to maintain ability into old age.

Wider applications

The models described are equally applicable in the area of sports/leisure activities as various as dance, archery, skating, skiing, canoeing, etc, where we can see the athletes demonstrating many of the elements described to control their acrobatics or the equipment they use. Crucial to our martial arts interpretation however is the development of control over an opponent and transmission of power, primarily from the ground a factor which adds significantly to the demands placed on any development model we may use since these models must allow for the relationship with another person trying to attack and control us.

Whatever the theory we are still concerned with two animals fighting we forget that at our peril.

© Ian Deavin

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Longfei Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 2 Table of Contents