Biomechanics and energy flow

It has been a while since my last entry, mainly due to me changing jobs and not having a long train journey when I would normally write my entries. The school is training in a new location and has introduced a new approach to classes so we are having the chance to always do sparring each week and bag work. Also there is an 'internal' class which is Tai Chi and I am enjoying it enormously.

To be honest there has not been that much in the training that has inspired me to write a blog entry, until last night. Sifu corrected our arm position during a tiger strike move. Most of the student's elbows were facing out towards the wall rather than down to the ground. This subtle distinction makes a very significant difference in the strength of the move. Anatomically, it engages much more of the chest and back muscles, you can particularly feel your lats engage as you rotate the elbow down. From the kung fu point of view the reason is to do with energy flow within the body, with the elbow out the energy is lost outside the framework of the body. With the elbow more tucked in and facing down within the shoulder line/framework you are able to tap into the energy of your whole body. Both these approaches are correct, depending on whether you want to take a more scientific approach to the situation or embrace the more esoteric kung fu view.

I love little gems of information like this. I am interested in the biomechanics of all the movements and taking advantage of these ideas to enhance my technique. Just taking some time to learn a little bit about functional movement of muscles and joints will improve your training. At the same time pay attention to the traditional ideas of energy flow and body positioning as this will enhance your technique even further. In the Tai Chi class we visualize our legs as two tall glasses, one full of water and one empty. As we move our weight from one leg to the other we visualize pouring water from one container to the other which helps transfer energy from one leg to the other. Once you release the energy from a leg it is free to move around easily and be positioned where you need it, while the other leg gets grounded being full of energy.

The point of mentioning the Tai Chi is that if you concentrated on purely biomechanics in the shifting of one stance to another I think it is unlikely that you would find the same sense of grounding as visualizing the water (energy) flow between legs as you move through the stances. Whether you believe in the esoteric side of martial arts or not, I believe you would find a firmer, more grounded stance when you focus on the energy flow as well as good technique. My point being that focus on biomechanics will improve you and an effort to understand energy within the body may just take your training to a higher level.

Nick
Green stripe sash