Recognising your lines of force.

Its been a little while since i have posted any information on here, so sorry about that. I have been very busy training in various arts to expand my knowledge base and test my body skill.  But i have a few posts on the go so will be updating again in the next few days with some more information.

I was recently talking to a friend who was explaining a method of pushing on a wall to recognise what line was in use in a given expression of power. It is interesting that this guy wasn't from an IMA background as this sort of structure testing is something we do quite often.

But this way of establishing the line is just the first step in recognising what is required of the body and its lines when expressing directional power. Lets have a look at some ideas relating to this method.

1) Push the wall.
Here we simple take the position of a specific method, a punch or kick, shoulder bump or elbow strike, while placing the striking surface on a wall. We then push or press against the wall to feel what parts of the body are being engaged. This anatomical line is the one we form up behind the given direction when we make said movement.

This is the first line to recognize and really feel. It will highlight to us what the forming up line is behind a given movement allowing us to tailor solo and power training to developing that line for maximum expression behind the applying surface.

2) The empty lines/areas
Next we need to focus on the areas of the body not involved in forming up behind the applying surface. So for instance, in a straight punch the back leg to front hand may be the primary line of force, so we need to examine the front leg and non punching hand/side of the body.

Once we are able to feel these ‘empty areas’ of the body we need to work to engage them. Or fill them so that they are no longer empty. All the while still applying force along our primary line. We don't want them to be along for the ride but actually contributing directly to the stability of the structure or expression of force.

This is much easier said than done but the aim is to have a unified force  assisted by complimentary forces fed in from areas not required in alignment behind the specified direction.

3) Opposite directional forces
It may seem counter intuitive to have a reactionary force opposing the primary direction, but this is also a requirement if we wish to establish and maintain an equilibrium. When applying force along a direction or around an axis it is easy to ‘overcomit’ our power in said direction making us very vulnerable. The application building of a complimentary but opposite force is needed to retain our centre and balance.

This isn’t an easy concept to grasp but for instance for certain strikes the spine will be used like a bow or a spring, in a bow the tips spring due to the opposing central pressures (otherwise the whole bow would move through space) In a spring the compression is opposed by the solid base or equal pressure from the other side. Without these opposing forces there would be no potential to emit power.

Summary
Actually developing these lines and ideas once recognized is the one of the overriding principles of the internal arts. We are aiming for Maximum efficiency and mechanics in a given direction. But first, as seen above we must understand what the direction actually is inside our body, rather than outside in the resultant motion.

The Invention of the “Traditional” Chinese Martial Arts

Interesting article on CMA

http://chinesemartialstudies.com/2013/01/07/lives-of-the-chinese-martial-artists-4-sun-lutang-and-the-invention-of-the-traditional-chinese-martial-arts-part-i/

Thanks to Graham from RSF for the link.

Enjoy!

Attack the attack.

Off the back of my last post i thought i would share some ideas on Xing Yi’s combat strategy that are applicable to most systems of MA. The first one is to ‘Attack the Attack’.

One of the key methods we find in Xing Yi is the idea of attacking the attack as a method of defending the attack. Now this might sound a little complicated at first but we can break it down into several easily digestible chunks. 

1. Basic Premise

What does attacking the attack really mean? Well you can look at it like this. When the opponent begins their flurry or method you move in on a good line attacking them with various methods appropriate to the open gates created by their attack. This idea is seen in some good boxers and MMA fighters where as their opponent begins an attack they will really go forward and put huge attacking pressure on. Fedor and Crocop were masters of this principle.

2. Timing

Timing is an interesting concept here. We are trying to recognise the instant an attack is forming or formed and attack inside the timing structure of that attack. 

3. Focus

Here  we work to overcome the incoming intent with pinpoint focus, driving our attack through the attack of the opponent in unrelenting combination.

4. Unrelenting

We are trying to overwhelm their attack instinct. It is not enough to just throw a punch as they punch .. though this may well end the encounter if you do it well! We need to have that hunting mindset of subduing some prey.

5. Angulation

One of the most important points is that our attack is NOT stupid! We need to have a good line on their attack and go in on an angle that is not in opposition to their angle. If you just flail in ... you will get knocked out!

6. Power

The power of our attack needs to be extreme and overwhelming. The force we put through to them needs to be centred but not easy to escape or deal with. (good xing Yi’s speciality.)

Try some drills to work on this idea of attacking the attack. Start with slow movement sparing and try to recognise the formation of the attack in the opponent. Then you can up the speed, pads and power. We can also work with mitts to bring out this principle, and i will post some methods on yuotube when i have time.

Missing out on Realism.

Recently I watched an interesting video airing on Chinese television at the moment which follows a couple of young MMA and Wing Chun guys travelling around to various masters in China to experience and ultimately test various martial arts.

This episode related to the home of Xing Yi Quan and XinYi. There was some good interesting information in the program and some interesting demonstrations of application of forces etc on opponents, some nice forms and training methods and some good body work on show. But with that in mind look at this video of the exchanges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=91ythWqde-c

When these ‘masters’ of Xing yi came to ‘spar’ with the presenters they found themselves completely unable to apply their method, principle and general combat goal. Why?? Let’s make no mistake, these are good level masters in respected Xing Yi traditions.

The answer is fairly simple really and something that many in martial traditions do not like to admit.

Their training has an absence of realism.

What do i mean by this? Well in my opinion training can be broken down into a 3 areas.

1) BodyworkThis means we are building the body specifically for the combat work it will undertake. This means functional cardiovascular fitness, power, co-ordination, strength and mental capacity. No matter what style or approach to combat you need these basic qualities.
2)Application of force principlesThis is where we work on ‘applications’ of the frame or body to test power and co-ordination against a moving opponent.
3) Testing of combat capacityHere we work on free, unpredictable combative work. This can be sparing, free pushing hands, Situation work, and multiple opponent drills, whatever is not fixed in place.

It is in that 3^rd part of training that we test our ‘Unconscious Competence’. That is our ability to do things well without thinking of doing things well. This is the stage that a lot of people miss out on and is the only way to realistically test how our training is affecting our combative capability.

This is worth thinking about if training IMA’s etc. These guys are at the source, the root and home of Xing Yi and couldn’t perform past the basic level of an amateur sport fighter ... Does your training give you an understanding of your ‘Unconscious Competence’??

NEW CLASS - Monday 7th January 2013

IMA / Combative Fundamentals Class

Starting Monday the 7th January 2013 I will be holding a new session for those interested in Combative training from the ground up.  

With the information base coming from the internal arts and real combat experience the Fundamentals training will combine innovative body work training, realistic combat drills and combat methods for all ranges and situations. 

The aim of this 1 year training is to bring about a good level of skill within a year. I will back up the weekly training sessions with a monthly 4 hour evaluation session to give more detail and see where the group is at any point.

An rough outline of the course is shown below. Please not that although the first few months will be focused primarily on health, fitness and body development the program will always include some 2 person training in all sessions and all work is combat relevant. The sessions will work top to bottom so for the first few months this can be viewed as a health and fitness class in many respects.

At the end of these first sections you can expect to be, stronger, leaner, more co-ordinated and better able to move with purpose.

Please inform anyone that is interested in training from the ground up, be them experienced martial artists looking for a new dimension to training or complete beginners looking for something new.

This going ahead is based on numbers so please let anyone you can know!

Body skill training

-          Basic Body strength

-          Basic Connection

-          Flexibility

-          Fluidity

-          Natural movement

-          Contextual movement patterns

Line training

-          Targeted tissue development

-          Linking the body

-          Continuation of body skill training

Level 1 Training

-          Fundamentals of stand up wrestling

o   Listening Skill

o   Push & pull

o   Twist & cross

o   Catch the joint

o   3 pillars of throwing and take downs

-          Fundamentals of striking

o   Mechanics of alignment

o   Mechanics of generation

o   Force transfer

o   Placement

o   In/out – open/close

-          Continuation of Body skill training

Level 2 Training

-          Range training and Listening skills

o   Free work feed drills

o   Movement flow drills

o   Kick>punch>elbow>grapple listening drills

o   Multiple opponent flow

o   Pad work

-          Knife

o   Check training

o   Move training

o   Hit training

o   Flow drills and integration of strategy

-          Self defence considerations.

o   What is it

o   What do we need to be effective

o   What DONT we need!

-          Continuation of body skill training.

1 YEAR MARK

Level 3 training

-          Advanced h2h combat training

o   Will be explained at this stage **

-          Advanced Self defence

o   Will be explained at this stage **

** This part of the training is reliant on the foundation/fundamental training that precedes it and the content is not usefully explained unless that training has been completed. No secrets, just reliance on previous fundamentals.

UKIMA training session Clip.

This is an overview of a recent UKIMA training session covering application of some Pi Quan concepts, held at Seishin Dojo MMA & BJJ centre in Gloucester UK.

Covered was:
Relevant warm ups,
Bodywork, 
Connection,
Striking
Angulation
Gripping to control retreat
Tempo and Rythm 
Movement
take downs
and free work.

Stability in mobility

Recently in Tai chi Class we have been working on mobility and footwork while retaining the principles of stability and equilibrium  This is an interesting practice that can really put Tai chi folks out of their comfort zone somewhat when we really speed it up. Let’s have a look at a few of the key principles of retaining good mechanics while being mobile and agile in our footwork.

1) The Base (not ‘root’)

The idea of the base is an interesting one. It is generally thought to be the area covered by the body position on the floor. We see in many throwing arts the idea of having this stable base in order to effectively power throws, trips and take downs. But how does a stable base relate to agile and mobile footwork?

In a nutshell what we need is awareness of the coverage of our base even when we are in motion. This is of course a flexible and ever changing system. When we make shuffle steps or switch steps the base reaction will be different but we must try to understand our coverage and how far we can extend, turn or project our force.

2) Proprioception

What we mean here is feedback from the sole of the foot as to the body positioning. Without a doubt this is a very important part of movement capacity. If you have poor proprioceptive feedback then most likely your movement skill will not have stability.

There are 9 points on the feet that we can focus on when we stand.

5 x toe points

The ball of the big toe

The adjoining ball of the other 5 toes (this is a single pad)

The ridge of the foot

The heal of the foot.

These are the points to focus on when training in order to increase out proprioception. A very good training for people who have damaged ankles or feet as it will help the nervous system to learn control.

3) Axis Control

In my opinion one of the most important aspects of mobility with stability is the control of the bodies axis, the line the runs from the crown to the perineum. Once this line is under our control, that is to say it is not unconsciously tilting, bending, leaning or swinging, we automatically obtain a level of stability within the context of our mobility. A controlled Axis can move through space in any direction or manner within the base created by the feet. It can lean, tilt, bow, wave etc but this is all under conscious control and a result of intent to do so, no simply ‘slack’ in the system.

One of the points related to Axis control is the control of the base and top of the axis. That is to say the Pelvis and Head. We need to have a good understanding of how the release or fixing of the head and pelvis affect our control of the axis and its capabilities during dynamic movement.

For instance the head can lead the movement of the entire body, much like a goose flying, the head stretches out in front of the body to pull the axis. Or the head can fix in position as the body turns, creating a spiralling stability in the body during motion. There are many varied ways that the head can be used to create stability in the axis.

4) Breathing

Another important aspect of good mobility with stability is how we breath. Breathing is a seemingly overlooked aspect of movement in many arts, but in arts like Russian Systema it is central to how they move and create dynamic, structured movement.

In order to move freely and effectively we need to be very aware of how we hold our breath and the pressures that may result. It is often these pressures that can inhibit our movement in some way especially at combat speeds. Out breath is very useful to lead smooth movement. Especially whey in comes to changing direction, height or position. It leads relaxation which is one of the keys to efficient movement change.

That said sometimes using breath for structural re-enforcement is a necessity. It is used to create physical structure much like the skin of a balloon becomes taut as air is blown in. In this instance we can use the in breath during movement to help us maintain some axis stability during certain force expressions.

Summary

There are other important points to dynamic movement with stability. Such as Root, spatial awareness etc but these are just a few points to bear in mind when you work on movement skills.