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.

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.

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. 

Fighting predisposition & self defence

Anyone who has worked in the security industry for any length of time will know that there are some people out there who love to fight. They are always ready and willing to get into a combative encounter should the need or opportunities arise. These people are sometimes the ones who eventually turn to combat sports, door work or other less savoury means to satisfy their need for combat, to satisfy their predisposition to fighting.

But can this attitude be learnt or applied to self defence through training and indeed should it?! I am of the honest opinion that it cant.

To say that in order to be effective in a self defence situation you need to be switched on or ready to fight at all times is simply not an option for most people if they are not predisposed to fighting. It is not a practical solution to the problem as it takes mental effort and focus that can often burn a person out, cause tensions and illnesses.

This is where the idea of ‘switching intent’ comes in.

Switching intent is simply going from one thing to another.

But there is more to it than that of course, It is going from one thing to something extremely different in a split second, and remaining functional in both. That is to say it is not simply to react, as reaction can be out of our control.

It can be said that the act of going from Wuji posture in Xing yi to san ti is mind training to switch on to the task to come. To manifest the intent and use it to direct movement. This can be a bit abstract for those that don’t do xing yi however. It is much simpler to describe it thus.

Lets say I am walking along a street and a car mounts the Kerb towards me, in a fraction of a second my intent, focus and body state will change in reaction to the change in situation. However, if I freeze and cover up, I will get hit by the car, this is an example of untrained reaction not being useful. If I leap out of the way then the reaction is useful, I was prepared to act even though I was not thinking of acting.

This is the process of ‘switching on’ to a threat or change in circumstance.

Do we need a predisposition to fighting to go from nothing to something? No. We can learn to focus our natural response reactions so that they become useful to us in a combative situation, so that they become recognisable to us. The action, reaction and focus of intent become one. It is easier said than done however as the majority of this work resides in the mind and can be difficult to consciously recognise.

If I get into MMA or another combat sport and start to heavy spar, compete or train with great coaches, does this reflect the mental change required to go from relaxing drinking a pint with friends to fighting for your life? Simply put, no it doesn’t!

This is not to say that MMA or another combat sport wont give you the tools to finish the encounter once you have switched on... in most cases it certainly will! But will it train you to actually switch on?

So there needs to be a layer of mind training in whatever art you do that will afford the awareness and Trained natural response reaction needed to save yourself. This is accomplished in many varied ways by many difference self defence trainers. But we can say that the need boils down to this:

‘In training,  do not let the mind be comfortable with the situation you get into.’

This is a process of targeted struggle as i have mentioned in previous articles.

If I am in my gym or dojo and we are about to do some combat work, sparring or similar i already have a level of mental preparation that i have set up to deal with the reality that is about to come. This is also true of competition, even though it is a random situation in some respects, it is also mentally preparable. Even if its hard heavy sparring my mind is still prepared for this.

So the training drills need to be focused on how to remove the security of knowing what is to come. This can be achieved in many ways as i have said. But here are a few examples.

1.       Recognising the switch (opening a form)

If your chosen art or method has forms then this is a good way to begin to train to recognise the switch of intent.

-          Stand completely still eyes closed and empty the mind of any notion of form or training

-          The millisecond you open your form switch your mind very clearly onto the task at hand.

-          Repeat.

This is actually a very hard mind training method. The process of loosing thought of training before training is a difficult thing to achieve!

2.       Unplanned Pad slaps
Here we are looking to take the mind from a state of calm to a state of reaction without preparing the person for the work.

-          In groups of 4 have 3 with focus mitts on a 1 without.

-          The one without leaves the room.

-          The three with select a person to make the initial attack.

-          Invite the partner back into the room

-          Walk in a group around the room talking and making idle chit chat. This can go on for 5 minutes or however long it takes for the person to become distracted by the conversation.

-          At that moment the pad man selected to initiate the attack makes his move with a high tempo of slaps to the body and head of the partner.

-          They have to react naturally to the threat

You can layer this training up and up and it becomes a very interesting process, much like Kato attacking Inspector Cluso in the Pink panther movies!

The really important thing with this drill if for the person being attacked to recognise how they switch and for the pad men to wait for however long it takes till the partner is lost in the conversation or whats happening.

In conclusion

It is not necessary to be ‘on’ all the time. Indeed it is an impossibility for most people that are not predisposed to fighting or combat.

As Self defence trainers we have to find other ways to switch someone on when the time is right. This idea of training the ‘switch’ itself is very helpful if it can be zoned in on and trained as a component unto itself.

What we end up with is a practitioner who leads a normal life without thought of combat, but when the time is right Naturally switches their intent to the task at hand.

Taking the centre Idea 2 – finding the line through

Following on from the last post on Leading the centre i thought i would through some light onto the subject of projecting the opponents centre or ‘finding the line through’. This is a great skill to have and can create very different striking sensation as well as very useful throwing and take down skills.

What is the ‘line through’.

When i say finding the line through what i mean is the line from point of contact through the structure that disrupts the balance with minimal appreciable effort. Here we are not looking for the opponent to ‘form up’ behind this pressure, but for them to be unable to create any resistance back through that line.

A simple example.

Get your partner to stand with legs shoulder width and locked. Place your fist on their breast bone and gently push. This line is unopposed and can affect their balance with ease and minimal input of force.

Obviously that is just to give an idea, and when applied against a structure with dynamic movement and changing support positions the skill becomes more difficult and refined.

Why find the line through

Finding the line through the opponent’s structure is extremely useful for striking and especially throwing or taking an opponent down. The Line through essentially represents a past of least resistance into the internal body structures (organs, bones etc). For striking this is a very useful idea for obvious reasons!

When it comes to throwing the line through will aid the direction of off balancing (see three pillars of throwing article). You will be able to effect the opponents position with minimal effort and maximum efficiency of direction (see defining martial arts article)

Some exercises

1 - The line through a stable structure

Here we get our partner to stand in the strongest stance they can and try to find the line through.

• Ask your partner to take a strong stance
• Place your hand or fist on the partner approaching him from the front
• Push straight ahead with a consistant pressure. Not enough to make him move.
• Maintaining the same pressure slowly adjust the direction and angle of your pushing force until the partner looses balance. It is VERY important that you dont ‘try’ to push them over but simply let the line find the best route.

Variation –

Your partner maintains doesn’t move their feet but tries to escape your pressure as you constantly change to find the line in a moving structure.

2- Line through a moving structure.

Here the partner is in motion using whatever footwork they like as you try to find the line through.

• Your partner starts from 4 – 6 feet away and walks towards you.
• You place your hand or fist on them and apply pressure to the line through
• The partner should be stopped, pushed back or diverted in their direction.

NOTE: it is important your partner does not try to use their arms to block yours or similar

Variation –

Your partner uses combative footwork as do you, still he is not utilising his arms and your simply applying a force to find the line through

In both of these training methods you should not be ‘muscling’ though the opponent, it should feel like you hardly push at all but the effect is significant. When this happens you have found the ‘line through’.

Coaching People

Coaching people

As a Martial Arts coach, sensei, shihan or Sifu it is common place to apply a subscribed syllabus of techniques methods or training to your school or group and teach people within the pre determined methods of the tradition. But is this enough? Does it fulfil your responsibilities as a Coach / Teacher but more importantly does it provide the solutions that the individual might require.

Of course structure is useful to a degree in teaching martial arts. With a set goal of training we can work towards a obtaining a certain skill set or method over time. However, especially in the early stages, the idea of a ‘one size fits all’ solution to the movement or structure problems of the individual falls down.

It is in this early stage that your MA coach should take time to specifically recognise and rehabilitate and movement or postural deficiencies so that your body is a capable container for the knowledge and methods it is about to receive.

It is not enough for everyone in the group to stand in horse stance for 20 minutes if 20% of those people cant stand in horse stance properly due to varying postural or structural problems.

In my opinion the Martial Arts Coach should cater for the following when he takes on the responsibility of teaching people his method.

• Recognise & rehabilitate movement or postural deficiencies specific to the individual
•  Provide a framework for the individual to use to advance their overall health.
• Provide a ‘Box Free’ Learning Environment and Philosophy.
• Provide practical, proven and honest Combative training methods.

As someone who came from Japanese arts with a lot of structure and a vast catalogue of techniques to the Chinese Arts with a few principles and virtually no Hierarchy and structure I can certainly see the rational and reasons for both. But which would I suggest as best?

It’s an interesting question and personally I don’t think that either really nail the coaching process as I experienced them.

1. The danger with structure is that the individual never gets the underlying simplicity behind all the complexity.
2. The danger with Freedom is that the individual never grasps the complexity behind the simplicity.

It is my opinion as a coach that we should be looking at each individual and giving them a specific exercise and skill set initially to work out any problems they may have. These methods can come from anywhere provided they are right for that individual ... they can be Tai chi, Xing Yi, Ba Gua, Modern Cardio training, even Weight training ... if thats what the individual needs.

After this point training structure can be picked up and utilised to provide specific combat skills or health training.

Does your coach give you specifically what you need? That is the question every martial arts student has to ask themselves honestly. Forget the colour belt round their waist, forget how many fights they have had or the reputation that follows them, look honestly at the present situation you are in and see if you get what you need.

Spatial Awareness

Sorry its been a while since i have posted any articles. There are some in the pipeline on:

- More on efficiency
- The role of a Martial Arts Coach
- Taking the centre continued
- Fear & stress
- Pressure testing the Internal Arts

.... so stay tuned!

In the meantime i thought i would post this video of some lovely Capoera, which i think displays some excellent spatial recognition and awareness skills.

FREE seminars on the Internal Arts

hi all, i am now offering FREE seminars to any group or school interested. Please contact me for details. Further information can be found on my site: Thanks.

Click here

Defining IMA 2! - Efficiency in Combat

As i mentioned in the previous article, my definition of the internal martial arts is as follows:

Internal Martial Arts are practices to find efficiency.

We have talked about some of the training methodologies and why we train slow as well as fast, but now lets look at how IMA’s look to find efficiency in combat.

Firstly is it fair to say there is a single natural way that humans fight. To a degree, yes! But this is simply a guide not a rule. We are all build the same, two arms, two legs, muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones. So there will always be a measure of commonality in how we utilize what we have to combat an aggressor. However, looking at what is most effective in for instance combat sports we see that there is a real and quantitive difference between Brazillian JuJitsu and for instance Muay Thai. Very effective arts but very different outlooks, methods and training methodologies, neither being the 'natural way to fight' but both still highly effective.

IMA = MMA

When i say this it could be thought that I am jumping on the modern combative bang wagon, but nothing could be further from the truth! Mixed martial arts are thought of as a fairly new concept in the west. We think that this idea of cross training or looking at other arts is a modern phenomina brought about by the advent of the UFC. Nothing could be further from the truth. Long before the UFC, long before Bruce lee even ...  the ‘internal martial artists’ of china were cross training and exploring other arts with great enthusiasm.

A few examples:

The primary example of this ‘search and explore’ mentality would be Wan Lai sheng of the Ziranmen (Natural Boxing). His primary teacher was Du Xing Wu but he then went on to learn from a myriad of different teachers and meet many many other martial artists and specialists in various systems.  His books read much like Bruce lee’s Tao of Jeet Kune Do in their approach.

Then we have masters like Li Cun Yi, Sun Lu Tang, Zhang Zao Dong, Chen Pan Ling etc ... all very famous masters of various styles who cross trained extensively and met and learnt from many other fighters of their era .. that included Western Boxers and Wrestlers!! So this is the Tradition of the Internal Martial Arts.

It is very unfortunate that in many modern martial arts schools this spirit of freedom has been lost, with practitioners not looking beyond their primary style or practice and fervently defending their ‘lineage’ as the one true way. This is often at odds with the people who started the schools they train in!!

If our goal is to strive for ultimate efficiency then we must be free to go and explore, test, experience and train in any method, art, system or practice we choose ... with one Caveat!

You must have roots to your tree first. This is a vital point. To be able to determine what something is, how it works and how it may be useful you must reach a point where your own body map and motion sensitivity are of a good/ high level.

Sometimes you see people who struggle with the simplest of movements while others pick them up straight away. This is largely down to body awareness, sensory awareness and internal awareness. Once you have this root body skill you can make useful observations that you can feed into your own practice. Without it you are in a dark room fumbling for the light switch.

Once you have it though you can explore various other systems somewhat and feed useful information back into your own search for efficiency.

Although I would say my roots are Xing Yi Quan and Aiki, because i have developed a relatively good body map, in recent years i have trained with experts in Russian Martial Arts, I Liq Chuan, Tai Chi Chuan, Ba Gua, MMA and Brazilian JuJutsu and have picked up useful insights and information from all of them. Which leads on to the next point in the search for combat efficiency.

The search and explore mindset

One aspect of IMA’s as i know them that may go against most peoples idea of ‘traditional Martial Arts’ is what i call the ‘search and explore mindset’.  This is a vital part of the training in IMAs in my opinion and is central to developing combat functionality.

Traditionally the idea is to develop some skill in your chosen root method, then go off into the world to experience, test and explore all the Martial arts, artists and methods you could.

NOTE : There is simply no teaching method, no art, no system, not training methodology that can give you the skill and understanding gained from ‘experience’.

This search and explore mindset can lead you to street fighting, ‘door work’, fighting for others or yourself in a real and dangerous environment, to competitions and combat sports and many other testing grounds ... but it can equally lead you to interesting and well thought of figures in the Martial Arts from a variety of styles that have something connected to what you already know.

You may go to one person who is a throwing expert to feed experience and understanding back into the throwing of your personal method, or to a high level tactician for understanding fight craft, or to a Knife expert to get an appreciation of knife work and defence.

This ‘search and explore’ mindset doest take away from your status as an ‘internal martial artist’ for the overall goal remains throughout. You go through periods of training your stuff based on what you know, then go out and test and experience, then come back and train your stuff again. Its a very interesting traditional way of training.

Some may say, ‘you say you do xing yi but thats from judo’. That is only true from a certain point of view. I would say back to them ... "i do my own method, sure my root method was from Xing Yi but my method is my own.

Remember no martial art exists outside of the individual. The concept of a system is a human concept. Really we are all doing our own art!

Efficiency in combat – the fundamentals

Whole body power = The biggest bang for the least fatigue

This is something that is often discussed in Many martial arts but what do we mean when we talk about this from the IMA perspective.  Well it boils down to this difference ... in this instance when punching.

• Muscles firing sequentially, 1 then the next then the next,  from floor to hand(cracks in the system between muscle utilization)
• The body (muscle, connective tissue, bone, internal pressure) being utilized simultaneously without any gap or cracks.

With the right unification of the body through strengthening connective tissue, Aligning the joints, and releasing areas of built up tension we can begin to work with this idea of whole body power as it is meant in IMA. It can be used to drive whipping forces, waves, ramming forces  ... a true diversity of methods.

What will happen when this connection and whole body power begins to work? Ironically people will start to notice that you are very strong without trying and while appearing very relaxed.

This unified power is extremely useful as a general principle for all martial movement which is why it underpins everything we do in IMA (the search for efficiency). We are looking for the biggest bang for the least fatigue .

Change > dealing with the unpredictable.

“No plan survives contact with the enemy”

British military saying.

If there is one thing we can say for certain about real combat is that it is a largely unpredictable endeavour. It is impossible to plan or predict what an opponent will do or when they will do it!

So why do we see so many ‘applications’ where A stick out their arm and B performs 3 techniques to their 1? In ancient times this may have been applicable to sword work, but today we need a more innovative approach. It was this innovative approach that got the IMAists a name in old China.

The IMA’s approach this subject with a clear idea of using principles and the combat ready body rather than techniques to create combat functionality.

For instance Xing Yi’s 5 element fists, although they can be used as techniques for splitting, for drilling etc are also very useful as technical principles for dealing with the unpredictability of a combative encounter. They train the major directions that force can go out or come in and flow seamlessly. Similarly Ba gua 8 mother palms or Taiji’s 8 energies deal with principles of expression or receipt. Without the reliance on set responses you are freed to work as is appropriate to the moment rather than what you think the future moment may hold.

The idea central to IMA’s is this idea of Change in the moment. This can be brought out by structured free sparring drills and high speed training. You learn that the foundation in force vectors will stand you in good stead for dealing with the changes that naturally happen in combat and the more you train at real speeds the more your body will fall back on the lines that have been trained.

"you do not rise up to the occasion, you fall back to the lowest level of your training"

Balance

As mentioned in a previous post, One of the main aims of IMA’s is to keep the opponent in an unbalanced state by taking their centre. I define taking their centre thus:

‘Removing the opponents physical stability, their ability to control their support, balance, structure and mind to the point where they must recover before being able to act.’

I have covered some of the methods to do this in previous posts but here is an outline of why we would want to do this.

• It breaks the structure of the opponent in such a way that he cannot strike or throw you effectively.
• It creates opportunity to strike an unprepared structure. They cant brace to receive the hit.
• It allows you to throw/take down the opponent with relative ease.
• It disrupts the timing and rythm of the opponent.
• It can nullify Fighting intent (but doesn’t always).
• It causes a feeling of insecurity and loss of control.
• It triggers defensive reaction instead of offensive.
• It buys you time in an encounter to bring the situation under your control.

Remembering the defining principle of ‘efficiency’ we can say that all of these things help us to dispatch an aggressor more efficiently than if they were fully balanced and capable of applying force as they wished.

Mind

The will and willingness to fight when it is needed is a very big stumbling block for alot of people. To take that step to really inflict injury on someone else. This is however the trade of the martial artists.

There are essential a few different ways to approach the mental requirement for a combat ready state:

1. Hunting animal mindset - focused, straight to the point and lacking emotional attachment to the situation, getting the job done. (professional Mindset)

2 The fighting animal Mindset - Extreme channelled violent focus.

3. Awareness mindset - No attachment to the an idea of outcome. Working from a position of awareness in the moment.

Most of the fighters of the world you can place into one of these 3 categories or for some fighters you can place them in all three! But from the IMA Point of view we are looking mainly at fighters in the 1^st and 3^rd category. These mindsets fit better with the overall idea of efficiency and lack of tension.

It is important to mention when talking about mindset that this is something that we have to live with in every aspect of our life. It has to be utilitarian in nature, something that can be worked into the process of daily living, something that is natural. It has to help our efficiency in every day life.

With this in mind, for most people, the best mindset to have is the Awareness mindset. His allows us to live in the moment dealing with situations as and when they arise. Not waiting for that spark when the fight breaks out like it could happen any minute. For some people that is the way to be fight ready and it works very well for them.

If we live with awareness mindset then we can combine that with ‘Hunting’ mindset should a problem arise. Then we have the practice of ‘active awareness’ where we are working to finish the job while not planning past the moment.

Awareness boils down to lack of disturbance or distraction. So meditation is a key aspect of training to quiet the mind and remove the disturbance of future or past related thoughts.  For many IMAists Meditation is the key way to bring about mental efficiency.

Next Up – Efficiency every day.

Defining Internal Martial Arts = The search for efficiency.

A question often asked of someone who says they do ‘internal martial arts’ is ‘what are internal martial arts’.

This is a classic and ongoing debate on message boards and between martial artists of varying backgrounds and styles. Here are some of the main definitions that we come across:

• Internal martial arts are those arts founded inside china (Taoist) rather than derived from India via shaolin (Buddhist)
• Internal Martial arts focus on the development and use of ‘Chi’.>
• Internal Martial Arts are soft, external Martial Arts are hard.
• Internal Martial Arts are specifically, Tai Chi, Xing Yi & Ba gua as defined by Early artists from these styles.
• Internal Martial Arts use connective tissue rather than muscle.

Personally however i do not think that any of these classic and much discussed definitions really define what i have found Internal Martial Arts to be. My definition would be this:

Internal Martial Arts are practices to find efficiency.

For me IMAs go beyond tradition, they are not a system, not a set of preconceived notions that can be put in a box and labelled as this art or that. They are the individuals search for efficiency. So why still call them internal? Well the reason is simple, the struggle to find efficiency is largely introspective. You are constantly looking inside yourself to find the optimum. It becomes more the ‘you’ inside than the label others put on what you do.

This is the best definition of IMAs that i can come up with because the best Martial Artists that i have met live in this manner. Every one of them were researchers of efficiency, none of them were rigid in their notion of what something ‘should be’, none of them were married to their tradition to the expense of their freedom to explore any and all other combat or health practices they wished. But it always came back to THEIR journey ... not the ones who came before.

So, with this in mind lets look at a couple of things that I look to achieve in my IMA practice.

Efficiency of body

The way you move in combat or in any physical action is central to the ideas of the IMA’s. The aim here is to be as efficient as possible for the given task with no excess tension, no forces that oppose the goal and no wasted effort.

To do this we must be able to recognise ‘inefficiency’ in what we do. This is largely a very difficult task indeed!!

Is it enough to get someone fighting full speed and let the efficiency come out on its own? For some people yes i think it is, if they have a very good body map. But for most people,  feeling where they are inefficient in a certain movement requires that we slow the movement down from full speed training to ‘zoom in’ on it.

I have recently read some very interesting articles, books and blogs on the process of learning (see the bottom of the post for recommended reading!) In brief we can say that in order to maximise our ability to recognise inefficiency we need to slow a movement or practice right down and really get inside it. That process amounts to these two things...

1) The Weber Fechner Law
Definition:
describes the relationship between the physical magnitudes of stimuli and the perceived intensity of the stimuli. Fechner's law states that subjective sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity.
In plain English what does this mean for our practice? This Law states that if we move with a high rate speed and muscular effort we decrease dramatically our ability to perceive our efficiency in that movement. The slower we go the more able we are to perceive the efficiency of the movement.

2) ‘Deep Practice’
What does this mean? Basically it means ...’How we learn’ and relates to the process of Myelination in the brain. This process is key to how we learn new things and retain or become better at other things. Myelin can be thought of as the insulation around a wire, The more insulation the less signal is lost. Our ability to increase the Myelin around a certain neural pathway is directly related to ‘how’ we learn.  For the martial artist this is achieved through what is called ‘deep practice’.

" Deep practice, "struggling in certain targeted ways -- operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes -- makes you smarter. Or to put it a slightly different way, experiences where you're forced to slow down, make errors, and correct them...end up making you swift and graceful without you realising it."

If we apply these two ideas correctly then we can begin to maximise our body’s learning efficiency.

The internal traditions already had these two ideas down, the very slow or static training is specifically designed to both zoom in on muscular and structural inefficiency as well as create an environment for ‘targeted struggle’.

Not just fast... not just slow ... but training both!

One thing often missing in some IMA training is the very fast or full speed training. We must also practice at full speed to understand how the body needs to move, then draw that back to the slow movement practice to maximise its efficiency and get inside the movement.

Tai chi is an example of this fast/slow training being lost to the focus on slow training. Traditionally the forms and fighting combinations were performed at real speed, slow speed, mediums speed, with jumps, agile footwork, static footwork etc ... a myriad of ways. 

A great example of how this lack of speed training has effected modern tai chi is how many Tai chi people will stand bolt upright throughout their form, but when they speed up they lead with the head and incline in the direction of travel or force expression ... they do this naturally but do not feed this back into their practice. When you look at older taiji guys you see they knew about this and the lean in their forms reflected the functional requirement.

If we are training for combat then we have to understand that speed, rythm, timing and confusion are fundamental aspect ... you cant just practice slow ... but by the same token you cant just practice fast if you want to obtain the ultimate goal of IMAs ... efficiency.

The body structures.

As you slow down fast movements you will recognise excess tension in the musculature and misalignments that can explain ongoing injuries or soreness whenever your going full speed. What you also notice is that as you work these problems out in a focused way you begin to use a different type of body method.

What the IMA traditions do have in abundance is exercises striving to sort out muscular and structural problems as their primary goal, but more than that, exercise that build the lines of tissue and alignments needed at full speed.

As a real life example of the need to train these tissues, I knew someone who was training full speed doing a slapping motion with his palm and broke a tendon in his wrist. The movement was natural but the conditioning of the structures in use was not there.

This is a really important point.  It is all well and good to train at full speed to bring out combat efficiency, but without the body to back it up the risk of damage is much higher and for most ... almost inevitable.

So one of the primary goals of IMA training is to build the body that is capable. The body that can be tuned to any skill without fear of injury. The body that can produce huge forces without creating tendonitis or elbow and knee problems.

Anyone that has trained Muay Thai, Judo, MMA or any of a number of arts will attest to the ongoing niggly little problems with the shoulder, wrist, elbows, knees etc. This is largely down to lack of conditioning of the correct structures ... They might have big muscles but their connective tissue is weak. When i trained these arts i had tennis elbow often, had tendonitis in my knee and had hip flexor problems ... nothing major but these little niggles were the result of the training methodology. Most injuries occur in the connective tissue and not the muscle. So why do they happen?

1) too much force to the elastic aspect of the tissue to cope with
2) force produced along a misaligned joint
3) reactive damage from impact.

The structures we aim to train are those that connect the body together, the ones that tie and wrap the joints, the structures that link muscle groups. If these are conditioned then we can move full speed without fear of injury. This is the IMA body.

Here is some interesting information on the role of connective tissue as it relates to understanding proprioception and kinesthesia.

Finding #3:The fascial system is far more innervated than muscle, so proprioception and kinesthesia are primarily fascial, not muscular.

This is a hard concept for many fitness professionals to get their heads around, but it is a fact: there are 10 times as many sensory receptors in your fascial tissues as there are in your muscles (Stillwell 1957). The muscles have spindles that measure length change (and over time, rate of length change) in the muscles. Even these spindles can be seen as fascial receptors, but let’s be kind and give them to the muscles (Van der Wal 2009). For each spindle, there are about 10 receptors in the surrounding fascia—in the surface epimysium, the tendon and attachment fascia, the nearby ligaments and the superficial layers. These receptors include the Golgi tendon organs that measure load (by measuring the stretch in the fibers), paciniform endings to measure pressure, Ruffini endings to inform the central nervous system of shear forces in the soft tissues, and ubiquitous small interstitial nerve endings that can report on all these plus, apparently, pain (Stecco et al. 2009; Taguchi et al. 2009).


So when you say you are feeling your muscles move, this is a bit of a misnomer. You are “listening” to your fascial tissues much more than to your muscles. Here are three interesting findings that go along with this basic eye-opener: Ligaments are mostly arranged in series with the muscles, not in parallel (Van der Wal 2009). This means that when you tense a muscle, the ligaments are automatically tensed to stabilize the joint, no matter what its position.


Our idea that the ligaments do not function until the joint is at its full extension or torsion is now outmoded; for example, ligaments function all through a preacher curl, not just at the ends of the movement. Nerve endings arrange themselves according to the forces that commonly apply in that location in that individual, not according to a genetic plan, and definitely not according to the anatomical division we call a muscle. There is no representation of a “deltoid” inside your movement brain. That’s just a concept over in your cortex, not in your biological organization. Apparently, sensors in and near the skin are more active in detecting and regulating movement than the joint ligament receptors (Yahia, Pigeon & DesRosiers 1993).

Understanding the body training

To the outside observer standing arms outstretched will not relate to combat. But then neither would watching someone in a Gym doing a deadlift or someone on a hill doing sprints. However they are all combat applicable to some degree.

Context is important. If you want to work on connective tissue there are certain ways that can help you to achieve this. The internal arts use slow movement for targeted muscular release, dynamic positional holds, specific twist methods and stretches from finger to toes ...  Modern sports science uses methods like the ‘static partial bench press’ etc. The outcome of such training is that when you return to combat specific training the body is more connected and capable.

Of course all these plus points make sense from a health perspective as well. When we are correctly aligned our torso is open, the internal organs are not compressed or confined and our joints are able to function with all round support and re-enforcement.

Next up ....Efficiency in Combat, cross training, the search and experience mentality.... Stay Tuned!

Recommended reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Talent-Code-Greatness-born/dp/0099519852
also ref Myelination props go to Chris McKinley for sharing this information and getting me interested.
http://www.bettermovement.org/2010/why-practice-slow-movement/#comment-20539
http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/fascial-fitness

Taking the Centre idea 1 - Leading the Centre

The first method for taking the centre i would like to discuss is the method of leading or re-directing the opponents mass, direction or support into ‘emptiness’.

This sounds fairly complicated to the uninitiated i am sure but it is something we have all felt from time to time. Imaging going to lean on a wall without thinking to much and it being a foot further than you assumed, or that feeling when we climb unfamiliar stairs in the dark, stepping on the last step that isn’t there. This is the feeling of falling into emptiness and is partially the feeling we look to recreate with this method of Leading the opponent.

For this method to work we obviously need to have something to lead so to discuss this method i will break it down into what types of things you can lead or do to create an opportunity to lead. Note that all of these methods mix together into one dynamic method of leading the opponents centre and are not to be thought of in isolation.

1. Leading a movement

This is arguably one of the simplest methods of leading the opponent into emptiness and it is seen in many  arts, especially those involved in throwing or taking the opponent down. I define this method of leading thus:

“Capturing an opponent’s movement during its trajectory and redirecting it into space where the opponents centre must compensate.”

This method can be broken down into two distinct parts. 1) capturing the opponents movement. 2) leading that movement.

Both of these things are far easier said than done, and dont work in all situations. Essentially what we are talking about here is recognising a direction of force from contact and then altering it so that it extends to a place where the opponent is not.

It is important to understand that this is not really possible from visual acuity. It requires, in most cases, a point of contact. Luckily the opponent will be striving to touch you in some way, be it a strike a grab or a shot so we are nearly always in a favourable position to use the method from a point of contact.

Exercises to try:

1) Redirect/Lead a push

This simple drill is a good basic introduction to this concept but can be refined and refined until it is quite subtle.

a.       You partner stands feet shoulder width, then steps forward trying to push your chest. Make sure this is a single step and push. The structure should be strong and powerful, not loose and floppy.

b.      From a natural stance you firstly try to connect with his arm as early as possible. Then as the power extends towards you redirect is softly to the opponents front.

c.       Reduce the power you need to do this more and more until it is extremely soft

d.      The aim is for the opponent to have to take a step to regain their balance or for them to go to the balls of their feet.

2Shoulder Barge
This drill teaches subtle redirection using the body specifically. You have to maintain contact and control of the opponents centre and recognise the forward force immediately.

a.       Stand one leg forward one back arms down opponent stands in the same stance, shoulders touching

b.      Opponent shuffles forward and bumps through your shoulder line with his.

c.       You rotate your Axis, and touch the opponents back with your opposite hand.

d.      The aim is for the opponents forward force to be converted to a force into the space infront of him making him go to tiptoes or take a step.

3)      Grip Leading
This is a fun, free training method that really boosts your ability to listen and lead the opponents centre when they apply forces.

a.       Both of you are working to off balance the other here.

b.      Take the same stance (forward back, front on, one leg! You can play with different stances)

c.       Your right hands grip the opponents left wrists (and change after some time)

d.      Then start to move the free hand to pull push the opponents structure around.

e.      Feel the directions of force and lead the opponent into emptiness.

f.        The aim is for the opponent to step or go to heals or toes.

2. Leading a response.

This method is extremely useful for creating the right conditions for an opponent’s centre to be led. It revolves around the natural body reaction of tissues forming up behind a point of excess pressure in order to provide support to the structure and maintain the structural integrity. I define this method of leading thus:

“The method of creating a consolidating response in the opponent and then leading the resulting return to the normal state’

This method can be broken down into 3 parts. 1) apply a force to the opponents frame 2) release the force 3) lead the resulting return to a natural position.

We mainly use this if the opponent is not moving towards you or is maintaining a position, however it can also be used to take an opponent off balance before an encounter happens. A friend of mine who had never done any martial arts but was a long time bouncer had a favoured method that included a very similar principle. He would put his hand gently on the chest of someone that was confrontational, as they talked and waved their arms around they wouldn’t notice they naturally increased the pressure on his hand. When he had enough he would remove the support and turn to take them to the floor in one motion. He was leading their return (actually they over stretched and were not returning but more falling from the removed support ... i will talk about this another time! ;) ). This is a good example of this principle in action, although a slightly crude example for an opponent with no ‘mind’.

We can create a similar situation when we apply a small force through a point of contact. The tricky bit here is you can’t just push the arm as it will move ... you have to put a pressure through their entire structure.

Exercises to try:

1)      Pressing the body
This is a very simple way of feeling the opponent ‘form up’ behind a contact point then recognising the resulting return to centre.

a)      Your partner takes a natural standing position, not a fighting stance

b)      You place your palm on their chest, back, shoulder etc and apply a very gentle pressure to their structure.

c)       Feel the line form up through their body as you apply pressure,

d)      Release the pressure suddenly and observe the body reaction

e)      Now release with control and try to capture that release and push with the other hand align their return line

2)      Pressing the Guard
Here we make a point of contact with the guard and apply a moment of force through their structure, before releasing. Then we must hook onto their structure and lead them off balance as they attempt to regain.

a)      Opponent takes a guard stance

b)      From your guard, put your hand over their guard hand and cover downwards

c)       Aim to find the line into their body and not just affect their arm

d)      Release the pressure as you lead them to their ‘off balance point’ (please read the three pillars of throwing post for information on this.)

e)      Play about with this method while moving, while covering strikes etc.

3)      Close grappling
This training method is used in stand up grappling. Here we want to apply a force in through there structure then as they return we add to the movement and apply the three pillars of throwing and take downs.

a)      Start from elbow to elbow or knee to knee range.

b)      Opponent trys to hold onto you/grab and smother you.

c)       Your aim is to find a good place to apply pressure to their structure

d)      Then release and apply the 3 principles of throwing or take down. ‘off balance point’ ‘remove support’ ‘manipulate structure’

2. Leading the mind.

As esoteric as this method might initially sound it has far more to do with instinctual reaction and visual sensitivity than it does anything mystical. The basis of this method is the ideas of ‘support’, ‘security’ and ‘threat’. I define this method thus:

“The method of creating a mental response to a perceived thread, point of support or positional security that then manifests in the body as tension or movement”

This method is often very useful in the first few seconds of an encounter or before the encounter goes physical. After that point the mental receptiveness of the opponent may not be there to pick up on the presented threat level or capturing methods.

So how is this done? Well there are a number of methods that are used to create a mental response that manifests in the body. For instance if i lift my foot to kick you in the balls you may well react. That is me affecting your body through your perception and that is the sort of method we can take advantage of in this instance.

Unfortunately I am not a good enough wordsmith to put this information into a usable format for people. But if you try the methods above you may start to understand the way the mind is effected by the lack of physical balance. The method of leading the mind is like turning that process around and putting the mind before the body as the point under attack and out of balance.

Summary

So we now have three methods of ‘leading the centre’

“Capturing an opponent’s movement during its trajectory and redirecting it into space where the opponents centre must compensate.”

“The method of creating a consolidating response in the opponent and then leading the resulting return to the normal state’

“The method of creating a mental response to a perceived thread, point of support or positional security that then manifests in the body as tension or movement”

It is a fun and useful practice to try. I hope its helpful.

Next ... Projecting the centre (finding the line through)