http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/ journey in search of the way through taiji, martial arts, meditation and health Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:17:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5250 Wed, 19 May 2010 10:14:39 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5250 What Chesser is saying is spot on. Any distinction between internal and external martial arts has been vague and confusing.
They are just different explanations (and mental preperations) of the same thing.
Bruce Lee couldn’t have put it better when he said, “you want to know what internal and external power is? Not two…”

]]> http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5058 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:46:53 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5058 Since this discussion has managed to stay civil, I'll guess we'll just have to say we will continue to disagree without being disagreeable. Good luck.

]]> http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5057 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:37:12 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5057 Yes, i've seen the mouseovers. Nice website BTW. I like what you guys are doing but again that style of movement isn't unknown in the realm of fitness. Scott Sonnon would be the best example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etB3-bwtm84If you watch that clip, you'll see he's using the dantian/core to drive the kettlebell. At 0:53 he even mentions loading the tissues spirally in a contra lateral pattern as you would for taichi's brush knee. This is fairly par for the course in kettlebell work, for example.So again, we aren't talking about using isolated strength as most IMA guys assume. Much of this stuff is more sophisticated than people allow. Not saying this is all that internal movement entails, but it's a key piece of the puzzle.

]]> http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5056 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:30:13 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5056 Dave, take a look at the “mouseovers” at http://www.classicaltaichi.com. I see what you are saying and certainly agree that “power cleans” need the core. I refer to the mobilization of the extremities via the core and very sophisticated/complex movements as a result of that mobilization. Of course, most who see the movements at the website dismiss them immediately because they are small and unassuming. The most often taken alternative is to opt for a Tai Chi that is flashier.. Additionally, the movements are dismissed because people do not believe it is possible to move in this way. What would be the harm in …say…trying the movements at http://www.youtube.com/parea10 for say a month or so. A kind of experiment, to test the veracity of what I say before dismissing me.One can literally mobilize the extremities to make movements that are extremely sophisticated. As I said, it is not possible to make an internal and an external movement at the same time…we are just not talking about the same “internal”.

]]> http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5055 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:19:40 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5055 “It is not possible to do an internal movement and an external one at the same time, an external can precede or follow an internal but they cannot coexist in the same space and time. Also, when one's internal discipline permeates the body, it becomes next to impossible to even raise one's arm to scratch an itch with engaging the musculature of the core.”Part of the problem is that these two sentences are at odds with each other. If you're engaging the core musculature, then how is that not “external”? If engaging the core is part of the definition of “internal” then so-called external training has a lot in common with it.”Rhetorically speaking, what does one do with 'arm strength' if it cannot be used in the same space and time as 'internal'?This shows another aspect of the same problem — physical conditioning is always assumed to be isolated muscle strength via arms, chest, etc. The fact that no sport and few good exercise programs operate that way never seems to make it's way into the conversation. So we're arguing against a straw man here.Engaging the core is at the…well….core of what functional training and even weightlifting is all about. You couldn't do a power clean or any other Olympic lift without it. Unfortunately the conversation will never get off this merry-go-round until we get more IMA guys to actually train in so-called external methods so they can see the connections.

]]> http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5054 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:55:07 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5054 [...] program. So far, I haven’t seen anything in the P90X program that conflicts with my thoughts on the role of physical conditioning in taiji, except for the fact that some of the exercises consists of isolating muscle groups … [...]

]]> http://wujimon.com/2009/10/06/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji/#comment-5053 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:58:38 +0000 http://wujimon.com/the-role-of-physical-conditioning-in-taiji#comment-5053 It is indeed “not the form” for a vast number of students in Taiji. This is why Yang Wabiu (disciple of Wu Chien Chuan) was unhappy with the fecklessness of so many Taiji students when he first came to the U.S. from Hong Kong. Or, why Sonia Young (Yang Wabiu's daughter) asked Eddie Wu (gatekeeper of Wu Jianquan Style) why she saw the lack of attention paid to the form at the Hong Kong Wu Style Studio. You are right “it is not the form”…

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