So, ya wanna learn about body mechanics...

[David Jamieson]

One of the greatest singular resources I have found regarding body mechanics is lessons in art.

One of the key things about learning "art" i.e drawing, painting, sculpture is that if you are learning traditionally, you will be introduced to anatomy.

Understanding it at the level of the drawer/painter will definitely transpose well into your martial art training. You will learn all kinds of things about muscle and bone that you simply won't learn much of from many martial arts.

with this knowledge in hand, you can find applications will work better for you when you understand where to apply geographically on the human body.

So, I urge you to get some materials on human physiology and anatomy. after a year or so of determined study, I guarantee you will see and do things a little more efficiently and have a better understanding of your martial art as a whole.

This in turn points to how what seems to be a martially unrelated exercise can append and enhance what you have learned in another facet of study.

Anyway, just a personal observation.

peace

[Water Dragon]

Lay off the crack pipe Homie :D

[KC Elbows]

Excellent point, Kung Lek.

Lately, I've been trying to put together a little web site for six elbows, as the only thing out their for the curious is the history page at www.taihui.com and that doesn't have any pics of the art.

Anyway, I'm trying to make a little animation of a guy doing a signature six elbows move on another guy, nothing too complicated artwise, but still giving me a headache.:)

Anyway, I keep noticing things I hadn't noticed about this one move before, from the way the shuffle works, to how the opponent's hip is displaced and the specific angle.

I'm thinking about doing more animations like this, for the learning experience, though I'd have to get much faster at making them than I am now, and I'm still way low on the learning curve with flash, but I'll learn.

So I'd recommend drawing out applications just for the mental exercise. Plus, it's always good to eat, breathe, and doodle kung fu.

[Former castleva]

Sure.
I consider it one of the most interesting things in MA.
Power generation and especially ATEMI.

[{i^(]

Though I truly love it, and it is a good point: playing, as it were, with anatomy teaches many possibilities.

As KC Elbows points out, it is also a curious problem for graphics in computers- Bruce Sterling in a recent speech (http://www.well.com/~doctorow/sterlingubicomp.txt) made an interesting proposal in that regard:

"How many undiscovered judo throws are there, for
instance? It's all corny, mystical Eastern handicraft,
judo, and karate, and yoga, and such; we never digitized
all that, we never worked it out methodically as a problem
in physics. Imagine a soldier trained in forms of hand-
to-hand combat that had been discovered in computer
searches of the entire phase space of the physical
mechanics of combat. He might perform weird but deadly
movements that are utterly counterintuitive. He's simply
stun the opponent through sheer disbelief. When he got
wound-up, it would look like outtakes from THE MATRIX."

He viewed it as a useful task for computers, with their infinite patience, to do- presenting the results of only the ones that work. The human mind is as capable of it as well, of course.

[Chang Style Novice]

I can't agree with Bruce Sterling/sideways face guy's opinion that computer analysis will reveal new counterintuitive body mechanics simply on account of the tremendous weight of history and experimentation that has gone into creating martial arts as we know them today.

But I definitely agree that my 'artist's eye' has permitted me to spot details of angle and placement more quickly than had I not spent untold hundreds (more likely thousands) of hours drawing from life.

[{i^(]

'Tweren't my opinion, but an interesting idea, only, I felt. My first reaction was exactly yours, CSN: 'Why? That's been done?' But on reconsideration, I thought 'why not do it anyhow?' I'd be curious to see the results of such a physics experiment (but then, my sifu would be a computer....).

There are many ways to examine anatomy, and art IS the best in many ways. We're agreed there.