Lifting weights determential to sinking chi?

[Cimaroon]

Ive just recently got into zhan zhuang and just curious what folks think about lifting weights. I dont go overboard with it, just basic couple few days a week. Do plently of yoga, stretching and now practing chi works.

[SimonM]

If lifting weights is detrimental to stinking qi than I say full speed ahead with the weights!

[sanjuro_ronin]

Ive just recently got into zhan zhuang and just curious what folks think about lifting weights. I dont go overboard with it, just basic couple few days a week. Do plently of yoga, stretching and now practing chi works.

Nope, it isn't, tension while doing soft qigong is.

[Three Harmonies]

When was the last time anyone heard someone say "I am too strong....." for something? Never. Weight training, if done properly, is a great thing.
Jake

[SimonM]

The only negative thing I've ever heard anyone say about weight lifting in a martial arts milieu is that if you don't keep at the lifting you lose the muscle mass quickly.

[iron_leg_dave]

This is a hokey concept. For sure. I've heard otherwise respectable tai qi players spouting this propaganda.

To properly lead qi, according to tai qi theory, the muscles simply have to be completely relaxed. If you can't relax because you lift weights, maybe you are lifting too much or incorrectly and have done some damage.

Old tai qi players, back when everybody that was doing it was doing it to whoop ass, lifted weights. They had stone padlocks, big stone balls, did all kinds of crazy zhang zhuan pushups, had chin up bars, did deep wide walking drills etc.

Most of them were probably already ripped from working on farms.

I bought into this concept and started paying for it when I lost almost all of the muscle mass on my body.

Forms burn a lot of calories, and they have to come from somewhere. When there is no fat, and you eat right, your body will eat away muscle tissue.

There are some good tai qi specific exercises that can be done with weights. Talk to a real master of tai qi.

The thing is, when tai qi is done properly, it can make you very, very powerful, by really strengthening the mind as it relates to physical movement. But the stronger you are physically, the more power you will have. Thats the real reality of it.

If your teacher opens his mouth about this concept, he's a fraud. Find another one, and ditch his ass.

[Cimaroon]

sweet. thanks for the replies. I shall go pump me up. Peace

[taai gihk yahn]

Ive just recently got into zhan zhuang and just curious what folks think about lifting weights. I dont go overboard with it, just basic couple few days a week. Do plently of yoga, stretching and now practing chi works.

not using weights is an excuse made up by so-called "internalists" who want to think their way to superior martial power without breaking a sweat or dealing w/the reality that the body is the body, regardless of what you do with you "qi"...

like anything, muscle resistance training can be done right or wrong; if you do it in context of so-called "internal" principles, you are doing it correctly (e.g. - proper alignment, awareness, coordinated breathing, not overdoing it, proper rest in between etc. - hmmm, sounds like what you are supposed to do anyway w/that sort of thing - creeepy...)

I'd spend more time considering how to structure a good weight program designed to meet your functional needs that just overtraining biceps and pecs like most people do...

[taai gihk yahn]

This is a hokey concept. For sure. I've heard otherwise respectable tai qi players spouting this propaganda.

To properly lead qi, according to tai qi theory, the muscles simply have to be completely relaxed. If you can't relax because you lift weights, maybe you are lifting too much or incorrectly and have done some damage.

Old tai qi players, back when everybody that was doing it was doing it to whoop ass, lifted weights. They had stone padlocks, big stone balls, did all kinds of crazy zhang zhuan pushups, had chin up bars, did deep wide walking drills etc.

Most of them were probably already ripped from working on farms.

I bought into this concept and started paying for it when I lost almost all of the muscle mass on my body.

Forms burn a lot of calories, and they have to come from somewhere. When there is no fat, and you eat right, your body will eat away muscle tissue.

There are some good tai qi specific exercises that can be done with weights. Talk to a real master of tai qi.

The thing is, when tai qi is done properly, it can make you very, very powerful, by really strengthening the mind as it relates to physical movement. But the stronger you are physically, the more power you will have. Thats the real reality of it.

If your teacher opens his mouth about this concept, he's a fraud. Find another one, and ditch his ass.

Dave:

it's not "tai qi"; it's "tai ji" (pinyin); or "tai chi" (Wade-Giles) - take your pick

the "qi" as in breath / spirit / energy / gas is not the same as the "ji" or "chi" which means extreme / polarity / pivot / axis;

otherwise, I agree w/your assessment of how old-timer TCMA guys trainied - remember, so-called "internal" training was just one aspect of classical TCMA - you did your stretching / stance work, then the vigorous stuff, and then the "chill out" stuff after to balance it (hmmm - warm-up, train, cool down - what a concept!)

the whole gig about taiji training being slow is a recent convention, due largely to certain Yang family folk's over emphasis on the slow stuff in order to make taiji practice "available" to a larger, less fit, well-off clientel (notice, the Chen guys tend not to do things quite the same way...)

bagua is also known for training against resistance (stone balls, big asz braod swords...)

bottom line: take two guys w/highly evolved listening / expressing skills of equal level; give one 50 lbs on the other and more muscle power due to resistance training; physics wins...

[bawang]

taiji in taijiquan means ying/yang opposite its the name of the ying yang symbol. there is hard and soft. there is soft training and there is tough training ying and yang. qigong is ying weigghts is yang. taiji quan is a NORTH LONG FIST STYLE and not a special unique magical style. u need to do weights to be strong. u just need to do compound excercises that use entire body not that bodybuilding bullsheet.
i find cable weights give u incredible root and make u understand rooting and entire body linking the punch

[imperialtaichi]

There is ABSOULUTELY NOTHING wrong with lifting weight;

It is only a problem if the lifting of weight dominates your practices; if you are only relying on your strength to overcome your opponent while ignoring your mind and techniques.

I would recommend also training with heavy weapons as well; this way, while you build up your physical strength, you'll be learning how to manipulate weights as well. If you can easily maneuver a 30kg sabre, just think how effective you are going to be when you grab onto an opponent.

Cheers,
John

[jooerduo]

I wouldn't recommend beginners in taichi to train with weights

weights should only be added to their training if they are pretty advanced in their taichi

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

As an analogy, lets compare the body to an automobile.. Qi, would be like the fuel.. i put the same fuel in a well-tuned Porsche, or a crappy old VW.. one will use the fuel much more effectively than the other.. conversely, i can take identical well-tuned Porsches and put highly refined fuel in one and old sludgy fuel in the other.. one will perform better than the other.. so, build effective muscles, and refine your energies..

The autos need 'drivers' though, drivers are like our minds relative to the 'body' analogy.. the driver needs to know their auto and its capabilities perfectly, the driver needs to be responsive, aware, and in control.. a poor driver/mind can defeat it own auto/body regardless of its potential..

The key is balance...

Be well..

[hulkout]

I can't believe that in this day and age after so many years of evidence of the effectiveness of weight training in all sports, people are still saying crap like how it's bad for your chi. Martial artists are notorious for saying that normal rules somehow don't apply to them. Somehow they posess some magic ability that will be impaired if they actually train hard. What a load of BS! Effective fighting techniques can all be explained by physics. Things like weight transfer, coordination of the waist and hips, breathing, etc. Chi is nothing more than your body's energy flow. If you raise your finger, you're using your chi. There's no magic about it. Or do you actually believe all those bogus demonstrations of guys being kicked in the balls?

[Cimaroon]

Guys getting kicked in the balls are able to retract their balls

[MasterKiller]

Weights for Combat Sports (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3224902600571518938&q=couture%2Btraining)

[David Jamieson]

lifting weights is detrimental to:

1. having a fat ass

2. being a lazy slog

3. crappy training methods passed off as meaningful


compound lifting is one of the best methods of developing strength attributes period.

a weightlifter will make a stronger fighter in shorter time than someone who doesn't do strength development in a direct way.

[Lucas]

Taiji uses lots of resistance training. Having people push you, having someone on your shoulders durring your form, low taiji training. Taiji also uses round boulders to train with.

Lifting weights the way most body builders do doesn't make you that strong. In the World Strongest Man competitions on ESPN the bodybuilders always lost. There is something to be said for using the whole body as a unit.


www.imperialtao.com

my taiji teacher told me once that his nick name for people who develop their muscle strenght from weight training alone was "dumb muscles" but that doing weight training is ok, as long as you understand the neccessity to seek strength training from other sources as well. ie resistance, dynamic tension and the many of the other multitudes of common taiji exercises.

[Bob Ashmore]

I do feel that lifting weights to the extreme, as in piling on muscle mass, would not be good for your Tai Chi training. Pure muscle mass, in my opinion, is going to slow down your response time from undue muscular tension. Huge muscles tend to be tense without too much you can do to relax it.
If you don't agree, find someone who lifts weights with the intention of creating muscle mass and see if you can get them to relax that muscle to the point of sung. Even with intense relaxation meditation they most likely will not be able to relax their muscles to the point of sung without a long, long time to do so.
It's just how it is.
But lifting weights with the intention of strengthening without building large mass will not have this same effect most of the time.
This is not a panacea. I'm quite sure there are some heavily muscle massed people who, through intense training, can relax their muscles. I'm just saying that for most people that most likely will not be possible.
Since "sung" is hard enough to achieve without adding large masses of muscle to the mix, achieved through heavy weight lifting, I can't say that I would recommend body building to go hand in hand with Tai Chi Chuan training. However a light regimen, used to strenghthen but not build the muscles unduly, will not be harmful.

Just my two cents.

Bob

[SoCo KungFu]

I wonder what Bolo Young would say about this

[taai gihk yahn]

I wonder what Bolo Young would say about this

probably something in Chinese, I would imagine...

[bawang]

HI GUYS LOL

soft means relatively soft compared to other chinese styles, i want to see some of the taiji expert take a punch to the gut being completely relaxed, you will poop blood, srsly
there is the saying ,external starts harder ends softer, internal training starts softer ends harder, in the end external and internal kung fu fight the same,

internal doesnt say not lifting weights and not getting mucles, internal says not getting big bodybuilder muscles , "fei rou", a saying goes "an internal guy looks like an average man, but his body is hard as iron" or "iron wrapped in cotton"

[SoCo KungFu]

probably something in Chinese, I would imagine...

Then he could do his own sub title in english. As a side note, buddy of mine used to go to his gym in Cali. Said his boys are bigger than him, and his daughter is smokin hot

[Bob Ashmore]

I believe that it is a basic misunderstanding of the concept of correct movement in TCC that is where this "myth" came from about TCC and weight lifting.
You can "lift weights" all day long during TCC training as long as you do so in a correct fashion without any harmful effects. In fact, once you learn the correct fashion you would gain considerable benefit from the practice. The problem comes from a misunderstanding of the "correct" fashion.
As noted, many of the "old masters" of TCC practiced moving heavy objects as part of their daily training. Spears, stones, iron blocks, all of these were used and many more.
Clearly then "weight training" is and can be a part of TCC training.
How then did the admonition NOT to do so become part of the myths of TCC?
It might be because most teachers are not aware of the correct method. While they know that plain old "weight lifting" as practiced by most folks is contradictory to TCC methods they have no idea what the correct method is and so prescribe not doing it all.
However, a fully trained teacher will be able to move a student down a correct path with no problems.
Here's the trick, find a fully trained teacher.
That is much more difficult than any weight lifting!
Once the correct method of movement in TCC is learned, you can use it for any kind of action. However, this does take a long time to learn and so many "beginner" students are told that weight lifting is "bad' for them without ever being told the rest, which is: "until you learn the correct method".
On the other hand, they may be being told this, but only "hear" what they understand. A common problem.

Bob

[Knifefighter]

I do feel that lifting weights to the extreme, as in piling on muscle mass, would not be good for your Tai Chi training. Pure muscle mass, in my opinion, is going to slow down your response time from undue muscular tension. Huge muscles tend to be tense without too much you can do to relax it.

Well, here's a guy who is completely clueless about muscle physiology.

Increased muscle size occurs in FAST TWITCH muscle fibers... the key word is FAST, meaning that it speeds up your response time.

As far as not being able to relax, if that was the case the person would not be able to move. Relaxation of antagonistic muscles is required for movement to occur. If anything, increasing muscle size increases the ability of the muscle to relax, because this is the specific action that occurs during weight training.

[Hillheim]

Well, here's a guy who is completely clueless about muscle physiology.

Thanks for making that clear. That explains the rest of it.


Increased muscle size occurs in FAST TWITCH muscle fibers... the key word is FAST, meaning that it speeds up your response time..

A tip is to read up on how the nervous system works.


As far as not being able to relax, if that was the case the person would not be able to move. Relaxation of antagonistic muscles is required for movement to occur. If anything, increasing muscle size increases the ability of the muscle to relax, because this is the specific action that occurs during weight training.

First of all, tension is not a on and off thing. You can tens your armmuscles and still move your elbowjoint both ways?

Second, you would benefit from reading up on training physiology

[Knifefighter]

First of all, tension is not a on and off thing. You can tens your armmuscles and still move your elbowjoint both ways?

Nope... one muscle contracts and the antagonistic (look it up) muscle must relax.

[/QUOTE]Second, you would benefit from reading up on training physiology[/QUOTE]

LOL... I have a degree in exercise science.

[taai gihk yahn]

First of all, tension is not a on and off thing. You can tens your armmuscles and still move your elbowjoint both ways?

you have basically no idea what you are talking about; if you tense your biceps, your elbow bends; if triceps is firing at the same time, it's going to oppose that and no movement will occur - there's this fringe term that some people use for when this happens called an isometric contraction :rolleyes:

[Bob Ashmore]

Knifefighter,
For a man who claims to understand physiology you are displaying a shocking misunderstanding of same.
You might want to spend some time slowing down a bit and feeling these things for yourself. It will cost you nothing and your understanding of many things will be greatly increased by it.

But let's just do this, tense up all of your muscles and then try to survive, much less win, a fight, against anyone, trained or untrained.
Remember, keep those muscles nice and tight the entire time.
Let me know how that worked for you.

Bob

[Bob Ashmore]

Tai,
Try it the other way around. Relax your bicep and extend your tricep to bend your arm. Now relax the tricep and extend the bicep to straighten it (but only to a naturally straight position, don't overextend).
I think you'll be surprised.
It is, of course, more complicated than that, but not much.

Bob

[Knifefighter]

Knifefighter,
For a man who claims to understand physiology you are displaying a shocking misunderstanding of same.
You might want to spend some time slowing down a bit and feeling these things for yourself. It will cost you nothing and your understanding of many things will be greatly increased by it.

But let's just do this, tense up all of your muscles and then try to survive, much less win, a fight, against anyone, trained or untrained.
Remember, keep those muscles nice and tight the entire time.
Let me know how that worked for you.

Bob

One muscle group contracts while the opposing muscle group relaxes. That is the basic, underlying principle of human movement.

[Knifefighter]

Tai,
Try it the other way around. Relax your bicep and extend your tricep to bend your arm. Now relax the tricep and extend the bicep to straighten it (but only to a naturally straight position, don't overextend).
This is physiologically impossible. You might as well say to straighten your arm at the same time you bend it. Muscle contraction controls movement. Muscle does not "straighten"... it contracts (becomes shorter) or relaxes and lengthens when the opposing muscle group contracts.

The biceps flexes (bends) the elbow joint, while the triceps extends it.

[taai gihk yahn]

Tai,
Try it the other way around. Relax your bicep and extend your tricep to bend your arm. Now relax the tricep and extend the bicep to straighten it (but only to a naturally straight position, don't overextend).
I think you'll be surprised.
It is, of course, more complicated than that, but not much.

Bob

Bob, in the past some of what you posted has been of great interest and value; this, unfortunately, is not only just downright wrong, it's misleading: if you want to have someone engage in a visualization exercise, that's fine: the idea of what you are suggesting is similar to what I teach people when they want to go into standing hip extension, meaning that I have them think about elongating the entire spine, as opposed to bending at the lumbars; similarly, if you want someone to round the arm, you can have them emphasize the back of the arm expanding or if they want to straighten the arm, to visualize the the volar aspect "pushing" the arm straight; and I know exactly the feeling that you are trying to get at by this;

however, regardless of what you might feel subjectively, the objective reality of what the muscles are doing doesn't change just because you want to visualize differently; if your arm is bending, your biceps are firing; if it is extending, triceps are doing it; end of story; of course, the quality of the movement can vary, but the underlying fact of which muscles fire to move joints stays the same; this is not a debate, this is fact, and you just need to accept that, and stop trying to come off like you have some secret info on neuromuscular physiology that just doesn't exist

[Eric Olson]

I think it depends on the type of "weight lifting" that you do. Lifting that is focused on short isolated movements is probably going to be counter productive to Taiji. Taiji requires that you strengthen muscles all the way out to the joints, not just in the central belly of the muscle. I've yet to see someone who is "ripped" (ie big bulging muscles) that can apply the Taiji principles of movement effectively. The Taiji physique is more sinewy than bulky...and that's true of alot of fighting styles not just Taiji.

There is an added benefit to big muscles though and that is as armor. But building up "body armor" also goes against Taiji principles.

EO

[SimonM]

This thread has taken such a funny turn.

So I'm assuming, Eric, that you believe that anyone who practices Taiji should also not engage in any "hard" martial art that encourages "conditioning" to create "armor"...

[Bob Ashmore]

Gentlemen,
Believe as you wish, do as you will. I only asked you to try something different and see how it works for you, not to just follow me blindly and accept everything I say as gospel inspired truth.
From the responses I've seen, no one even tried. All I got was a lot of knee jerk "You're WRONG!" responses from people who feel they know better.
It's a pity, really. You might have learned something if you had tried.
Even if you did not agree after trying it, you may have learned something new.
Where is your sense of adventure?
Just to be able to say I did so, I tried the whole "contract the muscles" thing during my push hands practice with my partner yesterday. I got tossed around like a rag doll every time he felt my tension as I contracted. He was, frankly, amazed at the amount of tension in my body and how easily he was able to offset me and throw me, since we are usually very well matched. When I told him what I was doing, he also gave it try so we could use each other as a control.
Maybe I was having a bad day? We had to know.
We had the same result.

I can say I tried it your way and that it did not work well for me.
Can you say the same?

I like to leave an open mind on things and I try out new things all the time, I'm ust funny like that. I find that at least trying new things sometimes leads me places I'd never imagined.
Sometimes I even learn something useful. You might want to think about that...

In that same vein, I tried the muscular extension theory several years ago and found it worked for me much better than the old way I used to do things (and still do to some extent, I am by no means perfect at it).
If this is strictly "visualization" I can live with that, because it is a vision that works quite well for me. I have felt the changes in my own body, I have found greater rooting, greater ability to respond when incoming pressure suddenly lessens or is changed and much less tension in my body overall.
Since these are things I value, I have kept up my practice along these lines.
If I'm deluding myself, then it's a delusion that has carried over very well into my practice and my every day life.
I'll keep up all such delusions as long as they work. I'm funny like that too.

Since I have no desire to spend the amount of time required to work on changing closed minds, especially as there is no way to do so through online discussion, I will leave you gentlemen to your surety.
As with most online threads, there are entirely too many cooks in this kitchen to make a decent soup.
Funny though how some of the cooks claim to be "experts" who know everything there is to know about kinesiology, and yet the experts can't seem to agree on anything.
It leaves one a bit confused when the "experts" all make conflicting claims.
But that as it may...

For the record:
I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be, nor will I ever be or claim to be, an expert at kinesiology (heck, I'd even bet I spelled it wrong!) or Tai Chi, or martial arts in general, or...
Well...
ANYTHING.
I'm just a guy who is doing his best to keep up with it all. I do my best to learn from everything I am presented and I think I do a fairly good job at that.
Only one thing is for sure: I certainly will never be so much of an "expert" at anything that I would not even be willing to try sometihng different just because my "expertise" made me think it was not worthwhile. That path leads only to stagnation.
Any knowledge I have is what I have from hands on experience and training in many different disciplines (no, Tai Chi Chuan is not my only martail art, it was not even my first martial art, it is however the only one I spend any time training now because it is what works best for me). I do not believe that knowledge to be absolute or entirely accurate. I try everything at least once, if I like it I make it a habit.
It truly must be nice to know it all and be so certain of it that trying new things or listening to different ways is beyond your capabilities, however it is my hope that I never reach that level.

I can and have only speak here of what works best for me. That is all I have ever done or will do.
Please, continue to do what works best for you and may you be happy and well.


Ciao,
Bob

[bawang]

taiji means ying and yang
where is the yang i only see ying
some moves in taiji is done soft only, some moves aree done HARD ONLY
if your forms everything soft its wrong
the qin na parts of yang taiji u need to be so tense you shat your pants

[SimonM]

ROTFLMFAO!

Bawang for Secretary of Education!

[bawang]

thanks frand
FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAND

[taai gihk yahn]

I only asked you to try something different and see how it works for you, not to just follow me blindly and accept everything I say as gospel inspired truth.
that's not the part anyone has a problem with; no one is taking issue with the activity you suggested per se; it's you explanation of what you think is happening when you "expand" muscles that is being taken issue with; nothing else;


From the responses I've seen, no one even tried. All I got was a lot of knee jerk "You're WRONG!" responses from people who feel they know better.
it's not knee jerk - you are describing muscles as being able to do something that they simply cannot do;


It's a pity, really. You might have learned something if you had tried.Even if you did not agree after trying it, you may have learned something new.Where is your sense of adventure?
actually, if you had read what I wrote instead of answering in a mopey manner, you might have noticed that I actually have tried what you are talking about, and that we actually agree on what it is that you feel in terms of "expansion", better root and whatnot - FYI, it's called "peng jing"...the "you're wrong" bit was specifically in regards to your claim that contracting biceps would extend the elbow / contracting triceps flexes it;


Just to be able to say I did so, I tried the whole "contract the muscles" thing during my push hands practice with my partner yesterday. I got tossed around like a rag doll every time he felt my tension as I contracted. He was, frankly, amazed at the amount of tension in my body and how easily he was able to offset me and throw me, since we are usually very well matched.
dude, first off, I don't know what you did during push-hands that made it easy for your partner to uproot you, although based on how you use terms like "tension" and "contraction" in a way that denotes rigidity, I am guessing that you were doing some kind of "locking out", which would suggest an isometric contraction (agonist and antagonist firing simultaneously around a joint); now, I don't know where you read my or anyone ever suggesting that you do that, because no one has or would - I mean, that would be a problem not only in taiji but really in most any sort of contact combat sport; actually, you were the one who kept making comments like "are you suggesting that I tense all my muscles" or something like that; again, you seem to have a pretty limited definition of what "contraction" and "tension" mean, informed by a layperson's perspective I guess; when talking about muscle function, these terms are descriptors that have specific definitions, and neither "contracting" nor "tensing" a muscle during taiji push-hands is inherently a problem - it's aquestion of when and how, f degree, that will determine whther you get tossed around or not;


When I told him what I was doing, he also gave it try so we could use each other as a control.
nope; as far as your "experiment" being objective, forget it - you already had made up your mind about what you would expect to see happen; self-fulfilling prophecy;


I like to leave an open mind on things and I try out new things all the time, I'm ust funny like that. I find that at least trying new things sometimes leads me places I'd never imagined. Sometimes I even learn something useful. You might want to think about that...
and you might want to think about reading a basic text on muscle physiology before misusing terms...


In that same vein, I tried the muscular extension theory several years ago If this is strictly "visualization" I can live with that, because it is a vision that works quite well for me. I have felt the changes in my own body, I have found greater rooting, greater ability to respond when incoming pressure suddenly lessens or is changed and much less tension in my body overall.
ok, finally; yes, your "muscle expansion theory" IS a visualization (and it's fine to "live with that", AFAIC), a metaphor if you will, for a very specific type of subjective experience (one with which I and others on here personally am very familiar); and FYI, I do understand why you think that the muscles are "expanding"; and I am telling you that despite what you think and feel, the biceps are still bending the elbow - but because qualitatively you are moving out of a different source (connective tissue, if you will), it doesn't feel like what you do when you just bend your elbow;


Since these are things I value, I have kept up my practice along these lines. If I'm deluding myself, then it's a delusion that has carried over very well into my practice and my every day life. I'll keep up all such delusions as long as they work. I'm funny like that too.
great; just don't expect your delusions when communicated in public to go undiscussed...


Since I have no desire to spend the amount of time required to work on changing closed minds, especially as there is no way to do so through online discussion, I will leave you gentlemen to your surety.
As with most online threads, there are entirely too many cooks in this kitchen to make a decent soup.
oh, boo hoo...I guess when presented with facts that you can't refute, the "knee jerk" response is that those presenting them are rigid and closed-minded and that when there are too many people espousing perspectives conflicting with yours, you duck out; well, in keeping with the kitchen metaphors, I guess if one can't take the heat...


Funny though how some of the cooks claim to be "experts" who know everything there is to know about kinesiology,
oh fer crissakes; look, did it ever occur to you that one can argue a single point with certainty without claiming to know absolutely everything about a given topic? and no one would contest that the so-called "experts" at kinesiology certainly don't agree about everything: for example, there is still a great deal of healthy debate about what actually is going on during "in vivo" spinal biomechanics - but the level of disagreement is within a relatively discreet arena, it's more about details than basics; however, they do agree about what we are discussing here, which is that when you flex your elbow, biceps fire, no matter what you may think or feel (again: basics);


and yet the experts can't seem to agree on anything.
can't agree on anything? no, actually they tend to agree on quite a lot;


It leaves one a bit confused when the "experts" all make conflicting claims.
what conflicting claims, specifically?


I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be, nor will I ever be or claim to be, an expert at kinesiology (heck, I'd even bet I spelled it wrong!)
then waitaminit: how would you know what the "experts" are even talking about, let alone what they may or may not agree on? how can you possibly comment on the state of what experts know if you don't know anything about it yourself?


Only one thing is for sure: I certainly will never be so much of an "expert" at anything that I would not even be willing to try sometihng different just because my "expertise" made me think it was not worthwhile. That path leads only to stagnation.
no, that path also keeps you from wasting your time spending time on things that ultimately go nowhere; maybe if you had mastery in at least one thing, you would understand that concept; but you're into that whole self-effacement thing, that whole "humble pie" bit, I can see; ya know, it is possible to achieve mastery and still be open to new learning - but it doesn't mean wholesale acceptance of just any old thing as plausible...and one can have that awareness without being self-aggandizing or falsely modest - one can simply be aware of it as such...


It truly must be nice to know it all and be so certain of it that trying new things or listening to different ways is beyond your capabilities, however it is my hope that I never reach that level.
sounds like a nice case of sour grapes, is all...

[Eric Olson]

This thread has taken such a funny turn.

So I'm assuming, Eric, that you believe that anyone who practices Taiji should also not engage in any "hard" martial art that encourages "conditioning" to create "armor"...

Could you give an example?

Thanks,

EO