Relaxation , power, and speed

[bodhitree]

Hello all.
The first arts in my background were very external, and after years i often find myself getting tight in the shoulders in my tecnique when i speed up. I try to do slow practice first staying relaxed. I know power comes from body intergration and relaxation, but always end up tensing up. anyone else go through? Anyone successfully overcome? thanks

[Scott R. Brown]

Hi bodhitree,

Tension begins in the mind! It is our attitudes and intentions that affect the execution of our technique. A relaxed mind will allow the body to perform more efficiently and with greater economy. Look to your mental attitude first when executing strikes. Keep your thoughts receptive and placid like a still pond. To strike with emotion is to allow tension in the mind that will be translated into tension in the muscles.

I don’t intend to sound mystical, but don’t think in terms of “trying to strike”, think in terms of “striking is happening!” Once you fix in your mind the idea of trying to strike fast, you have filled your mind with an intention and you begin to “TRY” to strike fast! This will cause the tension you mention! Don’t “TRY” to strike fast; strike quickly, but without a fixed intent to do so. Let the training create speed of itself! True quickness results as a natural consequence of proper training not as a forced ability!

Conditioning is also important if you do not train the muscles to withstand the rigors of striking, once they become fatigued tension results.

And lastly:

Do not think of striking as if you were striking with the arms and hands! It is the integration of the body as a whole that creates power. The palm or knuckles are merely the striking surface. Force is initiated from the rear foot and translated to the hips and then the waist and torso. The extension of the arms is the last and weakest link or perhaps the least important in terms of force generation, when striking. Do not focus on the palm or fist during impact, but on extending the elbow. This takes the mind off the palm or fist and keeps the mind on the last factor in the force generation chain, the extension of the arm. Think of the hand and forearm as a weapon held by the elbow rather than focusing on the hand during impact. Instead of thinking of a weapon as an extension of the hand, think of the forearm and hand as an extension of the elbow!

These are the principles for linear strikes! When initiating circular strikes the elbow should remain somewhat fixed, the shoulder moves inward a bit, but the force is generated from the pivoting of the feet combined twisting of the hips and torso. The torso is the last factor in the force generation link. When executing uppercuts it is the legs and hips that generate force and not the shoulder or elbow.

This is what works for me! Give it a try and see what results you get!

Good Luck!!

[SPJ]

There are several ways to practice to "drop" and relax the shoulders.

These are from Tong Bei and Pi Gua "soften" the shoulder Gong methods.

1. You use the back of your hand to hit the thigh and circle your arm upward. You use your hand to touch the back of the neck. You swing down your arm and draw a circle and then hit the back of your thigh. Shui Bei Gong.

2. You stretch your arms at the shoulder level and lean the back forward. You move your hands close to your body and bend the knees. And you stretch out again.

3. You move arm forward and lean forward. You move your arm to the back and lean back. Dang Yiu Shi.

4. You swing your arms left and right and rotate your waist.

5. You move your arm forward and downward (Pi) and continue doward and upward in a circle. (Gua) Vice versa.

6. You tug in your chest and cross your arms as far as you can, You expand your chest and move arms outward as far as you can.

Not to be tried without a teacher.

Overtime, your shoulder joints and back/chest muscles will be more relaxed and flexible. With practice, more speed and power from the shoulders and back/chest.

If you are good, then Tong Bei and Pi Gua are not far away.

There are also waist method for Pi Gua and steps for Tong Bei.

Cheers.

[SPJ]

Intent and power origin.

Depends on your external styles;

If your power comes from the foot, you would start the power from the foot, and the rest of the body relaxed and transferring the power.

If you have a flexible or "stretched" shoulder and back, you do have a "longer" arm and more power to your punch.

Depends on your style and power generation requirement.

Think relaxed and slow. Practice slowly but correctly every time.

Speed and power will be gained by doing things right every time.

Over time, speed and power will come with proficiency.

No overnite magic.

[bodhitree]

SPJ
thanks, i do practice tongbei and all of the shoulder losening methods work while I'm doing them, and i am a bit more relaxed in parts of tongbei than in other things i do, but even in tongbei i have a tendency to tighten up, which really blocks the power. I guess its just a matter of focus and practice.

[Ray Pina]

I have an isshin-ryu background, so I know exactly what you're talking about. The first 2 years of my training was spent having my teacher get on my case for tensing up. Only the past 4 or 5 months have I been able to do so. Here's two analogies that helped me:

Your arm is roughly 9% of your total body weight. That makes my arm about 18 'bs. How much heavier is that then the baseball bat already? Just swing it, you don't need to add "power".

Also, I can throw the buller at you and it will only get you mad. If I shoot you with it you're dead. The mass is the same. What has changed is the speed,

So, learn to generate power, get the mass moving from the body/shoulder .... add extra speed with the wrist .... but don't tense up. When you tense up you do not add mass, you simply restrict, slow the movement.

It's hard to let go at first. It's also easy to fall into the trap of wanting to look like you swing hard .... do full power, body jerking reverse punches. Sometimes you have to decide between being the class superstar or a good fighter.