really heavy hands

[Shaolin Shi]

I've noticed that my mate is very relaxed yet not floppy and able to maintain his form very well while invading my space. There's no sense of him "bracing" or "leaning" - it's a wierd feeling but it's like there's nothing to push and yet I have these skinny arms that feel like their made out of cast iron invading my space - and I get the feeling that he enjoys laughing at me

I would call that "fullness". In order to achieve that state, you have to have a certain level of relaxation... but relaxation alone won't get you there. You also have to be able to channel your intent through your relaxed body. For me, this is standard "yi leads chi" stuff, but since so many people get upset whenever chi is mentioned, lets just say that there is a state of being relaxed but still "meaning" to have solid structure. When you find that state, you will find fullness.

The only other hint I can give you is that you'll have to get out of your head and into your body in order to achieve fullness.

[timedoctor]

Shaolin Shi - I've been coming to that conclusion lately. I've trained with some systema guys and they don't talk much about chi either but they do this exercise where they keep the push-up position for 10 or 15 minutes, relaxed, but keeping the form. I guess this must be to help find that type of structure. Its a funny balance for someone like myself who hasn't quite felt it yet.

[Shaolin Fist]

Timedoctor,

This is one of the classic questions that gets asked thousands of times, and you will get get thousands of answers without ever getting the true one that allows you to achieve heavy hands. Inevitably Chi always gets mentioned and take it from me, it is not a big part of what creates the heaviness, nor is it just being relaxed either. Heavy hands development is the main powerhouse of the Ng Jou system as they dont use Gin power, but the kwowlege of training is still not commonly known yet.

PM me and i will explain how its trained and developed.

[fiercest tiger]

Time doctor,

The systema guys are kool, i like there system very similar to some of the stuff i do although that push up is it in aup locked position of unlocked at the elbows?

regards
Garry

[mantiskilla]

hit stuff.but i train from the outside in.
________
LovelyWendie

[qiphlow]

you can train the standing more--a year is good, but i think not so long when we talk about internal development. also, you can use postures from your form, train them statically: hold your posture for a minute or two (or three or four, if you like), eyes open, intention of performing the appropriate application, but muscles are not tensed. think of a firehose, how it fills with water.
this type of training, combined with the standing meditation, will work it's way into you, into your form.

[timedoctor]

Fiercest tiger - the pushup position that I practiced was in the top position, not quite extended, but I'm told that the systemists practice in lowered also as well.

[Blacktiger]

Systema is kick ass, all about being loose as and soft as.

[imperialtaichi]

The only other hint I can give you is that you'll have to get out of your head and into your body in order to achieve fullness.

Hello Shaolin Shi,

Good point. True Yi does not come from the head, but come from the heart. If you think about it with your head, it will never happen. But if you feel it with your heart, that's when you can lead the qi.

Cheers,
John

[timedoctor]

Shaolin Fist and Imperial Taichi you have PM

[BillW]

Fiercest tiger - the pushup position that I practiced was in the top position, not quite extended, but I'm told that the systemists practice in lowered also as well.

Hey timedoctor, where do you train? I've been doing Systema at Sacramento with Sergey M for a while.

Heaviness seems all we train for--I was pretty stunned the first time Sergey corrected my punching by saying "no, don't use any body, just drop your arm, no body, don't add anything to the drop" i.e., use the heaviness and nothing else. He further illustrated this by having us both lay side by side--he leaned over and dropped his fist into my chest from a very awkward angle--I was gasping, rolling, incapacitated.

But the reason I'm writing--in Systema we are doing heavy punching with no intention--have been specifically directed to make arms and fists heavy and drop without any thought of an opponent, as if opponent is not there. This has come out in practice--unintended "accidental" heavy strikes will drop my partner--the "I didn't mean to hit, I was defending against a takedown" ones doing the most knockout damage.

[TaiChi-IronPalm]

I have noticed in push hands that if I think about stuff like conciously trying to do it, it feels weak, but if I am just feeling and reacting and acting I can shoot people for flips without any effort, like it just comes out, I dont attribute this to some mystical power though, it just seems that your energy and body mechanics line up properly when you are NOT thinking about your energy and mechanics and your attention is on feeling intertia and force moving between you. Personally, and dont flame me for this I think chi is at its core just the energy that powers your body, muscles, organs etc. I dont believe in fairy tales.

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

Thinking about doing it separates us from "it" and weakens our internal potential.. thinking shifts the action to external properties.. Connective tissue, 20 times quicker than the vervous system at transmitting signals, is one of the primary keys to unlocking the "mystery" of Taiji.. connective tissue accounts for the structure of our physical image, understanding its relationship with consciousness is essential to deep understandings of Taiji..

Be well..