Month: January 2008

Have a partner come to your house or meet near one of your cars and practice this in a place that is closed or where you are safe around your friends. Have one of you work to move you from the house or from the car outside in any way possible (mind the china unless you have a big budget for this and flowers for your wife…) and than reverse roles and do the same drill several times and of course reverse the direction and see how you can move a person into a car and into a house and how to resist this work effectively and while staying calm. There are methods which involve adding more people like calling the police on your speed dial or shouting FIRE and so on and those are important to practice as well but the purpose for this drill is to develop your ability to use what is around you and to be able to divide your attention. For example to keep the person inside the car/room and close the door at the same time.

It is clear why we work on this and why it can help us know ourselves and avoid doing harm.

Take the four basic drills and do ten of each in the normal way you move and repeat the 10 10 10 10 for half an hour and every time make a little change in your movement (for example, leg distance and hight, fist location, eyes open or closed, tension in the torso or in the front of the neck, holding your child in your hands, keeping a knife between your chin and chest, balancing a cup of water on your head, holding your breath, repeating your favorite prayer, while eating a sandwich, and so on)

Do the four basic drills of push ups, sit ups, leg raises and squats using a staff to move the body. For example push yourself up and down in a push up when you are leaning on a staff against a corner in the wall or if you can control the tension against the floor and your body just on the ground (note how your feet support you when your attention is elsewhere, pay attention to everything or you will pay for it) Do a sit up raising your body off the ground using your arms and the staff (think of rowing) and the rest think of by yourself and vary. Not everything will work all the time. Be free in your thought.

Lie on the ground and have a partner walk around you and over you. Keep him in your sight as you look for more people and try to move the least possible and with the most relaxed manner you can afford. (Do this with different clothes and gear or you will be surprised when things happen and you are used only to a naked situation) Relax your eyes and face and continue to follow the drill as your partner or partners adds walking through you as you simply move out of that line but only enough to remain unhurt and have them walk fast when you are ready. Getting a few kicks to free your thinking is good and healthy.

Do a few regular squats and sense how the muscles are working and than do a few more with the feet on the ground pushing the earth to the sides (like you are trying to pull the earth apart with your feet) and sense how your muscles react now and what sensation it brings. Do a few more trying to pull the earth together and again note the feeling in your joints, muscles and tendons. It can be done as you are working with a partner which is more beneficial to learning to adjust and once the principle is understood it can be worked on and than implamanted well.

Inspired by a post made by Scott Meredith in http://www.russianmartialart.com/forum

Breath in and out in growing counts of heartbeats per inhale and exhale and make sure you allow at least one or two heart beats for the pause during each phase. When you reach a point were you become slightly full, relax during the pause stage and make sure you become aware of the gap between the extra tension you are using and the form and tension after you relax during and after the inhale or exhale. As you become more comfortable and relaxed add another heartbeat or two to the Inhale/Exhale phases and again relax with awareness during the pause so you notice and automatically correct your effort and nerve/muscle engagement. Again move forward and backwards with this as you focus on the breathing being done with the least effort and utmost relaxation by becoming aware of the extra work you do due to the intention getting in the way.
I like to do this while driving or walking as it adds to my relaxation and capacity to notice things going my way ahead of time and it can be done almost anywhere and unnoticed.

Different times and locations will bring out different focus and sensations. Be aware of it and it’s effect will not control you.

Take a stick and hold it with both hands, Start to roll very slowly making sure you are putting hard on soft and soft on hard to protect the spine and head. Move the stick around by holding it wide and narrow and in front and at the back. Do not jump unless you feel good about it and remember hard ground is a good honest teacher.

A nice drill for your shoulder movement is to lie face down on the ground and move your arms straight like propellers around the floor either way. You start the movement with the body and breath and coordinate yourself.

1. Hold the ends of the chain in both hands and run them up and down a few times and change where your hands are. In front of you, behind you, above or below your shoulders and see how it affects your alignment and tension.
2. Hold both ends of the chain or its middle in both hands and rotate the chain around your body and over your head. Let it drape over your body from time to time and remember to relax and move without stopping. If you move past the point the chain stops you will be able to blend with it (check the verb rend in the dictionary first for some respect)
3. Hold one end of the chain and throw it up and catch it before it reaches the ground. Keep your eyes relaxed and breath. Proceed to throwing one end of the chain as you hold the other end and move out of the way and catch the other end. Relax your body and hand and do not harm yourself.
4. Drape the chain over your wrist and slide it up and down the forearm moving as little as possible. Proceed to the shoulder and than all over the upper body. Remember you can do this under your armpit and so on.
5. Hold both ends of the chain in one hand and slide one foot into the loop and pass the entire body through it or from the head down and so on a few times. Remember your alignment.
6. Hold both ends of the chain and move it from side to side like a small rocking chair and jump rope with it (no need to go over the head right away, it hurts, I know) from all sides, right to left, left to right and back and forth.

Say thank you your face is in one piece and relax it.

Tense up your entire body and hold it for a few heart beats, relax and start to walk naturally and as relaxed as you can and with every step hit with your fists and move the entire body as one riding the breath and relaxed. Do this and work on feeling the pulse in your forearms and hands and feel the blood moving as you move your arms and body. If you tense up you will stop the strike and your awareness. Add a partner who hits your arms and fists with a stick as you advance on him (or her) and you will learn to relax your intension and find a way. Both are important. (a whip or a thick peice of rope work differently so use both.)

A short note:

The when is just as important as the how if you intend to get somewhere unnoticed.