Month: March 2009

NOT ALL STICKS ARE MADE EQUAL

We usually work with the tools we are used to whether it is you pocket pen or your training stick which is light and smooth. Take an extra long and heavy stick which is not straight or smooth (a metal tent post for large tents is perfect and it is rusty as well 🙂 ) and move with it in your hands for a few breaths. Move it around your and sit down and get up with it and than have a few partners come at you and you need to fend them off using this uncomfortable device. Again it is your breath and movement which is important so simply see what you have at hand at the moment and work with it. It is important to adjust rather than lie to yourself as the jaw is less broken this way and the lesson we can teach ourselves each day for taking nothing for granted is great.

Remember your goal is to survive and thrive rather than kill your partners one after the other. Keep yourself calm inside and be observant.

Vigilance and tranquility.

Take the sit up and the leg raise and mind the direction and twisting of your hands as you go through the movement. This will tell you if you are tensing or moving your shoulders and chest without you noticing it or as an uncontrollable response and from awareness comes relaxation and control. Pay attention to yourself.

I know I wrote the last lines before but they are important to a good life.

To help a partner relax the tension in his striking limbs and body have him attack you over and over again and you simply move away and place the stick in the way of his movement. As he accumulates the impact on his hard surfaces such as bones and joints he will learn to naturally let the joints move to protect the body (and let the breath and body move him) and as he is contacted on the soft tissue he will learn to maintain the minimum level of tension to do the work in his muscles and tendons. Be nice and smile it hurts less when you are hit in the head that way because the muscles are less tense…
When we breathe and move it is a long line of levers and pulleys which lets the movement happen. If you want to place your fist in someone’s stomach than think of the least amount of levers you have to work to get the job done and than the energy will move better with less tension and more awareness of where the door is open for you to enter. For example work with the wall or with a partner on reaching it with the least amount of tension in your arm or leg or any part you have and you can move. You can have a belt tied around you or a partner hold you and you check where your body can go and what is the simplest way to get the job done. Find different ways to reach your goals because we are always changing and what you worked with a moment ago is never to return.

Another point to consider is the distance between you and your target. If you need to lean forward to touch than you are rather tense already without even lifting your arms and legs. Consider taking that little step and work from a comfortable distance which again changes with every heartbeat and every breath.

A very simple drill to learn to relax and move from the body breath. Start from the up position of the static push up and use your breath and body to jump in the air leaving all four limbs at the same time. Do this with the thumbs toward all four corners and learn to relax the limbs. Now shorten the distance between you and the ground a bit and repeat and do this all the way down and up again. If you feel up to it repeat the drill facing upwards.

Remember the breath is the source of movement and not the other way around.

Hold your breath and start doing a simple movement as hip circles or neck bows and so on. Let all the accumulated tension from the breath hold come out through this movement and take yourself a little further than you are used to. Work on doing this drill using your entire body part by part and as a whole and slowly the movements will become smaller and smaller and you will gain a lot of freedom of movement and relaxation.

This drill and more are a part of my DVD. I will post more further on when it will be available.

Remember to smile, it relaxes you.

Take a chair and slowly sit down and get up from it as you maintain your eye sight level and as comfortable as possible. Have a partner take a pencil or a pen and as you sit down and get up he will place obstacles in your way and you will have to keep moving and avoid getting lead into your system. continue to sitting down and have your partner press the tip of the pencil to you and you have to move to survive without pressing yourself onto the tip. If you can use more than one type of chair it will help you learn to be aware of the openings you have in this position we take and to move better from them. Change places and repeat the drill only now close your eyes and let your limbs move with the natural movements of your body to help you gain knowledge of your partner’s movement and intention. You will note that if you have no contact and no eyesight of him than he is free to operate without your knowing and you may get a sharp surprise.

Once you are in contact with him aim to end it on the one (blending with his movement) rather than applying your idea of what should happen.

Place your hand on your partner’s eyes and move his gaze so his whole body is effected by it. For example you feel he is tense toward the downward movement so you move to the side and up and he is in your control. From this uncomfortable situation (keep moving him and moving yourself) he has to remember he has arms and legs and use them to escape and affect whoever is in contact with you. You can start this on the ground by moving the head or anything else you like (take his toe and twist it and watch the whole body react) and move toward a higher position to learn to relax the spine more and to remember all of your body and to use it when you are under pressure. Another way to start this is to stand on one leg and receive pushes and pulls from your partner and letting your body relax and find the smallest movement to avoid getting hurt and keep your options open.

Remember people will come to you in all times for things you may or may not be ready for. Our ability to think and change will get us through along with our faith that it is possible.

Place your hands in your pockets and go for a walk. Climb up and down some stairs with your eyes closed and over low fences and hedges. Move over or under rocks and limbs of trees and note to yourself how your body wishes to reach out and make contact and how you manage to find a way to pass even if you are used to using your hands. For example stand before a low fence with sharp or at least uncomfortable tips at the top side and walk it’s length. Find the best place to pass it or change as you go along and slowly move over it using anything but your arms and hands. Remember that nature gives you a chance but once. Do what you can to make it a good one and the rest is in other hands.
Take a partner and one stick and start moving the stick using anything but your hands (make fists) From time to time pass the stick without stopping. Relax and continue as you pass the stick in different ways and while minding your eyes (do you look at the stick or the ground or let your eyes relax forward) and add directing the stick as a strike to your partner and he has to continue and move with your movement and avoid getting hit. Remember you are a person with a stick rather than a stick with a person so mind your own body first and the stick afterward. To make sure you remember this hold the stick in your hands and defend against an attack or more by moving your body away and letting the stick move from the movement of the body and not the other way around. Remember to keep moving. Don’t protect the ground beneath your feet with your feet.