Energy work

[Si-Je]

I'm just starting to really get into energy work with Wing Chun. Love it, I do!
What are your thoughts on chi, energy in combat or in life in general? Do you train energy work in your schools i.e. with sensitivity, re-direction, breaking structure, or other?

 

[mook jong man]

I'm just starting to really get into energy work with Wing Chun. Love it, I do!
What are your thoughts on chi, energy in combat or in life in general? Do you train energy work in your schools i.e. with sensitivity, re-direction, breaking structure, or other?

Depends how you define energy work , you have been working on internal energy ever since you started learning Sil Lum Tao form . We don't call it chi we prefer to call it Nim Lik , thought force or determination force .

Mention the word chi and peoples eyes start to roll back into their head . Its not a mysterious force as people make out , think of a mother who's kid is trapped under a car or something and she lifts the car up, that is an example of determination force.

Everybody has this potential its just by practiceing Sil Lum Tao form for years the Wing Chun person can call it up at will and exploit it to energise his techniques .

Some advice that was given to us is when you practice the form you imagine there is resistance and when you practice with a partner you imagine there is no resistance.

A simple exercise you can do is take out pieces of the form and perform the action with your partners hand at your elbow giving resistance for eg moving your tan sao forward , you dont care that his hand is there , mentally you are just doing the form concentrating on your elbow and moving it forward or have him put his hand over your fist as you slowly drive out your punch again focussing on your elbow .

Of course when you do these things everthing else has to be correct , muscles relaxed , spine straight , internal contraction on and trying not to use brute strength.

If you find your self using too much strength or it seems like too much effort get him to back off on the resistance a little bit .

I just remembered some good sensitivity exercises but i'll save em for another time .
I don't share these things to act like a big head or a know it all , because believe me i know nothing .

I do it in the interests of helping to advance Wing Chun and it maybe usefull to beginners.

 

[dungeonworks]

We do a lot of sensitivity work, and frankly, it is what picks my interest and attraction to the art. I still very...no, make that VERY raw and lacking with it at this point in my Wing Chun. It is not something I have ever worked in the other arts or MMA I have done...at least not as clear and concise of a syllabus. My instructor did use sensitivity in kickboxing but it was much different and more for sensing an incoming attack, but nothing even remotely like the Wing Chun drills I am doing now.

We have done a push hands type drill (I forget the name as I am bad with foreign languages! LOL). We also did some punching and kicking drills with a partner leaning hard and in close from the start of the strike. From there, the person striking push the partner away at which point he would pull away unexpectedly exposing bad stance/balance/structure. It was pretty cool and you can really feel the difference a good structure makes when you get it right and see your partner get pushed harder or don't get off balanced by leaning in too much with too much commitment....a terrible habbit I have from my kickboxing/karate days.

Since I began Wing Chun a few months back, I can see things I was doing wrong in past martial art styles. Things having to do with structure and technique that likely could only be seen and corrected by a Wing Chunner. I hope that came off right because I am finding it hard to verbalize what I am really saying (yes, I am a big dummy sometimes! LOL).

 

[stickarts]

We do incorporate energy work into some of our classes although I don't feel that we have taken it to an advanced level. In martial arts, I think of chi as listening to, and interpreting, energy and its intentions.
Physically I think of it as a component of the electrical system in our bodies.

 

[Si-Je]

I visualize where I want my energy to be and to go when applying WC technique. It helps me direct it with my intention whether to deflect or attack. This has worked for me a few times.
I'm still working on rooting with stance. I tend to freak out when a larger guy tries to lift me up still. I've been able to root a couple of times keeping from getting picked up, but I am still too easily distracted.

Hubbie calls me "sparky", saying that my energy tends to go everywhere. lol! But I'm getting a bit better at gathering it up and sending it where I need it. It still takes me awhile to stop and focus. When I can do this more "on the fly" hubbie says he'll teach me some really cool stuff then.

But, I've met alot of martial artists that don't want to have anything to do with meditation of any sort. They seem to fail to see the practicality of meditation, or energy focus, breathing excersises, and such. But, that's probably for another thread.

 

[JustAVisitor]

Where i used to train, the first use of energy is to build a natural protection belt. Beginners start energy exercises from day one of their training. They don't know it until few months later. One of the first things that we teach is breathing using the diaphragm for a full breath. This type of breathing has to become natural. When it is and the student health is fine, a noticeable change happens in the abdominal area: warmth, texture, solidity... it is hard to describe really, but it feels full and solid like an inflated balloon (whether or not you have a 6-pack). Building a natural protective belt has begun. Training can move up to another level. As progress is made, energy builds around the dandien. When there is enough energy around the belt and there are sensations of warmth/tickling (it depends on individuals) in the hands and lead in the legs then it is time to learn to direct these sensations wherever it is required whether it is for a punch of for a headache.

 

[profesormental]

Greetings.

I think that more precise definitions of "energy" should be used, since I can name at least 5 different functional "subtle anatomy" systems that I can use for healing and/or hurting; I can use Intention, structure, proprioceptive neuromuscular effects and physiological phenomena as qi manifestations, etc.

The use of qi depends on the specific effect/manifestation (Fa Jing come call it) and the specific mechanism to achieve it.

"Energy" is a very overloaded word. Thus I can help answer your question if you mention specific instances and uses.

If you just ask my thoughts on qi, I would say it is cool.

Also, I would say that it is mysticized still and a umbrella concept for many phenomena.

Fortunately, it is very easily controlled, trained in and repeatable in the effects that it can manifest.

Hope that helps.

Sincerely,

Juan M. Mercado

P.S. This is a very general remark and there is so much more to this...