How much time do you spend on internal MA?

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Tydive

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I want to get an idea of the amount of focus your MA puts into the internal aspect of your development. Internal MA for this conversation means meditation, centering exercises, focus on chi/ki/prana beyond the physical aspect (not just feeling heat/pressure but actually sensing opponents intent), mental calming exercises and breathing (plus any cool ontological stuff you do that I failed to list).

I have been focused on the internal aspects for quite a few years, and am just now getting back into the physical side. In looking around at different schools I found what to me was a shocking lack of internal focus.

For example, my little brother has his black belt in TKD but none of the people in his school (including the Sensi) shows a deep understanding of the internal aspect of their art. It's almost as if they learned it from a video or book, but the Sensi is a 6th Dan BB with all kinds of awards etc... I saw pretty much the same thing at a Kung Fu school and two Tai Chi Schools. Is this normal now?
 

BlackCatBonz

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at one point in time i spent every spare minute trying to develop my internal awareness. i think its an important part of life and health, not just for martial arts. but i think its upto the individual to develop that training, and i think most teachers would help a student if they requested it (and if they knew about it). for the most part though, most people want to learn MA and not any hokey ki/chi stuff

shawn
 
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Shurikan

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Train on Ki everyday, I think a lot of schools dont focus on it thinking it just comes in time, but it is diffently something you have to work on just like your kicks and everything else.
 
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sifu nick

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I try to a few times a day. Not nearly enough though.
 

Corporal Hicks

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I would like to know how do you train your internal ki, do you do certain exercises, do you meditate? I'm really interested in developing my internal side but I dont have any idea on how to start about it. I'm really interesting in the increasing mental awareness and the calming of the mind and everything else that I have heard, I think that developing this sounds very interesting can anybody give me some help on where I can start?

Regards
 
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Tydive

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Corp Hicks (love the FMJ ref by the way) I posted a bit on just that Q the other day, check it out. In fact I think most of my posts have been Chi centric... I can't help it.

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15557

Shawn: I hear you. Many people tend to view the internal aspect as some mystical garbage. Which, seeing what is out there I can see why.

Do any of you actually use Chi as an active part of your MA? If so how?
 
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sifu nick

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Personally I try meditation techniques and breathing excercises.
 

DeLamar.J

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Tydive said:
I want to get an idea of the amount of focus your MA puts into the internal aspect of your development. Internal MA for this conversation means meditation, centering exercises, focus on chi/ki/prana beyond the physical aspect (not just feeling heat/pressure but actually sensing opponents intent), mental calming exercises and breathing (plus any cool ontological stuff you do that I failed to list).

I have been focused on the internal aspects for quite a few years, and am just now getting back into the physical side. In looking around at different schools I found what to me was a shocking lack of internal focus.

For example, my little brother has his black belt in TKD but none of the people in his school (including the Sensi) shows a deep understanding of the internal aspect of their art. It's almost as if they learned it from a video or book, but the Sensi is a 6th Dan BB with all kinds of awards etc... I saw pretty much the same thing at a Kung Fu school and two Tai Chi Schools. Is this normal now?
I try to make it 50/50. The internal side of martial arts is 50% of what martial arts is about, if you abandon that for the external, then you will be horribly unballenced. You can have all the external techniques the world, but if you dont have the internal means to use them, then you are not going to reach your full potential.
I am asked sometimes how I do certian techniques with more than average speed, power, and accuracy. And the answer is simple, internal training. If you belive that your technique will stop your opponents heart, and throw it with those intentions, it may not stop there heart, but the technique will be 50% more effective if you belive in yourself. That is just a small taste of internal training. If you belive your kick is thrown at 200 miles per hour, then your kick will be 200 miles per hour, well not really but you still must belive it. It will make you faster. This is just the basic internal training.
When you fight, you must be willing to die, rather than loose a fight, if you are defeated, your mother will be raped and your father will be givn a slow and painful death, all your friends will be hunted down like dogs for being assosiated with you. This is what must be flowing through you when you fight, there is no other option, than to win. To die is better.
That is also internal training. There are so many ways to train your inner self, you CANNOT abandon this type of training!
When you get to a certain level, like 1st dan for example, everyone has good techniques and is very good, its who has it together upstairs is what will set you apart.
 
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TonyM.

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Usually about three hours of soft chi gong and meditation and about two hours of hard chi gong daily. I should take one day off a week, my bad.
 
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Aaron Little

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I was all prepared to answer none until I saw that "mental calming exercises" counted as internal training. That being the case pretty much everything we do in class would count. We spar a lot and I can think of no better way to develop the ability to relax under the pressure of physical conflict than fighting itself.
 

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