Relaxation

[mook jong man]

Here is a video of Instructor Tony from our Adelaide academy he is demonstrating how important it is to relax and focus your force.

I have been taught by him once when he came over to the Sydney branch , not only is he highly skilled but he is one of the nicest blokes you could ever meet.
Some day i hope to train under him again.

 

[Yoshiyahu]

Please share what are the advantages to relaxation.

What disadvantages do people encounter when the remain too tense an do not relax?

 

[tshadowchaser]

An interesting demo

I too would like to know what you feel the advantages are in relaxation

 

[BlueVino]

Please share what are the advantages to relaxation.

What disadvantages do people encounter when the remain too tense an do not relax?

The short answer is that you probably won't be doing your kung fu properly.

Comparing myself to other students and sifu, more relaxation seems to translate to more speed, more power, better balance, and a better ability to cover ones gates.

Cheers,
Trueblood

 

[mook jong man]

Please share what are the advantages to relaxation.

What disadvantages do people encounter when the remain too tense an do not relax?

I'll do my best , in our lineage we try to cultivate what our Sigung Tsui Seung Tin calls Nim Lik it is the mind force of Wing Chun .

It is cultivated by practising Sil Lum Tao form with total relaxation in the muscles, the spine and head are totally straight , the anus is contracted and each move of the form is done with full concentration .

After many , many years of training you can use this force to power all your moves with out useing much muscular force. If you are using strength you are not doing Wing Chun properly at least as far as we are concerned and are using force against force and your skill will stay at a low level.

In a combat situation it is crucial to be relaxed so that all strikes can move at maximum velocity any tension acts as a brake decreasing speed and increasing fatigue.

Also if you are tense especially in the arms and shoulders it acts as a lever for your opponent to use against you , what you are doing is giving him a connection to your body mass.

For example if you are latched (think of somebody suddenly jerking your arm down ) if you are relaxed just your arm will go down and you can rotate out of it but if you are tense your whole body will be jerked forward or down.

If you are tense in chi sau you can't seem to sense the intentions of your opponent and re-direct their strikes , also you have no forward force ( A spring like force that makes the arms strike forward when there is no opposing force ).

There is probably a lot more but my brains gonna explode trying to think of them so maybe some other people have got some .

 

[brocklee]

I'll do my best , in our lineage we try to cultivate what our Sigung Tsui Seung Tin calls Nim Lik it is the mind force of Wing Chun .

It is cultivated by practising Sil Lum Tao form with total relaxation in the muscles, the spine and head are totally straight , the anus is contracted and each move of the form is done with full concentration .

After many , many years of training you can use this force to power all your moves with out useing much muscular force. If you are using strength you are not doing Wing Chun properly at least as far as we are concerned and are using force against force and your skill will stay at a low level.

In a combat situation it is crucial to be relaxed so that all strikes can move at maximum velocity any tension acts as a brake decreasing speed and increasing fatigue.

Also if you are tense especially in the arms and shoulders it acts as a lever for your opponent to use against you , what you are doing is giving him a connection to your body mass.

For example if you are latched (think of somebody suddenly jerking your arm down ) if you are relaxed just your arm will go down and you can rotate out of it but if you are tense your whole body will be jerked forward or down.

If you are tense in chi sau you can't seem to sense the intentions of your opponent and re-direct their strikes , also you have no forward force ( A spring like force that makes the arms strike forward when there is no opposing force ).

There is probably a lot more but my brains gonna explode trying to think of them so maybe some other people have got some .

That was pretty accurate. It hinders agility and speed if you're tensed up. Power comes from structure and joint torquing.

 

[KamonGuy2]

One of our Sihings in Kamon is a teacher of Qi Gung (chi kung) and incorperates into his formwork

 

[Si-Je]

I'm just starting to learn energy, and it's definately cruitial to executing WC technique. And the answer to defense of almost any style of attack.

Without relaxation you might as well do anyother art, and block when defending against striking using all your strength. If you using strength, your not relaxed, if your not relaxed you cannot flow with your opponents force to absorb the energy of their attack.

I've been using it all through training, I just haven't been as focused or conscious about it until now. Using energy to attack your opponent's structure intrigues me, and I'm glad I'm finally getting to learn how to do some of it.

The guy in the video seems like a great guy. He's very honest, revealing, and clear in his demonstration of energy usage against an attacker. He doesn't try to make it seem mysterious and magical. For everyone can learn to do this if they desire.

 

[geezer]

In a combat situation it is crucial to be relaxed so that all strikes can move at maximum velocity any tension acts as a brake decreasing speed and increasing fatigue.

Also if you are tense especially in the arms and shoulders it acts as a lever for your opponent to use against you , what you are doing is giving him a connection to your body mass.

For example if you are latched (think of somebody suddenly jerking your arm down ) if you are relaxed just your arm will go down and you can rotate out of it but if you are tense your whole body will be jerked forward or down.

If you are tense in chi sau you can't seem to sense the intentions of your opponent and re-direct their strikes , also you have no forward force ( A spring like force that makes the arms strike forward when there is no opposing force ).

There is probably a lot more...

Very well put. Depending on your temperment, ability and genetics, this "relaxed", springy energy will develop quickly, ...or not. Personally, I flatter myself to think that I am reasonably intelligent mentally, but I seem to be retarded physically. Achieving this springy and relaxed quality, so essential in good WC/WT, has proven the most difficult challenge in all my martial training, especially when startled or surprised in sparring. Still, with time and lots of training... there is some progress.

 

[mook jong man]

Very well put. Depending on your temperment, ability and genetics, this "relaxed", springy energy will develop quickly, ...or not. Personally, I flatter myself to think that I am reasonably intelligent mentally, but I seem to be retarded physically. Achieving this springy and relaxed quality, so essential in good WC/WT, has proven the most difficult challenge in all my martial training, especially when startled or surprised in sparring. Still, with time and lots of training... there is some progress.

Its been the biggest challenge for me also because before i started in Wing Chun i was heavily into weight training , and i just tried to muscle my way through everything ,even though instructors would tell me to relax ,i just couldn't seem to get it through my thick head.

Its been my experience that women and very skinny men seem to progress very fast because they don't rely on their musculature. I't takes a lot of mental discipline not to use muscle if you have it .

I still haven't achieved good springy force yet, sometimes i have it ,sometimes i don't. Some things that have helped me are : when i do chi sau i imagine that my arms are like high pressure water hoses and if some thing is not their to stop it the water will flow through , also having your partner take his hand away randomly in single chi sau and double chi sau to test forward force .

Also i think that mentally you might not want to hurt your partner so you pull back , we used to do chi sau with those tae kwon do chest protectors on some times and my forward force was better because i didn't have to worry about hurting their chest when my hands sprang forward.