Excellent! This explains so well the concept of "relax." We can relax in our exercise as we use the bones to move the body. Comment 3 about using "the skeleton to maintain contact with the ground and use it to support the body and free the muscles to do movements efficiently, quickly and effortlessly" sums it up so well.
Master Li made a similar comment when he spoke about the second method of LHBF: Bone. He said "the internal force (Geng strength) is concealed within the bones and joints . . . you must stand firmly. Root the ground first . . . when you root to the ground, and your strength is in your hind leg and heel."
Bone strength is a major difference between the muscular force of external arts and the bone force of internal arts. The lessons of standing, rowing, walking, push hands and Form are built by the Eight Methods, beginning with Chi and Geng.
We are more sensitive in the internal because we are not relying on the tightness of muscles for strength. Bone is our strength. Muscles are relaxed and sensitive to internal and external stimulation. Our skeleton, properly aligned, moves the movement with power and precision.
Thank you so much for these thoughts!
Mark
On Mar 8, 2008, at 3:33 AM, peter_hk_olaes wrote:
The following is an email from my Manila student, Julius, who
researched and discovered the true way of practising LHBF and all
internal martial arts. Comments anyone?
Peter O
Anyway, I'm writing to clarify something you mentioned several
times during practice. If I remember right, you said that ultimately
you "use the bones" to move the body in LHBF. Now I came across the
writings of a person who practiced Tai Chi for 20 years then studied
the Feldenkrais Method. He said there were similarities in their
principles, namely:
1. Use the brain and awareness to direct movement.
2. Move slowly to do a move correctly and consciously and also to
avoid
falling back on bad habitual movements.
3. Use the skeleton to maintain contact with the ground and use it
to support the body and free the muscles to do movements
efficiently
quickly and effortlessly.
He went into a lot more detail but basically he was saying muscles
weren't meant to carry weight or fight gravity; that was the purpose
of bones if properly aligned. He cited a Chinese saying that points
out that "one should move with an empty foot" meaning not to commit
weight to the moving foot until it has rested on solid ground. He
added that the fighting prowess of internal martial arts masters is
attributable to their using the bones to align with gravity and
freeing their musculature to respond quickly and correctly to an
opponent, after sensing his intentions based on touch or an expanded
awareness.
Is this in line with your mention about the use of bones and does
standing develop this ability aside from nurturing chi?
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