One of the biggest mysteries come out of the eastern arts is internal energy. Wudan arts, like Pa Kua Chang and Tai Chi Chuan and Hsing i claim it. Supposedly it takes lifetimes to create this thing called internal energy, but when you get it you can defeat attackers with just a sigh and a wave of the palm.
Well, the truth of the matter is that internal energy is in many arts, and if it is not, it can be put into any art easily. The principles of internal energy, you see, are easy to understand. So if you study kenpo or tae kwon do, or even boxing, then the door is hereby opened for you, this article is going to lay out those principles and shove you through the door.
It is absolutely vital that you have phenomenal basics, not just good, but utterly phenomenal. What this means is that you must drop the weight of your body when striking or blocking, and do so with such awareness that you actually create an energy beam down your leg. You must arrange the parts of your body so that they form an unbroken chain for the energy to flow through, very important that they are relaxed, because chi will flow easier through a relaxed body.
Now, you must make sure that you move the parts of your body at the same time. Everything starts together, and everything stop together, this is called Coordinated Body Motion. Analyze your body so that when it swings into alignment all of the pieces are moving in harmony, and with consideration for their mass and size and shape and so on.
Now, you've got basics, and it is time to start the flow of internal energy. Fill a pipe halfway with sand. Move that pipe in such a way that when you stop it all the sand collides on the side of the pipe at the same time.
What I have described, with the pipe drill, which can be done throughout any form, is what internal energy is and does. It is energy swirled on the inside of your body in such a way that it collects and deposits its entire mass inside of the block, or strike, or foot, or whatever, at the same time. We used to develop this type of energy in kang duk won korean karate, way back when, but we didn't think of it as chi because it didn't have any undue significance, it was just the way we did our forms and techniques.
It is helpful if you move slowly, concentrating on feeling the motion of energy inside your body. And, to be truthful, the internal Wudan martial arts have arranged their forms so as to help the process. But you can feel it in Karate, or tae kwon do, or any striking art, if you just take the time to appreciate what you are doing.
The real key is that this method, and all methods, rely on the direction of awareness. It is an idea that moves awareness, and the course of this consciousness can be called Chi, or Ki, or Prana, or pneuma, or intention. Now, the real question here is whether you have the patience to invest your movements with chi, or intention, or whatever you want to call it. - 31491
Well, the truth of the matter is that internal energy is in many arts, and if it is not, it can be put into any art easily. The principles of internal energy, you see, are easy to understand. So if you study kenpo or tae kwon do, or even boxing, then the door is hereby opened for you, this article is going to lay out those principles and shove you through the door.
It is absolutely vital that you have phenomenal basics, not just good, but utterly phenomenal. What this means is that you must drop the weight of your body when striking or blocking, and do so with such awareness that you actually create an energy beam down your leg. You must arrange the parts of your body so that they form an unbroken chain for the energy to flow through, very important that they are relaxed, because chi will flow easier through a relaxed body.
Now, you must make sure that you move the parts of your body at the same time. Everything starts together, and everything stop together, this is called Coordinated Body Motion. Analyze your body so that when it swings into alignment all of the pieces are moving in harmony, and with consideration for their mass and size and shape and so on.
Now, you've got basics, and it is time to start the flow of internal energy. Fill a pipe halfway with sand. Move that pipe in such a way that when you stop it all the sand collides on the side of the pipe at the same time.
What I have described, with the pipe drill, which can be done throughout any form, is what internal energy is and does. It is energy swirled on the inside of your body in such a way that it collects and deposits its entire mass inside of the block, or strike, or foot, or whatever, at the same time. We used to develop this type of energy in kang duk won korean karate, way back when, but we didn't think of it as chi because it didn't have any undue significance, it was just the way we did our forms and techniques.
It is helpful if you move slowly, concentrating on feeling the motion of energy inside your body. And, to be truthful, the internal Wudan martial arts have arranged their forms so as to help the process. But you can feel it in Karate, or tae kwon do, or any striking art, if you just take the time to appreciate what you are doing.
The real key is that this method, and all methods, rely on the direction of awareness. It is an idea that moves awareness, and the course of this consciousness can be called Chi, or Ki, or Prana, or pneuma, or intention. Now, the real question here is whether you have the patience to invest your movements with chi, or intention, or whatever you want to call it. - 31491
About the Author:
Al Case has taught martial arts for 4O+ years. This includes TCC, PKC, Aikido, Shaolin, etc. He is a writer for the magazines, and the inventor of Matrixing Technology and Neutronics. You can find out more about Internal Energy, and get a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts
