CFT
25-Nov-2003, 02:43 PM
For those of you in the States you may have missed the fuss about England winning the Rugby Football Union World Cup in Australia. By the way, USA did have a team but were knocked out in the early stages of the competition.
The hero of the moment was an English player called Jonny Wilkinson who scored a drop goal in the last 30 seconds of extra time.
Now we get to the interesting (for me!) bit ..... I was reading a Sunday newspaper when I came across a piece about his famed (ball) kicking technique. He has a unique posture before he takes the kick where he holds his hands together in front of his chest, almost like praying but with his hands horizontal and further away from his chest:
"The hands, he said, are like a barrier erected against the outside world, helping him to cut out the tens of thousands of opposing fans who are likely to set up a barrage of whistles and jeers in an attempt to disturb his intense concentration. "As I got more into kicking," he said, "I became more involved in looking at other aspects, and one area I looked at was focusing from the inside, slowing down the breathing, relaxation, 'centring', which is a way of channeling my power and energy from my core, just behind my navel, down my left leg and into my left foot to get that explosive power. When I was doing this, the position with the hands happened to be the one I adopted. Look at pictures from 1998, and you will see my hands are further apart. Each year they have gradually got closer. For whatever reason, it has become a very strong position for me."
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/rugbywo...1089077,00.html
Does this sound like Chi to you or merely visualisation/focussing techniques? Maybe that's all we're trying to do in MA.
The description just really struck home with me ... dantien and chi, and all that. I'm only a beginner in Wing Chun so I haven't experienced it for myself. Does what he describe come close to your experiences?
The hero of the moment was an English player called Jonny Wilkinson who scored a drop goal in the last 30 seconds of extra time.
Now we get to the interesting (for me!) bit ..... I was reading a Sunday newspaper when I came across a piece about his famed (ball) kicking technique. He has a unique posture before he takes the kick where he holds his hands together in front of his chest, almost like praying but with his hands horizontal and further away from his chest:
"The hands, he said, are like a barrier erected against the outside world, helping him to cut out the tens of thousands of opposing fans who are likely to set up a barrage of whistles and jeers in an attempt to disturb his intense concentration. "As I got more into kicking," he said, "I became more involved in looking at other aspects, and one area I looked at was focusing from the inside, slowing down the breathing, relaxation, 'centring', which is a way of channeling my power and energy from my core, just behind my navel, down my left leg and into my left foot to get that explosive power. When I was doing this, the position with the hands happened to be the one I adopted. Look at pictures from 1998, and you will see my hands are further apart. Each year they have gradually got closer. For whatever reason, it has become a very strong position for me."
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/rugbywo...1089077,00.html
Does this sound like Chi to you or merely visualisation/focussing techniques? Maybe that's all we're trying to do in MA.
The description just really struck home with me ... dantien and chi, and all that. I'm only a beginner in Wing Chun so I haven't experienced it for myself. Does what he describe come close to your experiences?