while in theory i know the broad principles according to which the "advanced" biomechanics of some styles (taiji quan, bagua zhang, xingyi quan, southern mantis, baji quan, bei shaolin quan men's iron palm, etc) work, i do not have first hand knowledge of how each style develops those principles, or of how exactly each style applies them, in a biomechanical sense. this thread is an open invitation to all CMA stylists who work with such things as neigong and high-level fajing, to describe, in their own words, how their respective styles develop internal skills, what those skills are, how those methods help develop said skills, and how the skills are then used when applied. of particular preferences are descriptions made using kinesiological information, physics, and logical explanations, while avoiding literally interpreted analogies, metaphors and woo-woo. things such as "we train this to relax the lower back musculature without contracting the rest of the abdominal wall" are good, whereas things like "we do not use muscle to move" are not. similarly "this is explained as positively affecting qi flow" is acceptable, more so if you explain how such a position is advantageous in a purely physical sense, but just saying "you do this to stimulate qi flow" will result in me storming off and complaining to my mom, who will write you an angry letter pretending it's from the united nations. proceed.
Im a bit too busy to post much(working travelling and studying), however I will make this simplistic summary;- In Nejia ('internal' if you want) CMA, emphasis is placed on bio-mechanics couched in sometimes esoteric language. Neigung which is the most useful and fundamental aspect of Nejia CMA, is taught in Taijichuan (sometimes, but seemingly not always) - but not early enough (IMHO), but seemingly automatically in Baguazhang (that I have experienced so far.) What is Neigung? A system of exercises to find spinal alignment, co-ordination, transition and endurance; whilst practising bio-mechanical postures and repetitions for 'health' and 'martial' purpose; under generally extreme circumstance. Where does Neigung come from? As best I know observations of Animals as documented in almost impenetrable 'classic' texts. Someone else may better flesh this out. How does Neigung manifest itself? We work on our body as a system of interconnecting springs that coil/uncoil or expand/contract to health and martially beneficial purpose. How does one use Neigung martially? We need to find balance automatically in in Nejia CMA and transition as mechanically optimal as possible, evade attacks, enter opponents space to strike and unbalance opponents. When we practise Neigung our bodies are tuned into extreme postures and movements. In self-defence applications and forms, there are aspects that require a lot of study (both slow and fast IMHO) to find the bio-mechanical efficiency under duress - to be effective e.g. step back and repulse monkey is one application that I work on at this time, where I see Neigung working to make the transition from opponent's attack to simultaneous forward upper body projection and reverse leg trapping and unbalancing i.e. its all about applying multiple force levers in a coordinated manner - which require a lot of work to trigger in a mechanically efficient manner - under progressive degrees of duress. The 'iron shirt' aspect - the ability to sustain blows through spongey absorption, comes later - Im a novice.
A very general overview nutshell,not system specific,and some systems may work all or only some of these. Working w/the assumption that these are in addition with acceptable levels of general anatomical alignment/mechanics such as are in use in pugilistic systems. Expand and contract tissues,open and close joints,usage of muscles/groups usually not consciously employed/employed as initiators,segementation of the body at joints,ways of moving not commonly used,coiling flesh around the bone,fanatical attention to alignment/relationship of body parts to each other,and of course linking all these things together as one does w/any mechanics. I suppose that's what "the skill" is.Being able to put them all together so they spell M-O-T-H-E-R. Whatever language one spells it in. I'm not giving instructions,so anything more specific and you'll have to send money! Not going to get into techniques or tactics as these vary from system to system and practitioner to practitioner,you simply use the body methods to obtain your goal vs opponent- as you would any mechanics. Most of the time they are used in conjunction w/ "regular" mechanics,so much of what you do with them you were likely already doing,whether it was a balance attack,a lock,or a straight rear hand. P.S.-I doubt this stuff came from observation of the wild kingdom,unless someone could tell if and how a crane/tiger/hamster was opening his hip kua utilizing those muscles as the initiator of the movement. This brings me back to something I said some time ago,I think it was to Embra,mainly who/how and WHY did any one find and work this stuff out? If you really want knowledge of this stuff I advise finding an inside member of Hamster Style.
Essentially, the "internal" mechanics will start to influence the regular "external" mechanics - but it will vary from style to style and teachers/students interpretations - which makes all of this extremely difficult to talk about in an intelligent objective manner i.e. I can do this stuff(to some level), but its difficult to explain on internet i.e.it absolutely has to be experienced over time. For me personally, it also helps me develop a sense of timing and rythym, but this is just me. I will look into this some more when home (which will be a while as Im in Belgium) and come back on these points. Stuff this Nejia internal gubbinz! I am going for some of that Hampster qua MA! However, until then, a sample of what is possible:- [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB0BqHV5kx8"]Tai Chi Chuan Nei Kung demonstration - Cloud Dragon school, - YouTube[/ame] I hasten to add, I have nothing like this capability. When I first started Taichi in Jan 2008 at Dan Docherty's gym in London, I was still slightly crazy (in a nice way) from Aikido and was encouraged a lot to attack and evade with a lot of speed and energy (which would always get burned up). In pushing hands, I could gain some kind of traction against everyone bar this fellow [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OgSdzzboaE&feature=relmfu"]Shi San Shi International/Wudang Tai Chi Chuan - YouTube[/ame] Pushing Hands with this fellow was like pushing a solid concrete pillar. When I asked how he did it he replied "Neigung". He left London to go home to the north of Italy, at the same time as me(with 4 months experience, him with 17 years.) I doubt that the intervening 4 years would have shifted the balance much - he was capable of pushing very powerfull and skilled opponents around like clothes in a washing machine. I remain fast and nippy, but only slightly more skilled with a modicum of Neigung in there,
Although you did say "in their own words" I would suggest that "..positively affecting qi flow" sits firmly in the... ...I just love that quote
Purely from a personal perspective:- The Pushing Hands, Forms (armed and unarmed), Sanshou (which varies from weave and box to conditioning kick-boxing/self-defence - but probably not competition Sanda**) and occassional Shio Jiao; feed into what is interesting in Taichichuan for me, namely the 'classic' Applications - or self-defence. The unarmed applications tend to have animal oriented names. Some interpreted classic texts also refer to Neigung names (but less explicitly so and not much.) The really interesting applications occur vs more than 1 opponent and sometimes armed e.g. defender with Saber vs 2 attackers, 1 with Saber, the other with Spear. The timing, evasion, space-entry, weaving, rythym, blending and alignment in execution of these applications; are mechanically tricky and require a lot of concerted effort and study; fast and slow. Neigung is the essential DNA of all of this. However, for whatever reason the deeper Neigung aspect is difficult to get to i.e. its all 'inside the door' and a tad mystical for me (but hey dive in and fill your boots when the chance pops up.) Baguazhang interest me because it is more overtly based on evasion and weaving than TaiChiChuan; and its Neigung is apparrent from pretty much from day 1 (at least in Cheng Bagua) in circle-walking and muddy stepping - before and during the 'cool' stuff of Single-palm change, double-palm change, swimming dragon. Where the Neigung of Baguazhang comes from I have no idea. **Right now I am doing very basic Sanda (competitive Sanshou) training, simply because of the teaching availability in Belgium, although it is taught as separate from Taichichuan.
