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Physics of Fajin, Pt. 1
Being a science sort of guy, I like understanding mechanisms of how things work. Tying in concepts from biology, physics, and neuroscience into martial arts training is something I can totally geek out to. In my mind, demystifying martial arts esoterica using science is a good thing. However, science is sometimes used incorrectly to justify…
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Horizontal Control and the Four Strategies
When gaining the upper hand position, getting to the horizontal usually works to your advantage. Dropping your opponents into the horizontal plane in effect closes them in the up-down dimension. This makes it much more difficult for them to project force against you and is getting the upper hand into position to attack. From the…
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NC March 2011 Workshop Recap
Last weekend, I made my regularly planned trip down to NC to train with Sifu at the NC ILC workshop. As always, I left with a lot of stuff to work on. I find going to workshops to be highly informative. This is not just because of the knowledge that gets presented, but also because…
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Blink and the Power of Words
I recently read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and found the book to be quite enjoyable. The premise of how the mind can perceive things in an instant has parallels to the mental aspects of I-Liq Chuan training. We train the mind to remain attentive to the moment such that we can truly perceive and flow with the…
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The Body Line
After the center of the feet, usually the first “easy” idea I teach to new students is paying attention to the body line. When the hand (or more precisely, the point of contact) is inside the body line, it is easier to absorb. Conversely, when the hand crosses outside of the body line, it is…
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Repetition
Practice makes perfect, or so the saying goes. But what are you actually accomplishing from repetitive practice? Hours of drills are necessary to achieve mastery of any skill, yet the hours of practice do not necessarily lead to proficiency. According to Malcolm Gladwell, most masters of their craft have put in roughly 10000 hours of…
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Martial “Skills”?
A few months ago, I did a post on questionable body conditioning practices. So, for your entertainment, here’s a followup post about questionable martial skills. Some of them are impressive, but none of them really pass my personal test for general sanity. Finger strikes through coconuts. Sure, I’d never want to get in a fight with him…
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Penetrating the Sphere: Geometry of Attack
In a previous post, I discussed the point of contact in terms of vector components. When you penetrate your opponent’s sphere, you pass the diameter line of the virtual sphere at the point of contact and have technically passed your opponent’s defense. However, just getting past the diameter line is necessary but not sufficient. One mistake…
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Training Beginners
I sometimes get asked whether training with beginners is boring or pointless. When you advance to a certain level of skill, it can be frustrating to have to train “below your skill level.” However, I choose not to view it that way. After spending a significant amount of time (years actually) as the only I-Liq…
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Kickin’ Ass with Math: Vectors, Spheres, and Points of Contact
One of the topics that has come up in the past workshops is the idea of vector forces in the spheres of offense and defense. To maintain your defense or invade your opponent’s defense at the point of contact, the understanding of these spheres is essential. The concept of the spheres can at first seem…