The Tao of Survival by James Morgan Ayres

Author:James Morgan Ayres
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 2013-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

Movement and Personal Variations

Everyone with passing familiarity with martial arts, or even martial arts movies, has seen practitioners of Kung Fu, Karate and other martial arts move through routines where they appear to be fighting imaginary opponents. These sequences of movements are, in Kung Fu, called forms. To gain real fighting expertise, martial artists must also train in contact with real opponents. However, learning forms is of immense value in that they encode into muscle memory certain movements and ways of moving. They are also, done correctly, excellent whole body exercises.

It’s beyond the scope of this book to teach formal forms, or any martial art. But by combining the visualizations in the preceding exercises and what you previously learned about walking while centered around your tan tien, you can develop your own variations on these exercises. Any movements—jumping, turning, twisting, dancing, yoga postures, throwing a basketball—can be, and should be, adapted and used as concentrated muscle extension and contraction exercises. They will all be of benefit. You can even do variations of extension and contraction exercises when bedridden due to illness or injury.

Avoid a fixed daily routine of the same exercises. Set aside a little time each day, but vary the exercises. You can also do small extension and contraction exercises, squeezing visualized rubber balls, curling your toes and picking up visualized marbles or pinching visualized coins between your fingertips.

After you’ve done all the exercises and some of your own for a week or so, do a repetition at top speed. Alternating slow movements at maximum strength and fast movements, still with strength, will aid in developing speed and power in your movements and also provide an aerobic benefit.

The extension and contraction exercises are foundational and will generate proportionally high returns in fitness for the time invested. With a sound foundation you can build a stronger structure. Some very advanced Chinese martial artists and fighters work at these exercises for hours each day.

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