Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association

Coordination of Body, Breath and Mind
Many styles of Chinese Martial Practices – and, indeed, many of all martial studies – speak to the skill of generating power from the ground up through the legs, hips, torso and shoulder finally propelling the limb toward its target. However, generating truly impactful power requires more than just engaging the body in such a synchronous manner. The skill demands coordination of the breath and mind with the motion of the body, the breath filling the Qi and the mind (“Yi”), directing the energy to the intended target.

The book, “Introduction Traditional Styles of Chi Gong”, page 205, describes the skill well:

“All Hsing Yi exercises are designed to generate great power by fully concentrating energy behind every strike. For example, when a punch is applied, body, breath and mind are coordinated in such a way that the power is drawn up from the ground through the legs, transferred to the torso with a twist of the hips and brought up to the left or right shoulder, which focuses the full force of the gathering power plus the weight of the body into the punch, sending it down through the bones of the arm and out through the knuckles of the hand at precisely the moment of contact. This requires a combination of balance and physical coordination, plus unwavering mental focus, so that the intent spontaneously gives rise to form”.

Different styles of martial study train the coordination of body, breath and mind in different ways, the intended result being the same. One of the many exercises included in Shaolin Hung Mei’s “basics” is what we refer to as Zuò Mă (坐馬 – Sitting Horse Stance)/Qián Mă (前馬 – Front Horse Stance) Shifting – see the video.

Please note that while the following explanation of the exercise is described element by element, in actual ex*****on, it is performed in a smooth, continuous and explosive manner without any discontinuity in the flow of movement - describing the exercise in discreet elements does not do it the justice it deserves.

The members start in a Horse Stance with a 50/50 weight distribution. Upon the “event” (in the exercise - a “count”, in application - an attack), he/she rapidly performs a subtle, yet critical shift of his center of gravity such that the weight distribution becomes approximately 60/40, 60% of the weight supported by the leg which will be in the rear once the shift to a front stance is completed (for example – if the practitioner is shifting from Zuò Mă (坐馬 - Sitting Horse) to Zuo Qián Mă (右前馬 - Left Front Horse) stance, the shift in “weight”/center of gravity will be toward the right leg). “Off Weighting” the front leg – in this example, the left – enables the practitioner to slightly re-orient the left foot, placing it into position for the final Front Stance.

Concurrent with the left foot being re-positioned, the left hand drops to the left side, just outside of the left knee and the torso slightly rotated clockwise, placing the trunk musculature in a pre-stretched position (muscles groups can produce more force when motion is initiated from a pre-stretched condition – think of a weight lifter performing a bench press by starting with arms outstretched and letting the weight down toward the chest before pressing up.

As the left arm begins to circle counterclockwise (for this example) to execute Zuo Biān Fēn Shŏu (左邊分手 – Left Sideways Upper Hand), the practitioner begins to rise from the height of the Sitting Horse to the height of the Front Stance, timing the rise such that the desired height is reached at the very same instant as the blocking hand would make contact with an incoming strike.

Immediately as contact with the incoming attack is made, the practitioner drives the right foot into the ground (as a sprinter drives off the starting blocks) causing the right knee to extend, driving the hip into rotation, the hip – in turn – causing the torso and then shoulder to rotate finally resulting in an impulse ballistically propelling the right arm toward the opponent. The left hand is retracted with exactly equal and opposite speed, force and focus as the right hand extends enhancing the torsional component created by the rotation of the torso (what we refer to as “reciprocal” action). Exhalation occurs at the exact moment of impact – not a moment before or after.

As a result of the required intensity and synchronicity of the body motion, series of muscle contractions and breath; the body, mind (fully concentrating the “Yi” – Intention – on the counterattack) and breath have to be totally integrated. The action not only optimizes the final impact, but in driving the body toward the left side (again… in this example) and returning from a 60/40 to a 50/50 weight distribution, effectively adds “mass” to the “weight”/effective impact of the counterattack.

Remember that the exercise described is one of many training – versus application – tools intended to help the student develop his/her skill in coordinating body, mind and breath. Once the skill becomes highly developed, it will form a foundation for the many application skills taught our members. For additional information concerning the elements of Body Mechanics taught in Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu, see: http://www.shaolinhungmei.org/generating-power.php.

Benefits of Improved Flexibility

It has been our experience that many students of martial arts do not take the time nor are aware of the many benefits of improved flexibility. Hopefully, the article, “5 Health Benefit of Stretching”, included below, will convince you of the value of spending a bit of time each day – whether it be while you are on your computer or watching the news – working on improving the elasticity of your muscles and experiencing the resulting improvements in the fluidity of your movements.

While the article makes reference to studies which have been conducted concerning the benefits of stretching, other studies report slightly different results. However, just about all studies agree with the basic premise that gaining additional range of motion is paramount to reducing the propensity of injury during aggressive exercise as well as for promoting long term health. A couple of the main differences in the results reported by other studies include:

• Several studies have indicated that static stretching done just prior to dynamic athletic activity can actually consume energy to the point of negatively affecting performance. However, these studies agree with the attached report concerning the advantages of dynamically stretching the main muscle groups which are required to perform the desired activity.

• The suggestion - included in the article - concerning holding a static, stretched position for 30 seconds, releasing and then repeating a total of three times, differs from the practice which we teach in Shaolin Hung Mei:

o While holding a stretched position for 30 seconds, breathe deeply focusing your mind on the area which you feel is being pulled. As you exhale concentrate on relaxing the muscle which is under tension. As the article indicates… you should never feel pain, only experiencing the muscle being stretched.

o After 30 seconds, the muscle should relax some, so you should be able to move into a slightly deeper stretch.

o Repeat for another 30 seconds for a total of 90.

In Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu, we perform a variety of dynamic stretches prior to beginning our martial drills, 3 abridged examples of which are shown in the accompanying video. Note that while these movements are very effective at getting the respective muscle groups prepared and will have a positive effect on your overall flexibility, a program of static stretching during your “off” days from training will enable you to realize greater – and more durable – levels of mobility.

Article:

5 Health Benefits of Stretching:

Why It's So Important and How to Stretch Properly, According to Physical Therapists

Insider’s Health Reference
Allison Torres
[email protected]

• Stretching is beneficial for your health because it improves flexibility, mobility, and posture.
• Research has found that stretching 15 minutes before exercise can also reduce the risk of injury.
• Experts recommend stretching daily and to stretch all major muscles and joints in order to see benefits.
• This article was medically reviewed by Joey Thurman, CSCS, CPT, FNS, a Chicago-based fitness expert and MYX Fitness coach.

Any healthy workout routine should include stretching exercises. That's because stretching provides a variety of health benefits, from improving flexibility to preventing injury.

There are two main types of stretching:

• Static stretching involves holding a stretch for a certain length of time and then repeating it.
• Dynamic stretching is when you move a joint through its full range of motion repeatedly, without holding it in place.

Both types can be helpful to incorporate into your routine, but when and how you should do each of them depends on your goals and the type of exercise you do.

Here a few ways that stretching can benefit you and how to do it safely and effectively.

1. Stretching improves flexibility

Stretching exercises can increase flexibility and help joints move through their full range of motion.

Flexibility is needed to keep your joints and tissues healthy, whether you're a young adult who's a serious athlete or an older adult whose exercise routine is more limited. If the tissues around a joint become inflexible, your muscles can become fatigued and tight, leaving you more prone to injuries like muscle strains or ligament tears.

A small 2019 study found that dynamic stretching increased flexibility and decreased stiffness in the hamstring muscles, as well as improved range of motion in the knee. In fact, those who dynamically stretched saw an immediate improvement in flexibility that lasted for up to 90 minutes.

2. Stretching maintains mobility

Stretching maintains range of motion, which is necessary for everyday activities like walking, bending, and twisting, as well as for athletic pursuits.

"When I'm thinking about my kayaking and hiking and all the things I want to do, if I don't have a better range of motion, it's going to limit my ability to do those activities," says Barbara Bushman, an exercise physiologist, kinesiology professor at Missouri State University, and fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

People typically lose range of motion as they age. A large 2013 study found that flexibility decreased with age, typically starting at 30 or 40 years old. The study also found that some joints, like those in your spine, lost more flexibility than others, hindering participants' ability to move.

Plus, as people age, they tend to get more hunched over, and their walking stride shortens, making it extra important to stretch frequently.

"Maintaining flexibility and joint mobility is really critical to aging gracefully and staying active," says Michael Fredericson, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Stanford University and head physician for Stanford's track & field and swimming teams.

3. Stretching prevents injury

Traditionally, athletes learned to stretch statically before a workout to avoid injury. However, research now shows that dynamic stretching loosens tissues and muscles more effectively before physical activity.

A small 2019 study found that stiff hamstrings and decreased range of motion in the knee are risk factors for hamstring injury. As a result, dynamic stretching may help prevent those injuries.

A 2007 review also found that stretching, both static and dynamic, within 15 minutes before an activity can deter injury. It found that stretching significantly reduced low back pain and muscle/tendon injuries such as strains.

4. Stretching improves posture

Flexibility exercises can enhance posture, stability, and balance. A small 2016 study of adolescents aged 15 to 17 found that a 16-week resistance and stretching program improved posture by decreasing slouched shoulders and a forward head.

If someone has a slouched posture, this can tighten muscles and put stress on muscles and joints, as well as cause back or neck pain. Stretching can alleviate this tightness and thereby improve posture and pain.

5. Stretching improves sleep and eases anxiety

Stretching not only helps loosen tight muscles, but it might also offer mental health benefits.

A small 2019 study found that participants with chronic insomnia reported improved sleep and anxiety after stretching three times a week for four months when compared to those who did not stretch or exercise.

Additionally, stretching may ease stress and anxiety. A small 2013 study found that people who stretched for 10 minutes after work reported being less anxious and more energetic three months later than those who did not. They also reported less bodily pain and improved mental health.

"[Stretching] gets you into an environment that you're not running around," says Phil Page, a licensed physical therapist, and assistant professor of physical therapy at Franciscan University in Baton Rouge. "I'm stopping, and I'm relaxing, and I'm thinking about my muscles and my movement."

How to stretch properly:

Stretching shouldn't be painful. Instead, you should stretch until you feel a slight discomfort. If you feel intense pain, you should stop, especially if you have an injury in the area.

If you're stretching before an athletic activity, opt for dynamic stretches, and focus on the joints you'll be using during the activity. For your upper body, this might include arm circles. For your lower body, it might include leg swings and lunges. You should repeat each stretch several times on each side.

Additionally, Bushman recommends dynamic stretching at least two or three days per week on all the major joint areas to maintain full range of motion. These areas include:
• Shoulders
• Neck
• Lower back
• Hips
• Legs
• Ankles

As for static stretching, Fredericson recommends doing it daily to improve flexibility and posture. "The mantra I've always said is: You need to warm up to stretch," Page says about static stretching. Fredericson agrees that static stretches should be done after activity when your muscles are warmed up.

To stretch statically, Fredericson says you should hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds, and then repeat it three times on each side. Examples of a static stretch include reaching for your toes while standing or pulling your foot towards your glute.

"I'm a big proponent of combining stretching with foam rolling or some type of soft-tissue mobilization," Fredericson says.

Insider's takeaway

Stretching is essential to keep your joints and muscles healthy and to maintain your flexibility — both for the activities you enjoy today and as you age. "The problem is, as we get older, we often lose flexibility. If you don't use it, you lose it," Page says.

Why Train the Skill of "Jumping"?

While many systems of martial arts have developed style-specific ways in which to execute various techniques, there are elements common to just about all practices. One such element is the need to draw power from the ground up - explosively firing the leg musculature, ballistically propelling the body as required for the specific application – punching, blocking, kicking, shifting from position to position and more.

Maximizing the contractile speed and power producing capability of the legs in order to optimize the effectiveness of an application requires its own training regimen, ancillary and supportive of your general martial study. While various styles of martial arts – and for that matter, sports in general – have developed a huge variety of leg power exercises, the act of “jumping” can be used as an effective modality.

The skill of “Jumping” can be trained in many ways. For example, “plyometrics” became a favored method used in gymnastics years ago and has spread to other sports. Below, see some thoughts concerning “Jumping” excerpted from an article written by Zoe Weiner for “Well & Good”:

How To Train Your Body To Jump Higher, According to Trainers Who Have Taken the Leap

Well & Good
Zoe Weiner

“…jumping can help supplement every other aspect of your fitness routine. ‘Jumping… helps increase the elasticity and resiliency of lower-leg muscles, helping to reduce lower leg injuries,’ says Joel Okaah, CPT, the field and support director with D1 Training. ‘Plus, it helps with balance, making it a great exercise to incorporate for longevity”.

The benefits of jumping higher:
Jumping exercises, in general, pack their fair share of benefits. They expel a lot of energy, give you a great boost of cardio, and kick the muscles in your lower body into high gear. "When you jump higher, you’re increasing the height from which you’re falling, adding to the amount of plyometrics and muscles required to absorb the increased shock," says Okaah. "This leads to many benefits, like increased muscle definition."

How to prep yourself to jump higher:
Do a proper warm-up - Warming up is important before any type of exercise, but when you're doing something explosive—like jumping—it's absolutely critical.

Integrate strength training:
"Training to jump higher means that your muscle fibers are working together more efficiently and more powerfully," says Jennalyn Rush, an NSCF-certified personal trainer with Gold’s Gym. He adds that when you first start training to jump higher, the gains you see are due to the fact that your central nervous system is working more powerfully and efficiently. To supplement this process, he suggests integrating strength training into your routine, because heavy lifting helps stimulate the fast-twitch muscle fibers you need for explosive movements. "Anything 80 percent or more of your max effort will require those quick-twitch muscle fibers that also help jumps go higher.”

Build up explosive movements:
"To jump higher, you’re going to want to develop the muscles that you use to jump," says Okaah, which means that you'll want to double down on jump-based strength exercises…. "Focus on form first and then shift to focus on height to reduce injury. As you jump more, you’ll get into a flow of using other body parts for momentum, like your arms," says Okaah.

Focus on landing mechanics:
You'll also want to pay close attention to the landing in your jump. "Yes, many people with knee injuries or back injuries could be afraid to jump, but the technique in learning to land from a jump is crucial to the training process as well," says Rush. "Learning to absorb the impact by landing correctly and using core strength to control the impact helps your future training as well." According to Okaah, you'll want to be sure you land softly, absorb the shock, and equally distribute the weight throughout your feet to avoid injury as you try to jump higher.”

Take a look at the included video to see two of the significant variety of “Jumping” exercises we incorporate in Shaolin Hung Mei’s Kung Fu training. The video also includes a “Stair Crawl” used to enhance core strength. As other training modalities, “Jump” training should be designed to be progressive – stress the body to a suitable level for the practitioner’s present state of conditioning, allow the body time to adapt, then step the stressors up appropriately. For example, the weight of the vest worn by the member jumping the stairs in the video is able to be increased (the vest includes pockets to receive/remove slugs of weights) as his skills improve. He can also increase intensity by jumping more steps with each leap.

To view additional, supportive training tools (referred to as “Gong Fa” or “Foundation Methods”) incorporated in Shaolin Hung Mei’s content, see: http://www.shaolinhungmei.org/conditioning-tools.php.

Another Compelling Reason for Traditional Martial Practices - The Relationship Between Martial Training and Improved Memory, Decision Making and Other Cognitive Functions

In past publications, we reported on many studies and other investigations related to the compelling reasons for traditional martial practices. For example, one study examined the effects of three modes of exercise – strength training, cardio training and motor skill development – on academic achievement in youth. The study concluded that, of the three, motor skill development had, by far, the greatest positive effect. And… what do we do when training martial arts – motor skill development!

Additional examples of research into the benefits of martial studies include an investigation concerning the benefits of dynamic – versus static – balance training, improvements in EEG characteristics during functional brain activity after having trained Shaolin Kung Fu and many more. As meaningful as these investigations have been and while establishing that the practice of traditional arts can reap a whole host of positive results, they did not go the extra step attempting to explain “why” these benefits occur.

Recently, in an article titled, “Why Your Brain Needs Exercise”, the authors David A. Raichlen, a professor of biological sciences, and Gene E. Alexander, a professor of psychology and psychiatry, have brought us a step closer to understanding the “why” behind the benefits realized through our training. The two authors report that although, in the past, general thinking taught us that as we age, we begin to lose rather than gain brain neurons, starting in the 1990’s, evidence indicating that the adult brain could, in fact, generate new neurons – an amazing discovery. The authors concluded that “Cognitively challenging exercise may benefit the brain more than physical activity that makes lower cognitive demands”.

Early studies conducted by such prestigious organizations as the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in California, discovered that running increased the birth of new hippocampus (the hippocampus part of the brain is linked to memory) neurons in mice. Follow up studies established that the same occurs in humans. One example of these further investigations was carried out at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Twelve months of aerobic exercise led to an increase in the size of the hippocampus and in improved memory in older adults.

Other researchers have reported that aerobic exercise benefits other parts of the brain including expansion of the prefrontal cortex which, in turn, has been tied to sharper, executive cognitive functions such as planning, decision making and multitasking.

The paper by Raichlen and Alexander goes on to say, “But simply exercising more may not realize the full potential of physical activity for keeping brain decline at bay… even people who already get a lot of aerobic exercise activity may want to rethink their routines. It is possible that we might not always exercise in ways that take full advantage of our evolved mechanisms for sustaining brain performance.”

Further, “Think about the ways in which many of us get our aerobic exercise. Often, we go to gym and use a stationary exercise machine; the most cognitively demanding task in such a workout might be deciding what channel to watch on the built-in television. What is more, these machines remove some of the demands for maintaining balance and adjusting speed, among many other intrinsic cognitive challenges of movement through a changing environment [i.e.: martial arts training].”

“What if the form of exercise is shortchanging us?... What if we could modify our exercise routine to include cognitive challenges…? If we can augment the effects of exercise by including cognitively demanding activity, then perhaps we can increase the efficacy of exercise regimes…”

Anders Ericsson, an expert on expert performance, in the Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, published in 2006, stated that it is “deliberate practice” – versus simply “practice” - which “makes perfect”… and that it is the “dedicated , slogging, generally solitary exertion – repeatedly practicing the most difficult tasks for an athlete … - that leads to first rate performance. And, it should never get easier… if it does, you are coasting, not improving.”

The accompanying video shows the opening to our set called, “Fú Hŭ Quán (伏虎拳 – Conquering Tiger Fist) from the Shān Dōng (山東) province. As can be seen, the practitioner has to execute rapid shifts in his center of gravity while maintaining balance; transition from softer, flowing movements into explosive, harder techniques; maintain proper eye contact; generate power using proper body mechanics; and much more… and all in just these first few movements – truly demanding mindful… rather than “mindless”… ex*****on. Cognitive exercise at its best…another of the many benefits of martial training!!

For more information concerning the transformative nature of our training, see: http://www.shaolinhungmei.org/a-transformative-experience.php and http://www.shaolinhungmei.org/hung-mei-theory.php.