I didn’t believe the arm trick would work, so I went downstairs and got one of my roommates to push my arm while I tried the stiff and reaching versions. He was able to push my arm down both times without apparently trying harder in the latter case. As far as I can tell, I followed the instructions. What are the likely failure modes?
I would guess it’s being sufficiently “loose” before you start to reach, because he had to physically wobble my arm around before I was “loose” enough.
Of course it’s also possible that this doesn’t work all the time and it’s some kind of group hypnosis—which would still be interesting in its own right.
Years of learning Aikido really should change the way the muscles are activated. So it would be surprising if no change showed in the MRI. You probably were mentally prepared when you tried, so that experiment was biased. Hypnosis is know to affect muscles so no surprise there either.
So my prediction is that these kinds of hacks only work with considerable preparation. Still it’s good to know that they work in principle.
I was once told by a chiropractor that your ability to hold your arms out straight in front of you relies on your “foundation” or your posture or something. He demonstrated by easily pushing my arms down when I held them out in front of me, cracking my back, and then being unable to push my arms down (I realize this could be biased but it felt like he was using the same amount of force and I carried out the experiment with someone else who had gone.)
I realize that believing things that chiropractors say might be a candidate for the irrationality thread here but the explanation wasn’t mystical, just if your back is having trouble that might make your arm strength weaker in a non-obvious way.
I actually have been having back problems lately, although it didn’t feel like the arm pushing experiment involved any of the muscles that have been causing me trouble.
I really don’t know enough to say more but if you have the ability to get into contact with a masseuse or chiropractor to discuss it with then this seems like a back-problem-improving experiment waiting to happen.
Yes, although I would note that the practitioners I was in contact with were definitely “mixers” as the page calls them, and didn’t really talk about anything mystical, and as I mention in the thread they seemed to be concerned with providing evidence that treatment was helpful (though I never pressed the issue much).
I suspect general muscular issues, not just my back acting up, since I’ve got some co-occurring pains in other areas to the point where I walked around with a cane yesterday. The doctor didn’t recommend a chiropractor or anything more interesting than Motrin.
You could test whether the problem lies in the granularity with which you or he can assess the level of pressure applied by trying a variant: Place your hand on his shoulder, elbow down, and attempt to hold your arm stiff while he pulls down on your elbow with both his hands. Then, in the same position, attempt to point or reach behind him while he does the same thing.
Since he’ll have to exert more effort in both cases, the difference in effort should be more apparent.
I didn’t believe the arm trick would work, so I went downstairs and got one of my roommates to push my arm while I tried the stiff and reaching versions. He was able to push my arm down both times without apparently trying harder in the latter case. As far as I can tell, I followed the instructions. What are the likely failure modes?
I would guess it’s being sufficiently “loose” before you start to reach, because he had to physically wobble my arm around before I was “loose” enough.
Of course it’s also possible that this doesn’t work all the time and it’s some kind of group hypnosis—which would still be interesting in its own right.
Years of learning Aikido really should change the way the muscles are activated. So it would be surprising if no change showed in the MRI. You probably were mentally prepared when you tried, so that experiment was biased. Hypnosis is know to affect muscles so no surprise there either.
So my prediction is that these kinds of hacks only work with considerable preparation. Still it’s good to know that they work in principle.
I was once told by a chiropractor that your ability to hold your arms out straight in front of you relies on your “foundation” or your posture or something. He demonstrated by easily pushing my arms down when I held them out in front of me, cracking my back, and then being unable to push my arms down (I realize this could be biased but it felt like he was using the same amount of force and I carried out the experiment with someone else who had gone.)
I realize that believing things that chiropractors say might be a candidate for the irrationality thread here but the explanation wasn’t mystical, just if your back is having trouble that might make your arm strength weaker in a non-obvious way.
I actually have been having back problems lately, although it didn’t feel like the arm pushing experiment involved any of the muscles that have been causing me trouble.
I really don’t know enough to say more but if you have the ability to get into contact with a masseuse or chiropractor to discuss it with then this seems like a back-problem-improving experiment waiting to happen.
When you refer to a chiropractor, are you talking about this chiropractic?
Yes, although I would note that the practitioners I was in contact with were definitely “mixers” as the page calls them, and didn’t really talk about anything mystical, and as I mention in the thread they seemed to be concerned with providing evidence that treatment was helpful (though I never pressed the issue much).
I suspect general muscular issues, not just my back acting up, since I’ve got some co-occurring pains in other areas to the point where I walked around with a cane yesterday. The doctor didn’t recommend a chiropractor or anything more interesting than Motrin.
That sounds terribly unpleasant! I’m sorry! I hope you feel better.
You could test whether the problem lies in the granularity with which you or he can assess the level of pressure applied by trying a variant: Place your hand on his shoulder, elbow down, and attempt to hold your arm stiff while he pulls down on your elbow with both his hands. Then, in the same position, attempt to point or reach behind him while he does the same thing.
Since he’ll have to exert more effort in both cases, the difference in effort should be more apparent.