I believe that if you stiffen your arm, you’re tightening opposing muscles, so you’re working against yourself.
You have a stretch reflex which automatically compensates for pressure, and I assume it comes into play for a relaxed arm.
Cheng Hsin is a martial art which includes working towards deeper relaxation than I would have thought useful.
On the other hand, Peter Ralston, who invented it, was the first non-Asian to win the world full-contact martial arts tournament in China, so he might know what he’s talking about.
He’s taken introspection into how movement and intention work deeper than anyone else I can think of.
I believe that if you stiffen your arm, you’re tightening opposing muscles, so you’re working against yourself.
This is the explanation I’ve heard. When you stiffen your arm, you basically fire up all your arm muscles, and they oppose themselves in such a way that the net effect is zero. But this makes it very easy for anyone to bend your arm because the you’ve essentially canceled out your resistance.
I believe that if you stiffen your arm, you’re tightening opposing muscles, so you’re working against yourself.
You have a stretch reflex which automatically compensates for pressure, and I assume it comes into play for a relaxed arm.
Cheng Hsin is a martial art which includes working towards deeper relaxation than I would have thought useful. On the other hand, Peter Ralston, who invented it, was the first non-Asian to win the world full-contact martial arts tournament in China, so he might know what he’s talking about.
He’s taken introspection into how movement and intention work deeper than anyone else I can think of.
This sort of claim is often the sign of a martial arts crackpot.
This is the explanation I’ve heard. When you stiffen your arm, you basically fire up all your arm muscles, and they oppose themselves in such a way that the net effect is zero. But this makes it very easy for anyone to bend your arm because the you’ve essentially canceled out your resistance.
It’s interesting that being able to feel your own strength means you aren’t able to use it.
This sounds like a useful metaphor to add to the standard Deep Wisdom.