kimballmaster
White Belt
Because of the volume of the information accumulated, I have chosen to catagorize things into groups. The first of these categories is called tuition.
The tuition forms are the first four forms; they are, Upward Downward, Inward Outward, Raise hands and stance , and Hold tai chi ball.
The reason I call it tuition is because I go back to the beginning forms to pay tuition. That is to say if I am having trouble with a more advanced form the answer many times is in the first four forms.
Once, one of my teachers was challenged in public. Master put two fingers on the guys collar bone. The aggressor could not move. No matter how he tried, he couldnt raise his hands more than a couple of inches. When he tried to kick, he couldnt do that either.
I asked one of the advanced students what had just happened. He told me that Master had manipulated the other guys weight and balance. He went on to explain that Master had felt the positive and negative impulses; then he balanced the negative shifts in weight by adding pressure.
I began to search for clues about negative and positive. This is the true nature of my teaching.
Upward-Downward ( U. D. ) In upward downward the body is separated at the waist line. The top half relaxes. The bottom half supports the weight of the body.
Turn both feet in so you are pigeon toed. By turning in the feet the spine is allowed to open. This lets the weight to drop through the perineum. The perineum is an elastic diaphragm at the very bottom of your torso. Stand up, Turn your toes in. Youll notice right away that it feels like your feet have locked to the floor, Its like youre grabbing the ground. From the waist down youre positive.
As I raise in my stance I slowly inhale. I raise both hands in front of me .I try to keep my arms relaxed. I focus on relaxing one muscle at a time.
I may say to myself I think my hands are holding on to tension. I pay all of my attention to only one thing, that is relaxing the hands.
When we pay attention we buy power . With money one buys products , with attention one buys power . Power should never be confused with force . Power is the the control of oneself and force is the control of others.
Here is a helpful hint... Start with the finger tips and wrists. If the wrist is flexed upward it cant be relaxed. To relax the wrists you must relax absolutely. By the time the knees have straitened the arms should be fully extended in front of the body. Your hands should not raise too much higher than shoulder height because this may tense the shoulders.
Now I begin to exhale and I bend knees so I can lower my stance . My arms and hands drop to my sides.
It is as easy as rising everything up, and then letting it fall naturally back to the ground.
The martial significance is by relaxing the top half of the body we can avoid being controlled by the opponent. If you are stiff on top and your arms are tense it makes the whole upper body tense. The shoulders and back become tense . You become a mountain of tension.
If an opponent grabs hold of your wrist and every thing is stuck together because of tension they actually control your whole body. If your upper body is loose it is harder to control you. It feels like a bowl of jelly to an agressor.
What the opponent feels can sometimes be more important than what is really happening .this formula is called The point of contact is a lie . The problem is that we havent been taught how to relax on command.
Did you ever watch a hockey game. I used to watch hockey a lot. Probably for the same reason everybody else does . Every once in a while the players try to beat the crap out of each other. Once in a while you see two guys locked in an unbreakable lock .Neither player can move because their bodies are so tense that neither will budge . The result is immobility . No one gets hit and of course everyone is is disappointed . The irony is is both players know that if they just relaxed they could punch the other guy and get on with the game . Unfortunately Hockey players are not familiar with the command to relax . You see , we must we must program ourselves to relax each muscle individually . The slow movement of upward downward allows you to teach specific muscles to relax on command . So were back to square one ,relaxing the upper body makes it insubstantial .
The lowest level of my system and the easiest to understand is the fighting application. The intermediate purpose of this form is to promote your health .This is of coarse a more advanced level than martial arts . If youre the toughest of the tough but youre sick, so sick that youre miserable all the time. then what good will your fighting skills do you ? If we are in bad health our fighting skills are nearly irrelevant . Bear with me on this health thing, its worth your while.
One thing Ive noticed is that when I get sick, the first place to be effected is the upper torso If you are coughing your lungs out or if if you have a stomach ache , you dont think Oh no , someone must have hit me in the stomach or lungs. You think,I think Im coming down with something. Our immune system is made up of T - cells , B- cells , and white blood cells . Sometimes these cells inject poison into alien things that do not belong in the bloodstream. Then the bad stuff is removed. Some cells search out and mark pathogens. Pathogens are things that cause disease , They are removed by white blood cells . These cells, the immune system cells. move slowly through the blood stream because of their size. They are really big.
In upward downward we attempt to relax the blood vessels and open up the passages as much as possible to help the big white blood cells move around without getting tired. As little as we know about the immune system we can at least be sure of one thing ; The immune system can do a better job if it can move from place to place easily. When the blood vessels relax they open up a tiny bit. That may not seem like much to howl about , but believe me it is. It allows the immune system to conserve precious energy. Because the immune system is stronger it does a better job and as a result we become healthier. Relaxing the top part of the torso is the first step to promote good health .
There is indeed another level of scholarship . It stands on its own as a priority above fighting and health.
This is my explanation of the spiritual aspect of upward downward . In our system we slow the breath down naturally. Our body movement dictates the length of our breath . When the body rises I inhale. When the body sets downward I exhale . The movement slows down naturally and so does the breath . This is what I found out . The brain has these things called synapse . Synapse are sort of like spark plugs . When the spark plug ignites it causes a thought . What causes the firing is oxygen , thats right , air is the fuel that synapse needs to keep firing .To make things simple enough to understand we can think of each synapse firing as a thought . Now put on your thinking cap . When exactly do you rest your brain . It aint when you sleep. The truth is in R . E . M . State you use about three times as much oxygen as when you are awake . It must be all that dreaming we do. If you are always using your brain , for say 30 years without resting it, you really have to wonder how dependable it is . If we choose to, we can allow the brain to rest by simply modifying our breath . You see when the brain perceives danger to the body, it doesnt wait around to see what happens . It immediately takes action to remedy the situation and to set safeguards to protect as much of the body as it can . You see, some of us believe that the brain and the mind are two separate entities . The mind is what I call the first attention or the conscious . The brain on the other hand is the sub-conscious or the second attention . The danger the brain perceives is that the the breathing pattern has changed dramatically. The body sees that you are breathing less, it doesnt ask why. The brain doesnt trust the mind . Its like , Hey, this idiot isnt breathing enough. So the brain decides to prioritize the amount of oxygen used by the body. Conservation as a method of security. The heart, lungs , liver and spleen are very high on the priority list . If they stop working . the body dies.
However having thoughts is not very high on the priority list. So the amount of oxygen allowed to go to the brain is minimized simply to conserve precious oxygen. As you breath slower and slower the thoughts kind off disappear . With guidance , the internal dialog shuts off and you are left with a brain that is in a rest cycle . For some people this is the only rest cycle they ever experience with any regularity .The flat line brain pattern is achieved by many people by simply falling asleep drunk . The reason this rests your brain is that , in an alcoholic stupor the brain passes though the R . E . M. Phase. Instead it goes directly into alcoholic coma . Many maintenance alcoholics report waking refreshed after a binge just for this reason. That is probably not very good for you though. Alcohol is hard on your liver and if you depend on it you end up getting sick physically. The spiritual aspect of upward downward is the art of shutting down internal dialog . This in turn shuts down the need for self reflection . Self reflection is the habit of seeing yourself through the eyes of those people who are watching you . The process of viewing yourself through others eyes , be it real or imaginary is an unprofitable action that pulls the spirit out of the body . It is a flaw in the sub-conscious . The mind continues to digress, finding avenues and pathways that will continue to confuse the mind and spirit.
The result of Upward-Downward is clearer thought , uncluttered and rested . You will find yourself rocketed into a new dimension .
The tuition forms are the first four forms; they are, Upward Downward, Inward Outward, Raise hands and stance , and Hold tai chi ball.
The reason I call it tuition is because I go back to the beginning forms to pay tuition. That is to say if I am having trouble with a more advanced form the answer many times is in the first four forms.
Once, one of my teachers was challenged in public. Master put two fingers on the guys collar bone. The aggressor could not move. No matter how he tried, he couldnt raise his hands more than a couple of inches. When he tried to kick, he couldnt do that either.
I asked one of the advanced students what had just happened. He told me that Master had manipulated the other guys weight and balance. He went on to explain that Master had felt the positive and negative impulses; then he balanced the negative shifts in weight by adding pressure.
I began to search for clues about negative and positive. This is the true nature of my teaching.
Upward-Downward ( U. D. ) In upward downward the body is separated at the waist line. The top half relaxes. The bottom half supports the weight of the body.
Turn both feet in so you are pigeon toed. By turning in the feet the spine is allowed to open. This lets the weight to drop through the perineum. The perineum is an elastic diaphragm at the very bottom of your torso. Stand up, Turn your toes in. Youll notice right away that it feels like your feet have locked to the floor, Its like youre grabbing the ground. From the waist down youre positive.
As I raise in my stance I slowly inhale. I raise both hands in front of me .I try to keep my arms relaxed. I focus on relaxing one muscle at a time.
I may say to myself I think my hands are holding on to tension. I pay all of my attention to only one thing, that is relaxing the hands.
When we pay attention we buy power . With money one buys products , with attention one buys power . Power should never be confused with force . Power is the the control of oneself and force is the control of others.
Here is a helpful hint... Start with the finger tips and wrists. If the wrist is flexed upward it cant be relaxed. To relax the wrists you must relax absolutely. By the time the knees have straitened the arms should be fully extended in front of the body. Your hands should not raise too much higher than shoulder height because this may tense the shoulders.
Now I begin to exhale and I bend knees so I can lower my stance . My arms and hands drop to my sides.
It is as easy as rising everything up, and then letting it fall naturally back to the ground.
The martial significance is by relaxing the top half of the body we can avoid being controlled by the opponent. If you are stiff on top and your arms are tense it makes the whole upper body tense. The shoulders and back become tense . You become a mountain of tension.
If an opponent grabs hold of your wrist and every thing is stuck together because of tension they actually control your whole body. If your upper body is loose it is harder to control you. It feels like a bowl of jelly to an agressor.
What the opponent feels can sometimes be more important than what is really happening .this formula is called The point of contact is a lie . The problem is that we havent been taught how to relax on command.
Did you ever watch a hockey game. I used to watch hockey a lot. Probably for the same reason everybody else does . Every once in a while the players try to beat the crap out of each other. Once in a while you see two guys locked in an unbreakable lock .Neither player can move because their bodies are so tense that neither will budge . The result is immobility . No one gets hit and of course everyone is is disappointed . The irony is is both players know that if they just relaxed they could punch the other guy and get on with the game . Unfortunately Hockey players are not familiar with the command to relax . You see , we must we must program ourselves to relax each muscle individually . The slow movement of upward downward allows you to teach specific muscles to relax on command . So were back to square one ,relaxing the upper body makes it insubstantial .
The lowest level of my system and the easiest to understand is the fighting application. The intermediate purpose of this form is to promote your health .This is of coarse a more advanced level than martial arts . If youre the toughest of the tough but youre sick, so sick that youre miserable all the time. then what good will your fighting skills do you ? If we are in bad health our fighting skills are nearly irrelevant . Bear with me on this health thing, its worth your while.
One thing Ive noticed is that when I get sick, the first place to be effected is the upper torso If you are coughing your lungs out or if if you have a stomach ache , you dont think Oh no , someone must have hit me in the stomach or lungs. You think,I think Im coming down with something. Our immune system is made up of T - cells , B- cells , and white blood cells . Sometimes these cells inject poison into alien things that do not belong in the bloodstream. Then the bad stuff is removed. Some cells search out and mark pathogens. Pathogens are things that cause disease , They are removed by white blood cells . These cells, the immune system cells. move slowly through the blood stream because of their size. They are really big.
In upward downward we attempt to relax the blood vessels and open up the passages as much as possible to help the big white blood cells move around without getting tired. As little as we know about the immune system we can at least be sure of one thing ; The immune system can do a better job if it can move from place to place easily. When the blood vessels relax they open up a tiny bit. That may not seem like much to howl about , but believe me it is. It allows the immune system to conserve precious energy. Because the immune system is stronger it does a better job and as a result we become healthier. Relaxing the top part of the torso is the first step to promote good health .
There is indeed another level of scholarship . It stands on its own as a priority above fighting and health.
This is my explanation of the spiritual aspect of upward downward . In our system we slow the breath down naturally. Our body movement dictates the length of our breath . When the body rises I inhale. When the body sets downward I exhale . The movement slows down naturally and so does the breath . This is what I found out . The brain has these things called synapse . Synapse are sort of like spark plugs . When the spark plug ignites it causes a thought . What causes the firing is oxygen , thats right , air is the fuel that synapse needs to keep firing .To make things simple enough to understand we can think of each synapse firing as a thought . Now put on your thinking cap . When exactly do you rest your brain . It aint when you sleep. The truth is in R . E . M . State you use about three times as much oxygen as when you are awake . It must be all that dreaming we do. If you are always using your brain , for say 30 years without resting it, you really have to wonder how dependable it is . If we choose to, we can allow the brain to rest by simply modifying our breath . You see when the brain perceives danger to the body, it doesnt wait around to see what happens . It immediately takes action to remedy the situation and to set safeguards to protect as much of the body as it can . You see, some of us believe that the brain and the mind are two separate entities . The mind is what I call the first attention or the conscious . The brain on the other hand is the sub-conscious or the second attention . The danger the brain perceives is that the the breathing pattern has changed dramatically. The body sees that you are breathing less, it doesnt ask why. The brain doesnt trust the mind . Its like , Hey, this idiot isnt breathing enough. So the brain decides to prioritize the amount of oxygen used by the body. Conservation as a method of security. The heart, lungs , liver and spleen are very high on the priority list . If they stop working . the body dies.
However having thoughts is not very high on the priority list. So the amount of oxygen allowed to go to the brain is minimized simply to conserve precious oxygen. As you breath slower and slower the thoughts kind off disappear . With guidance , the internal dialog shuts off and you are left with a brain that is in a rest cycle . For some people this is the only rest cycle they ever experience with any regularity .The flat line brain pattern is achieved by many people by simply falling asleep drunk . The reason this rests your brain is that , in an alcoholic stupor the brain passes though the R . E . M. Phase. Instead it goes directly into alcoholic coma . Many maintenance alcoholics report waking refreshed after a binge just for this reason. That is probably not very good for you though. Alcohol is hard on your liver and if you depend on it you end up getting sick physically. The spiritual aspect of upward downward is the art of shutting down internal dialog . This in turn shuts down the need for self reflection . Self reflection is the habit of seeing yourself through the eyes of those people who are watching you . The process of viewing yourself through others eyes , be it real or imaginary is an unprofitable action that pulls the spirit out of the body . It is a flaw in the sub-conscious . The mind continues to digress, finding avenues and pathways that will continue to confuse the mind and spirit.
The result of Upward-Downward is clearer thought , uncluttered and rested . You will find yourself rocketed into a new dimension .
... Which is what the post is about.
