Not sure how to do that cool multi-filed quote thing, so pardon my text blocks, hapaharzardly addressing topics.
First, you nailed it on the head with monkey-see/monkey do...it mostly wrong. There are motions of the body that set the stage for the next motion by turning some mucsles on, some off, and setting other in an idle, waiting for activity. Doc likes the slap check, but I'm having a wonderful time with experimenting with body- and posture alignment mechanisms. More on that later, cuz I gotta go to bed soon and want to get out the Hollywood of the tongue thing.
Agonist = the main muscle used to complete a motion. Picking your hand up to your face to pick your nose is a combo of many motions, most of them controlled or driven by the biceps. The biceps brachii has three main functions: flexion at the elbow (like posing for Ahnold), forward flexion at the shoulder (elevating your arm towards a heil-hitler direction) and wrist supination (turning your wrist to look at the palm-side of it, and not the watch). The Biceps is then the Agonist (main player) in raising your hand to pick your nose...you have flexion at the shoulder and elbow, combined with supination. But the biceps is not alone...there are other players...synergists.
Synergists = some buncha other mucles that aide in one or more of these motions. Brachioradialis and brachialis are muscles that aid in flexing the elbow; coracobrachialis helps raise the arm at the shoulder, as does the anterior division of the deltoid; serratus anterior and subscapularis fix the shoulder blade to the ribcage so the whole thing stabilizes to allow the raising of the arm to occur at a fixed point; in exterrnal rotation (really turning your arm so your watch faces the floor, and your palm faces the cieling), some of the chest muscles even help.
Antagonists = any guys on the block that control the opposite motions. Biceps is resisted by triceps; raising the shoulder towards external rotation is antagonized by the latissimus dorsi, which approximates the torso to the upper extremities with internal shoulder rotation (like reaching for a gun, but turning your wristwatch to touch the gun, instead of your palm).
If they play nice together, speed, power, and purposeful coordination result. If they play not nice, a whole spectrum of compromised mechanics results, yielding people fast but not strong; strong but not fast; and anywhere in the middle (including completely uncoordinated).
Note: Not all agonists completely compete! Some tension is necessary in antagonists in order to shape coordination! (hence the part of my phrase, "de-activating competing antagonists").
Now, consider an inward block. Some kenpoka teach sliding it directly off the hip, and to the opposite corner of "the box". Economy of motion, and such. Others teach to **** it back by the same-side ear, and stab at the opposite corner of the box. Still others teach sliding movements, slipping the block cleverly into position. Either way, the end position is much the same: Knife stuck in a block of ice in the far opposite corner from the shoulder of the arm delivering the block (or, sometimes, in front of the face). There is a thing called, simply, positioned resistance muscle testing. In this case, to shove on the block from different directions. Push down on the top of the fist...is it strong from that direction? Pull on it. Press it towards the person holding it. Lean on it from side to side. What is the positional stability of this thing we have hangin in the air?
Generally, a movement that was strong and sound getting to its destination, will remain strong and sound upon arriving there. Muscles are "called to action" by signals from the nervous system, and well after the call, there tends to be an echo...a metaphor meaning that the muscle stays activated at a higher level of residual tension. Just because we need a name, I'm going to take some artistic license and call this state "post-contractile attenuation". The more muscles that come out to play together nicely, the more post-contractile attenuation is in place. The harder for you to shove my block around with muscle testing.
Less muscles, or poorly coordinated timing of recruitment of major and supporting players, leads to crappier positional strength. The trick becomes this: How do we get the most/best muscles to come out to play, while not bringing out guys who will slow the game down? Slaps and stomps.
Doc utilizes a technique called "indexing", which, simply put, consists of 1) identifying positions which place optimal plyometric strain on agonist and synergist muscles, 2) neurologically attenuating synergists and happy/helpful agonists (kinda like revving the engine before letting the clutch out for a chirp) while "turning off" competing antagonists, and 3) moving from one index to another in such a way as to recruit maximal benefit through optimal alignment. But that's his stuff, and it's his place to elaborate or disclose as he will. I'll use a self slap thing and stay with simple biomechasnics & kinesiology/sports physio.
If I'm in a Right sided stance, and plan to throw a right/left/right combo, there will be a time when the right hand returns to my body. I can chamber it, or slap myself with it. Why might I cause myself so much damage? If I do it properly...say, off a returning right backfist, slapping myself on the left pec while the left arm is punching, I set up a couple of neuro mechanisms that will let me coordinate my strength and speed more bettah.
On the return path (bringing the first Right-armed strike back to my body), I'm firing biceps and pec (right side), but in just a coupla smilliseconds, I'm gonna be firing their antagonists...scapular retractors, shoulder abductors & extensors, and elbow extensors. Rather then slowing the whole thing down before letting it land on me, I can let it collide, allowing the inbound tension to die. This lets me get it to my "chambered" position a wee bit quicker, since I'm not bothering to slow it down. Let's make it better: I'll add some force. Any time I really stress an agonist, the antagonist is reflexively attenuated...this means by slapping myself with a biceps/pec contraction, I've already placed a pre-tension in the triceps and outer shoulder muscles...I'm revving the engine, but haven't yet popped the clutch. I can also be using this to signal my own body that, when the right hand slaps the left pec, the left strike stops travelling out...internal cue to avoid minor overextending, which actually steals power, and doesn't add it. And if I miss because I pulled the left back too soon on cue? Isawright...I got the right in the chamber, revved up, ready to pop the clutch.
Plyometrics = that revved up pre-load. Try to jump as far up as you can without bending your knees first. Not very high, eh? Now bend your knees first...that moment before you press off the ground is a pre-contractile load (actually it is a positioned eccentric contraction, in a pre-concentric tension position, blah, blah, ...for verbal economy, it's nicknamed in the field "pre-contractile load"). Up from here, you will generate more force, and jump higher. Now for a really funky experiment. Before you jump as high as you can, jump off of a short stool or box, allowing yourself to lower into a half-squat, THEN leap into the air as high as you can. If you're normal, you should notice quite a difference. Now...just for kicks, set up this plyo preload by jumping off the box, but don't make any noise. Nevermind. You should hear a stomping sort of sound.
This long-winded thing to explain could have been shown in 30 seconds, so sorry for the bleah-thora.
Stomping with the rear-foot stepping back into a neutral bow = hollywood flash and useless noise. Stomping with the lead foot after the rear foot has planted = appropriate timing and placement.
As for stomping in general, Doc had a great example about properly placed stomps setting up proper alignment. He noted that people skip a step or two prior to breaking into a run. This sends a whole buncha messages back and forthe between brain and body about changing attenuation of the muscles throughout the body, setting up proper mechanical alignment of the spine and pelvis to support the activity. You could break into a run without it, but may find yourself feeling awkward until you skip-step to fire off those aligning reflexes. Well-placed slaps and stomps set up reflex mechanisms that aid in power and coordination. Poorly placed ones just make noise.
Unfortunately, you could probably count on 2 peoples hands the number of black belt instructors who know the difference, and even fewer who know they know it, and can intentively impart it.
As for the video clip at the front end of the thread...would have to watch it first.
File it as you will,
D.
