Upper-lower body disconnect

[aedrasteia]

Shesulsa
this may be a little long but i hope it may help

good responses here especially: Seasoned and David Lader!! Prostar and these 2 MTs have the right idea.

Most children and adults coming in to MA have very limited/non-existant lower body and foot control -
_unless_ they practice soccer (where the legs and feet are vital) or any kind of dance experience
where foot control is key: especially tap, stomp, and hip-hop. Even basketball players or receivers in football have some development because hip, knee and footwork is key.

But ballet training trumps everything for developing that control to a peak level.
How?

you train with heavy emphasis on the set of leg and foot movements for years.
Ballet trains 5 basic foot positions and 10-20 movements: one hand on the barre,
then open floor, nothing to hold on to, arms hands in position but the feet and legs are repeating these
movements and the core muscles giving you stability. Then big movements, monster turns and jumps, landings and those advanced steps that look like magic.

So, in MA watch, think and isolate 10 - 20 basic foot/leg movements/steps from your style and the
significant kata.

Then have students train these holding a barre w/one hand (if you have one) or on open floor,
hold a large or smaller ball in front, then a small ball in a chambered position and a correct fist
(holding a penny) with the other. If they drop either the ball or the penny there is some consequence
so you can make it fun.

Same with adults. Have them move slow at first - you correcting posture, head,
hip/pelvis. You can come up with other ideas to keep arms/hands to a minimum while the brain and lower
body grow more connections.

To train positioning awareness, have them turn AWAY from mirrors (if you use them)
and do some simple movements: hold their arm out so hand is in line w/shoulders and
palm to the floor without looking !!

Where does their arm actually land?? Correct and repeat until they can use
muscle memory to relocate. Do this process (no looking) with all your key elements
- some people pick this up much faster than others. It is very hard for most people.
Athletes from any sport can benefit.

Add this to adults slowly - it can be really hard hard.
Make it an early part of beginners work, regardless of age. It pays huge rewards

Upper body and arms are usually over-developed (neurologically)
altho so many people have very limited kinesthetic and proprioceptive awareness
(knowing where your body parts are positioned when you can't see them). w/out visual cues
for upper and lower and nearly none for feet.

I figured this out while helping my husband (now 3rd dan Suri-ryu) learn kata. He was having huge
problems learning sequences and had NO control of feet/legs, got tangled and confused.
I watched a kata maybe twice and had it down. I also came with 13 years of ballet.

frustrated, he complained 'not fair' and i said 'well, once you develop skills to do _this_ kata, (below)
MA doesn't seem so complex'.

Watch the head and foot coordination and yeah, it is HARD.
One of them is occasionally out of synch - can you tell?
Its the 'swan' kata:

and here are beginners just learning the kata:

look familiar?? : - >

with respect,

 

[jks9199]

Another thought... Long stick. I've found working sticks, especially long stick, can sometimes help link the body. You have to move your legs in harmony with your upper body, and both hands have to work together.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Make them push a car, and challenge them to do it with a total dis-connect.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Yup, more Xingyiquan thinking

In a Karate forum, people may not give a damn about it.