Wrote a book on power development based on Fascia

[Rishinjuku]

Hi,

I wrote a book on power development from our Rishinjuku karate style.
It was a long journey but worth it.
Please do ask me questions about it.

Cheers,

Filip


“Weaponize your Web” combines karate tradition with modern anatomy to explain the ability of the diagonal muscle slings to stretch, recoil and contract to develop power. This knowledge improves all kata, bunkai, self-defense and sports combat techniques. The many beautiful drawings make it a useful tool for your own training and teaching. Muchimi is truly the key to unlocking all powerful movements for your karate.

Amazon.com

 

[mograph]

Sounds interesting. Are you familiar with the Anatomy Trains model?

Anatomy Trains - Dynamic Education for Body-Minded Professionals

Anatomy Trains dynamic education for body-minded professionals. Courses and certification, mapping fascial, myofascial linkages and more.

www.anatomytrains.com

 

[O'Malley]

Hello, fellow Belgian, and welcome to MT!

Will check out the book, looks interesting. It seems like you've done an in-depth breakdown of the Naihanchi kata, is the book written specifically for karate people or did you also have other martial backgrounds in mind when writing it?

Also, have you ever trained with people who teach "internals"? I can personally vouch for Dan Harden, who is amazing, but you might have also checked out guys like Minoru Akuzawa, Akira Hino, Chen Xiaowang, Sam FS Chin, Mike Sigman, Allen Beebe, Howard Popkin, etc.

 

[Gyakuto]

I was a university lecturer in human anatomy and my teaching was all based on cadaveric dissection. Muscle fascia is an inert, relatively inelastic, bag-like structure (three layers actually, epimysium, perimysium and endomysium) that encapsulates individual muscles and extends beyond the end of the muscle to form the tendons.

In all the bodies I have dissected, I have never seen diagonal muscle slings, fascia is not elastic (imagine the mayhem of towing a car with rubber bungee cords, now imagine the delay in movement as an elastic bicep tendon gathers up it’s slack on the radius) and they have no contractile mechanism, being made up of collagen and elastin.

I’d be pleased to read the references you used to evidence your book.

 

[_Simon_]

Ah fantastic, definitely will look into this book, well done!

 

[_Simon_]

I was a university lecturer in human anatomy and my teaching was all based on cadaveric dissection. Muscle fascia is an inert, relatively inelastic, bag-like structure (three layers actually, epimysium, perimysium and endomysium) that encapsulates individual muscles and extends beyond the end of the muscle to form the tendons.

In all the bodies I have dissected, I have never seen diagonal muscle slings, fascia is not elastic (imagine the mayhem of towing a car with rubber bungee cords, now imagine the delay in movement as an elastic bicep tendon gathers up it’s slack on the radius) and they have no contractile mechanism, being made up of collagen and elastin.

I’d be pleased to read the references you used to evidence your book.

Yeah I've heard both sides argue vehemently on this hehe. Some say it's definitely a thing, and others say what you say, that fascia is indeed not elastic and plays no part.

This page was interesting (from @mograph 's link above), and seems to expand the definition of what fascia and the fascia network means (I only have very very basic understanding on this so I can't argue any points haha, just passing this on!):

Fascia and Extra-Cellular Matrix (ECM) - Defining Fascia

Read how fascia and extra-cellular matrix (ECM) are crucial for stability and movement. Learn to define the fascial system and ECM.

www.anatomytrains.com

 

[Gyakuto]

Ah fantastic, definitely will look into this book, well done!

That’s what I should’ve posted. Please ignore my previous post

 

[O'Malley]

I remembered this article, which brings interesting points to the discussion: Is Fascia training a fad?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I think the talk in certain martial arts circles regarding to fascia training is sort of like discussions of chi power. The techniques and training methods may be perfectly valid and effective, but the theoretical explanations of those methods are based on misunderstandings of the actual anatomy.

From a practical standpoint, this may not matter. If the training methods in question work to produce the power generation you are looking for, then they work. But there's something to be said for figuring out what's actually going on under the hood to make them effective. At a minimum, it helps avoid arguments with anatomists who will point out that fascia is neither elastic nor contractile. (Or that "chi" is not a measurable entity.) But optimally, understanding the actual underlying mechanics and kinesiology can possibly allow you to make those training methods even more effective than they already are.

 

[Gyakuto]

Quite a bit of research in ‘sport science’ use(d) a controversial statistical technique to make dubious results seem more significant (foam rolling of the fascia and ice baths post-training, being the famous ones). This dubious statistical method is called ‘magnitude-based inference’. In gold standard statistics, findings are considered likely when there is a 5% (or less) chance of them being a ‘false positive’. M-BI allows results to have up to 50% chance of being a false positive and that allows the researchers to make bold claims about their data.

It was a big scandal when real statisticians realised what these charlatans were up to. Many checked, beige jackets…with leather elbow patches, were thrown to the floor in anger, over this.

 

[Steve]

Quite a bit of research in ‘sport science’ use(d) a controversial statistical technique to make dubious results seem more significant (foam rolling of the fascia and ice baths post-training, being the famous ones). This dubious statistical method is called ‘magnitude-based inference’. In gold standard statistics, findings are considered likely when there is a 5% (or less) chance of them being a ‘false positive’. M-BI allows results to have up to 50% chance of being a false positive and that allows the researchers to make bold claims about their data.

It was a big scandal when real statisticians realised what these charlatans were up to. Many checked, beige jackets…with leather elbow patches, were thrown to the floor in anger, over this.

And once something is accepted as common knowledge, it’s very hard to shake it loose. From searing a steak seals in juices to all fights end up on the ground to immunizations cause autism.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

And once something is accepted as common knowledge, it’s very hard to shake it loose. From searing a steak seals in juices to all fights end up on the ground to immunizations cause autism.

1500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you "knew" that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll "know" tomorrow.

 

[Rishinjuku]

Sounds interesting. Are you familiar with the Anatomy Trains model?

Anatomy Trains - Dynamic Education for Body-Minded Professionals

Anatomy Trains dynamic education for body-minded professionals. Courses and certification, mapping fascial, myofascial linkages and more.

www.anatomytrains.com

Yes. My book is based on it.

I started training in Japan at a Rishinjuku dojo and noticed how two teens were kicking harder than many pros I know.
And they were only training for two years or less.
The Shihan, Murai Yoshiharu, talked about X lines in the body. But at that time I didn't know about any X muscles working diagonally in the body. After research it turns out to be the use of fascia. Which brought me to Anatomy Trains, amongst others. Then I tried to summarise and simplify it so that my students could understand it. They started to strike much harder. My findings I put in the book, with tons of drawings.

You can find more details of what I just described in the free PDF at this site. Cheers

Homepage - Rishinjuku

Everything you want to know about Rishinjuku karate!

www.rishinjukukarate.com

 

[Rishinjuku]

Hello, fellow Belgian, and welcome to MT!

Will check out the book, looks interesting. It seems like you've done an in-depth breakdown of the Naihanchi kata, is the book written specifically for karate people or did you also have other martial backgrounds in mind when writing it?

Also, have you ever trained with people who teach "internals"? I can personally vouch for Dan Harden, who is amazing, but you might have also checked out guys like Minoru Akuzawa, Akira Hino, Chen Xiaowang, Sam FS Chin, Mike Sigman, Allen Beebe, Howard Popkin, etc.

Awesome.
We should meet. Send me a message.
I just got great feedback on the book from a guy who does Kali.
Yes, Naihanchi get's analysed in later part of the book, but the anatomical principals are universal to all good movers.

 

[Rishinjuku]

I was a university lecturer in human anatomy and my teaching was all based on cadaveric dissection. Muscle fascia is an inert, relatively inelastic, bag-like structure (three layers actually, epimysium, perimysium and endomysium) that encapsulates individual muscles and extends beyond the end of the muscle to form the tendons.

In all the bodies I have dissected, I have never seen diagonal muscle slings, fascia is not elastic (imagine the mayhem of towing a car with rubber bungee cords, now imagine the delay in movement as an elastic bicep tendon gathers up it’s slack on the radius) and they have no contractile mechanism, being made up of collagen and elastin.

I’d be pleased to read the references you used to evidence your book.

Anatomy trains is the major work on it.
Fascia is different when the organism is dead.
"strolling under the skin" is a video showing the fascia while alive.

Cheers.

 

[Gyakuto]

1500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you "knew" that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll "know" tomorrow.

You know that is my only ‘regret’. I wish I could come back in 500 years time and see what they know…

 

[Gyakuto]

Yes. My book is based on it.

I started training in Japan at a Rishinjuku dojo and noticed how two teens were kicking harder than many pros I know.
And they were only training for two years or less.
The Shihan, Murai Yoshiharu, talked about X lines in the body. But at that time I didn't know about any X muscles working diagonally in the body. After research it turns out to be the use of fascia. Which brought me to Anatomy Trains, amongst others. Then I tried to summarise and simplify it so that my students could understand it. They started to strike much harder. My findings I put in the book, with tons of drawings.

You can find more details of what I just described in the free PDF at this site. Cheers

Homepage - Rishinjuku

Everything you want to know about Rishinjuku karate!

www.rishinjukukarate.com

When you say ‘X’ muscles and ‘diagonals’ do you mean muscles that cross the midline of the body?

 

[Gyakuto]

Fascia is different when the organism is dead.
"strolling under the skin" is a video showing the fascia while alive.

Cheers.

It may have different mechanical properties, yes, but not gross structural differences. I often hear the fascia is like a ‘network‘ throughout the body connecting everything like a web. This is entirely false.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

You know that is my only ‘regret’. I wish I could come back in 500 years time and see what they know…

I actually wish the opposite. I'd love to go back 1500 years and see what they believed fully. So much of the non-abrahamic and non-chinese societies were oral, and their histories were lost.

 

[Ivan]

Yes. My book is based on it.

I started training in Japan at a Rishinjuku dojo and noticed how two teens were kicking harder than many pros I know.
And they were only training for two years or less.
The Shihan, Murai Yoshiharu, talked about X lines in the body. But at that time I didn't know about any X muscles working diagonally in the body. After research it turns out to be the use of fascia. Which brought me to Anatomy Trains, amongst others. Then I tried to summarise and simplify it so that my students could understand it. They started to strike much harder. My findings I put in the book, with tons of drawings.

You can find more details of what I just described in the free PDF at this site. Cheers

Homepage - Rishinjuku

Everything you want to know about Rishinjuku karate!

www.rishinjukukarate.com

Do you believe that this would work for grappling? In other words, does this only apply to explosive power generation used by strikers, or do you think these teachings are transferrable for slow but strong movements, such as prying an arm into a better position from a resisting opponent?