How can you learn how to fight when you can barely stand???

Although I own quite a few of them, I don't find martial arts textbooks especially useful. If one does not know how to read between the lines (and pictures), they seem to promote an inefficient way of teaching the arts, by focusing on directions on how to execute specific techniques: "1) Grab your opponent from the neck and biceps, 2) Push the neck diagonally to the back while at the same time pulling the arm in a 45 degree angle towards the opponent's front right corner", etc. Whether we like it or not, combat techniques are not like IKEA furniture, where if one blindly follows the instructions, the end result will inevitably be a couch or an armchair. The subtleties of manipulating an alive and resisting human body are infinite, so sensitivity and adaptive measures are needed every moment of the interaction, and no martial arts textbook can convey that.

Nevertheless, every now and then one can stumble upon valuable pieces of insight in books about martial arts and from my experience, these are usually located in the first, introductory chapters, where the basic principles of the art analyzed in the book are explained. For example, the other day I was browsing Total Aikido: The Master Course by master Gozo Shioda. On page 14 of the book, Shioda explains the first basic principle of aikido, namely Chusin-Ryoku, or "the power of the center line": "One of the basics of aikido is the principle of maintaining a straight center line in the body. For most people, even if they try to stand straight, their center line is not really straight. Even when we do stand straight and focus on keeping our center line fixed, we lose it again as soon as we move. If this happens, then the purpose of aikido, the development of breath power, becomes impossible. If we are able to maintain a strong centerline whatever direction we move in, we have focused power. By forging this focused power, we are also promoting strong posture, concentration and breath power [1]".



Now, Shioda, at a height of 1,57m and barely 50 kilos of weight, was by any measure a very small man. Still, if one watches his aikido demonstrations, it is obvious that this man, unimpressive in terms of stature, possessed extraordinary power and impressive skills, so we must assume that his writings must have some importance, right? The problem is that his descriptions seem to me pretty vague and open to interpretation (as is very common with most Asian martial arts, in my opinion). This should not be surprising: when Shioda was studying aikido under the founder of the art, Morihei Ueshiba, scientific research into the field of human movement was nonexistent, so the terms one could use to describe what happens into a moving human body had to be intuitive, which means that they lacked objectivity.

I don't even want to think about what on earth "breath power" might mean, but how about the term "center line"? Some difficulty might be also present here, in order to explain it. For example, some Wing Chun people describe the center line as an imaginary line drawn along the centre of the human body that joins the eyes, nose, throat, navel, knees, and groin as a central focus of attack. Some JKD people might add that the centerline should always be directed towards the opponent, so that all our weapons are available to use to the maximum of their capabilities. The way I understand these explanations, it seems that the center line is some sort of a topographical feature that lies on the front part of the body. In Shioda's description, I suspect that, much more than a topographical feature, the center line is a biomechanical feature of a body in motion.

Maybe then, if we turned to biomechanics and sports science, we'd get some additional insight. According to Joanne Elphinston, performance consultant to elite athletes, "...all sports require control of a central longitudinal axis (CLA) to achieve their most efficient movement. In practice this central axis is not a rigid position: it is the sense of a firm but flexible central reference point, which supports movement of the torso and limbs. Imagine a firm, thick metal cable passing vertically through the top of your head and down through the middle of your body. This cable would form an axis for your shoulders, thorax and pelvis to smoothly rotate around, but still enable you to move easily in all directions. [...] If the central axis collapses, rotational movement will be restricted due to joint compression on the concave side of the collapse, and soft tissue tension on the convex side" [2].

Some of you might note that from the vague terminology used in some Asian martial arts we have moved into geek language territory, so we'd better try and make it simple: if you have seen the movie Karate Kid 2, you probably remember that little spinning drum Mr Miyagi used as an analogy to help Daniel understand the "secret technique" that was to save him during the final fight (if you haven't seen the movie, you haven't missed much, but you can check the final fight scene and the drum I'm talking about here and before you ask, yes I too believe that Ralph Macchio's central longitudinal axis is kinda crooked). OK, now try to think what would happen if the stick which runs through the middle of the drum, was made from soft rubber instead of wood - most probably, it would collapse under the weight of the drum, so rotation would be hard to achieve, if at all possible. Well, that's what happens if one lacks control of the CLA or, as Gozo Shioda might say, is unable to maintain a "strong centerline". And, obviously this does not only happen in martial arts practice - whether you play golf, tennis, or ice hockey, or you want to pack some serious power in your punches and make your throwing techniques more efficient, you must rotate your torso, and rotation will be strongest when it is performed around a strong, clearly defined axis.

So, how does one establish this central longitudinal axis? Well, it is mostly about maintaining a neutral position of the spine (keeping those gentle curves at the cervical and lumbar regions intact) with the least effort possible. In other words, you need to have an ideal posture, described once again by Joanne Elphinston as "simply and buoyantly supporting yourself against gravity, and allowing your body structures to move and interact in their least stressful, most effective relationships. An ideal dynamic posture should make movement easier, helping you to establish a central axis for balanced motion and allowing you to breathe freely" [3]. Unfortunately, nowadays this is easier said than done in our urbanised society, with most people spending many hours a day hunched in front of a computer, squeezed in a car seat, or collapsed on the couch in front of a television set.

It always strikes me as a paradox when I see Systema RMA practitioners in seminars trying to perform what is taught by instructors with perfect posture, using a less than ideal posture themselves. The problem is two-fold, in my opinion. On one side we have the students that focus on the end goal of each movement they try to perform, ignoring the process through which the goal can be achieved, what F.M Alexander, founder of the Alexander Technique, called the "means whereby": if one only cares about delivering a mighty Systema punch, he tends to "think with his fists", which makes focusing on the ideal posture impossible. On the other side, although all the Systema RMA instructors I have trained with (including Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev) have an ideal posture, they never actually refer to it as an essential ingredient of their skills. What they do is repeatedly urge the practitioners to relax - the problem is that bad posture, by its mechanical structure generates tension in order to be maintained, which means that relaxation is by definition unattainable...

A protracted and backwardly rotated head, lack of mobility in the thoracic spine, abducted or winged shoulder blades, externally rotated hips, are all factors that contribute to a bad posture and will make your progress in martial arts (or any other type of) training arduous and, most probably, laden with injuries. If you want to check whether your posture is good, the mirror won't help you much - having a partner video your training sessions will. After you see yourself training, go check out videos of top practitioners of martial arts and top athletes and make a comparison (you can check once again the demonstration by Gozo Shioda above, perhaps a DVD with work by Mikhail Ryabko, but also videos of Mohammed Ali, Michael Jordan and even some accomplished dancers or gymnasts - ideal posture is not exclusively found in one martial art, sport or discipline). If you discover that you don't fare that well, you've got work to do, but please stay away from the "military approach" to posture: the advice to "stand up straight, head up, shoulders back, stomach in", will lead you away from your goal, by causing increased effort and muscular tension in your body. The basic Systema exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, flat-foot squats) can help you a lot, as long as you focus on executing them with a "long spine", imagining (not actively trying) that your head is moving away from your pelvis. Some stability training for your core, pelvis and shoulder girdle will also work miracles. Still, the best methods to improve your posture utilize subtle cues in order to activate neurological reflexes that stimulate your posture quickly and easily (the Alexander Technique is one of the most sophisticated I know off). You might want to try some lessons in one of those. And most importantly, when you're training, try not to think with your fists and feet. Before you try to perform any movement, even you warm-up exercises, just perform a mental check of your posture, until the neutral position of the spine becomes a habit for you (the slow training methods utilized in Russian Martial Art make this awareness possible). Because, just being able to stand does not in any way mean you're in a position to fight.

References:
[1] Shioda, Gozo. Total Aikido: The Master Course. Kodansha, 1996. p. 14
[2] Elphinston, J. Stability, Sport and Performance Movement. Lotus Publishing, 2008. p.17
[3] Ibid. p. 61

More than one path leading to the same goal...

I am always impressed to discover converging views expressed by people who seemingly belong to different martial or physical culture disciplines. Check out the following excerpts from two books I am currently reading, Hidden In Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power by Ellis Amdur, and Free to Move by Scott Sonnon.

Amdur writes:
"For Ueshiba, however, 'kasutori' was not primarily for the purpose of martial prowess, as analogous training was for Daito-ryu practitioners, even though such martial effectiveness could still be developed. Practice is for the purpose of creating a body that is not only analogous to the enlightened spirit, but also a body that makes the elightened spirit possible".

The word "kasutori" in the above text, refers to the extraction of the pulp-like sediment that is a by-product of the production of Japanese alcohol. The claim here, in a few words, is that through the practice of the Aikido basic techniques, we remove the tension that lies our partner's joints as if it was residue.

Now, let's check what Sonnon says:
"I came to realize martial art is just a physical trick to convince the mind to adopt a higher vibratory frequency: to be more graceful and less disgraceful. The immediate and traumatic feedback of being hit, thrown, or joint-locked tells you precisely where you're holding tension. It shows you where your ego abides within you, when your mind should have no abiding place. Wherever you stop mentally, you amplify emotionally and brace physically".

To my knowledge, Scott Sonnon has not studied Aikido, and my guess is that Ellis Amdur, a respected scholar and instructor of classical and modern Japanese martial arts, knows little about the range-of-motion exercises that Sonnon describes in his book (actually the book is about way more than healthy joints, but you get my point). Could it then be possible that there are a number of universal laws which govern the relationship between our mind as a manifestation of our matter (body) and vice versa? And if these laws do exist (I strongly believe they do) wouldn't they be independent of the cultural context (Japanese martial arts, Russian system of health, Alexander technique, Feldenkrais method, you name it) they are expressed in? Just a little food for thought and maybe basis for constructive dialogue...

You can find out more about Ellis Amdur's Hidden in Plain Sight here.
For more info about Scott Sonnon's Free to Move click here.

The purpose of Aikido practice

What follows is an excerpt from a book I read recently, and made quite an impression to me. The book is Ellis Amdur's Hidden in Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power. I want to make clear that I haven't ever trained in aikido, nor am I interested to. On the other side, I believe Morihei Ueshiba was one of the greatest martial artists of the twentieth century and also a great thinker, although limited by the era he lived in and the Japanese culture. I also consider Ellis Amdur an excellent writer and I especially appreciate the fact that he attributes Ueshiba's formidable power to his training and not to some supernatural energy he mysteriously tapped into.

Here's the excerpt:
" A person with 'locked' joints has 'handles' and 'levers' - when force vectors are applied, such an individual cannot absorb and flow with said forces, cannot channel them into the ground, or cause them to resonate and amplify within a trained body, and more importantly, send them back through himself into the aggressor. Such locked joints do not only occur within the physical body. Ueshiba shows the same understanding as Wilhelm Reich, Ida Rolf, and Moshe Feldenkrais, that physical 'handles' and 'levers' are associated with binding and limitation within the psychological structure. Even with the most dedicated practice of physical technique, one very possibly will remain psychologically distorted, something we have seen in even graceful, very powerful martial artists. Similarly, were one merely to chant, meditate, or otherwise strive to cleanse the 'psychological/spiritual' body, one might be quite at peace until one 'runs into' the world, something occurring again and again when spiritual teachers of quite high attainment meet the temptations of modern society with a body still hungry for that energy".

You can find more about Ellis Amdur's work (which includes much more that martial arts training and writing books) here: http://edgework.info/

You Look the way you Move!!!

An excellent blog post by Circular Strength Training coach Bao Tran (to find out more about Circular Strength Training, visit www.rmaxinternational.com or if you live in Sweden, check out CST Coach Ola Lindblom's website: http://professionaltraining4u.com), who notices a very interesting connection between the way we move and our mental state:

"On a very rainy Friday night over Japanese Yakitori at NYC’s St. Mark, I had a chance to listen to the thoughts and feelings of Ms. Yin Yue, professional dancer, celebrity trainer, and one of Tracy Anderson’s top instructors. Over our Japanese comfort food and beers (well I had beer and she didn’t), she mentioned one of Tracy Anderson’s beliefs about fitness, which was very similar to what I learned from Coach Scott Sonnon.
Dance and fitness Trainer to the stars like Madona and Paltrow, Tracy Anderson www.tracyandersonmethod.com believes that “you look the way you move”. When I asked Yin what she meant by her statement Ms. Yue gave me an example from her discipline of dance. A Hip Hop dancer wouldn’t look like a professional ballet dancer because they move differently which in turn reflects their mental state. Likewise a ballet dancer wouldn’t look or think like a Hip Hop professional dancer.
Interesting…
Her comment made me reflect deeply about my own potential for flow, athleticism, health, and fitness. How is my current training program changing my whole appearance, mood, and brain? This is a really profound idea which many fitness enthusiasts rarely consider while exercising.
How many times do you think gym members are reflecting how their choice of exercise is changing their movement potential, brains, and holistic being? Not many but I am going to help you change that right now.
I was not thinking about bodybuilding per se when I meditated on Tracy Anderson’s belief. I can see how and why body builders adopt a rigid mentality based on their choice of exercise. While their training does effectively build muscle mass it also builds an invisible prison for their joints and connective tissues. Ask a professional body builder honestly if he or she feels healthy and pain free. Yes, the “no pain-no gain” mentality is the reason why you look the way you do.
Many people like me who got hurt from Body Building and who got jaded when it didn’t help me improve my martial arts game return to and explore the health and fitness alternatives such as dance, yoga, martial arts, and much older strength training systems than body building such as sports, gymnastics, Olympic lifting, clubbell athleticism, and kettlebell training.
What do these health and fitness alternatives has over body building?
What is the missing secret ingredient to health and fitness?
Movement sophistication.Yes, the missing key is movement, which is the key to health, longevity, and optimal performance. Anyone who has been researching the marvels of neuroscience can see the connection between movement base training and wellness. The human body has evolved and is wired to move multi-dimensionally and dynamically until it dies".

You can read the rest of Coach Tran's post here: http://fit2flow.wordpress.com

Before you go there, have a look at this video of Feldenkrais method practitioner Ruthy Alon exploring spiral movement to raise herself from a lying down to a sitting to a standing position. The video commentary is just as interesting: "Your individual, unique way of moving reflects not only the level of wellness, but your entire personality, the way you see yourself taking a place in the world", claims Alon. Well, what do you think???

A few things you should know about breathing

Here is a number of interesting things I have read about breathing during the last few years - I believe you'll find these interesting:

"A person reacts to stress by breathing in shallow patterns using chest muscles. The habit carries to times even when not stressed and erodes into times of sleep. [...] When excess CO2 is exhaled, blood becomes too alcaline, leading to vasoconstriction, which causes a feeling of apprehension. The breathing pattern worsens and alkalization leads to increasingly sensitive nerve endings until pain can occur even during tasks, which were once pain free. Overused muscles (once postural but now used for breathing) retain acid wastes becoming stiff and fatigue easily as they are used for non-productive energy even during sleep. Spinal joints stiffen as they fail to move properly during breathing. The person seeks more rest and less movement. [...] Finally sleep deprivation then brings about mood and cognitive changes. This quickly becomes a case of physiology overwhelming psychology. By the time shallow breathers are seen in clinics, it may appear that the psychology is overwhelming the physiology and such patients are labeled psychosomatic".
Colangelo, Joy. Embodied Wisdom : What our anatomy can teach us about the art of living. iUniverse, 2003, p. 112-113


"...Diaphragmatic breathing, with the belly expanding to the front and sides during inhalation [...] has the following effects on cardiac function:

1. decreased heart rate
2. decreased cardiac output
3. reduced peripheral systolic blood pressure
4. regulation of the cardiovascular system by parasympathetic functions of the autonomic nervous system
5. regulation of the heartbeat by the ebb and flow of respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Number 5 is the most universally recognized effect of respiration on cardiovascular function. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia refers to the way in which heart rate varies with the phase of respiration. The heart rate accelerates during the inspiratory phase, then decelerates during the expiratory phase. [...] The respiratory sinus arrhythmia, with its rising and falling pressure, and its variable rate of flow, has the effect of massaging and buffing the vascular walls, which are flushed smooth by the pulsating pressure. The vascular canals tend, then, to remain supple".
Hanna, Thomas. Somatics. Da Capo Press, 1988, p. xiii


"For those who prefer the 'certainty' of physiological science, it may help to understand the localization of the olfactory system in our central nervous system. Over the course of evolution our have enlarged like a city that grows progressively. There is the historical part: the antique city that embraces the oldest quarters, which in our brain is the 'reptile' or 'primitive' part - the palocortex. Then, there is the new districts of the city, or the neocortex. The most sensitive nerve endings that cover the area of the olfactory receptors are in direct contact with the 'old city', or with the part of the brain that is the seat of instinct, inherited from our most distant ancestors. With reflexive mechanisms [i.e. breathing exercises] we touch the 'visceral brain' and therefore organs such as the heart, blood vessels, bladder, intestine and gall bladder. Through other connections we also influence the pituary gland and the hypothalamus that both lie in the primitive brain; in this way we stimulate, through the use of hormones, the whole endocrine system - the 'chemical nervous system'".
Pelizzari, U., Tovaglieri, S. Manual of Freediving: Underwater on a Single Breath. Idelson Gnocchi, 2004, p. 114