Whole body power forms the bedrock of the internal arts. Our abilities to move every part of our body in harmony is as fundamental to the health benefits as it is to the martial effectiveness found in these styles. In this article we will explore one aspect of this whole body work, which I call the attribution of effort technique.

The final line of connection in the internal arts we are going to look at in this group of articles is the cross body or spiral line. Many people consider the cross body connection to be key to the interesting body methods, load or force management techniques and movement dynamics of the internal arts.

 

At its most basic level the cross body connection allows us to actively utilize the opposite sides of the body in harmony with each other. If you think about someone walking naturally, swinging their arm forward as the opposite leg is forward, this is a classic example of this cross body connection in use. But this attribute of body motion and the associated tissues has a deeper reaching consequence for the internal artist.

In this article we will look at one of the less considered lines of the body, the side lines, and their purpose in the Internal Arts. In the internal martial arts we often see the discussion focused around the ‘centre’, the axis, the root and the arm bridges, but rarely do we look at the sides of the body specifically and how they are important in motion, stability and power generation.

 

The Side lines can be thought of as the support pillars of the body, they are like the towers of a suspension bridge providing a stable side to the body in the Coronal plane, but they actually have several active functions that are vital to the unified body.

Across the hundreds of different styles of martial arts, from distant parts of the globe there is often one common posture that is found. It is a posture that demonstrates control, power and security in the legs and is often likened to the posture a rider takes when straddling a horse, the famous Ma Bu or horse stance. This posture so common because it deals with a fundamental part of the body training required in the martial arts, the stable base.

 

This posture, so common to many martial traditions is the result masters from a wide range of styles identifying the importance of the interior tissues of the legs in support, mobility, stability and movement. These tissues are identified as the ‘Crotch Arch’ or in some systems the ‘Dang’.

 

In the internal arts we often use the term ‘Bridging’ in relation to contacting with the partners arms. But there is another use for this term that relates to the connection of the arms to the torso and it is that connection that we will explore in this post.

 

The Arm or upper body bridges are the front and back connections of the arms into the torso and are one of the major development focuses for the Internal Martial Artists. They are perhaps one of the most important areas of focus for practitioners due to the common misalignment and systemic tensions from poor posture or lifestyle that can manifest in them.

Following on from the previous post we are now going to dig into the relevance of specific lines for internal arts movement, power and methods and we will start with perhaps the most important of all the lines the Axis.

The Axis can describe several things in the internal arts, from the conceptual ‘center line’,  to the spine itself,  to the tissues of the central channel of the body. All of these definitions have their place and purpose, however much of the time we see them intermingled or used in conjunction with each other. The process of producing the spine wave for instance is not solely a spine related endeavor, instead needing the action of the deep tissues of the torso in order to create the action.  Rotation of the torso to equalize incoming forces does not only related to the turning of the body around a conceptual center line but also how the spine flexes and how the tissues twist during the demand.

One of the initial focuses of Internal Arts training is to create a body that is connected and structured with healthy tissue. If you look at virtually any physical training methodology you will see the initial sections of their training devoted to alignment, strength, endurance and connection.  Internal Power Training is no different, but the strength and endurance we are looking to build has a alternative quality.

As we have discussed in previous posts, the development of the tissues is required to create the unified body, but this can now be broken down a little further into major directions of expression and the related tissue development that is required to achieve action along them. In this post we will look at how muscle chains linked via fascia form ‘lines’ in the body that are responsible for the major motions our body can create. The body lines are the major chains of tissue that we use as humans, often without realizing.

In Traditional Chinese theory there is a point in the middle of the lumbar region of back that is believed to be the centre of ‘Vitality’ and where the original life essence of the individual is based, this point is called the ‘Ming Men’.

Located at between the L2 & L3 vertebra, a couple of inches above the line of the Iliac crest in most people, this point is of foundational importance to Chinese Medicine and their associated practices. It is thought to be responsible for ‘warmth’ in the body, for fuelling correct metabolic action and organ function in these traditional systems.