Comments on: 3 Kinds of Work Out

By: S.Smith

S.Smith — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:13:17 +0000

Yep. Barefoot is better indoors in the winter. The trouble comes, me thinks, when one avoids outdoor martial activities. A slick sleet storm makes pushing hands a whole new game.

By: Josh Young

Josh Young — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:34:13 +0000

Mountains do kick major ass though.
Gyms are nice when it is colder than… (some very cold thing) outside.

By: Josh Young

Josh Young — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:32:51 +0000

I was totally ignorant about gyms in my comment here. A gym is a good place to work on kung-fu. I’ve been integrating martial arts and working in some gym settings lately. That makes me an MMA gym going guy! What a fool I have been, thinking that gyms and MMA were categorically bad.

By: S.Smith

S.Smith — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:45:39 +0000

It is all connected, huh?! When the soles of my feet get sore, I know it’s been a good push-hands session.

Gyms are a starting point. They represent the first step for some folks down the healthy path. And – there’s a variety of gym-ish places that initiate health. Remember: the last WTBA workshop in Utah was in a small, local gym.

But I’m with you two… I want deeper balance and the mountains (and other outdoor spots) inevitably help me go deeper.

By: Ben Weiss

Ben Weiss — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:49:33 +0000

I agree.
I associate the Gym with psychological issues.
I associate the mountains with health.

By: josh young

josh young — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:26:33 +0000

Interesting.
In the line I was initiated it is said that if your legs do not get sore, you are not doing it right. There are days where after doing proper form work it is very hard to even walk up stairs. The physical development associated with this form of taiji is very impressive when done properly.

I find it interesting you associated a gym with health. I do not, I associate it with body building, which is anything but healthy and balanced. It is for people who want form, not function, at least this is all I have ever seen in gym built people.

By: Ben Weiss

Ben Weiss — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:03:22 +0000

Taichi? Make you stronger? It’s for old people what the hell are you talking about!!!……..(joke)
I find, upon observing people work out and becoming aware of myself as I work out that there is so little emphasis placed upon connecting the body that people can and do hurt and damage themselves when they are trying to get more healthy. For example, running. The human body is designed to run. We are running machines. In ancient days (and primitive folks nowadays) people would hunt deer by running them to the point where the deer would overheat and physically could not run anymore. they would run it to death. Many people nowadays who run to stay in shape damage their knees and back by taking strides that are too big, as a result their heel hits the floor with an outstretched leg and a shock of two times the runners body weight goes through their structure. Not only is this damaging but is so damn hard to do! It is freaking hard! The body is designed to run with little effort using the entire body in perfect balance of tension and release. The tension and release of tension propels the body forward and strengthens not only the muscles but the connective tissues. So much of modern strength training, working out, focuses on isolating muscles. The connective tissues are neglected and the body doesn’t learn how to function in a natural, seeming effortless way. Rather the body un-learns how to function the way it is intended. What good is it if a sky scraper is made of the strongest metals, but those metals are secured together by duct tape?

Exercise, training, working out, all need connective-ness. the body has to be connected as a whole. the mind and the body need to be in sync for optimum function. Movement and breath need to be connected. It all has to be connected. The human existence is a web, not a rope.