Twists and Locks

無力優力

Without force is the better force

直而不直，曲而不曲

Straight but not straight, curved but not curved

三節九段，三弓九曲

The three parts and the nine sections, the three arches and the nine curves

Straightness with a body as lax as possible is just the first step of training. Indeed, as it has been described in the previous post, one has to change his/her body to make it supple enough to be able to work with fascia elasticity instead of muscle contraction. Once the body is transformed enough, one can go a step further and learn how to tense it. If intent and using the cross and the six directions principles has also been described before, the ultimate roundness through the locks is supposed to tense the body automatically. Still, one shall not put the cart before the horse, enough flexibility has to be achieved to be able to contemplate the locks trainings, otherwise not only it will not work, but it will also end up harming one's body. To achieve the locks, one has first to go from straightness to roundness, working on twist and the six directions. Then, when enough extra flexibility has been gained, locks will be about using it to tense up through particular angles.

I. Twists and Turns

As it has been mentioned in previous posts, straightness is about being lax, the first stage of a better force without using muscle contraction where one can realise he does not need that many muscles or to contract them that hard and so on to create power. Still, in old practices based on a deep transformation of the body, it is just a step towards using fascia elasticity. Hence, once the body has become flexible enough, one has to learn how to tense it up through stretch. A way to experience the tension is done by twisting parts of the body, which will gradually change into round what was straight as a die before. The body divided in three parts, three different kind of twists have to be contemplated. To make it more understandable, only the most obvious ones will be described.

1.1 Upper Part

Having the elbows down, a principle used in a lot of old practices, describe actually one of the main twists of the upper part. Indeed, the idea is, once the arms are as straight as a die, to rotate the elbows clockwise while, both the wrists and the shoulders will rotate counter-clockwise. This shall be done with no contraction of course and while trying to maintain straightness.

In order to make it easier, the first thing would be to oppose only elbows and wrist which will make the arms "Straight but not straight, curved but not curved". Once mastered and adding the shoulders, roundness will prevail.

1.2 Middle Part

The middle part is all about the waist, which will rotate left or right while both the corresponding ilium and shoulder (left of right) will rotate in the opposite direction (right or left).

Similar to the upper part, one shall start by opposing waist and the ilium in order to create the necessary flexibility for the waist to have more motion freedom. The result should be that, though the waist is twisted, the whole pelvis will remain straight (i.e. does not move). Done correctly, twisting the waist would bring the shoulders on the side, shoulders and pelvis making a cross.

Once mastered, one will train the waist/ribs flexibility by applying the same method to the shoulders. Then, being able to twist the waist without moving the shoulders and the pelvis is a way to round the back.

1.3 Down Part

Rounding the down part comes at first from the capacity described in the previous post to tuck in the butt. When done correctly, its pushes the knees outside, which results in the ankles and the feet opening. Keeping them closed (front foot toes towards the inside and back foot ones directed at the front for example) will create the necessary twist tension. 

The stronger the capacity to twist, the rounder the body, until it becomes locked.

II. Locks, Final Aim of External Training

One can divide locks into main and secondary. Basically the centre, the waist, is the main lock for the centre as well as the whole body. The cross between the neck and the shoulders is the main upper one and the rounded crotch the main down one. Secondary locks, each on every of the nine section, will just increase the tension created by the main. Since the aim is to tense without muscle contraction, it is also important to be reminded of what would be a correct body lock.

2.1 Main

The waist lock is the capacity to use some vertebrae added flexibility (one coming a bit out of two others) to round up the down part of the back. This very fine and extremely tiny motion will have the result to literally tense all the fascias in the whole body. Such tension will not be extreme and one shall not try to push it too much, the backbone can be as brittle as porcelain and needs to be handled with a lot of care.

The waist lock in place, it shall automatically tuck in the butt, which puts the rounded crotch in place. Still, further rotating the pelvis will improve tension in the legs. 

The upper lock is a question of pushing a bit further than just "containing the chest" the breastbone towards the backbone while keeping the shoulders correctly aligned. Locking the waist actually does the ground work and, in the same manner for the pelvis, pushing further just amplifies the tension.

2.2 Secondary

To furthermore tense one's body, one will then look at every of the nine sections. For the hands for example, the tiger mouth, 虎口, is often mentioned because it leads to the part needed to be locked.

2.3 Correct Locking

To the usual suspects, deep, long and not breathless respiration and the absence of the sensation of force, one can add a few more details either linked to the way the body tense or move.

a. Whole and the Grip

Two easy things to check. 

First, it is the whole body which tense, there are no agonist and antagonist muscle in fascia elasticity. Hence, if some part of the body are not tensed up, there is something wrong with one's lock. In this sense, a correct rounded crotch shall tense any and every part of the thighs as well as a correct upper part lock, even harder, shall tense the chest muscles.

Second, because the aim of old practices was to fight with weapons, it is the grip that is trained and, probably not a coincidence, a hand lock makes it impossible to close it as a fist. 

b. Robot Motion

Instead of the very lean and acrobatic motions of the straightness trainings, because it makes the body totally connected and tensed, motion in locks look tiny and very robotic. One would seem almost like a moving statue. 

Locks, the capacity to tense all and any part of one's body through fascia elasticity, used to be the ultimate external training in old internal practices. They were often obtained by putting adjoining parts of the body in opposite directions. In the old days, because method ruled over anything else, it was only from that time, external skills sufficient enough, that one could really contemplate internal training, i.e. improving the organs, breathing correctly and heating up one's body to create vapours.