Contracting or Spreading

 

筋道不舒長，欲伸而筋不能伸

When the fascias channels are constrained and short, one cannot stretch at will1.

練形者，又名曰展筋脫骨
Who trains the shape, also called spreading out the fascias and the bones coming off2.

Contraction, especially when grown up, is so ingrained in our body that, even when someone has transformed his/her body through stretching, the reflex will remain. Training from a later age, one also has to learn again how to spread instead of contracting.

Stretching To Deep Transformation

打拳壯筋骨

Training to strengthen fascias and bones.

寧練筋長一寸，不練肉厚三分

Rather train to lengthen the fascias by one inch than to thicken the flesh by one third.

百折連腰盡無骨

A hundred twists linking the waist, a boneless utmost¹.

    

The first part of internal training was meant to deeply transform the body and its metabolism. Both were trained by deeply stretching the body, though the second one also involved some special breathing and putting physical pressure on the body to make it hotter².

Stretching The Basics

未學功夫，先學跌打

Before studying skills one shall study acrobatics1

Flexibility has been researched for over 100 years. Its track record is unimpressive, particularly when viewed in light of other components of physical fitness. Flexibility lacks predictive and concurrent validity value with meaningful health and performance outcomes. Consequently, it should be retired as a major component of fitness2.

三年樁，兩年拳

Postures for three years, boxing two years

The first quote apparently makes the link between practising martial arts and acrobatics, which become a prerequisite. Acrobatics and the extreme flexibility they require doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with using a sword or any weapon of the old times. So, why did it use to be a part of the basic training of a lot of styles until recently, shared by both internal and external methods? 

Hard Round Or Tender Oval

打拳壯筋骨

Training to strengthen fascias and bones.

寧練筋長一寸，不練肉厚三分

Rather train to lengthen the fascias by one inch than to thicken the flesh by one third.

Contracting the muscles has become such a common norm that we tend to think that it is the only way to move, generate strength... Even when the terms of isotonic, concentric and eccentric are used to oppose three states, maintaining the same length, shortening and extending, it is always in regards to contraction. Still, there is a world outside of contraction, where the muscles relax and extend to their fullest, tensing without contracting. Already mentioned in this blog (see Fascia Elasticity), the image of the bow is central to such understanding, using the body and more especially the fascias and the flesh elasticity is a question of structure.

Forever Young

 

拳怕少壯

The fist fears the young and vigorous¹

少時練得一身勁，老來健壯少生病

A whole body strength trained when young, robust, healthy and rarely sick at an old age.

練出一身汗，小病不用看

Training to sweat all over the body, no need to worry about minor illnesses.

身體鍛鍊好、八十不服老

A body well trained, eighty but not acquiescing to old age.

二五更的功夫

Skills coming from an early sleep and an early wake².

A part of old practices, which is almost lost nowadays, is the training of the organs and its deep transformation of one’s body. To stay fit, for old internal practices, was to upgrade one’s organs, the internal alchemy, which, amongst other things, led to slowing down the ageing process and keep one’s vitality at its best for a long time. 少壯, young and vigorous, stresses on such need.

A Bit Of A Stretch

練形者，又名曰展筋脫骨
He who trains the shape, also called spreading out the fascias and the bones coming off1.

Flexibility has been researched for over 100 years. Its track record is unimpressive, particularly when viewed in light of other components of physical fitness. Flexibility lacks predictive and concurrent validity value with meaningful health and performance outcomes. Consequently, it should be retired as a major component of fitness2.

Open societies in our times suffer from a never-ending flow of information on any and all subjects and coming from virtually anybody with a computer who decides to write on something. Adding the marketing, political and other agendas people tend to push through information, the result is more confusion or a return to just one’s own beliefs, even though they are totally false. Old oral transmission was all about self-discovery, which meant information was scarce and shared only when time was ripe.

Hopefully Back

 Finally having a bit time to write again. Unfortunately, only in English for the time being and just on two subjects, stretching and organs training in internal arts.

Sturdy Structure

拳怕少壯

The fist fears the young and robust¹

膂力過人

An outstanding backbone strength²

打拳壯筋骨

Training strengthens fascias and bones.

刀越磨越亮，體越練越壯

The more is polished a knife the brighter it is, the more is trained a body the stronger it is.

冬養骨，夏伸筋

Winter to grow bones, summer to extend the fascias

The need to first transform the body, stressing on fascias and bones, which has already been described in length in this blog, is the basis of the external training of internal practices. 

Strong and Experienced Youth

拳怕少壯, 棍怕老郎

The fist fears the young and vigorous, the stick the old gentleman.

身體力行

A body acts according to physical strengths¹.

讀萬卷書不如行萬里路

It's better to walk thousands of miles than to read thousands of books².

An old martial saying states that experience itself represents half, if not more, of the value of a warrior.