Many think that internal martial arts such as Tai Chi should only be practiced very gently and working up a sweat or physically exerting yourself is discouraged. While practicing very gently may provide some benefit, you can never gain a complete progress in any of the internal martial arts (or any martial art for that matter) by practicing this way. "Internal" does not mean without effort or work. Just like anything in life you must put in quality time and effort to get good at it. Here are some reasons why you need to put some physical effort into practice and also why some may make this mistake.
All internal martial arts place heavy emphasis on proper alignment and body structure. Most utilize standing exercises to practice and build this structure. When done properly, standing practice is quite intense and standing for more than a few minutes takes focus and perseverance. Only through this way can you build the proper strength and body structure. You have to constantly reinforce the proper shape and push to perfect it with every practice. In addition, each internal martial art has it's own exercises to practice proper body movement and develop whole body strength and coordination. Xing Yi has the five elements. Bagua has the palm changes. Tai Chi has silk reeling. Each should be practiced with emphasis on the proper shape and whole body coordination. If you practice these with a lazy stance and simply walk through the motions you can never develop the whole body strength and be able to apply it. Coordinating the whole body throughout the entire range of motion of these exercises is very demanding on the body. Beginners will find that the lower body is especially stressed. As you advance the effort will spread into the back and upper body as you learn to engage and coordinate more of your body. Now that said the goal is not to physically exhaust yourself like in bodybuilding or regular athletic strength training. The emphasis should be on improving the quality of movement. So it is also a waste to practice with such a low stance that you can't maintain the proper alignment or coordinate your movements. Focused, quality practice is the way to gain skills in internal martial arts.
There are a couple reasons why it is physical exertion is disassociated with internal martial arts. The first is probably the misinterpretation of what it means to relax. In internal martial arts, relaxation is always emphasized in both stillness and movement. However, this does not mean limp or without firm structure. A better interpretation would be without excess effort or tension. At first, it is difficult to do this and maintain the proper shape especially when progressing to partner work. This is because your body isn't strong enough and you haven't built up the whole body coordination. Even when meeting force from a partner one should try to remove any extraneous effort while maintaining the proper body structure. Excess tension typically causes people to localize their effort to a particular point in their body. Relaxing allows you to pass force throughout your body and utilize the whole body strength internal martial arts are known for. As your skill increases this gradually becomes easier and begins to look effortless which leads to the cause of the next mistake.
Many beginners try to mimic the old masters before building the proper foundation. Those who have mastered internal martial arts move very fluidly and effortlessly, however there is great intent and force behind their movements. They have already built the physical foundation and have progressed their skills so that their movements are very efficient. Once a solid foundation with proper body alignment, whole body coordination, core strength and mobility is created you can slowly refine your movements to become more relaxed and efficient. Through quality practice there is less restriction in you ability to exert or receive force in all directions. This gives that relaxed, effortless yet powerful appearance of the movements. The video below shows Master Li Tai Liang performing Xing Yi. The shape, power and coordination that he demonstrates doesn't come without diligent, difficult practice at the start.
So, should you sweat when practicing internal martial arts? Well, you don't have to sweat that depends on the individual, but it should be physically demanding especially in the beginning. If its not, you should consider changing your training habits and focus on building that physical foundation. Seattle Xin Yi Dao focuses on building this physical foundation by practicing the fundamentals and working up to cooperative partner practice to build it even further. If you're interested in learning this way. Follow the blog for information on our next class!
All internal martial arts place heavy emphasis on proper alignment and body structure. Most utilize standing exercises to practice and build this structure. When done properly, standing practice is quite intense and standing for more than a few minutes takes focus and perseverance. Only through this way can you build the proper strength and body structure. You have to constantly reinforce the proper shape and push to perfect it with every practice. In addition, each internal martial art has it's own exercises to practice proper body movement and develop whole body strength and coordination. Xing Yi has the five elements. Bagua has the palm changes. Tai Chi has silk reeling. Each should be practiced with emphasis on the proper shape and whole body coordination. If you practice these with a lazy stance and simply walk through the motions you can never develop the whole body strength and be able to apply it. Coordinating the whole body throughout the entire range of motion of these exercises is very demanding on the body. Beginners will find that the lower body is especially stressed. As you advance the effort will spread into the back and upper body as you learn to engage and coordinate more of your body. Now that said the goal is not to physically exhaust yourself like in bodybuilding or regular athletic strength training. The emphasis should be on improving the quality of movement. So it is also a waste to practice with such a low stance that you can't maintain the proper alignment or coordinate your movements. Focused, quality practice is the way to gain skills in internal martial arts.
There are a couple reasons why it is physical exertion is disassociated with internal martial arts. The first is probably the misinterpretation of what it means to relax. In internal martial arts, relaxation is always emphasized in both stillness and movement. However, this does not mean limp or without firm structure. A better interpretation would be without excess effort or tension. At first, it is difficult to do this and maintain the proper shape especially when progressing to partner work. This is because your body isn't strong enough and you haven't built up the whole body coordination. Even when meeting force from a partner one should try to remove any extraneous effort while maintaining the proper body structure. Excess tension typically causes people to localize their effort to a particular point in their body. Relaxing allows you to pass force throughout your body and utilize the whole body strength internal martial arts are known for. As your skill increases this gradually becomes easier and begins to look effortless which leads to the cause of the next mistake.
Many beginners try to mimic the old masters before building the proper foundation. Those who have mastered internal martial arts move very fluidly and effortlessly, however there is great intent and force behind their movements. They have already built the physical foundation and have progressed their skills so that their movements are very efficient. Once a solid foundation with proper body alignment, whole body coordination, core strength and mobility is created you can slowly refine your movements to become more relaxed and efficient. Through quality practice there is less restriction in you ability to exert or receive force in all directions. This gives that relaxed, effortless yet powerful appearance of the movements. The video below shows Master Li Tai Liang performing Xing Yi. The shape, power and coordination that he demonstrates doesn't come without diligent, difficult practice at the start.
So, should you sweat when practicing internal martial arts? Well, you don't have to sweat that depends on the individual, but it should be physically demanding especially in the beginning. If its not, you should consider changing your training habits and focus on building that physical foundation. Seattle Xin Yi Dao focuses on building this physical foundation by practicing the fundamentals and working up to cooperative partner practice to build it even further. If you're interested in learning this way. Follow the blog for information on our next class!
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