Back in the 1970s David Dubow used to acquire for me via his international connections a large number of Super 8 films on various martial arts. I used to watch them on a mechanical Super 8 editor that allowed me to wind the film forward and backwards at any speed I wanted. In this way I was able to scrutinize a particular move in fine detail.
One evening when I was doing this, I was winding the film backwards and suddenly I got an idea. I was watching the guy move in reverse motion, and this sparked the thought that within every obvious movement pattern there must be a reverse movement pattern that’s not so obvious.
Let me clarify, because this doesn’t mean what you might think at first glance. I’m not talking about literally moving backwards. I’m talking about the coupling of forces within the body, and the way that the parts of the body move in opposition so as to create a dynamic equilibrium of change.
What this imagery of movement in reverse prompted me to do was to experiment with my own movement keeping the idea of reversed action in my mind. I would first walk forward, heel to toe, and sense that pattern. Then I’d reverse it and walk back, toe to heel. I then merged the two into one action. So that, for example, when I was training a punch, I’d use a heel-to-toe pressure against the floor with my right foot as if I were walking forward but not actually taking my foot off the floor, and at the same time, I’d use the toe-to-heel backward movement on my left foot, as if I were taking a step back. It’s a subtle thing, visually, but biomechanically it allows me to deliver the shot with double the force, because I’m involving both sides of the body in the same action.
I demonstrate this on film on NHB1 and probably some of the other films, too. Round Kick Clinic addresses this principle.
The way you involve the action/reversed action principle will vary depending on the skill you need to perform.
A lot of guys when they train a skill, they only train the obvious ‘side’ of the skill. When you don’t understand the ‘opposite’ part of the skill, then the parts of the body associated with that ‘reversed’ aspect of the skill will do one of two things. Either those parts will be passive, and not contributing to the generation force. Or, those parts will actually act as a brake on the action.
In the second case, depending on the skill in question, the delivery and dynamics of the force can end up being directed into the joints (knees, hips, and spine, typically) and over time this will have an adverse effect that is irreversible. And I’ve seen a lot of guys in the martial arts over the years who are really fucked up with their joints because of this phenomenon.
And when these guys are instructors, they are unfortunately continuing to advocate the biomechanics that have personally fucked them up. They’re passing it on to the next generation, because they don’t know any better.
This phenomenon of joint damage, especially to the knees and hips, is particularly invidious when you are training on mats. You’ll see the phenomenon in judo and wrestling, and it’s starting to become apparent in MMA, because the mat creates additional friction against the foot. So if you are doing a move—a throw, a strike, whatever—where you are using one foot/leg to post and facilitate an action on the opposite side of the body, then the mat forces that posting foot to remain in position when you’re trying to move it. This additional friction throws the force into the joints of the axis side of the body (in this case).
In MMA, you can see it happening when guys are training the round kick. They don’t know how to free the support foot, and with the ‘stickiness’ of the mat, they’re getting bound on that side.
The easiest way to avoid this happening is to get the foot off the heel to start with and angle it for its firing position just prior to making the shot. Or, jump the foot fractionally as you kick, because this will allow you to rotate and free up the ‘backward’ movement as the kick is coming forward. In this way, you ensure a dynamic axis, not a static one.
This reminds me of my classic old analogy about slamming the door, and I’ll elaborate in another post.
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stevemorris- stevemorris
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Tommy
The body doesn't look like a wheel, but the coupling of forces around an axis functions a bit like a wheel.
Rather than getting caught up in the detail, try to understand the principle and sense it. You can't break it down joint by joint, because your conscious mind can't process that in one go. You have to take in the idea, try to apply it, and then in some way test yourself to see whether what you're doing is getting better or worse.
It's a tip. To get the inside view, I'd have to be working with you one on one.
Here's another tip. When you hit something, and say you're driving a right hand shot into the bag. There comes a point when you're going to decelerate. You've run into soemething. But the thing is, only the right hand side has run into something.
The left hand side is still free to accelerate the movement in the direction of the drive. It's the free side. You can use this, in this case to finish a move. I've already talked with you about how to use it to initiate a move.
The whole thing about this Tommy is kinesthetic perception. Having a total sense of the body in action: what parts are contributing to the movements, what parts are getting in the way, and what parts are passengers.
That's why I usually start with the head and the eyes and work down. I'll be talking about eyes in another post.
I hope i'm on the right track and i'll be trying it out tonight.
So unless you're suddenly stretching the muscle (in which muscle spindles are embedded), then you won't get the recruitment of fast-twitch and super-fast-twitch fibre upon which the generation of explosive force depends.
Sometimes the form that you practice doesn't actually do the job of suddenly changing the direction. This is the eccentric and concentric phase of a move. The form is really secondary to this principle, and unless you're practicing the form with an understanding of this explosive change in direction in place, then the form itself won't give you it.
Because I understand this principle, intuitively, instinctively, intellectually, I can apply it to Wing Chun, kicking a soccer ball, karate, whatever. To me, you know you've got it when you are able to bring the principle of explosive change in direction into any area where it might be appropriate. You're not restricted to just demonstrating it in a limited context.
With this principle in place, you can breathe life into a form which quite honestly was otherwise dead.
You have to ask yourself the question, is it the outward shape/appearance of movement that the masters were trying to get you to understand, or the essence within it? The form might give you a clue as to what its original essence might have been, but doing the form on its own won't give you an insight into that essential ingredient. You'd have to actually see the power being produced by someone training the form in a way that brings out this principle of explosive change in direction. Or, like me, you 'dhave to have researched the principle--and then applying it to the form is easy.
Either way, when it comes to trying to justify a form, I'm not into it. I wouldn't even get into that stuff, bows and spirals. Most of the people talking about it, can't do it.
Personally I would forget the spiralling energy stuff. Just go and pick up a ball and throw it against a wall, or the ground, whatever. Now start to be aware of different processes within the throwing action. THe use of the head. Preloading of the arm, when it goes back and the body goes forward. Effectively launching yourself at the wall. Explore the different ways you can increase the velocity of that ball with a result that is visible--you will see that the ball bounces off the wall harder (or not). There are lots of processes in there which can enhance that throw. You want to develop a kinesthetic sense of them.
One of these processes is what is often termed the hikite or the pull back hand. It's a withdrawal reflex which facilitates the cross-extensor reflex, so you're able to produce power at a reflex level.
There's a problem here. This experiment with the ball will allow you to get a handle on how power is generated. The real problem now comes in how you refine that, and what I've always found is that I could never refine what I couldn't define. It would just be pot luck.
But because I understand how the body works at a structural and reflex level, with that understanding I can trick the body into using its own assets. As a trainer, I can do that with you on a one-to-one basis, but you can't really do it for yourself without the research and its application.
Personally, I feel the masters understood these reflex/behavioural patterns which I've researched through modern sports science. Their language was different, but waht they were observing and sensing would have been the same.
The problem comes because the modern masters don't know what the originators knew, and so all you end up with is the movement and a lot of abstract concepts that people get really fanciful about.
As your steering wheel example illustrates...one side aiding the other. Perfect sense. Funny how simple the idea seems but how genius it was to figure it out.
"The important things are simple. The simple things are very hard."
I misinterpreted the idea the first time around. I understand the principle now.
Tommy
It's just that there are different ways of coupling forces. Reversed action is a big concept. It really is the key, because if it's not understood it can be reducing your performance. That doesn't mean a guy can't have a high level of performance without it. I look at plenty of guys who are high level performers, and I think to myself, if that guy knew about THIS, boy we'd have something really good. So if reversed action is understood, then you can apply it to really give yourself an edge.
You have to first form the concept of it and be aware that it's there. Then start to sense it in your movement.
It can work the other way round as well. If you over-concentrate on the reverse action, there will now be a tendency to drag the 'action' side. And like other aspect of dynamic movement, whatever you do has got to be coupled to the tactical context. So the whole process is something you've really got to work with, become familiar with it, and then begin to fine-tune it.
What I found is that, rather than trying to understand this principle in slo-mo, I just explode it. I don't go the Tai Chi way. I just let it rip. Because that's how I'm going to have to do it anyway. No holding back.
Again: it's a tip. Let it go into your brain, now forget about it. Don't get caught up in the detail. If you do, you'll overconcentrate on one aspect at the expense of the whole move.