Chi, you may have heard of it before; Tai Chi or Chi Qigong. It is termed as the life force; the energy that surrounds us, flows through us and can be used by us provided we know how to harness it. Many people believe that the energy used in martial arts comes from the body. This is not entirely accurate.
Of course the energy is the same whether it is in a tree, in the grass, or in a person. Even unloving objects have some sort of energy to them. They carry with them the energy of the person who made them and also the energy of the materials they were made from. Even the process used can leave its traces!
It is this energy that allows martial arts masters to push their bodies to incredible limits, to do something that is seemingly impossible to do. You probably have seen it on TV where a small man can take down a huge person, or shatters a vase or object without touching it. These are both applications of Chi.
It is not taught in most western applications, even in martial arts. There is a level of belief and awareness of the older ideals of a spiritual world that are necessary to fully utilize it and realize that it is there. There are many who simply do not have this awareness. It is something that children have, but unless it is trained it is eventually lost as one enters adulthood.
Still however, it is a fundamental aspect of martial arts. It lends strength and it can help to minimize damage and even promote faster healing. The first thing to be aware of is that it is not something that will come to you because you read a book or took a single course!
It takes years of patience, practice and skill. Most Chi masters or martial artists who have gained mastery of this are highly skilled and have been training the majority of their life.
You may however, know some of the basics. You may be aware that energy is there and available to you; coming straight from your senses. They are primarily senses that can be developed through meditation and meditative practices. In order to fully utilize the Chi energy effectively, you must be calm inside and focused.
Once you have gained the awareness of the energy and can feel it in and around you, you must learn how to control and master its flow. In order to use Chi energy in martial arts, it has to be able to flow properly through the body.
This means that you must be aware of when energy becomes clogged or does not flow correctly and be able to make the adjustments necessary to keep a free flow of energy. The energy of the actual body is limited and while you can use it, it will become exhausted.
As this can be dangerous, it is also necessary to learn to use your bodys Chi to channel, focus and draw upon the energy that surrounds you. Once you have learned this step, then you must train in the actual controlling of the flow of this energy, using it directly as needed.
Martial Arts Fighting Techniques
Russian martial arts flexibility and strength training techniques such as kettlebells have been available to Western Special Forces for many years from Russian masters of martial arts. Russian territory reaches from the west through middle Asia to China, and they have the benefit of the best of self defence and aggressive techniques from all of these territories within their armed forces.
Both before and after the destruction of the communist ways in parts of the USSR, Russian fitness experts crossed to Europe to provide us with the benefits of their knowledge of self defence and strength training, and both UK and American forces have reaped the benefits of this specialized Russian knowledge. Much of this knowledge is now available online to ordinary people with an interest in improving their strength, flexibility and relaxation techniques in order that they can attain the highest levels possible in their chosen sport or game. That means you!
Take Russian kettlebells, for example. Russian power lifters and martial arts experts are available online to offer you instruction in how to use these simple weights to build exceptional power and strength throughout your whole body. For those not familiar with kettlebells, they are simple heavy balls with a handle so that you can lift them. They are very simple but can make a person stronger, more explosive, and with unbelievable endurance and coordination: just what is needed in any martial art, and used extensively in Russian military training.
Many martial artists, especially in the initial stages of study, are unaware of the true importance of strength, speed and power. In very simple terms, strength + speed = power. If you strike with great strength and high speed, you will generate great power. It is for reasons such as this that great Russian exponents of fitness and martial arts training such as Pavel Tsatsouline have been employed by the American special forces, police and other organizations to teach techniques such as those that enabled Russian Cossacks to slice a man from shoulder to saddle with nothing but a light saber (not a ?light saber? as in star Wars, but a saber that is not heavy!). This is spelled ?sabre? in Europe, where it originated.
They could do this through relaxation techniques, gained by repeatedly slashing into water while standing waist deep in a lake. This sounds easy, but not after doing it for hours, and needs total relaxation until the instant of strike. This is exactly as a martial artist or boxer should be totally relaxed until the arm snaps straight with maximum forward momentum and power, and then relaxes immediately after strike until the next strike which could be a fraction of a second later.
Relaxation can become second nature through the use of Qigong or Tai Chi training, the Chinese art of relaxation. Many people regard it as an exercise for wimps, yet the greatest martial arts exponents in the world use it for relaxation, as do many of the world's elite martial forces. Meet these guys face to face and call them wimps!
Through a combination of kettlebells, relaxation training and flexibility, the Russian special forces were among the most feared in the world in unarmed combat, which is why they were employed to train the armed forces of the USA. Their techniques are available online if you know where to look, and relaxation that leads to speed, endurance and flexibility appears to be one of their main skills.
Its opposite is tension, which is composed of strength and power. At the moment of a martial artist's strike, speed and power are backed up with mass, but an instant later the fist is totally relaxed as it snaps back to guard. Many sports other than just martial arts depend on tension and relaxation, the two aspects of the expert sportsman.
Russian training techniques offer opportunities to improve your tension and relaxation. Strength is increased through the use of kettlebells, power through dynamic and kinetic training, speed through flexibility training and relaxation through qigong and other such techniques. Those that laugh and claim that they do not work would shudder at seeing the power and capabilities of the Cossack, as did the opponents who would rather run than face them. They were more powerful that their horses and the most feared opponents in the known world at the time.
If you want to improve to your ability at most sports, but especially in martial arts, learn from the Cossacks and Russians. Learn from their martial arts flexibility techniques, and kettlebell strength exercises. They are simple to understand, and the equipment is inexpensive
Both Alan Largo & Peter Nisbet are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Alan Largo has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Fitness Equipment and Fat Loss. Alan Largo is the creator and administrator of Martial Arts Secrets and strives to assist others identify with various types of martial arts and self defense tactics through informative reviews. You're invited to visit. Alan Largo's top article generates over 110000 views. Bookmark Alan Largo to your Favourites.
Peter Nisbet has sinced written about articles on various topics from SEO Articles, Online Dating and Advertising Guide. For more information about Pavel Tsatsouline and Russian training techniques, check out Pete's website at http://www.welshhealth.com/russian.html>Welsh Healt. Peter Nisbet's top article generates over 110000 views. Bookmark Peter Nisbet to your Favourites.
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