Science And The Martial Arts: Looks Can Deceive

[Hardball]

This still requires logical thinking, and is slower than a reflexive response to a movement...this is ONE part of many internal "switches" used in the Internal arts.


We cross posted while I was editing the earlier post, did you see it?

No, let me go back and take a look.

[Hardball]

Ever seen the picture of the bunny with the pancake on his head? Thats me right now...I have no idea what you're trying to ask me.


Let me try to explain this again though, We don't look at the opponent at all...you look instead at the space around him and between you, as the space changes, you react. This type of non thinking reaction is different from seeing an object and having to wait for the signals to be processed and sent to the brain and back to the limb. This literally happens BEFORE you are able to realize it has happened. This is what Bruce Lee meant when he was asked how he defend himself in court if he accidentally hurt someone, he replied, "I would tell them, I didn't do it, IT did" Thats essentially what the internal arts do, they take over under stress. Ever seen your pet fight another animal?
That aint your normal pet during the fight is it? Because they switch to survival mode...people can do the same thing with training. This is what the classics meant when they said "Be like the monkey/tiger/snake etc they meant react like them not ACT like them, big difference. The point of the slow flowing movements of the Internal arts was to train you how to move in a manner that will be advantageous under stress. Once you do the movements enough you become sculpted by the training so you ALWAYS move like that, then when startled you attack the thing that startled you instead of raising the hands in defense you raise them in attack.

My Asian instructor called this fighting with your spirit or letting your sprit take over. However, it leads me back to meditation. Meditation and controlled breathing are used to cultivate the spirit. My instructor did not believe in muscle memory. Whenever someone mentioned muscle memory, he called it crap. Develop your spirit. Make any sense?

[BoarSpear]

"A frog in a well never knows how big the sky really is.