When Things Go “Crunch” – Martial Arts Injuries
So you doing your form and your teacher says “go deeeep” and you do and then your knee tells you “nice try” but at this particular point, on this specific day, you HAVE GONE TOO FAR! Ouch….
Injuries happen and for me it’s usually at some spot where I have been injured before. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and others the injury is completely understandable.
Bottom line – after an injury I usually don’t spend the time letting it heal, I start to work out again too soon and reinjure myself. In my Kung Fu days, Lee would always tell me – give it a rest Rick and you’ll heal twice as fast.
Now that my primary activity is Tai Chi, it’s a little easier to see it coming, to back off and prevent anything major
Look for the Extraordinary in Your Ordinary Tai Chi Practice
I practice Tai Chi and Qi Gong every day (well almost everyday…) Anyway, when something becomes a habit, doing the laundry or exercising and I hate to say it, Tai Chi too, I have a tendency to just go through the motions, get done what needs to happen and move on… I don’t really pay as much attention as I should, it’s automatic.
Well, occasionally I have a breakthrough and see things that I did not previously observe…
I was watching a YouTube vid on Tai Chi Walking (link on a previous post) and what the guy was saying has really affected not only my Tai Chi, but the way I move in daily activity.
To put a foot forward (this is Qi Gong to be hard to explain, but what the heck…) To put your foot forward but keep you weight back until your front foot is fully planted, and then, and only then roll forward into the step, really keeps you grounded, more focused and balanced. Another thing, is when you roll forward, don’t extend beyond your knee. We studied this in Karate and Kung Fu, but not to this level of observable detail…
So he mentioned it, it watched this video for – well no more than 10 minutes and there you go. The extraordinary in the ordinary… I just need to pay attention – One moment at a time.
Easier said than done…
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