The Unbendable Arm in an armbar

[dear john]

okay seriously, have somebody poke your arm when you perform the unbendable arm, there is no muscle.

 

it is all about locking it out and ligaments and tendons

[JerryLove]

Yes, the famous "unbendable arm" in Aikido.

 

A local Aikido instructor demonstrated it.

 

Been there. Done that. It bends.

 

Another Ki parlor trick

I know three versions of unbending arm... two I can teach in about 10 minutes each. I consider it more an effect of Yi (mind intent) than anything else.

 

Do they bend? Of course they do.

 

Are they much harder to bend, less prone to bending because of change in direction of force, and more relaxed than someone struggling to "keep his arm straight"? Yes.

 

Is this body quality useful? Yes.

 

I don't know that I would call this a "parlor trick" any more than I would call a Thai Boxer's hardened shins a parlor trick. It's a body quality that is useful and good to learn.

it is all about locking it out and ligaments and tendons

I assert that the arm should not be locked in unbending... locked is almost invarably a bad thing in a fight.

[Sauzin]

A neat trick regarding arm bars. The first direction you apply force should be lateral to the back side of his arm/shoulder and then down with a bit of a inward twisting of the wrists. This makes for a surprisingly effective arm bar. I'm sure there are people who could resist this with an unbendable arm application, but not very commonly on the first try. Stance would be very important. Of course from a martial perspective, resisting an arm bar would only be used when you need to buy a half a second to do something else.

 

In regards to the arm breaking, if the arm was properly positioned as has been previously described it would be easier to break through a 8" tree trunk.

[thaiboxerken]

The "unbendable arm" is a myth. There is one million dollars that can be claimed by a person that can perform such a feat.

[JEM618]

The "unbendable arm" is a myth. There is one million dollars that can be claimed by a person that can perform such a feat.

 

Is this your new hobby; posting the same message under every discussion of 'ki'?

 

Evidently, your master doesn’t teach you to respect other opinions or beliefs, and if he does, you certainly don’t put what he says into practice.

 

The ‘unbendable arm’ is not a myth. It’s practiced countless times in countless dojos all over the world each and every day. OF COURSE it will bend to some extent, but you are sadly missing the point. It is simply an exercise to show the difference between static and fluid muscle tension. In case you don’t know what it involves, which I assume you don’t based on your pedantic remarks, I’ll explain.

 

Pick someone about your size or a bit smaller so you can understand the concept, perhaps your mom, little sister or girlfriend. Have them stand relaxed and extend their left arm out straight parallel to the floor. Have them close their fist as tight as possible keep their arm rigid. Take your right hand and place it on their arm over the elbow. Take your left hand and put it under their clenched fist. Try to bend their arm by pushing up with your left hand and down with your right. Because they muscles are tensed, you will be able to bend their arm by ‘overpowering’ them.

 

Now have them stand relaxed and extend their left arm out straight parallel to the floor. Have them relax and extend their arm. At this point, they must not clench their fist but they should have some ‘fluid tension’ in their arm muscles. Take your right hand and place it on their arm over the elbow. Take your left hand and put it under relaxed hand. Try to bend their arm by pushing up with your left hand and down with your right. Because they muscles are ‘in fluid tension’ it will be more difficult to bend their arm than when they were clenching their fist and holding their arm rigid. OF COURSE, you may be able to overpower and bend there arm. BUT!!!!! That is not the point….

 

The point is, if ‘done properly’ you SHOULD be able to notice that fluid or dynamic tension is stronger than static tension. That it is more difficult to bend their arm.

 

Maybe the ‘unbendable arm’ should be renamed the ‘not as bendable arm’ so the concept is more easily grasped.

 

One note: THIS is NOT NOT NOT a test of strength. It is a teaching aid to help people understand a concept. I’ve seen countless people in the dojo going red in the face trying to break each other arms in half. Sadly, they miss the point to. But in the end the few who grasp the principal can understand it completely. Good luck.

 

What does this really teach us? Well if we dig a bit deeper, we’ll figure out that being static in a fight will allow us to be beaten and we tend to be much stronger in a fluid state.

 

AGAIN, not worth a million dollars, but common sense is invaluable...

 

OK, back under the bridge.

[47MartialMan]

So JEM618,

 

It is not Ki/Chi, but psychometrics, physicalism, or psychophysics,?

[JEM618]

So JEM618,

 

It is not Ki/Chi, but psychometrics, physicalism, or psychophysics,?

 

psychometrics - Well, this is not 'ki' but could be a means of testing it.

 

physicalism - No, absolutely not... this belief is the opposite. The mind moves the body, without the mind, the body does not move.

 

psychophysics - this branch of science deals with the relationships between physical stimuli and sensory response, so maybe a little, but I would lean towards it being almost opposite - the body's reaction to the minds perception. Physical stimuli is not always necessary to generate a physical response. That's where 'ki' development gets confusing.

 

The word or concept of 'ki'(気) is used extensively in the Japanese language.

 

Just of the top of my head, these are used in daily conversation, you're sure to hear half of them on a daily basis:

 

元気 in good spirits, healthy

 

やる気 willing to try

 

気が強い strong willed

 

気が小さい timid

 

気が短い short tempered

 

病気 sick

 

気が重い depressed

 

~ に気がつく become aware of

 

気をつける be careful of

 

気にする be concerned about

 

気がしない don’t fee like doing

 

In one of my older posts I defined 'ki' as the power that can't be seen, you can take a look and see how the kanji is broken down.

 

You can take a look here and see how prevalent it is in aikido:

 

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1804/soa2/soa2-6.html#soa2_6.2.11

 

Could it all be boiled down to 'state of mind'? I don't know, but that's all for now.

[47MartialMan]

"Psych-out"

[thaiboxerken]

Fluid tension? Is that term found in physiology? Of course clenching the fist is going to allow your arm to bend, because that means you are concentrating on your fist not keeping your arm straight. It seems like a trick to me.

[47MartialMan]

Fluid tension? Is that term found in physiology? Of course clenching the fist is going to allow your arm to bend, because that means you are concentrating on your fist not keeping your arm straight. It seems like a trick to me.

 

I have a lot of suspected feelings on this as well.