"Staking" Practice

[yingampyang]

well i think that i can get all thoese beneifits from 2 hours , not hours on end waste of time in my opinion.

[sangngak]

DWx, Yes the one leg standing we used when you needed to increase the load in the training but didn't have unlimited time, we'd do each leg individually.

I understand all of your comments re "How could that be of benefit?" You can't see the benefit, you have to experience it.

I worked on ships in west africa, the med and west Eu, and I'd go out on the dock in the evening and do my standing. Before long I'd have a class going...at least for as long as we were in port. I had 2 Mongolian sabres made in Toledo in Spain and I'd walk up and down the dock wearing them on my back. Sure was a good way to find other MAs on the other ships.

I did my standing holding the 2 sabres in a raised arm position. Developed a LOT of strength in the arms, wrists and shoulders for swordplay.

[sangngak]

I think the Standing is unique in that you see a person just standing there, but you don't see what is going on inside. What movement of the energy is taking place, is the person working WITH the mind...or beyond the mind?

Peope who do Standing, assuming they have correct instructions, are an unusual breed to say the least. They have "long sight" and can concieve where this art will take them...and so don't mind the hours of Standing to get there.

There are several esoteric arts which move past just hitting and kicking people and into a higher way of working. Usually these arts belong to the Taoists and Buddhists, but not always.

To apply just the physical part of Standing to any art: try going through all of your schools stances. Hold each one for, say, 30 seconds, then the next one and so on. Don't stand up straight between stances. If you begin with a forward stance, stay that low with the hips, and then slowly (like tai chi) shift to the horse, then a back stance and so on. If you get to where you can do 30 seconds fairly easy, move to a minute in each stance and so on. Done correctly this will teach you a lot about where your flaws are in your stances.

[ShoriKid]

I've read about 'standing stakes' before. Mostly in my readings on Tai Chi and meditative work. From what I understood, standing stakes was the first phase of training before you even got to techniques. For some reason I want to say about a year of this practice before moving onto anything different wasn't that uncommon. Again, just what I've read.

[sangngak]

Yes it takes awhile. When I began Kempo you had to sit in a horse stance for 2 hours or the teacher woudn't accept you. Same when I began Kung Fu in '62. When teachers started teaching more for money they dropped these old requirements.

I have a friend who lived in China 15-20 years and used to train in the Chen vilage to learn their systems. He said the old Chen teachers told him that tai chi was originally done as individual standing poses, and after a certain phenomena occurred they could start the form work. I also had a teacher from Shansi who told me the same thing. So my Tai Chi was done this old fashioned way. Was it worth it? If the americans who think they are learning tai chi only knew what they could have had if they had been able to learn in the old way, they'd be a bit unhappy. However you can lead a horse to water etc etc.

But yes, you'd do standing far longer than a year to get the real results.

[Kajukenbopr]

I do this kind of Chi Kung - it is called Zhan Zhuang ( standing like a tree).

The purpose of it at first, is to develop the right posture, gain more endurance and correct body alignment.

However, with time, u learn how to "root" better- you learn how to stick to the ground and use it to your advantage.

This is actually achieved by learning how to use "postural muscles" instead of the muscles we usually use for moving, by doing very slight movements while trying not to use your "voluntary" muscles- it "looks" like you are not moving, but your muscles are getting a great workout. This allows for displaying power while being relaxed: your strong involuntary muscles are doing the work.

Just "standing there" is half of what you need to accomplish, and it is not a matter of muscular endurance, but a learning process of the body, so you don't need to do the stances for more than 30 minutes, but you do need to keep diligent practice.

[bushido_man96]

That is a great explanation. If we could meet in person, it would probably be easier for you to define what muscles do what. That makes good sense, though.

[Kajukenbopr]

That is a great explanation. If we could meet in person, it would probably be easier for you to define what muscles do what. That makes good sense, though.

I can try to find a martial arts explanation for it. But for now...

http://www.caymannetnews.com/Archive/Archive%20Articles/February%202002/Issue%20147/The%20Difference%20Bn%20Postural.html

[bushido_man96]

Cool. That makes sense. Thanks again.

[Kajukenbopr]

ok, ok, this is all the info you will need to understand "Staking Practice" and why it is a "learning process" and not just another exercise:

http://www.yiquan.org.uk/art-zz.html