unbendable arm question

[monkeygirl]

Woo! I got it to work last night! I weigh only like....*ahem* 95 lbs ....and my brother is like, 150 somewhere around that. He was literally jumping on my arm and couldn't bend it.

 

Freaky......

[KickChick]

This is a classic ki feat used by most all instructors where someone tries to bend their arm when it's stiff, and succeeds. But when their arm is very relaxed, it becomes impossible to bend. Its been an effective way to introduce students to ki.

 

Hold your arm out horizontally with just a slight bend at the elbow, make a fist, and tighten all the muscles in your arm. Now have someone put one hand on top of your elbow, and the other hand under your wrist and try to bend your arm. He or she will probably be successful.

 

Now, hold your arm out again and relax all the muscles in your arm, letting the wrist hang loosely, using just enough muscle to keep your arm in the air. Look ahead in the direction your arm is pointing and mentally extend your arm outward for hundreds of feet, imagine reaching and touching a distant object.

 

Maintain this focus and the person try to bend your arm again. This time he or she will not be successful.

 

You need to practice this slowly with a friend and build your confidence.

 

Different visualizations work better for different people. As was mentioned, try thinking of your arm as a fire hose.... or think of yourself as being extremely thirsty and reaching across the room for a cold drink.

 

Do not make your arm completely straight keep a slight bend in your elbow and orient your arm so that the thumb side of your hand is up.

 

Your partner should bend the arm upwards not downwards.

 

Do not be distracted by by your partner bending your arm. Just keep your eyes forward and maintain your image of the arm being very long.

 

So thats ki??

 

There are other "feats" like immovable body, finger circle and kneeling push too.

[Kensai]

oh yes, finger circle is really hard to get to work...........AHHHH! NIGHTMARE! Immovable body is a great one, I and my friend, both 19 and about 12-13 stone, tried to lift this little kid that was training in our dojo. When he was physical it was as easy as you would expect it to be, but when he was relaxed, we got him in the air, but I nearly popped something. Unpleasant. Basically I noticed a big difference.

 

Take Care,

[BladeLee]

Thanks for all the responses Ill have alot of time to practice tomorrow. Once again thanks everyone for the information!!!!!

[BladeLee]

Btw, does anyone have a picture or video, or know a site where i can see this being done?

[KickChick]

Try this (not video) but a shockwave ... has the other ki "tricks" also

 

http://www.bodymindandmodem.com/CoolKi/CoolKi.html

[monkeygirl]

Hrmm... "immovable body".....

 

I wonder if that can be executed quickly enough to be useful in sparring...I'm constantly getting kicked and knocked down (see weight description in earlier post).

[Caffeine King]

Heya!

 

Great stuff, I get to ramble on about psychology again...

 

Luckily, I share an office with an out-and-out Sports Psychologist and while I study Aikido when I can, he studies the idea of directional focus full-time. We've just had a talk on this and we think we've figured it...

 

There are two types of ways you can focus your attention on something, either you tend to think internally or you think externally. Hardly rocket science I know, but it means that about half of the people on this site will have a tendancy to think about what it takes to make the arm stay straight (internal) and the other half of you would be more likely to think about the product of your movement (external). This is what Kickckick added earlier. Think about extending your arm across the room and because you're thinking this way, you're NOT worrying about your arm.

 

We all have something tucked away in our heads called the "Ironic Processing System", it's a bit of a mouthful but it may explain why some people find this task easier than other people do. Try this...

 

Sit in front of your monitor for two minutes...

 

During this time, do NOT think of a white polar bear. At all.

 

Really try...

 

Did you manage it? Right from the word go? If you did, I'm stunned!! It's almost impossible. If you pardon the example, what I'm trying to say is that when you're trying not to think about your arm, you will. Your brain will monitor it - it's supposed to and you can't stop that. However, if you follow Kickchick's advice and think externally, you'll think about your arm in external fashion and the task is easier. However, if you start thinking about the biomachanics and the muscles and the bone, joints, etc... you'll bend. It's logical that you should.

 

Hope that doen't take the magic out of "Ki"!

 

As for "immovable body", erm... not sure about that one!

[monkeygirl]

From what I can tell, immovable body is just....well...thinking heavy thoughts

 

Basically it's the unbendable arm but in a downward direction (got that from KickChick's link )

[Caffeine King]

Heavy thoughts? Heh, I like that...

 

No doubt that trusty "inscrutable master" guy found in every Kung Fu film known to man would suggest you imagine your legs as great oak trees rooted to the ground. Doubt that'll work for you though. After all, if you do that, how are you supposed to be able to kick'em back once they've failed to knock you over??