Punch Yourself Into Alignment
By Shifu Andrew Miles L.Ac
This is something I thought I knew, then looked deeper and realized I didn't. After a hearty attempt at getting the old intensity into bag work I realized that it wasn't comfortable.
When we punch, the strike travels into the bag, but part of it comes back though the body. If your chin is forward as mine was, then the shock will wrap around your head and enter the brain through the feng chi point (gb 20) point. Oops. As I put my chin down the force traveled up through the top of my head and down through the feet.As I relaxed and spent more time remembering to align myself the force traveled from of the foot directly into the bag with no obstruction int the body. I thought I had mastered and integrated it, but then I started hitting harder and realized that this was a continuous process of exploration. There was something different about punching with allignment and releasing the punching force more directly into the bag, it felt relaxing like a massage. I was no longer beating myself up. After a lifetime of this kind of punching we get Qi and blood stasis which can result in strokes or coronary problems.
Around 40 many martial artists lose steam. Years of getting hit and striking imperfectly causes qi and blood stagnation. At this stage it gets hard to meditate and qi gong doesn't seem to do anything. It is advisable to take a special martial arts formula based on "xue fu zhu yu tang" http://www.rootdown.us/Xue-Fu-Zhu-Yu-Tang designed to clear these obstructions away. This allows you to get a second lease on martial arts training and prevents strokes, heart attacks and joint damage at this time. This is the key to being able to train well into old age. After clearing this stasis it is imperative to change your style of striking so that it no longer strikes you back at the same time. To train this, try the following exercise with a heavy bag. If you don't have one you can simply punch a sturdy wall.
1. Hold your elbow to your body and put your fist out perpendicularly.
2. Let a heavy bag make contact with your fist. Feel where the force travels. Continue to give the bag more force until you can feel it.
3. Draw your chin downward, lengthen the spine and relax until you can only feel the force through the sole of your food. After you think you have done a good job, increase the force and adjust your posture accordingly.
Once you learn this your posture and martial arts will change. Your punches will serve to relax and align your body rather than recoiling into your own body.
