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It feels so good when it stops hurting...
Nov. 10th, 2016 10:26 pmTonight's taiji session placed heavy emphasis on something called chin na (擒拿), which is a technique that enables a practitioner to use the opponent's body architecture against itself, so to speak.
This is done by "encouraging" joints to move in ways nature did not intend. Done correctly, one can use hardly any effort at all to force a heavier opponent to the floor in a second or two.
The trick, of course, is that "done correctly" part.
Of course, to practice these techniques, you and your partner must take turns "controlling" each other.
There is this concept in taiji called "investing in loss." It refers to the benefit you derive from having your butt handed to you in an encounter. If you don't lose, you don't learn. The more you lose, the more you learn.
The concept exists in many other endeavors, though not necessarily under the same name. It certainly is the case in chess. Until you've lost some number of games, you really don't start getting good at it. Writing is the same (until you figure out what's wrong, you can't consistently do right).
Funny thing, though. Afterward, the joints that I "contributed" to this evening's session feel pretty darned good!
* * *
I completely missed the LJ Idol introduction deadline. My bad.
That said, I have no idea what I could've said, other than to repeat several other introductions I've made over the years. I suppose I could add in something about the cancer, but I really don't feel like banging that drum, as it does not seem to serve any purpose.
The good news? The intro was optional. Missing it carries no penalty. I don't suppose there is necessarily any bad news.
However, I shall have to be more... attentive, as there are a few essays of a "memoir" nature that I would like to complete, and an LJ Idol deadline is about the only way I can consistently rely upon to do so.
It's getting late. I shall have to pick up my translation anew tomorrow.
Life is good.
Cheers...
This is done by "encouraging" joints to move in ways nature did not intend. Done correctly, one can use hardly any effort at all to force a heavier opponent to the floor in a second or two.
The trick, of course, is that "done correctly" part.
Of course, to practice these techniques, you and your partner must take turns "controlling" each other.
There is this concept in taiji called "investing in loss." It refers to the benefit you derive from having your butt handed to you in an encounter. If you don't lose, you don't learn. The more you lose, the more you learn.
The concept exists in many other endeavors, though not necessarily under the same name. It certainly is the case in chess. Until you've lost some number of games, you really don't start getting good at it. Writing is the same (until you figure out what's wrong, you can't consistently do right).
Funny thing, though. Afterward, the joints that I "contributed" to this evening's session feel pretty darned good!
I completely missed the LJ Idol introduction deadline. My bad.
That said, I have no idea what I could've said, other than to repeat several other introductions I've made over the years. I suppose I could add in something about the cancer, but I really don't feel like banging that drum, as it does not seem to serve any purpose.
The good news? The intro was optional. Missing it carries no penalty. I don't suppose there is necessarily any bad news.
However, I shall have to be more... attentive, as there are a few essays of a "memoir" nature that I would like to complete, and an LJ Idol deadline is about the only way I can consistently rely upon to do so.
It's getting late. I shall have to pick up my translation anew tomorrow.
Life is good.
Cheers...
