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Some general benefits of Kung Fu exercises


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1 hour ago, jblaz13 said:

Darn you, I thought I came up with the phrase ‘6th sense’, although my definition is a bit different! However, both definitions come from a higher understanding of combat sport. Some of you know that I competed at a very high level in fencing. My version of the 6th sense consists of taking in all of the 5 senses and processing them as a 6th sense instinctively. When you are competing against the National Champion and he can take the tip of his blade from your left shoulder to your right shoulder faster than most of you can blink and the rules say you must defend! There is no time to think, I call it instinctive athleticism! You have to understand the minor movement of the shoulder, the hip, the knees, the elbows and almost defocus so your instincts can process what is happening as it is happening.

Thanks for sharing!

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On 10/4/2024 at 9:31 PM, Drroogh said:

Darn you, I thought I came up with the phrase ‘6th sense’, although my definition is a bit different! However, both definitions come from a higher understanding of combat sport. Some of you know that I competed at a very high level in fencing. My version of the 6th sense consists of taking in all of the 5 senses and processing them as a 6th sense instinctively. When you are competing against the National Champion and he can take the tip of his blade from your left shoulder to your right shoulder faster than most of you can blink and the rules say you must defend! There is no time to think, I call it instinctive athleticism! You have to understand the minor movement of the shoulder, the hip, the knees, the elbows and almost defocus so your instincts can process what is happening as it is happening.

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you actually and I enjoyed your post! 2nd time reading this after last night was solely for absorption.

 Astute description and also in applying the term instinctive athleticism to it.  

Propriometrics attracts me since it demystifies and crystallizes the idea of "flow state"/"the zone" into a more palpable concept for application in so many areas. 

Fencing is probably the best example there is of a governed  sport where a subconscious "cultivation" process of sorts seems like an absolute necessity in order to extend the ability to meet the real-time physical demands it carries. I appreciate that you elaborated on your experience.  As you alluded to, the margin for error is razor thin, but at your level of competition, still hard for me to do more than visualize where you're coming from. Definitely can't relate to that degree. 😆 

 Cultivation might not be the most effective term, but growing the radius of one's spatial perception organically is certainly the essence of developing disciplined technique, then surrendering it to instinctive movement. 

How did you go about preparing your mind in your immediate prematch "warm-up" time, specifically? 

Do you still approach other activities you pursue in this way despite no longer competing in fencing? Asking out of curiosity as to how ingrained you might've allowed your training process to become since I can generally relate to that much in separate activities from fencing.  

Apologize for the length but not exactly sorry. Lol  Cursory insight nor responses fit as well with this subject since it also emcompasses intangibles + variables and not without the relevant complexities of each. 

 

Edited by jblaz13
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A simple exercise suggestion(kid friendly as well):

Use paper taped to a wall or target a dry erase board. Anything with adequate visual contrast to measure.

Dab finger into ink/ something that leaves a mark. Goal is touching the exact same spot repeatedly and identifying how "loose or tight" the pattern is. 

Close your eyes, repeat. 

Compare and develop accuracy by alternating between open and closed eyes. Enjoy the data! 

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13 minutes ago, jblaz13 said:

A simple exercise suggestion(kid friendly as well):

Use paper taped to a wall or target a dry erase board. Anything with adequate visual contrast to measure.

Dab finger into ink/ something that leaves a mark. Goal is touching the exact same spot repeatedly and identifying how "loose or tight" the pattern is. 

Close your eyes, repeat. 

Compare and develop accuracy by alternating between open and closed eyes. Enjoy the data! 

We used to have golf ball’s tied to a string hanging from the ceiling. The object was to lunge from distance and hit the ball with the tip of your blade. There were balls hanging at different heights so you could practice high and low attacks. However the instinctive athleticism came into play with defense. For me it was learning how to visualize the parts as a whole. You have to be able to see the movement of the shoulder, the hips, the knees, the elbow and the hands. But you have to visualize them as a whole. I call it defocused focus.😜 Like looking at a forest and seeing the white oaks, the red maples and the cedar individually and all at the same time.

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On 10/6/2024 at 8:26 AM, Drroogh said:

We used to have golf ball’s tied to a string hanging from the ceiling. The object was to lunge from distance and hit the ball with the tip of your blade. There were balls hanging at different heights so you could practice high and low attacks. However the instinctive athleticism came into play with defense. For me it was learning how to visualize the parts as a whole. You have to be able to see the movement of the shoulder, the hips, the knees, the elbow and the hands. But you have to visualize them as a whole. I call it defocused focus.😜 Like looking at a forest and seeing the white oaks, the red maples and the cedar individually and all at the same time.

The way you described what you had to build makes sense. Macrocosm and microcosm coexisting out of necessity in a perception context. The idea of that particular exercise reminds me of Wushu. Forgive please if I'd said that already. 

Defensively, it's probably easier said than done, especially with any type of melee extension in hand.  I would think the Mike Tyson attributed quote about everyone having a plan until they get punched in the mouth applies universally to combat sports/arts? 

The thought of being scored on in fencing sounds intimidating. 😆 The idea of literally taking a point. Do people who actually fence even think about that? 

 

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