PHYSIOKINETIC; SUB-PRINCIPLE: Relaxation

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

We must relax our bodies because tension both traps power and consumes it. Tensing any muscles requires us to expend energy. Because we posses only a finite amount of energy, every tense muscle consumes part of that energy and decreases the amount of energy we channel into methodologies. 

Examine a method/methodology, any method/methodology, we find that power comes from the places devoid of tension. In any method/methodology, power comes from movement in one or more joints. 

As methodologies invoke movement in many joints, every bit of tension surrounding those joints inhibits power. Improper structure diminishes our power. An ill-structured body will need to tense various muscle groups to keep the body standing, and every bit of excess tension will limit the speed and range of motion in our joints. I lean heavily in calling this all, “Positive Relaxation.” 

The movement of internal energy, i.e., often in MA circles called Ki, Chi, Jing, etc., is often equated to energy movement throughout the body as to water moving through a hose, then muscle tension, wherever it appears, acts as a knot or blockage in that hose.  

Striking, as an example, begins with an effort of the mind, which wills the body to hit a given target. A strike is the mind moving to the target through the body. In order for any part of the body to become tense, the mind has to be at work because the body does not tense without the (conscious or subconscious) mind making it so. Since the mind wills us to strike, any mental distraction only weakens and/or mitigate that will. As tension emerges from the mind then it must serve to distract the body from the strike. 

Thus, tension distracts and consumes mental power, and as mental power moves the body, which creates physical power, then every bit of mental power consumed translates into equal amount of physical power consumed. Relaxation becomes imperative for more efficient and powerful body motions, but also for keeping our mind uncluttered. A more relaxed body will permit the mind to expend more of its focus on perception and action, rather than on something  silly like maintaining unwarranted muscle tension to maintain improper balance. 

Bibliography (Click the link)