windwalker wrote:Bao wrote:windwalker wrote:How would someone make the distinctions that some of the teachers made in the demos concerning fascia , qi, spirit....
over whats considered ordinary force, as most people know it ?
To make that distinction, I would shut off the sound and examine what they do, how they do things. Their explanations are not important. Just because they call themselves "master" it doesn't mean that they can explain what they do or that they even want other people to understand what they do.
maybe wasn't to clear
How would "you" make the distinctions that some of the teachers made in the demos concerning fascia , qi, spirit....
over whats considered ordinary force, as most people know it ?
video is best, considering the teachers are judged through the video not their "writing"
"I" would not "make any distinctions that some of the teachers made in the demos" using their own verbiage as "fascia , qi, spirit"
I would call it skill based on neijia principles, or principles and methods found in the so called internal arts.
I see the same type of skill as I would call a skilled archer or a rope dancer, or maybe a professional violinist "skilled". Anyone can try to shoot with a bow and arrow and anyone can make sound with a violin and fiddle bow. But "anyone" wouldn't do it with skill. You need to train certain muscles and your neurological system in a certain way to become a good rope dancer or to play the violin good. Try use "ordinary force", or clumsy effort using muscle contractions, to play the violin or to copy the actions of an archer and see how well you do. The difference is skill.
Anyone can uproot, unbalance or push away people. But not with the same effortlessness and precision as someone who has practiced these skills on a daily basis, preferably hours per day, for 10, 15, 20 years or longer.
When people say "I use Qi", I always feel provoked, not because the person would be lying, it might be the teachers own way to understand the reality of what he does, but because I feel it diminishes or minimizes the time and effort the old teachers had to put in to reach that effortlessness, precision and ability to use just a little bit of strength or movement to effortlessly control another human body. And it doesn't help any student to make them believe that there's a secret ingredient that could suddenly help them to accomplish what the teacher does.
Practice, practice and practice, a lot of time and effort spent to understand body mechanics, building a foundation and a certain shenfa, building skill and overall "gongfu", that is what separates people with skill and other people using "ordinary force". Skilled teachers use their muscles, balance, structure and nervous system differently than an untrained person. They also know other, skilled ways, to "play", "aim" and "shoot" another person's body.
Sure, you could also say that an archer must understand mind and intent. And that a rope dancer and a violinist use their qi more efficiently than "common people" using "common strength". It's all valid. But it's the long, long road, many years with a lot of time and effort spent and a lot of repetition that builds up their mind and qi skills.