Structural training on daily commute

This is my very own method of training.  I stand on a train without holding on to a rail.  This type of training teaches how to adjust and adapt your body structure when you are pushed or pulled to the front, back, left, or right.  I believes it helps improve balance and the way one deal with incoming force.  The training is particularly helpful in close quarter fighting when you are grabbed, pushed, and pulled ,such as in pushed hand competition or standing wrestling competition.

The goal of this practice is to keep the body balanced when the train takes off or comes to a stop.  You will also have to keep the body balanced when the train rocks from side to side.   The trick is not to stiffen up the body.  I have learned to keep my body relaxed but also not losing the integrity of the structure.  It is in the fine movement of the small muscle that adjust to the incoming force.  Usually, when you are being push to the right, you will have to align your left shoulder to your right foot.  When you are being push to the left, you will have to align your right shoulder to your left foot.

I have also realized that the best way to keep balance is to resist horizontal force, vertically.  Another obstacle with this type of training is that the train accelerates too abruptly.  As the train accelerates, you resist by pushing really hard to the opposite direction, but when the train stops accelerating, you can't stop your own initial resisting force fast enough.  This causes your body to fall forward.  In another word, your reaction causes a momentum that can be exploit by your opponent.  But how to react to a incoming force with out momentum then?  I believe reacting vertically to a horizontal force is the answer.

Imagine, a pole or staff that is about a shoulder height in length.  One end of the staff is on the floor another end of it is in your hand.  If you tilt the staff about 10-15 degree angle and push the upper end of the staff downward, you will notice that the lower end of the staff that is resting on the floor does not moves down but it moves outward side way because the floor prevents it to move further downward.  In another word, your action of pushing vertically downward on top of the pole creates horizontally pushing outward on the lower end of the pole.  Like the pole, your shoulders and feet are the two end of the pole.  After you align your shoulder and feet so it forms structural line, you pushing down vertically with the shoulder will create horizontal force on your feet.  Pushing left shoulder down will create pushing out with right foot and vise versa.

In conclusion, if you decide to adapt this training method, please make sure that you have a rail close by in the event that you are not able to keep your self balanced.  I am not responsible for any injury if you practice blindly... ^^;;  I have been practicing this way on my daily commute for 3 years now.  I can attest to you that it has improve my balance greatly.  Also people will be amazed how you could keep your balance even when the train conductor thinks he is a Nascar driver. :)

ps.  I discovered later that this type of training has been done before by Pak Bok Nam.  In his book, Pak Bok Nam describes how  his teacher would have him standing on a horse carriage to practice his balance.

Turning and spiraling of the entire body

While I was practicing upward sweeping strike, I have a sensation that would describe as turning of the limb like a gear system.  It feels as if that the turning of the body trunk causes the shoulder to rotate.  The rotation of the shoulder causes the wrist to rotate.  The rotation of the wrist causes fingers to rotate (each finger rotates individually... strange feeling but that what it feels like).  Moreover, the direction of the rotation that I had feels natural and matches the requirement of the hand said by HJB (see earlier post ).

I also notice that I have not turn by arm correctly for the longest of time. I was merely flipping over my arm.  The difference is that if you turning your arm, one side goes up, the other side has to go down.  If you just flipping over your arm, one side is stationary while the other side does all the rotation.   Same concept should also apply with the waist.  Turning of the waist means that the right side of the waist turning forward while the left side is turning toward the back.  The center of the waist is fixed in the middle of the body , unmoved.

I currently only have this feeling only on my upper body.  The lower body is not yet connected in this way.  I'm sure with time, it will. ( more practice needed ^^ )