What is "Relaxed Power"?

[D'oh Sensei]

Hello Everyone,

I don't study kung-fu right now, although I do find it fascinating. I've been reading that some styles utilize relaxed power. The styles that I've read that use this are as diverse as taiji, wing chun and choy li fut. I get the impression that relaxed power has something to do with using knowledge of body mechanics rather than raw muscle power. Is this correct? Is relaxed power the same in every style of kung-fu?

I find the idea really interesting and would like to know more about it. I'd appreciate any infomation, even if it's just a link to a website.
Thanks.

[TonyU]

It's not only Kung Fu but in karate and many other martial arts as well. It's about relaxing until moment of impact. Every martial art in its truest sense is about body mechanics not raw power.
It's something that one has to train in to understand.

[Michael J. Bray]

This affords a deep discussion. Relaxed power begins with accepting and allowing. Body mechanics, posture, balance....not contesting with force on a vector.......

[RickMatz]

Here's a post about motion research in internal Chinese martial arts.

[sean_stonehart]

Best answer... Tony's.

[jjaje]

Tony's answer is best. To add just a little, you need to be able to stay relaxed only until tension is needed. Otherwise you tire yourself way too quickly being too tense. Additionally, if you are tense, it will slow you down. As Tony says, it something that can only be achieved by practice.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

[TonyU]

Economy of motion.

[Abbax8]

This is what I stress in teaching judo randori. You must be relaxed and upright to perform your best. Unfortunately competition judo is the antithesis of this.

Dennis

[sean_stonehart]

Tony's answer is best. To add just a little, you need to be able to stay relaxed only until tension is needed. Otherwise you tire yourself way too quickly being too tense. Additionally, if you are tense, it will slow you down. As Tony says, it something that can only be achieved by practice.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

This is also a good explanation. I put it a little differently to my students, but the thought and mechanics are the same. You must maintain a relaxed (not lazy) structure in your body otherwise you fight yourself so every single motion. When you punch, from your feet up through your body to your shoulder where it goes from up to down to your fist, you maintain a relaxed structure. When you make impact with the target, you solidify your root (stance), you add tension to your body so your arm can deliver the strike effectively. This is microseconds worth of work that takes years to get it right.

[rainesr]

This is also a good explanation. I put it a little differently to my students, but the thought and mechanics are the same. You must maintain a relaxed (not lazy) structure in your body otherwise you fight yourself so every single motion. When you punch, from your feet up through your body to your shoulder where it goes from up to down to your fist, you maintain a relaxed structure. When you make impact with the target, you solidify your root (stance), you add tension to your body so your arm can deliver the strike effectively. This is microseconds worth of work that takes years to get it right.

This is almost word for word what my Sifu tells us.

[sean_stonehart]

This is almost word for word what my Sifu tells us.

Just goes to show CMA is CMA no matter the flavor.

What's even more true is this applies to ALL MA's, no matter the flavor. It may be expressed differently in theory, practiced differently due to style/region/development, but any MA worth it's salt has this (among other things) happening for it.

[TonyU]

When you punch, from your feet up through your body...

This is exactly what I have to sometimes explain to people. Many have the mistaken belief that power come from the hips. I have to explain to them that it comes from the ground through the hips or core.
Best way I can demostrate this is having them try to punch (or kick) from a wobbly chair or stool. Not very strong. No base, no power.

[Underdog]

For myself, I try to visualize. I try to think of how when you crack a whip, or snap a towel, etc. how it start's from the root (ground, in this case) roll's as it travel's through the entire length of the object until the point of impact where it snaps out. So it would start from the ground, roll through the body, the waist twist, the shoulder and then finally out into the arm and hand, until you reach the point of impact. The less resistance, or body tension in this case, the more impact you will get when you 'crack the whip'.

[sean_stonehart]

Best way I can demostrate this is having them try to punch (or kick) from a wobbly chair or stool. Not very strong. No base, no power.

I'm gonna use this now, y'know...

[rainesr]

Many have the mistaken belief that power come from the hips.

I was taught this in my Tang Soo Do training , everything started there and everything ended there.

I remember at my first school we would do forms by count as a class. Our instructor would stop us, then walk around and push our hands or shoulders a little to see if we were stable. He would get agitated if we did not maintain complete tension at all times. When we turned from his push he told us to keep our hips steady.

I have to explain to them that it comes from the ground through the hips or core.

I found this out on my own (completely by accident). It took me years to figure it out.

I had to learn not to be so tense as well. I catch myself every once and a while still tensing up, its been years. Maintaining tension was the most damaging thing I was ever taught.

[TonyU]

I was taught this in my Tang Soo Do training , everything started there and everything ended there.

I remember at my first school we would do forms by count as a class. Our instructor would stop us, then walk around and push our hands or shoulders a little to see if we were stable. He would get agitated if we did not maintain complete tension at all times. When we turned from his push he told us to keep our hips steady.


I found this out on my own (completely by accident). It took me years to figure it out.

I had to learn not to be so tense as well. I catch myself every once and a while still tensing up, its been years. Maintaining tension was the most damaging thing I was ever taught.

Are you sure you're understanding what he was trying to do? That is common way to teach among the Okinwans as well. They are looking for proper alignment, stability, and the ability to tense not only upon your impact but when impacted (hit) upon as well, but they don't look for tension all the time. Kata or in your case forms should be a rhythm of relax, tense, relax, tense and so on with proper breathing.

One time our Okinawan sensei was out for a seminar. At one point were all hanging out talking. He was standing next to me as I was relating a particular story. During the course of my story sensei starts poking me in the gut with a nukite (spear hand). Without missing a beat or breaking my rhythm I continued my story. I just tensed every time he poked me and relaxed in between the pokes. He clapped his hands and giggled. He loved it and told everyone what I was able to do.
I didn't find what I did special or extraordinary. I also didn't really think about it as I did it, but at times like that I was made to realize that I was on the right path in my karate training.

[rainesr]

Are you sure you're understanding what he was trying to do? That is common way to teach among the Okinwans as well. They are looking for proper alignment, stability, and the ability to tense not only upon your impact but when impacted (hit) upon as well, but they don't look for tension all the time. Kata or in your case forms should be a rhythm of relax, tense, relax, tense and so on with proper breathing.

It is possible, but I don't think so. There were about five of us that left the school because of other issues, three of us ended up at the same school. We all were super tense and always out of breath during our forms. We were all told to stop and relax. I remember being frustrated and curious if we were being taught properly because it was so different.

It was my first school, I think my naivety and enthusiasm got the better of me and I ended up somewhere shady.

[Jonathan Randall]

This is exactly what I have to sometimes explain to people. Many have the mistaken belief that power come from the hips. I have to explain to them that it comes from the ground through the hips or core.
Best way I can demostrate this is having them try to punch (or kick) from a wobbly chair or stool. Not very strong. No base, no power.

That is an excellent point. Funny thing is that I know that darn well in boxing, but I have generally thought of power in TKD or Karate as coming from the waist torque and forgotten about the ground. To be fair to myself, I have practiced recognizing this, but consciously, it is good to have it pointed out and emphasized.

This video you posted in another thread really has me thinking about that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yldC8hSBobI

This deficit in my understanding may have been why this video so resonated with me.