Ian, "Silkreeling" is sort of a play on words. Much like the Ba Duan Jin, aka "Eight Pieces of Silk", the reference to silk is an obscure reference to the connective tissue of the body. For instance, when you butcher an animal you can notice the silken covering of fascia on the muscles, connecting the body tissues, etc. "Silkreeling" refers not only to the way a silkworm lays down the thread in a cocoon, but has some implication of the winding of the silken/fascia-related tissues (and involuntary muscle systems) found in the body. I have to say that my years in engineering school didn't fully prepare me for your explanations of forces, linearity, and so forth. ;) Interesting.
Good Morning from Barbados i would normally think that when someone pushes on me i would feel the weight mostly on the back leg, the idea of 70% - back leg and 30% - front leg
Love the idea of geodesic in this context. Great video! Are you still not allowed to work face-to-face? Hope your situation eases soon. Here in Europe, travel,and concerts are re-starting little by little
I will start to teach private lessons this month to people who have been fully vaccinated for at least 4 weeks, so long as they continue to take precautions. I don't want people coming here from spreader events.
I am a retiree with no experience in martial arts. I have been studying tai chi for a few years but with instructors who do not do push hands. I have come across your videos recently and enjoy hearing about the large part of tai chi that I have not been exposed to. If I do not intend to push hands, would it be beneficial to me in my practice of tai chi to learn silk reeling and the centripetal geodesic principle? It makes a lot of sense to me.
I think so. The silk reeling is fundamentally about conditioning whole-body coordination and maximizing mechanical advantage. The practice has many health benefits beyond self defence or tuishou (pushing hands)
A fun side note. One of my students was a heavy equipment mechanic who, after practising this for a while, was able to generate considerable torque. He pulled so effectively on a bolt that he stripped the large ratchet. The ratchet had a lifetime warranty. So, he got it replaced. Then it happened again. The salesman said he’d never seen one break before, and this guy did it twice.
It depends on whether you mean force, momentum, or kinetic energy. I imagine that like a geodesic vector field on a Riemannian manifold. But in application, it requires both local and global muscle systems to work. I consider that to be a "hard power". But that is relative. Issuing soft force depends on shaping the body/manifold in a way that reduces the options for the direction of the force. Absorbing force or momentum with hard power is a useful skill. I practice it. But depending on it will reduce your options and increase your opponent's options.
@@IanSinclairTaiChi it seems like a simpler way to dissipate kinetic energy specifically. I assume it's because denser objects transmit vibrations more easily so using that hung gur style shielding would spread the energy over a wider area.
Yes. You are right. It is certainly simpler, particularly because it does not require the defender to change their own reference frame. It is easier to stay still and take the hit than it is to adapt to a fluid identity. This is why beginner boxers block more, and advanced boxers move more. It is also why anyone who expects to fight skilled opponents needs to do some conditioning. We can't depend on always being able to adapt by changing frames. We also need to absorb our mistakes. The other advantage is that good shielding allows you to be more subtle in the movement. A good defensive posture allows for more subtle diplomacy. A skill that serves beginners will serve experts even more.
@@IanSinclairTaiChi thanks, I've been using some of those muscle control exercises specifically so I can relax more in tai chi with an awake and responsive nervous system.
I’m listening, and you are making sense. What a great line!
Great stuff! Thank you for sharing 🙏
Ian, "Silkreeling" is sort of a play on words. Much like the Ba Duan Jin, aka "Eight Pieces of Silk", the reference to silk is an obscure reference to the connective tissue of the body. For instance, when you butcher an animal you can notice the silken covering of fascia on the muscles, connecting the body tissues, etc. "Silkreeling" refers not only to the way a silkworm lays down the thread in a cocoon, but has some implication of the winding of the silken/fascia-related tissues (and involuntary muscle systems) found in the body.
I have to say that my years in engineering school didn't fully prepare me for your explanations of forces, linearity, and so forth. ;) Interesting.
Thank you! I like having homework. 😊 Great video.
Good Morning from Barbados i would normally think that when someone pushes on me i would feel the weight mostly on the back leg, the idea of 70% - back leg and 30% - front leg
Nice way of explaining silk reeling . I can visualize the Different school forms in this basic idea
What happens if they don't push but decide to hit or punch and your arm makes contact?
Love the idea of geodesic in this context. Great video! Are you still not allowed to work face-to-face? Hope your situation eases soon. Here in Europe, travel,and concerts are re-starting little by little
I will start to teach private lessons this month to people who have been fully vaccinated for at least 4 weeks, so long as they continue to take precautions. I don't want people coming here from spreader events.
I am a retiree with no experience in martial arts. I have been studying tai chi for a few years but with instructors who do not do push hands. I have come across your videos recently and enjoy hearing about the large part of tai chi that I have not been exposed to. If I do not intend to push hands, would it be beneficial to me in my practice of tai chi to learn silk reeling and the centripetal geodesic principle? It makes a lot of sense to me.
I think so. The silk reeling is fundamentally about conditioning whole-body coordination and maximizing mechanical advantage. The practice has many health benefits beyond self defence or tuishou (pushing hands)
A fun side note. One of my students was a heavy equipment mechanic who, after practising this for a while, was able to generate considerable torque. He pulled so effectively on a bolt that he stripped the large ratchet. The ratchet had a lifetime warranty. So, he got it replaced. Then it happened again. The salesman said he’d never seen one break before, and this guy did it twice.
Beautiful lessons!
Thank you!
what do you think about the use of global muscle activation to dissipate force?
It depends on whether you mean force, momentum, or kinetic energy. I imagine that like a geodesic vector field on a Riemannian
manifold. But in application, it requires both local and global muscle systems to work. I consider that to be a "hard power". But that is relative. Issuing soft force depends on shaping the body/manifold in a way that reduces the options for the direction of the force.
Absorbing force or momentum with hard power is a useful skill. I practice it. But depending on it will reduce your options and increase your opponent's options.
@@IanSinclairTaiChi it seems like a simpler way to dissipate kinetic energy specifically. I assume it's because denser objects transmit vibrations more easily so using that hung gur style shielding would spread the energy over a wider area.
Yes. You are right. It is certainly simpler, particularly because it does not require the defender to change their own reference frame. It is easier to stay still and take the hit than it is to adapt to a fluid identity. This is why beginner boxers block more, and advanced boxers move more. It is also why anyone who expects to fight skilled opponents needs to do some conditioning. We can't depend on always being able to adapt by changing frames. We also need to absorb our mistakes.
The other advantage is that good shielding allows you to be more subtle in the movement. A good defensive posture allows for more subtle diplomacy.
A skill that serves beginners will serve experts even more.
@@IanSinclairTaiChi thanks, I've been using some of those muscle control exercises specifically so I can relax more in tai chi with an awake and responsive nervous system.
this is great love ur posts tk u
Glad you like them!