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Old 03-27-2013, 11:42 PM   #6
Dan Richards
Dojo: Latham Eclectic
Location: NY
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 452
United_States
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Re: IA - Internal Alignment

Quote:
Ryan Schoelerman wrote: View Post
getting some rolfing done, do some yoga, pilates and spend some time in a boxing gym or take a dance class will all teach basic alignment.
Yes, Ryan, but there we go with having people needing to enter a completely different world just for basic alignment tools. Rolfing is an effective approach for people, especially if they've been injured or traumatized. But for the average functioning person, I've seen that Rolfing can open up a bigger can of worms than is necessary. I've seen people come out of it worse than when they went in.

Yoga - even just for alignment - can be bad news. There's no guarantees, and there are a lot of people who have wound up injured and even disfigured from doing yoga. I'm not telling people not do yoga if they seriously want to study, but I would say be careful. And it's certainly not worth it, or necessary - to approach it for basic alignment. And there again, we'd be sending people into services that overhaul cars, when what they really needed was just a quick in-and-out Jiffy Lube alignment.

Boxing and dance... can work - or not. It's still a crap shoot. Depends on the teacher and approach. I've seen just as many dances with distorted posture as I have with aligned posture and movement. And we'd still be sending people into complete disciplines just for alignment.

Quote:
Ultimately though for martial arts the importance in my opinion is the system.
Yes. I totally agree. When you hear Sam Chin talk, he's totally straight forward. Simple. Pragmatic. Exactly. I agree that a system is important.

Quote:
Sam and Dan are easily accessible for anyone who's serious.
Well, yes and no. There's only so much of Sams and Dans to go around. And only so much some people - even serious ones - can travel and just through whatever hoops they need to to get there.

I agree that the truly serious people will eventually find their way. It's as if these systems themselves seek out and attract people, and vice versa. But I also know there's a huge gap for not only martial arts, but people in general - who would gladly do a few simple exercises to return them to a more fluid natural movement.

I've taken what I've been working on out into the streets and the battlefields. It's already proven. And I'm just in the process of refining the presentation so that it can be made available freely online. No need for anyone to go anywhere. All they need are their bodies and a few minutes periodically - and a little mindfulness. The results have been nearly immediate and dramatic.

BTW, I think I-Liq is exciting. With Sam Chin, there's finally someone on the levels of people like Chen Xiaowang, but who actually live in the US, speak fluent English, and have retooled their art and system for today's world. What's not to love.

I appreciate the input. That's why I'm throwing this out in a state of pliability - since the top priority is that the concepts and tools can be introduced, understood, and put into effective use by anyone on their own time.

Last edited by Dan Richards : 03-27-2013 at 11:44 PM.
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