Training Tips
MrE2Me2 has gone to great length to demonstrate his blocking technique and the necessity of maintaining loose shoulders. Keeping with that spirit I offer up 2 exercises in the Taijiquan curriculum, regrettably I have no camera so I will explain them as best as I can 1. You will need a partner for this very easy, yet difficult exercise. Stand naturally, facing your partner and extend 1 or both arms to shoulder height infront of your shoulders. Have your partner place his hand(s) under your wrists and let all the weight of your arms to sink onto his palms. Relax your shoulders down, elbows down and just relax, after a short time have your partner suddenly remove his hand(s), your arm(s) should drop naturally to your sides, if not, well you're not relaxed. 2. When you have relaxed you're arms from exercise 1, hold both arms in front, fingers extended. Next, bring both arms together, not by moving your arms but by rounding your back or be scrunching your chest, same thing. Then move both arms out to the sides, again not by moving your arms but by opening your chest or by bringing your shoulder blades together. Maintain an upright stance while doing this, do not slouch forward or back, the movement must be centralized along the back/chest and do not raise the shoulders at any time. Weights should NOT be used as this is not a strength training exercise, rather it is designed to loosen the shoulders and to open the chest/back. Your arms must not move on their own, they're just along for the ride Spend a few minutes a day, it should help no matter what style you train Hope this helps and I hope it is easily understood.

Hello Cam, Cool Tip! Cool thread! Thanks for sharing. Regards, MrE2Me2

Thanks Mystery Man! I'm actually hoping that others may have some tips and/or useful advice from their respective training circles. New exercises or new ways to do old exercises, variety is, as they say, the spice of life! :D

Hello Cam, Sounds like a plan to me! Regards, MrE2Me2

3. Rounding The Back. Back when I was training at TKF I had a terrible habit of sticking my butt out while in the Horse stance. This is an all to common flaw in many people's stances. So how do you correct this? Assume a high Horse stance and back up against a wall, if you feel a gap between the wall and your lower back your hips are mis-aligned. The correction. Rotate your hips forward until the gap disappears and your back is flat against the wall. This is a common exercise prescribed by many Doctors for people with back problems. If this can be done in a high horse comfortably, lower your stance until you feel it is a strain to do it. When you feel a strain, back off, raise your stance and very gradually work on lowering your stance. By very gradually I mean not minutes or hours but rather days, weeks or even months. If you attempt this too quickly you will hurt your lower back, believe me, I did this too quickly and was in pain for weeks. The end result will be a stance with a solid root and improved balance, but I stress do this slowly, your back will thank you!

Hello Cam, Thanks for sharing. Your insights and experience are welcome. Regards, MrE2Me2

4. The WHACK Effect OR Waist, Hips and connection with the Knees. This is a problem that I have observed with many Martial Artists, turning the body while in a stance which causes the left or right knee to go out of alignment with the respective foot. This is a situation that will cause to much weight to be transfered to the leading leg which will compromise your balance and make you vulnerable to a quick pull. Assume a broken Horse Stance, with both feet pointing outwards at about a 15-30 degree angle. Shift your weight to the left foot and at the same time pivot your waist to the left. It is important that your hips remain squared, if your hips twist it will cause your right knee to collapse inward, taking your right knee out of alignment with your right foot. This will destroy the integrity of your stance, making you vulnerable to pulls, throws etc.. Shift your weight to the right leg, again while turning your waist to the right, again maintaining proper knee/ foot alignment. Repeat going left to right and do this for a few minutes to develope a smooth flowing motion. This exercise is designed to help isolate your waist without engaging the hips. It may be performed in a normal Horse as well, just be minful of the knee/foot alignment.

Hello Cam, Thanks for the exercise. I’m not sure I can follow it. Please clarify (sometimes I’m a little slow when it is in writing). On another note, I tend towards the very basic exercises from Mo. So you have probably seen these many times. These ones are known as, “The High, Low, Centre Blocking Drills” The trick is not to move the shoulders or torso. This is a limb alone alternate arm exercise. Assume a forward bow with shoulders and hips square to the front. The Inside Version Left arm performs a rising block. Right arm performs a downward foot block. Left arm performs an inside hooking block. Continue The Outside Version Left arm performs a face high outside palm block (fingers up). Right arm perform a low torso outside palm heel block (fingers down). Left arm performs a solar plexus high outside palm heel block (fingers forward). Continue You will know that you are getting the hang of it by the following. You do not get tired from doing it. You do not get sore from doing it. When you do it in front of a mirror, your shoulders do not rise or fall. You can perform it many, many times in a minute. You start thinking to yourself,” Is that all there is?” (As you are doing it) Regards, MrE2Me2

That's why I left this exercise till the end, it is simple and yet quite involved at the same time... and I even left out the arm component :D Try this 1. In a Horse stance, push off the left leg until 99% of your weight is on your right leg, your left leg is almost straight with your foot and knee in alignment. 2.Rotate your waist till you are facing the right, be careful to keep your hips squared to the front, this will keep your left foot and left knee in alignment, you will feel a stretch! 3.Push of the right foot and shift your weight to the left, simultaneously rotating the waist to face the left, ending the rotation and the weight shift to end at the same time. 4. repeat to the right .... The hard part is keeping the hips immobilized, you want to keep the hips facing forward, as well you do not want any raising motion in the hips, keep them horizontal. Hope that helps!

Hello Cam, Yep, I think it does. Thanks! Reagrds, MrE2Me2