The Mind Is In Charge Of The Body; Internal Martial Arts

By Marci Glover


Taoists believe that there is a way the body can be strengthened through yogic and psychological practices. This is what is referred to as internal martial arts. The nervous and the energy manufacturing systems are controlled from within the body resulting in a strong human being, both within and without the body. It is common to find people practicing these skills in California. They are trying very hard to preserve this culture.

The founders of this field of art practiced, mastered the skills and later described the underlying principles; balancing the body, effortless power and internal energy. These same people codified the main principles that still guide the field even today. The main principles as described by the founders are; physical mechanism, linking the body and mind, and striving to attain advanced skills.

Body mechanism is a principle that asserts that human beings are made of hard tissues which interlock to form a skeleton. These hard tissues are covered with the soft tissues mainly composed of ligaments, muscles and tendons. When the hard tissues interlock, they cut down the work that was meant for the soft tissues to very low levels.

The originators of these ideas went further to say that the interlocking of bones forms pivots that turn in the same manner as levers. The artist applies less effort to produce a greater force whose impact is felt on the opponent. For efficiency, one needs to position himself/herself in certain angles. This is because a greater output is only produced if the effort is in a certain position in relation to the load.

The other argument in the proposed principles is the empty and full ideology. It was proposed that to win a fight, one needs to identify the weak and strong points on his/her body and that of the opponent. Once, one is aware of these points, he/she will be able to act faster, and will also manage to maintain body balance after a tussle with the opponent. A good fighter should then take advantage of this knowledge to attack those weak areas his opponent.

The men who founded this branch of art also insisted that the mind drives the human body. According to them, this discovery can help one not to feel pain. This is basically through directing the mind away from the pain. This realization, therefore, rubbishes physical abilities that do not engage the mind.

On top of being a good way of exercising, this type of practice serves as therapy for both the physical body and the mind. Usually, a person performing it stops thinking about things around him/her and puts his/her mind in a state of relaxation. This is called sung in Chinese. Sometimes, poor posture can lead to dysfunction; sung gets rid of this dysfunction. It is one of the most mandatory skills in this practice.

Therefore, this genre is all about minimizing the energy spent in a fight. It uses principles that ensure use of minimal energy in achieving greater ends. This is achieved through engaging the mind more that physical strength. The City of California has greatly borrowed this Chinese culture. The Three Treasures Internal Arts has even started classes to teach the people of California about this culture.




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