Is it possible that by changing something in our own minds, we could access more physical strength?”
I stood up a little straighter. The group considered his rhetorical question. And then we got our first exercise to experience a taste of Kuji One.
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Exercise One – The Unbendable Arm |
Get a trusted training partner close to your own size and strength. Your partner is going to be bending your arm while you resist, but there are some safety considerations to setup first.
Face your training partner and place your forearm on their shoulder as in the first illustration. Make sure your elbow is such that it can bend downward (or else you’re going to turn this exercise into a dangerous and painful armbar).
Your partner is going to use their two hands to pull down on your elbow and try to bend your arm. Since they get two arms to do it, as well as the leverage of your arm braced on their shoulder, they have a good advantage. Just relax and let them do it gently once to make sure that your arm can bend comfortably that way. Once you have that established, return to the starting position with your arm extended and your forearm on their shoulder.
With this safe setup in place, you can start the exercise. First you will experience their strength while you resist using conventional strength. Tense up your muscles and try to resist, while they use their strength to bend your arm. If you and they are similar in strength, you’ll be able to battle them for a few seconds, but they will win out as your arm tires because they have two arms and a better position.
Now for the Kuji One experience. Instead of closing your hand into a fist and tensing up to resist, you will simply place your arm on their shoulder in a firm but relaxed fashion. Open your hand as if you were reaching for something behind them. Although you are going to stay in place, really reach forward, as if a loved one’s hand was just out of reach. Breathe out as you reach, imagining your breath coming out of the palm of your hand.
Your training partner will now use their conventional strength to try to bend your arm. When they start putting pressure on your arm, you might be tempted to forget your visualization and focus on fighting them, but for this exercise, keep your mind on reaching for the imaginary hand. Keep breathing deeply and relaxed, imagining the out-breath going out through your palm. Do your best to ignore the person struggling to bend your arm.
You are likely to notice a big difference in the ease with which you resist. If you and the other person are similar in strength, and you follow the directions correctly, you will be able to resist them indefinitely with this method. They will likely exhaust themselves trying to bend your arm and give up in fatigue, frustration, and amazement.
If you are significantly stronger than your training partner, you may find that you are able to resist the arm bend even with conventional strength, but you’ll still notice a difference in how easy it is with this method.
If your training partner is much stronger than you, they may be able to defeat your ability to hold the position even with this exercise, but you and they both will notice a big difference in how much force it took to bend that arm.
The author resists his training partner with conventional muscle strength.
The author channels the power of Kuji One to overcome his opponent’s muscular effort.
“There are limits,” An-Shu shared. “How many of you think it’s possible for a person to focus their energy and drive their fist right through a wooden board?”
Although To-Shin Do, our martial art, does not practice board-breaking, many people in the group had actually studied Karate or Tae Kwon Do before finding us, so they raised their hands with enthusiasm.
“Of course, because many of you have done it. I’ve done it too,” continued An-Shu. “How many of you think it’s possible for a person to lose their focus, slam the same fist into a similar wooden board, and break their hand?” Several of the group raised their hands with a grin, some of them displaying scars and misshapen knuckles from their previous martial art. “So we know that proper mental attitude makes a difference at some level.
“But what about this? How many think it possible that a person could ball up their fist, focus their energy, and shatter a porcelain sink?”
We looked around at each other. We wondered if it was possible. No one had ever seen it done, but we wanted it to be possible. A few of us tentatively raised our hands, trying to indicate our hope that he would show us how to do such a thing.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve seen some incredible things in my 40 years in martial arts, but I’ve never seen that done, and I’m not sure it is possible. And even if it were, what about punching through a car engine block? Or an armored tank? Or a mountain range? There is going to be a limit.”
I actually felt disappointed. Ever since childhood, I had wanted to have the power to punch through trees and pick up cars. I wanted to be strong enough to move anything, but I was born as an average size human being. I was looking for magic to take away all the limits.
During a training break later, I got a chance to ask my question in private.
“An-Shu, how do we know what’s possible? What if the only reason we can’t punch through an engine block is because we believe we can’t?”
He smiled generously at my question. “You’re right, of course. No one can know for sure what is and is not possible. But it’s very important to be real. There is no point in fantasizing about what might be possible. Start where you are, study the methods, and get better. You’ll find out what’s possible, and when you go further than any of us did, we’ll come to your seminar.”
It was so practical. It made so much sense. Missing the encouragement in his statement, I flushed with embarrassment that I had shared my childish ideas. “Yes, sir, I will practice.”
Of course he knew my thoughts. “No need to be embarrassed. It’s normal for the mind to leap far into the future. It’s a way for our fears to keep us from actually working on the growth we seek. When you catch yourself, just bring yourself back and get to work on getting better now.”
I was amazed. I had never encountered a teacher so knowledgeable of both the topic and the path to mastery. I had never met a man with so much skill who could be so generous with his clumsy students.
My mind was churning with possibilities, and another question finally formed. “So, if board-breaking is something people can learn about Strength now, why don’t we do it in To-Shin Do?”
“Because it’s not the point of the practice,” he said. He got up without another word and walked out onto the mat. It was time for the next exercise.
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Exercise Two – Getting Earthy |
Get a trusted training partner close to your own size and strength.
You will stand in a natural stance, feet about shoulder’s width apart. Your partner’s job is to step up behind you, squat low with a straight back, and pick you up with their arms around your waist. Let your partner try it slowly and carefully a couple of times to make sure they can do it without jerking or straining their back. Remind them to lift from the legs.
The author stays neutral and allows his training partner to lift him.
The first time, don’t do anything special. Just let your partner lift you so that you and they get a sense