Balance

I had an epiphany in Tai Chi class today. In fact, my class just ended about 15 minutes ago and I went straight to my computer to write. My epiphany was regarding balance. It's no surprise that martial arts training requires one to think about balance. This is true regardless of whether one's style is Tai Chi or Karate, Aikido or Taekwondo. The subject of my epiphany, is not whether balance is important, but rather how that balance is achieved and maintained...

Imagine you want to carry a 10' log. It's not so heavy that you can't lift it, but not so light that you can easily carry it with one hand. What do you do? Having been in this situation many times over the past year, I can confidently answer that the most effective way to carry such a log is to hoist it on your shoulder at its midpoint. Or rather, at its balance point. Once balance is achieved, it's relatively easy to maintain with minor adjustments, as you walk.

Now think of your body and limbs as logs that you want to move. In martial arts, we are often focused on the ends: hands, feet, knees, elbows, and head. This makes sense from the perspective of technique, but it makes balance more difficult to maintain. After my epiphany, I started from a ready position and began to think about moving my "logs" from their balance points. I don't mean simply keeping my center of gravity over some imaginary point between my feet. I mean, as I move my forearm, focusing on moving it from it's balance point.

The difference was immediate and profound. I was no longer thinking about one end of my forearm needing to be somewhere, then considering where the other end needed to be to maintain balance. I simply moved my balanced forearm to where I wanted it to be. The feeling was the same with my legs. I was no longer burdened by having to think about balance as a second-order consideration to movement. I wasn't moving, while trying to maintain balance. Balance was a given. I was balanced AND I was moving.

Give it a try. I hope you have an epiphany, too...


Daniel-san first had to learn balance