Modern sports, including fighting, are mostly based on muscle exercise. They exercise muscle in a variety of ways, more with the help of modern scientific means. For traditional neijiaquan, whether to exercise muscles is different. Some people do not have a lineage, but are self-righteous, thinking that neijia kung fu is to practice qi, and it does not matter what musculoskeletal bones, which is a big mistake. "Refining a breath inside, refining the bones and skin outside" is actually a proverb that people who practice martial arts are familiar with, but many people have heard it and have not put it in their hearts. The true traditional neijia kung fu is both internal and external, and it is indispensable. So how does traditional neijia kung fu exercise muscles? Many people may not understand, here is a brief introduction to one or two.
Muscles can be divided into smooth muscle, myocardium and skeletal muscle according to different structures and functions, smooth muscle is mainly distributed in internal organs and blood vessels, it can be stretched and maintain tension for a long time. It has the characteristics of slow contraction, long-lasting, and not easy to fatigue; the heart muscle is distributed in the heart, constituting the heart wall, and the biggest characteristics are endurance and firmness. It can be stretched as limited as smooth muscle, or it can be contracted like skeletal muscle. At the same time, because neither of them operates according to the will of man, it is also called involuntary muscle. Skeletal muscle is mainly distributed in the head, neck, trunk and limbs, usually attached to the bone. Skeletal muscle contracts quickly, vigorously, easily fatigued, and can be controlled by people, so it is also called casual muscle.
From the above introduction, it can be known that it is skeletal muscle that can directly produce a technical effect. Modern sports and fighting sports are mostly based on the exercise of skeletal muscle, because this can produce rapid results. Modern sports are based on the fact that Western science was previously developed higher than that of the East, and due to their lack of understanding of scripture and true qi, they can only focus on muscle exercise when exercising. After a period of exercise with a large amount of exercise, the qi and blood will be concentrated in one place to form congestion, and it is necessary to stop, rest and relax, so that the qi and blood can run open before the next step of exercise. Therefore, modern fighters are mostly based on large weight, low number of groups, high density, multi-group number and other methods. It is rare to practice an action or posture like Wudang Kung Fu for more than 4 hours.
This is caused by the different levels of understanding of the human body, and modern science has not been able to observe the operation of true qi until now, nor can it observe the existence of meridians, so he can only focus on the exercise of muscles. Of course, because of the rise of fighting sports, a large amount of capital and manpower investment, and the high development of scientific equipment, modern sports for muscle training has reached a very high level, many places have been very scientific, from the perspective of traditional internal strength, there is no lack of merit.
Returning to the muscle exercise of traditional internal kung fu, it is through the internal cultivation of a breath of true qi, to externally refine the muscles and bones. A friend heard me say that tai chi also needs to practice muscles, and he was very strange, so he asked why. I said the proverb "internal refining a breath, external refining the bones and bones", and as a result, he replied with a sentence, saying that it was a practice of skin and did not say that it was a practice of meat? I was speechless for a long time. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for modern people to practice kung fu, too lack of traditional knowledge. In traditional culture, it is necessary to pay attention to faith, elegance, and reach, and pay attention to the balance of confrontation. You can't say the five words of "internal refining one breath" in the front and followed by the six words of "external refining of muscles and bones", which is asymmetrical. What about changing it to "external refining"? It sounds so cheesy, isn't it a martial art?
In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, muscle refers to the general term for muscle tissue and subcutaneous fat tissue of the body, which is the main body exercise. The spleen is the main muscle, and the nutrition of the muscle is obtained from the subtlety of the spleen's transportation water valley. When my teacher, Mr. Li Zhaosheng, taught us jade ring pile and sutra tai chi, it was introduced with "Xuanhua liver and spleen, improve diet". When performing the Exercises, the Jade Ring Pile and the Sutra 24 Style Taijiquan must be on tiptoe first when the legs are out, and the forefoots will land first, which is to better let the qi and blood reach the end of the toes, so as to publicize the liver and spleen, thereby greatly increasing the diet. Only when the diet is improved, can the water valley essence of the day after tomorrow be transformed to nourish the body, and then strengthen the innate vitality.
The Foot Yin Liver Meridian and the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian all originate from the big toe of the person, and under the influence of this kind of practice, they can open the second meridian very well. Under the various exercises of the Dragon Walking Tiger Bu Feng nodding, the three Yin and Yang Meridians of the Foot can be well exercised (there is also the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, which originates from the Yongquan Cave), of which the main tendon of the liver, the main bone of the kidney, and the main meat of the spleen. And I have said many times before that practicing Tai Chi is to experience the opening and closing of the tiger's mouth, in order to better open the hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and the main fur of the lungs. Therefore, the root of Tai Chi and Wudang's kung fu is to practice a breath inside, and can strengthen the muscles and bones from the inside out by practicing the internal organs through the sutra, which is slower than the effect of directly exercising the muscles.
This is slow because the traditional kung fu should accumulate grain in a wide range, slowly become the king, and not compete for the gain or loss of the moment. Modern physical exercise is to achieve results as soon as possible, because people are strong in their health and blood when they are old, and this is the period when competition is the best result. Through high-volume exercise, the potential of the human body is unlocked. People are like oil lamps, everyone has the same amount of oil, you want to be brighter than others, there are many ways. One is to add more wicks, "coax" a little, it is much brighter than others. A good coach will add more oil while adding more oil, by improving a highly nutritious diet, replenishing the body's energy, so that the athlete's work and rest are in line with nature, do not stay up all night entertainment, and do not sound dogs and horses to save vitality.
Of course, it is more important to use advanced exercise methods, so that athletes will not waste energy for no reason, and achieve better exercise results, which is a bit like adding a lampshade to an oil lamp, no need to burn more oil, the light can be effectively strengthened. This good method is to exercise regularly, and at the same time combine work and leisure to make the muscles tense and chi, so as to achieve a certain effect that is close to the sutra (it is not possible to achieve the sutra, but it is possible to achieve a certain latent internal circulation). In fact, athletes are also unconsciously exercising to enhance the liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, and the amount of diet of each athlete is very large, and the digestion is also very good. Because while you exercise your muscles and bones, you can also enhance the function of the liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys in turn, but the efficiency of their exercise is relatively low. Unlike traditional Kung Fu, he replenishes the innate Yuan Qi by practicing within the scriptures to increase human potential. Modern sports are about tapping potential, and traditional kung fu is about deepening potential, and that's the fundamental difference.
Strengthening muscles and bones by practicing qi and following the scriptures is not empty talk, but empirical evidence. First of all, when practicing, you must be able to perceive that the sense of qi is running on the corresponding meridians. When you first start practicing, the fingers of your hands, the big fingers of your feet, and the fountain points will have a feeling of air flu and warmth, which is the initial feeling. If there is nothing, it means that the practice is not in place. You can add a little refining form, Jin Feng's shaking elbow is to strengthen the hand three yin and yang, cross the tiger horizontal cloud and tilong leg is to strengthen the foot three yin and yang, there is time to practice more. The feeling of practicing jade ring pile or sutra tai chi is more obvious. If the body is weak, you can practice the Yuanming Eight Styles more to replenish the vitality of the body.
In fact, in the process of exercising the internal martial arts, in addition to practicing qi and circulating the internal organs, the movement of the shape and strengthening the muscles and bones can also enhance the function of the five internal organs. This kind of internal and external stimulation at the same time, in order to achieve better results. Why traditional kung fu can be practiced for four or five hours, this is because they can form a cycle, qi and blood can form a cycle, unlike modern sports, after practicing for a long time, it will be blocked in one place, and the effect of re-practice will be worse and worse, so they will practice in multiple groups. And after the sutra is followed, the longer this true qi will run, the greater the power, and the stronger the effect achieved. Of course, this must be based on sufficient spiritual strength and material, that is to say, you must have a pure mind and no distractions, and the body's qi and blood energy is sufficient to maintain high-intensity long-term exercise.
In short, neijiaquan exercises muscles by using internal and external luck to strengthen muscles. The first is to strengthen the internal organs and strengthen the liver, lungs, spleen and kidneys by practicing qi circulation to gain muscles, bones, skin and flesh; the second is to run the qi and blood around the whole body by following the meridians, constantly moisturizing the muscles, bones, skins and flesh, so that they can grow stronger and firmer.