INTERNAL POWER - IMA power continuum - Bio-mechanical force
The pages that follow this thread describe internal power in the IMA based on bio-mechanics. (A different thread will discuss subtle skill + its development) It is important to note that, as illustrated by the above continuum, that a skilled practitioner’s use of “internal power” in the “internal martial arts” is almost never exclusively bio-mechanical nor “subtle” (based on sensitivity, “Qi” internal energy, etc.)
While some true masters of the IMA move/ demonstrate / teach in terms of skill weighted toward bio-mechanics, other authentic masters demonstrate / teach in terms of skill weighted toward subtle awareness and difficult to define attributes such as “intention,” sensitivity, and so on.
Most often skills presented by an authentic internal martial art master fall someplace toward the middle of the continuum (a mix of bio-mechanics and subtle skill), however with the tendency to favor explanations that fall toward either the body mechanics or subtle skill side of the continuum.
Although the pages within this thread focus on IMA bio-mechanics, it should be noted that when IMA bio-mechanical principles are correctly practiced, this naturally opens the door to increased “Subtle Skill.”
Covered: Internal power/ the expression of high level IMA skill and counter forces of the spine
IMA ESSENTIAL: When the spine is not overly stressed, mechanical forces are more refined and “transmutation of Qi & mechanical forces naturally occur
