djs

LOL!

Fun to watch! I don't know too much about Ba Gua, but have a friend who does. He tells me that some of the old masters would circle walk at a very high rate of speed (of course they would train slowly as well). I think quite a bit about the difference between internal/external martial arts. One difference, an emphasis on training, has to do with developing the ability to utilize Kukan (Japanse concept of "space"). Not just manipulating the visible space between you and your opponent, but also the space within your own body, similar to how Bruce (in the video) describes using all the joints. The inner sensitivity that it is possible to gain can lead to some of the more unusual/incredible seeming martial arts feats. Like people seeming like they are not doing anything and the next thing you know the attacker is on the floor in serious pain. Also possible to lock an opponents body in weird ways through manipulation of your own internal "space". I can't do this, but have had it done to me many times - I at least understand how it is accomplished, but have not yet refined the sensitivity/skill that this takes. Anyone have more fun videos

IMHO - Most of what is shown in the video would fall under the classification of martial tricks and are almost all explainable without resorting to mysterious abilities (which I do believe exist). For example - the knife cutting the apple on the guys stomach - I've seen that done before with a Katana - impressive to watch, but it is based on the way the blade actually cuts (pushing/pulling) motion - when the blade makes contact with the skin the force is moving in one direction rather than two, so it does not cut the skin. Still, it is fun to watch The first trick in the video is doable by almost anyone. Some of my previous instructors have explained the use of these martial tricks in two ways - one, to fool the public and gain students - two, to push students past their conception of fear and self-imposed limiting beliefs. I do love watching these types of demonstrations, thanks for posting this -Darin

You may actually want to see a medical professional regarding this, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Sometimes poor posture is caused by modern everyday work/living. We sit in front of computers and watch TV etc while engaged in poor posture. This means that our back muscles are weak compared to our abs. I have had a number of back and shoulder injuries that I now believe were related to the modern work environment/being overweight and an over focus on weightlifting with the front of the body. A year or so ago, I was not able to remain seated in meditation without back support, I am now able to do this for a long period of time. Many people will say that it is just a matter of aligning your bones/musculoskeletal system properly. In my opinion this is incorrect. If you are overweight, or have muscular imbalances (most frequently a weak back and strong abs) then this will not be accurate for you. Research the work of Stuart McGill and related authors; learn about your back/spine. It will help you. Finally, take your time and experiment. It has taken me a long time and a number of injuries to understand how to correct my posture. There are also a number of good books on the subject, which I can recommend if you like. In the end, experience is your teacher. Good luck and Best wishes! -Darin

Yup, definitely liking the video clips! Particularly enjoyed watching your body positioning and taking of the attacker's balance

Nice Enjoyed the clip. Hope you post more! Thanks Darin

My pleasure I'll try to provide updates as things unfold. -Darin

I've been a long time viewer, but haven't posted yet. I've meditated off and on for a number of years, but have mostly learned from books, audio/video tapes and self-exploration. I've had interesting experiences along the way including lucid dreaming, synchronistic events, dream guidance, some experience with altered states and a brief glimpse of "emptiness" which I experienced as the absence of internal dialogue and found frightening the time that it occurred. So that I balance out both the light and the dark - I've also pushed too hard, depleting myself energetically and had a number of experiences which were quite frightening at the time. I recently began the KAP 1 course which has already paid dividends. I'll post about this on the main forum. Anyhow, looking forward to meeting everyone and being a more frequent contributor. Also, have been involved in martial arts for a number of years now and continue to be very intersted in the link between meditation and movement arts.

Thank you!

Santiago, You are welcome To everyone else, I should mention that if you like TV and computers, be careful with KAP1. My digital cable has re-booted 5 times in the past 4 hours and both of my brand new computers have crashed multiple times since this Sundays session. I am off today/tomorrow, which allows me to "fix" these problems, but again, if you like computers and TV, be careful! Also, Mjbecker thank you for your advice regarding spell checking, but I have figured out that I can cut and paste what I write to MS-Word and spell check from there. You are right, Santiago is a prince amongst men! PS - I was paid $100,000,000 to write this PPS - If I was, I would not have written here Hope this encourages anyone who is "on the fence" to participate in KAP!