Seth Ananda Posted March 18, 2012 Hi all you internal martial art friends out there! When I am at one of my Jobs, {carpentry} I find my self constantly finding or looking for ways to practice or apply the various skills from the IMA. I find it very useful to my IMA in general, and I can always see the improvement in class when I have been at that job. I am sinking when standing, and finding ways to drop tension... When using power tools like belt sanders/angle grinders/jigsaws/orbitals, I am in horse, moving from the waist, and transferring wait when moving... It got me wondering, what Jobs have a reputation [if any] for being very useful to the martial artists development? And what cool discoveries have you all made in finding ways to practice your skills while at work? Respek! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suninmyeyes Posted March 18, 2012 It got me wondering, what Jobs have a reputation [if any] for being very useful to the martial artists development? And what cool discoveries have you all made in finding ways to practice your skills while at work? Respek! I am on my feet all day long at work ,so taiji comes in so helpful. A lot of dantien work - sinking whilst keeping air still on top of my and listening which comes from my yogic practise . By listening learning also to act appropriatley instead of react. This is real beuty and culture. Oh yeah and tounge up (kechari mudra)if not speaking or eating. Dont know which jobs are suitable for martial artists development, but my taiji teacher was very happy when I told him that I am on my feet all day and told me that this is will be very beneficial for my practise. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taiji Bum Posted March 18, 2012 Years ago I worked on the auto line and would practice my weight shifts moving from line to line and the whole forms on breaks. I was looked as a little weird but I went on to a better job and they didn't. People into personal improvement... improve. I think the best job is no job, though. A cabin in the woods, a small personal use garden and all day to play! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aetherous Posted March 18, 2012 I am sinking when standing, and finding ways to drop tension... When using power tools like belt sanders/angle grinders/jigsaws/orbitals, I am in horse, moving from the waist, and transferring wait when moving... Someone really needs to make a parody youtube video of this! Picture really low (thighs parallel to ground) horse stance while doing manual labor...a marathon runner who maintains zhan zhuang posture for all 26.2 miles with their arms "holding the tree"...taiji forms while moving between people as a line cook in a busy restaurant...a social worker who sits in full lotus and does exorcism mudras...ninjutsu nurses (they disable you with a wrist lock in order to draw your blood more easily)...maybe throw in an overweight lifeguard doing really effective belly breathing. Would be great. Anyway yeah I do similar stuff all day, although I think it changes my gait and posture into something which looks a bit abnormal and intense. The actual posture work that I do (Foundation) corrects that, going from a overall flexed body (which is actually the fear response and the whole neanderthal/old person look) into an extending and open one, which looks a lot more youthful and natural. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harmonious Emptiness Posted March 18, 2012 I think anything physical is best, even driving, where you have minimal obligations to represent a company's fabricated image. Then you can just be a natural human and move like water or stand like a mountain. Working in a production factory for a while I used to use tai chi movement a lot, like turning the tai chi ball, and shifting weight in a fluid way. I don't have any training in tai chi but I know a few basics which are probably more like warm-ups and would use these. So, yeah, pretty much anything physical would be at the top of the list, not including the obvious like medical qi gong.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baiqi Posted March 18, 2012 Bodyguard. That was the job of many IMA artists. Those interested by the fighting aspect of their arts, obviously. Apart from that, I agree, it is better to do a physical job, but some factory jobs are too repetitive and can have a bad influence on the body/mind. I believe working in a farm would be better: you are closer to nature, and therefore the Tao. But some farms are quite like factories now... Anyway, IMA are good for any job. Even unemployement. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sloppy Zhang Posted March 18, 2012 Yeah, I've read of a lot of very good practitioners who worked in security/bodyguard positions, or in the police forces. If you want to get good at fighting, you're going to have to, well, fight. No better way to find out of your stuff works than when someone is coming at you trying to knock your head off or spill your guts on the street. That said, almost ANY job can be good, so long as you keep the practice up while you are doing it. Conscious of where your tension is, conscious of where your weight is going, conscious of how you are moving in space, your balance, your relationship to other things, etc etc etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Protector Posted March 18, 2012 A desk job would be good... if you throw away the chair AND DO THE HORSE STANCE 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) Hi all you internal martial art friends out there! When I am at one of my Jobs, {carpentry} I find my self constantly finding or looking for ways to practice or apply the various skills from the IMA. I find it very useful to my IMA in general, and I can always see the improvement in class when I have been at that job. I am sinking when standing, and finding ways to drop tension... When using power tools like belt sanders/angle grinders/jigsaws/orbitals, I am in horse, moving from the waist, and transferring wait when moving... It got me wondering, what Jobs have a reputation [if any] for being very useful to the martial artists development? And what cool discoveries have you all made in finding ways to practice your skills while at work? Respek! I do ward off and push and tai chi ball splits in meetings (gives ball-busting a completely new meaning)....ocassionally go into deep breathing...and sometimes if the people around me stop talking long enough they notice it and ask me what im doing Sometimes when im racking up 70-100lbs servers, i try and use uprooting to lift them up...my 6'+ colleagues wonder how a short guy like myself manages to do that ) Oh and writing software is a good meditation...staying cntered and letting the creativity flow through the finger tips...aka code...good right brain left brain balance i must say... Edited March 19, 2012 by dwai Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
