Soft Power

Martial Arts Flow Theory, what I call Flux theory, is prevalent throughout all the arts. The problem is that most people don’t understand how these theories come together, and when they oppose. One must understand each type of energy and how they fit together if one is to be a complete martial artist.

One thing to remember, as we go through the theories, is that there is a hard and a soft to everything. Sometimes hard and soft is merely a distinction of direction, which is to say one collides or one guides. Sometimes the distinction is a little more difficult to follow, but we will do our best to illustrate the difference.

The first theory that most everybody comes in contact with is that of Explosive Power. You’re going to find this power in Karate, Taekwondo, or most any art (or piece of art) wherein the fist collides with the face.

We have circular energy, but there are a few things that must be understood here. There is circular, as in turning the waist in kung fu, and then there is circular, as in aikido harmony. Obviously, we have a first class example here of how one energy can be considered as hard or soft.

The next energy is spiral, as in Bagua. This is an odd type of energy, as it depends on rotating limbs on a circling body. Weird or not, it is incredibly functional, simple to understand, but sometimes difficult to implement in the real world.

Now we come to suspended energy, as one would experience in the art of Tai Chi Chuan. Interestingly, Taiji energy can be considered as simple weight lifting, but it is of the whole body, and one does not explode, but rather sustains the weight of the whole body, which creates a long lasting type of power that is not common. This type of power is actually easy to learn, but one has to know what the proponents of the art are saying in terms of western physics, or forget about taiji all together.

As you may notice, many arts develop more than one type of power, which can be good or bad, depending on how cleanly they understand the differences, and how to use them. That said, Taiji is one of the few arts that use negative energy. This is a rare energy, not many people develop it as it takes correct understanding of the concepts involved.

In summation, we have barely scratched the surface of this subject, and there are not only many gradations, but whole types of energy which the future and hard study will bring. Still, if you can get these basic five down, define them exactly, and learn when and how to combine them, then you are off to a roaring start. Really, when you think about it, Martial Arts Flow Theory is what the future is all about, for when you get the moves down, what is left but to grow your energetic potential?

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Al_Case