Today we studied breathing exercises called “Qi gong”, which simply put are designed to “wake up the body”. We skipped over some, like teeth cleaning, teeth taps, and the three smiles, but made a point to loosen up our core and spine with exercises like “draw the bow”, “support the sky”, “single hand lift”, and the exercise I had previously known as “Tai Chi drums”, the name of which I had never before thought to question.
We finished these warm ups with “Hit the tiger with blazing eyes”, which I found most interesting. The foundation of the motion is reminiscent of a karate boshi ken strike to the stomach, but there are notable differences: The back hand was open. The stance was lower. We started from a totally relaxed open-stance.
Besides this, the point of the exercise was completely different. As the “striking” motion occurred, we were instructed to suck in our breath like a hiss while tensing our entire bodies, then release both breath and tension quick as we move back to an open-stance. It seemed odd to me, as one customarily exhales on a strike.
But upon reflection, it occurred to me that it would be quite impossible to actually tense my entire body on an exhale. That is in fact part of the reason we usually exhale when striking. Further, I found myself connecting this exercise to the concept of intent I’ve learned in Ninjiutsu.
When practicing martial arts, there is a vast difference between a strike and a strike with intent. Intent can loosely be described one’s attitude, but it’s meaning is best understood in practice. Throwing a good punch at a punching bag, and attempting to damage the punching bag with a punch are two different things, resulting in two different kinds of training. Now while this is an extreme example, it is good to practice martial arts with a certain amount of intent, if only so that you aren’t thrown off by your own intent when it arises in a real situation. This is especially true given that “practicing intent” also means “practicing controlling your intent”.
Up till now, intent was something I put into the target, a force of will and focus that put me in control of the situation and myself. However, “Hit the tiger with blazing eyes” is not an attack. It is maximum exertion combined with maximum control, causing the energy to move inwards. This is, I think, the other reason that one really must inhale, rather than exhale.
In other words, this exercise is, in a way, the practice of moving one’s intent inwards. I was very excited to discover that intent can move in a direction other than directly forward. I believe this new-found knowledge will enable me to explore intent with more clarity and creativity.
Excellent post!