Traditional Kung Fu Techniques: Strengthening Bones and Stance
Strengthening bones and muscles is not mysterious. Standing and staying still exercises bone and muscle strength. Since birth, bones and muscles have been connected, but due to people's bad habits of using force, their bones and muscles have not been properly exercised, so they cannot effectively use force. Through standing and staying still, we can change and adjust people's habits of using force, eliminating the bad habits acquired later, thus activating the innate vitality, which we call bone and muscle strength.
As everyone knows, standing and staying still exercises the whole body. To make the whole body strong, you must first make your bones and muscles change fundamentally in standing and staying still, which is a physiological change. This mainly refers to the lengthening and thickening of tendons and ligaments, and the increased density and hardness of bones, which is what people often say: 'long bones, thick muscles, heavy bones, flexible tendons.' We can use the muscle relaxation and static frame shaping in standing and staying still to achieve the goal of changing bones and muscles.
Tendons are tendons; they are strong and tough, soft and slippery, and appear in white and blue-green, resembling strips or sheets. Tendons are not only strong and elastic, but also can make the four limbs stretch and contract, and the fingers can open and close. They also play a significant role in the transmission of blood, bones, and muscles. As written in the 'Erya' : 'Stretching tendons pulls out force', 'Relaxing tendons is a change, strong tendons are extraction. Relaxed and extracted are extremes. Relaxed and extracted are the most extreme. Relaxed and extracted are like tying a rope, and extracted is like a piece of ice.' 'Bone for support' is mentioned in the 'Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon – Bone Chapter,' which means 'support' and 'support' serve as the basis for bone function. The thickness and strength of bones directly affect the force when flexing muscles. Therefore, people with thick bones can effectively exert force and flex muscles, while those with thin bones cannot.
Due to the habits of using force in life and work, muscles tend to be tense, which hinders the transmission of bone and muscle strength, and also hinders the effective exercise of bones and muscles. Body relaxation is a prerequisite for exercising bones and muscles. This relaxation is not absolute 'relaxation,' it requires 'relaxation without stiffness.' Tendons exist within the skin and between the muscles, and they connect muscles and bones. Many muscle fibers are wrapped around the tendons, and when people use force, these muscle fibers are in a disordered state, attached to the tendons, and they pull the bones and muscles, which prevents the full transmission of force and the full utilization of strength.
Relaxation in standing and staying still and static frame shaping are key to stretching tendons. Without relaxation and proper static frame structure, you cannot stretch tendons and pull out bones. You must have a standard static frame structure. It can be said that without a correct static frame structure, you cannot do standing and staying still effectively.
After the muscles are stretched, the bones are exercised. We know that there is a lot of blood in the soft tissue inside the bones, and only through the stretching of tendons can the blood circulation be strengthened, and the density of bones can be increased, and the bones will become heavier, which is what is called 'bone heavy and flexible.' After a long time of standing and staying still, you can reach the advanced state of 'bone joint buzzing.'
The process of stretching tendons and pulling out bones in standing and staying still is an extremely arduous process, requiring perseverance and determination. You have to bite your teeth and persevere step by step. It's almost impossible to describe the pain of standing and staying still. In the process of changing bones and muscles, the body may experience various effects, such as numbness, itching, soreness, swelling, softness, pain, and it feels like being burned by fire, especially the pain of bones and muscles, which often feels like being burned by fire.
The effects of standing and staying still will vary depending on the condition of the practitioner, their basic fitness, whether they have a foundation in standing and staying still, their age, and their understanding of the method. Whether they can receive guidance from a teacher or Mingjia is also a reason for the difference in effects. Furthermore, the size and duration of practice also affect the effects.
In martial arts, 'internal practice breathes, external practice exercises bones and skin.' Exercising bones and muscles is mainly through 'stretching tendons and pulling out bones.' In traditional martial arts, standing and staying still requires the body and limbs to twist and interlock, and to resist and contend with each other. This makes it easier to open up the joints, stretch the bones, and lengthen tendons and muscles in a static and slow state.
All of this is based on the correct static frame structure, which allows you to relax the mind and body and exercise bones and muscles. This is the combination and unity of 'internal practice and breathing, external practice of bones and skin.' It is also the integration of cultivating and practicing, and the combination of health and combat.
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