Science has made great progress in the last hundred years. In the meantime, the scientific foundations of oriental wisdom are also becoming clearer. It is appropriate to include this so-called Eastern mysticism in a broader science. Then there is a science of materials and a science of life.
And we also have to look at our practise scientifically ...
Let's look at the human body. The bones support it, without them it would collapse. The skeletal structure is very stable along with the muscles. If you push from the side against the hips, the posture is very stable. The legs form a stable construction with the hip and muscles.
This is completely in line with scientific findings. Try this out, but not only mentally, but really with the body.
If you press from behind against the back shield (koshita), it is less stable. Even if you are only standing on your toes or lifting a leg.
Animals use four legs, which is even more stable and they are also faster. Man wants to be able to use his hands, so he uses only two legs.
Let's do a Ki test on the arms. A beginner's shoulders would move. The immobility of the arm itself has no meaning.
Why did we forego the stability of four legs? Because we want to work with our hands.
We can bend the body to reach the ground with our hands.
The hip area is not very mobile. Why can we bend so far?
Because the arms are not connected to the hips, nor to the spine. The arms are connected to the shoulder blades (scapulae).
So this original Ki test is no good. Our advantage is that we can move the arms so well.
As you get older, your body often stiffens.
We must take care to maintain maximum mobility.
The shoulder blade is used for this. Try to move your hands as far as possible. But we also have to be able to grasp something with our hands.
For this movement, the collarbone (clavicula) is important.
The shoulder blades are connected via muscles to the lower part of the spine and also to the hip. This muscle is quite firm, so lateral flexion is only possible to a certain extent.
If you stretch your arms upwards, you can imagine a line, from the arms, along the side of your body to the legs and feet.
In the shoulder joint, the arm, shoulder blade and collarbone are connected.
The lateral line does not move during the Ki test. You have to imagine this line mentally. And by maintaining this imagination, you let your arms down. With the Ki test, the shoulder blade does not move. This is science.
Now, however, a scientific question should immediately arise. The back muscles only pull, they do not support. What keeps the shoulder blades up?
These are the muscles that go down from the cervical spine. But the collarbone is not connected to these muscles.
To move the arms up and down, there are other muscles at the shoulder joint.
To tilt the shoulder serve the muscles from the neck to the shoulder blades. Important: The collarbone is not connected to it. The collarbone is at the front and the muscles are at the back.
If we continue to argue scientifically, we see that we can use the muscles without using force.
Michele doesn't do anything. We pull. He uses the muscles without using force. Of course, his muscles work, otherwise we would pull him apart. But the muscles do not change their length.
If the thigh has to move, it may manage 200 kg. When lifting weights, you can manage 400 kg. In the long jump, a force equivalent to 800 kg works. If the muscle works without changing its length, it is much stronger.
Not changing the length of the muscle means not exerting force. When we press against the wall, it does not exert any force, but is merely stable. Force is defined as the ability to set something in motion.
The technique is to use the muscles without force. This applies to all movements of the human body.
But this is especially important in Aikido.
When you work with material, it's a bit more difficult.
Even when lifting weights, you can easily lift 150 kg instead of 80 kg with the correct technique.
If two people pull on my arms, I don't do anything. I just use my body weight and take steps back to bring the two in front of me together.
This is a basic technique in Aikido, working with the muscles without changing the length of the muscles.