Relaxation = Power (3 States of the body before, during & after a Combat)

Three States of the body before, during & after a combat
In the Western world, most fitness programs, culture and sports focus on developing your muscle strength and stamina to increase performance. The bigger your muscles, the stronger you are. However, there is something missing, which is the inner physical state -relaxation.

A WHIP
If you know how a whip generates power, then you will start to realize there is a much more efficient way to increase power in your punches, palm strikes and kicks. Same goes to a rubber band, when we were kids back then, we like to use rubber band to inflict pain upon other kids. How can such a small and “seemed” harmless rubber band cause pain to someone? If you understand the theory of elasticity, you begin to realize the more elastic your hands and feet are, the faster and more force you can generate.
We have come to the most interesting part of this article.
Before a person performs an action (e.g. Get ready to Punch or kick), the person’s body will force itself to be in “a state” or “a condition” whereby it can inflict maximum damage to the opponent.
That “State or Condition” will be explained in 4 different states.

THE FIRST STATE
The First State is Tensed & Active, where the muscles are all tensed up and ready to perform a certain action at any point of time. This can happen, before an attack, during an attack and after an attack is launched. When someone is in this state, they may feel that their actions are often restrictive(by their own body), easily tired and lack of explosive energy.

THE SECOND STATE
The Second State is Relaxed & Inactive, when there’s no actual physical need. E.g. after launching a powerful attack, a person feels tired, and have no more intention to attack. OR when the person is standing on their ready stance but have no intention to attack.

THE THIRD STATE
The Third State is Relaxed but Active, this is a higher physical state, the potential release of power in a relaxed body. In this state, someone appears to be in state two, relaxed, but has explosive ‘nuclear’ action at his disposal. This is a state of alertness. Getting to this state of mind & physical readiness means you need control and understanding the first two states first. The good news is, everyone can be in this state before, during or after an attack.
Before: Getting ready to explode the energy on the opponent.
During: Performing an explosive punch or kick on the opponent.
After: After launching an explosive attack, we are back to the Third state means we are ever ready to launch another explosive attack anytime, feeling less restricted our body, less tired, and less energy being used.
Most people are stuck in state 1 and 2. In state one, too much tension and restriction blocks the free flow of energy. You are unable to move or perform your punches, kicks or footwork efficiently & effectively. But it’s not going to be like “Tofu/豆腐” either.

In order to train yourself to enter the Third State, a lot of practice is needed. You need to train your muscle when to relax and when to tense and return back to the relaxed state again in a split second.
Although relaxation is the key to generating power, your ultimate goal is to prepare your body for a state of alertness.
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