Six harmonies & the underlying Kung Fu

I spent Saturday morning watching my daughter ride her horse in a lesson.  What I noticed was all the Kung Fu that was in her riding.  There is a direct connection between her hands and what she does with them and the horse's head.  This is direct input and it's what most novice riders focus on only.  It was the same with my Kung Fu in the beggining.  We learn to punch properly in the early belts but as a male the power was developed by my shoulders and arms only.  There was a disconnect between the top and bottom half of my body.

As I watched intermediate riders you could start to see the connection in their lower bodies.  I could see the inputs in their legs moving the horse off the center line.  It was a delay however from their hands/shoulders to their legs.  The results can be confusing to the horse at times. It's getting the immediate input in its head then it gets the input (delayed) from the riders legs.  I could clearly see the confusion and sometimes it resulted in a horse and rider out of sync and frustrated with each other.

I also can draw comparisons between the disconnect in my Kung Fu techniques.  I feel this in the "chunkiness" of flow or lack of it.  I also feel this in the disconnect of power when punching or kicking. When I engage my hips and finish the punch at the same time the power is amplified.  Combine this with proper technique and the punch becomes devesating to whatever it makes impact on.

Then watching my daughter who has advanced to a higher lever and you see the six harmonies on full display.  It's amazing to watch the synergy of the horse and rider when everything is connected and smooth. 

I have the same appreciation of skill when I watch our black belts.  I can see the finishing of techniques, the flow, the grounded energy and power. I'm starting to feel this in my Kung Fu.  It's taken me a long time to develop the eye for detail but also to "feel" my Kung Fu. I'm  feeling when it's connected and when it isn't. It's also amazing to feel and see my Kung Fu in everyday life like today.

Mr. Repay