Relaxed Strength

 Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

-Zen saying

During one workshop when Remi was struggling with her giants prior to State Championships, Wade suggested she purposely relax her legs and be sloppy so she can really open her hips and feel the pull of gravity help her on her tap.  I've talked to gymnasts before about the same thing.  Remi was so disciplined in maintaining good form and body tightness, she had a difficult time being sloppy and just "letting it all hang out"; letting all of her lower half muscles simply shut down.

In Aikido, there is a training test called "unbendable arm".  When first exposed to it- and spoken of in esoteric-mystical terms about "ki/chi" and "life energy" by some teachers- it seems like a parlor trick; especially when performed for the sake of demonstrating to an audience, like a vaudeville act.  

I couldn't really find a good YouTube video that I liked.  But in brief, what happens is this (you can try it yourself with a partner):

Photo credit:  Oscar Ratti

Have your partner stand in front of you, close enough that you can place your wrist on her shoulder.  Now make a clenched fist and think strength as you tense up your arm (slightly bent).  Have your partner put her hand in the crook of your elbow and start pulling down.  Resist as hard as you can.  What happened?  Were you able to keep your arm from collapsing?

Now, shake out your arm and be relaxed.  Extend your arm out and rest your wrist on your partner's shoulder again (and again, held slightly bent- not locked out).  This time, don't make a clenched fist (make sure your facial muscles and neck muscles also remain free of tension); instead, imagine water flowing through your arm, like a hose.  You can even point one finger (or extend all fingers) toward the wall and imagine the water flowing out toward the wall.  Keep your intended focus on maintaining this flow of "energy" as your partner begins to pull down on your arm; the more she pulls down on it, the more you stay relaxed, but with an increase of power in the flow of energy through your arm, balancing out the pressure your partner is applying.

How did it feel, the second time?  Was it easier or harder?

Done correctly, the second time should have been easier to resist than the first.  The arm should be nearly unbendable when relaxed the second time; and very difficult and "weaker" the first time, when tensed.

The explanation is as follows:

The explanation of the unbendable arm is that it is not a feat of "energetics," but of mere physical strength, albeit proper use of strength. When the demonstrator first introduces unbendable arm, you are asked to "make a fist" and/or "use all of your muscle" to keep your arm from being bent. You do this by tightening the "big-bellied" muscles of the arm-the biceps specifically. When the demonstrator applies pressure to your arm, it bends because the muscles you have engaged are not the muscles needed to resist the pressure on your arm but are, in fact, the exact muscles that move your arm in the same direction as his pressure, i.e. the biceps bend the arm.

Now don't think that hypnosis or suggestibility are at work here, for they are not. What is at work here is your unfamiliarity with the task at hand and the directive to "use all of your muscle." These conditions, which seem reasonable when first presented, set you up to use the wrong muscles. Once engaged, you fail the task due to improper use of your strength.

When you think "strong" by clinching your teeth, clenching your fists, and tensing all of your muscles, you are actually exhausting your muscles and "fighting" with yourself.  You are actually causing yourself to grow weaker.  In the case of the "unbendable arm", your protagonistic and antagonistic muscles are warring with one another when you isometrically contract both the bicep muscle and the tricep.  When using passive, relaxed resistance in the unbendable arm exercise, only the tricep muscle should be engaged, in an efficient use and conservation of strength.

 The tighter you squeeze, the less you have.

-Zen saying

Another explanation:

How it works

There are several underlying physical principles that make this test work, the most obvious are all related to our muscular and skeletal systems. 

The bending of our arms are (simplistically) controlled by 

a) The biceps, which contracts the forearm 

b) The triceps, which extends the forearm.

These muscles work in opposition with each other to control the arm effectively. Hence when an arm is tense both the biceps and triceps are activated, in effect the biceps are helping someone bend the unbendable arm. When relaxed however the bicep no longer aids the applied force - only the triceps become engaged, the net effect is your relaxed power is stronger. 

The importance of knowing how to efficiently use your muscles to work for you and not against you, is an important one for the gymnast to understand; especially since gymnasts are so often told to "stay tight", "squeeze", and maintain "body tension".

To everything, there is a season....

 And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together....

.....And a time to stay tight and a time to relax.  :-P

Knowing when to relax and stay fluid, knowing which muscles to engage when and where, is important for all athletes to understand for the sake of economy of motion, efficiency of energy, and conservation of strength.

Be like water....