Medicinal Martial Arts Manual

Lunge
- Feet hip width apart
- Forward knee directly over ankle
  - Shin bone perpendicular to the floor
  - Inside ankle bone should be visible
- Back leg straight, heel slightly above the floor
  - Rotate back heel away from the spine
  - Ensure feet are still hip width apart
- Move hips forward to feel a stretch in the iliacus muscle
- Abdominal breathing for 10 slow breaths
  - Feel a stretch in the iliacus with gentle expansion (inhalation) and contraction (exhalation)
- Switch leg position and repeat

Quadriceps isometric contraction
- Shift weight to one leg
- Extend the other leg forward with a straight knee
  - Toes touching the ground, but not the heel
- Contract the quadriceps (front thigh muscles) as firmly as you can
  - DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH
- Hold contraction for six to ten seconds, then switch legs and repeat

Hamstrings isometric contraction
- Shift weight to one leg
- Extend the other leg forward with a bent knee
  - Toes touching the ground, but not the heel
- Contract the hamstrings (back thigh muscles) as firmly as you can
  - DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH
- Hold contraction for six to ten seconds, then switch legs and repeat

Gluteus isometric contraction
- Heels touching, feet at ~60-90 degrees
- Contract the gluteus muscles with maximum effort
- DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH
  - Hold contraction for six to ten seconds
- Rest for five breaths and repeat

Wall sits isometric contraction
- Back against the wall, legs bent at 90 degrees, knees wide
- Contract the quadriceps and hamstrings with maximum effort
- DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH
  - Maintain contraction for five slow breaths
- Stand, walk around a little while resting for five breaths, then repeat

Door frame shoulder rolls
- Stand facing the door frame with toes touching the door frame
- Hands gently grip the doorframe at armpit height
- Roll the shoulders back, down, and together
- Gently squeeze the shoulder blades together for five abdominal breaths
- Don’t arch your back
  - Engage your rectus abdominis to bring the rib cage down to the pubic bone

Rhomboid isometric contraction
- Contract the rhomboid muscles with maximum effort
  - Arms to the sides like a “T”
- DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH
  - Maintain contraction for five slow breaths
- Rest for five breaths and repeat

Latissimus isometric contraction
- Contract the lats with maximum effort
  - Arms to the sides with bent elbows
    - Forearms parallel to the floor
  - Like pulling down on two ropes
- DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH
  - Maintain contraction for five slow breaths
- Rest for five breaths and repeat

Isometric Extensor Contraction:
- Arms straight down by your sides,
- Bend your wrist back as much as you can with fingers straight so your palms are facing down to the floor.
- Contract the muscles of your forearms as much as you can for 5 slow breaths.
- Rest for 5 breaths, then repeat.

Isometric Flexor Contraction:
- Palms up, upper arm parallel to the torso.
  - Elbows bent at 90 degrees so the forearms are parallel to the floor.
- Make a loose fist and curl your hands towards your elbows.
- Contract the muscles of your forearms as much as you can for 5 slow breaths.
- Rest for 5 breaths, then repeat.

Arm Circles
- Shoulder blades flat against the back
  - Down and together
- Rotate the arms from the shoulders so that the hands rise up from the sides
  - Shoulders go down while the hands go up
  - Palms facing forward, fingers active
- Palms face one another over the head, lower hands while keeping shoulders down and flat
- Synchronize the rising and falling of the hands with inhalation and exhalation respectively
  - Five breaths
- Reverse direction
- Open from the shoulders to move hands down
  - Palms facing downwards

Mountain Pose
- Feet hip width apart, outsides of feet parallel (big toes might feel slightly pigeon-toed).
- Activate adductors to bring the pelvis evenly between the feet.
- Aim tailbone between heels and elongated lumbar vertebrae downwards.
- Use the toes to gently grip the floor to establish the arch of the foot.
- Sternum points straight ahead, don’t arch your back up or puff your chest up. Cervical vertebrae extend upwards, they don’t lean backwards or forwards.
- Qigong breathing (inhale: belly in; exhale: belly out) for 10 breaths. Elongate the spine.

Mountain Pose Side to Side
- Set up Mountain Pose, as above.
- Inhale: Increase activation of the left adductor to move the pelvis over the left foot..
  - Keep the right adductor active.
- Exhale: Increase activation of the right adductor to bring you to a stop.
  - Tailbone pointing to the left heel.
  - Do not stick your hip out to the side.
- Inhale: Increase the activation of the right adductor to move to the center.
- Exhale: Increase activation of the left adductor to bring you to a stop.
  - Keep the left adductor active.
  - Tailbone points between the heels
- Repeat, moving to the right.

Tree Pose
- Get into mountain pose, as above.
- Lift the right foot and rest it against the inside of the left knee.
- Aim your tailbone down to your left heel.
- Do not allow your hip to pop out to the left side.
- Maintain an active arch in your left foot.
- Hold for 5-10 breaths, then switch feet.

Bent-Knee Leg Raises
- Lay on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet on the floor.
- Inhale: raise your knees up so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor.
  - Maintain angle of knee bend.
- Exhale: Lower your knees down, but do not allow your feet to touch the floor.
  - Maintain abdominal contraction.
- Repeat 5-10 breaths.

Bent-Knee Side to Sides
- Lay on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet on the floor.
- Inhale: raise your knees up so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor.
  - Maintain angle of knee bend.
- Exhale.
- Inhale: slowly lower your knees to the left, twisting your lower spine so that your left thigh and foot gently touch the floor.
- Exhale and relax.
- Inhale: bring your knees back up to center.
- Exhale and relax, maintaining 90 degree knee bend.
- Inhale: slowly lower your knees to the right, twisting your lower spine so that your right thigh and foot gently touch the floor.
- Exhale and relax.
- Inhale: bring your knees back to center.
- Keeping your knees perpendicular to your hips, repeat side to side motion.

Tiger Stretching
- Inhale, belly in, tailbone back, hinging at the hips.
  - Feel the adductors activate.
- Legs are straight, lumbar is straight, hands in tiger claw.
- Exhale, belly expands, curve tailbone to point between your heels.
  - Do not bend your knees.
  - As belly expands, the hips move forward.
- Spine extends up in a wave motion, initiated by the curve of the lumbar at the onset of the exhale.
- Pelvis moves forward, back is long, arching backwards.
  - Head back slightly, following the wave.
  - Feel the activated adductors.
- Inhale, aim tailbone back, belly in.
  - Adductors.
- Pelvis moves back, through Mountain Pose, to hinge the hips again with a straight lumbar and back. This is a wave motion.
- Repeat for 5 breaths total. Wave the spine.

Tiger Searching
- Feet in a forward stance/forward lunge. Hands in tiger claw.
- Back foot at 45°, heels in line. Back leg is straight, pressing into the heel and outer edge of the foot (little toe side).
- Front foot forward, front shin must be 90° to the floor, perpendicular.
  - Front knee directly above front heel, not in front of it, not behind it.
  - Make sure the knee is rotated slightly out, do not let it come to the inside of your ankle.
- Inhale, belly in, hands come to the front of the belly, palms facing each other.
- Exhale, belly out.
- Inhale: hinge waist so lumbar is straight and torso is in line with the rear leg.
  - Think of a “pole” extending from your vertex to your back heel.
- Exhale: Rotate the body to the back-foot side with the “pole” in the center of the rotation.
  - Front-foot-side hand moves forwards, palm down, level with shoulder.
    - Extend forward hand
  - Back-foot-side hand moves to your ribs, palm up, gently brushing the 8th/9th rib.
    - Squeeze rear lats
- Look towards your back shoulder.
- Inhale, belly in, hands come to the front of the belly, palms facing each other.
  - Maintain hinge of waist so lumbar is straight and torso is in line with rear leg
- Exhale, belly out.
  - Rotate the body to the front-foot side, around the “pole”.
  - Front-foot-side hand moves to your ribs, palm up, gently brushing the 8th/9th rib.
  - Back-foot-side hand moves forwards, palm down, level with shoulder.
- Look towards your forward shoulder.
- Inhale, belly in, hands come to the front of the belly, palms facing each other.
- Exhale, belly out.

Mud-walking
- Activate adductors
- Shift weight so it’s on one foot
  - Using one side’s adductors slightly more than the other
- Slide free foot forward, ball of the foot down
- Angle front hip so it’s in line with the ankle and same side shoulder
- Pull weight onto front foot using hamstrings, gluts, calves, and front foot
- Slide free foot forward, ball of the foot down
- Repeat

Oblique mud-walking
- Activate adductors
- Shift weight so it’s on one foot
  - Using one side’s adductors slightly more than the other
- Slide free foot forward, ball of the foot down
  - Rotate foot out 45 degrees
- Pull weight onto front foot using hamstrings, gluts, calves, and front foot
- Front-foot arm opens to the outside
  - Back-foot arm across belly
- Weight is now 95%-5% front to back foot
- Slide back foot forward, ball of the foot down
- Repeat

Side-to-sides
- Activate adductors, feet facing forward, weight 50%-50%
- Rotate one foot out 90 degrees
- Pull weight onto 90 degree foot with hamstrings
- When weight is 95%-5% to 90 degree foot, stop momentum with back foot adductor.
  - “The most important part of any action is knowing when to stop.”
- 90-degree-foot side hand opens to the side
- Back foot adductor pulls weight 50%-50%
  - 90 degree foot rotates forward
  - Both hands face forward
- Other foot rotates out 90 degrees
- Repeat

Kitchen Sink Squat (Leveraged Squat)
- Stand with your heels shoulder width apart, toes angled out at about 35°.
  - Hold onto a horizontal bar that is about the same height as a kitchen sink, or a sturdy kitchen sink.
  - Upper arms are parallel to your torso, forearms should be close to parallel to the floor, with some variance, depending on your height.
- Inhale.
- Lean back with your head, torso, and legs in a straight line, so that your arms are fully extended holding onto the bar/sink.
- Keeping your legs and torso straight, hinge at the waist so your tailbone points backwards.
  - Move the tailbone back until it goes no further; do not bend your knees or your back.
  - Your body is like a ‘V’ pointing away from the bar/sink.
- Rotate your knees to the outside (right knee clockwise, left knee counterclockwise) so that your knees bend and bring your tailbone down.
  - Maintain the backwards movement of the pelvis.
  - Keep your knees behind your ankles the whole time.
  - Your knees move to the outside of your ankles.
- When your thighs pass through the plane parallel to the floor, your tailbone will begin to arc forward towards your heels.
  - Keep your knees behind your ankles.
- Exhale
- Come down as low as you can, so that your pelvis is hanging between your knees, behind and above your ankles.
- Keep your shoulder blades together (rhomboids) and pulled down (latissimus dorsi).
- Inhale slowly with the belly expanding.
- Exhale slowly with the belly contracting.
- Inhale again with the belly expanding.
- Exhale and aim your tailbone to the space between your heels while you rotate your knees externally (right knee clockwise, left knee counter clockwise) to stand back up.
  - Go slowly. Focus on the adductor muscles (insides of the thighs, not the quadriceps).
- Standing at the starting position, inhale with belly expanding. Exhale with belly contracting.
- Repeat.

Idiot-Proof Movement
- Legs double shoulder width, outsides of feet parallel
- Hands just above the knees
  - Press through your arms to take the weight off your low back
- Inhale, belly expands, tailbone back
  - Stick your butt back like you’re sitting on a stool behind you
- Exhale, belly contracts, tailbone rotates down, hips come forward
  - Adductors power the movement
  - Don’t move your knees forward
  - Press down through your hands to keep the weight out of your back
- Repeat

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