Alexander Technique For Martial Arts
Developing Skill And Intention
Grandmaster Dino Salvatera
"To stand straight takes more than bones." -David Carradine in 'The Son of the Dragon'
Are you a student of Martial Arts? Are you interested in learning how the Alexander Technique can help you in your training?
All good Martial Arts training offers countless discoveries about our psycho-physical potential. Uniquely suited to be added to your studies, Alexander's teachings support the development of your balance, natural flexibility and an acute awareness and appreciation of your individual movement style.
The technique supports you in understanding and implementing how to integrate and coordinate your movements, making them more centered, poised, lighter and freer. It will optimize your chi flow, endurance and muscle tone.
Through a series of private lessons, you can learn how to be in and move your body for maximum energy. You will learn how to distribute your body weight in a more efficient way in order to avoid undue stress on bones, tissues and internal organs.
Alexander's principles guide you towards prevention and/or recovery from injury, as well as increase your performance skills. Advanced study will enable you to remain balanced even under increasing amounts of pressure.
Alexander offers a direct path toward calmness and composure even in the face of adversity. Cultivation of stillness in action is achieved through a stabilized center of gravity, where your arms and legs can be used from a new integrated awareness.
As your awareness and understanding of natural movement principles grows, so will the beauty and power in the execution of your techniques.
All Martial Artists, no matter what style or form is practiced, can enhance their techniques using Alexander's teachings.
"Qigong asks us to lighten our grip on how we perceive the world and how we approach our lives. To get into the Qi enhancement state means that you will have to relax when formerly you have become tense. You will be electing to breathe deeply when formerly you have held or constrained your breath.
The Qi, mysterious and invisible, is ever present though not obvious. Qi creates a whole new view of life.
Qi is always present and it is free. Begin to notice it around you. Step outside, think past the sidewalk or concrete to the soil, rocks and the planet below you. Look up into open blue sky or the black night and speculate on the boundless nature of the cosmos. Take on the thinking of the ancient Qi masters, sincerely penetrating nature to understand and align with the forces of heaven and earth." R. Jahnke
Developing Mastery in Activity
When you find yourself passionate about a new activity and want to get better at it, but find yourself stuck at a certain point, you might find that more instruction in the specific activity often does not help you improve. Even more practice does not seem to help. Something is blocking you progress, but what is it?
When you have “tried everything”, moving to the next level of mastery often requires you to stop all the doing, to free up your body and clear your mind from unconscious habits of moving and thinking.
In addition, clearing out the “baggage” or “clutter” left from self-criticism and frustrating experiences frees up energy for renewed creativity and improvement in sometimes amazing ways.
When stuck at a particular level of mastery, we often think that we only need more of something – more talent or more strength – when what we really need is less of something – less getting in our own way through old habits of thinking and moving. Learning to stop getting in our own way means clearing the path to the next level of mastery.
Effortless Power: Yang Tai Chi Instruction
Qi Gong Techniques
WHERE SF Golden Gate Park/
FOCUS Body Alignment and direction of energy for power and relaxation
FORMAT Small group class with individual attention to detail
WHEN Ongoing, by appointment
Tai Chi is a wonderful calming and stress-reducing activity, naturally counteracting our fast-past, modern lifestyles. When you learn and practice Tai Chi, the benefits are multifold. Besides cultivating internal power and a more easy-going attitude, benefits of a regular Tai Chi practice include better posture and flexible joints, balance and co-ordination, relaxation, clarity of mind, reduced stress and improved body tone.
Your internal structural system gets a tune-up and reset each time you practice, which can prevent injury and pain associated with a sedentary life, too much stress and computer overuse.
Alexander's principles of effortless power, self-cultivation and grace in movement are the cornerstone of this unique and mindful way of learning Tai Chi. Even though functional alignment and precision are emphasized as important keys to a successful and long-lived practice, we are not necessarily concerned with how flexible you are, but rather how to bring ease, fluidity and inner peace to you.
