[QUOTE=TaiChiBob;707848]Greetings..
I recommend some open-minded research.. Connective tissue is an equal partner in strength and movement, superior when understood and utilized properly.. …[/QUOTE]
I do open minded research. I go out without any fixed opinions, and I let the evidence point to the correct answer. The correct answer is:
Connective Tissue has NO contractile capability. Whether you are doing a tai chi form or a barbell bench press, it is your muscles that are doing the movement. Your connective tissue is along for the ride.
I am familiar with tensegrity, Bob, as is anybody who has ever taken an intro to human physiology class. It is a very real thing. It does not however move the skeleton or give strength. If you want to talk about a limb snapping back into place from extreme ranges of motion due to stored elestic energy in connective tissue, that is one thing. The problem is that this energy only comes into play in extreme ranges of motion and odd positions. It is also weaker than the muscles acting upon it else the stored energy of connective tissue would hyperextend and grind your limbs or rip muscles in half.
If you want to get extremely technical, connective tissue does have contractile capability the same way a stretched out rubber band has contractile capability. That however has no real application in athletic movements, or movements that require speed and power. It is a semantic argument that holds no water in all current research.
That is not to say that connective tissue strength is not important. It is equally important as muscular strength since strong muscles and weak tendons/ligaments are a recipe for disaster just as the inverse is true. That is why both muscles and ligaments develop strength in concert with each other. It is also why movements that build large amounts of strength such as weight lifting, sprinting, and ballistic shock exercises like plyometrics, likewise build very strong connective tissue. Seeing as how connective tissue’s stored energy is weaker than that of a muscle and that it is very hard to build connective strength isolated from muscular strength workouts, one would ascertain that intense resistance training is the best way to go for both. If all you want is strong connective tissue, then you have the supplementary benefit of strong muscles as well.
To take a page from your book: I find people who post things like you are people who have invested a lot of time into esoteric practices to the exclusion of traditional strength training. They hope beyond hope that such practices will somehow lead them to the path of greater strength, and that is all they are left with: hope. If that is how the chose to spend their time, so be it. To each their own. That does not mean that they should dish out disinformation in an attempt to validate their practice. (BTW, I practice Tai Chi and am starting Ba Gua)
ultimately, science and experience reveals the connective tissue as a higher more useful tool in the goals of a dedicated martial artist..
For all those interested, this is statement born from an over active imagination. Science has in no way conlcuded anything of the sort. Every post I have made is firmly grounded in the latest and most accepted scientific knowledge surrounding athletic conditioning; This includes martial artists.
Perhaps Bob’s experience has revealed this to him, but as for scientists and the athletes/coaches who are supported by their research, not so much.
This IS a relatively new area of research, in the past the Connective Tissue System was generally overlooked for exactly the same concepts as Ford states,
Also, this is NOT a relatively new area of research. Some of the pseudo-scientific theories surrounding this old and time tested research are “relatively new”. Don’t take my word for it. Take the word of esteemed scientists the world over. This is a list of collective works that are used to train olympic champions and professional athletic standouts. This goes for track stars as well as boxers and wrestlers… (ie those competing in aspects of fighting at the highest possible level of competition)
Supertraining by Mel C Siff and Yuri Verkoshanky.
Quick Bio: Mel Siff is a PhD in physiology specialising in biomechanics, MSc (Applied Mathematics) awarded summa cum laude in brain research, BSc Honours in Applied Mathematics and a BSc (Physics, Applied Math). His serious involvement with the Internet began when he devised the unique concept of electronic education in sports science based on methods of propositional analysis pioneered by the ancient Grecian philosophers. This enterprise created the well-known weekly P&P’s (Puzzles & Paradoxes) and F&F’s (Facts & Fallacies) which he wrote for various user groups, including Sportscience, Physio, PTHER, FIT-L, Sport Psycho and Weights.
Yuri Verkhoshanksy is largely considered one of the best sports scientists EVER. He was largely responsible for the training methods that produced Soviet olympic champions during the zenith of their glory. Yuri is the one who did all the research and developed what is now known as “plyometrics” in the western world.
Beware. This book is not written with the layman in mind. It is a book aimed at fellow scientists in the field covering every aspect of physiology as it relates to biomechanics in sports performance.
Anyway, this is getting long. I dodn’t want to break it up into 2 posts. If anybody wishes to know more reading material or references for these ideas, I will post them.
