Falling and Unfurling Krish Pillay

The Nature of the Sphere

For he final part in this series let’s look at a concept of martial movement that, when it starts to manifest in us, we start to have a glimpse of what the masters meant. The previous article attempted to clarify the building of a strong base and a supple waist (the waist meaning the muscles, fascia and connective tissue around the hips with which physical movement occurs most naturally around the dan tien). With correct application we learned that the power transmission and therefore the energy for combat is developed from the ground and conducted upward for the upper limbs to express.

After we have understood the value of this way of moving, the circles of the waist will start to be reflected in every movement we do. We will start to surprise ourselves as our arms move in a direction that was unintended that give a depth to the understanding of the movement that was not there before. Instead of a lifting of the hand, it becomes a drilling, snaking and seeking movement, and when lowering it becomes a dragging or coiling motion. Indeed everything we do becomes circular in all planes of motion or in other words, spherical.

It is my firm belief that this concept is chiefly derived from the Chinese martial adage of "avoiding excess effort". It is a common Western philosophy that we constantly need to be achieving more, striving harder, making more progress in anything we do. Whilst it is a legitimate goal for self discipline, it focuses on "doing" rather than "being." The human body is one of the most the most complex things in the known universe and by focusing on trying to achieve goals we lose the ability to do things as our body intended. Excess effort in movements sacrifices efficient movement for power, when in fact power is a by product of efficiency. By not straining to achieve movements and speed we allow our body to teach us how it moves best. An easier way of putting it would be, instead of "I must catch a ball at all costs," which can result in over-stretching injury and ingrained tension we can simply, "make the most efficient movement in time and space to reach the ball," whether we actually catch the ball is only one of the possible outcomes.

The way the human body is set up, from the left leg moving forward as the right arm swings, to the turning of the torso shows that circular movement is the most efficient way of moving. In a more esoteric sense, once we have realised the concept of the sphere, we realise that in nature there are no straight lines, only spirals. A tree may grow perfectly straight but its trunk is a circle. A flame spirals upwards. The wind is only too happy to become a hurricane and a leaf never falls straight to the ground. A raindrop will become round as it falls to the Earth. No matter how straight a line the surface it is drawn on will never be perfectly level. Even a point itself can be constantly spinning but to the eye it looks still.

The human body is truly a magnificent piece of work and perhaps the question isn't what we want to do with ourselves, but how it wants us to do things.

Left to Right: Anthony Pillage, Mo Teague [centre] & Gavin Richardson