CIRCLEWORK

Zhong Xin Dao I Liq Chuan (ZXD/ILC) is a martial art of awareness and can be thought of as a form of moving mediation. It is a contemporary martial art with roots in Zen and Taoism.

The principle aspiration of ZXD/ILC is to cultivate relaxation and general awareness or mental acuity and then bring that awareness to a focal point.

If you are relaxed and you can also unify yourself mentally and physically, then you will be able to unify yourself and your environment.

From an exercise point of view this results in mindful intentional safe movement and a calm focused mind. We progress though a process of developing stability in the structure, then add strength and movement. You can practice ZXD/ILC in general or we can train specific Tai Chi and ILC forms, specialty Qi Gong exercises, standing meditation (Zhan Zhuang), and other martial art drills such as spinning hands.

We do this by developing proprioception, interoception, balance, posture and overall coordination. We develop these skills by using the balance point or neutral point, for example the transition form flexion to extension, and then use that as a reference point for safe movement.

At Circlework we call this skill finding neutral or finding your balanced center. Essentially it's learning to move with the whole body and originate movement from your core.

Finding Neutral

Neutral is a concept that implies balance and being centered. In ZXD/ILC we practice to find neutral points and then use them as reference points. For example we move away from our center rather than move toward a limit. It’s a subtle but significant difference in perspective. And taken in the context of safe practice it makes excellent sense because you learn to become self regulating based on how you feel. The practice becomes inherently safe and will generate long term benefits associated with High Performance Aging (ref).

The object of training is to make physical changes, and we want to manage that change without generating trauma injury or repetitive strain injury. It’s your body, your choice, your responsibility, this training is both mental and physical, they go together. Circlework.training is inclusive, accessible and sustainable and focused on generating the long term benefits associated with High Performance Aging.

Circlework.training follows the sports science methodology of identifying goals and then making gradual progressions over time towards those goals. The process involves organizing and activating the physical structure and alignment, first developing stability, then strength and then safe movement habits. You will get stronger and improve your balance while practicing relaxation and cultivating a sense of calm.

Nervous system training is an integral part of Circlework.training, establishing a habit of calm homeostasis helps to make the neuroplastic changes that accompany the physical improvements from training. First the nervous system changes, then your muscles, then the connective tissue. These changes can take several months to occur.

Circlework.training includes lots of cross lateral and contra lateral movements, these stimulate cross brain connections and this contributes to an overall sense of mental balance. One unique training drill of ZXD/ILC is called spinning hands and these drills help to unify the whole body and reinforce the hand to core connection.

Spinning Hands

Spinning hands is a type of exercise called circumduction as compared to linear. It involves integrating the hands, arms, shoulders and core. The drills involve spinning the hands in circular patterns in the vertical, horizontal and sagittal planes.

Spinning hands can be done as solo or partner work. Solo training helps to develop proprioception and fine muscle control. The shoulders will also drop and move more freely. Solo spinning with light hand weights is an excellent upper body toning method and will also activate the core musculature.

Training spinning hands with partners develops sensitivity to change and awareness of the point of contact. The overall training objective is to meet your partner halfway at the point of contact or at the neutral point and then change with the change as the movement occurs. Different levels of intensity can be applied as long as both partners can stay neutral.

How do we practice?

In Circlework training we aim to unify the mental and physical aspects of our practice. Overall we approach the practice mindfully and focus on organizing and activating so we can develop skillful movement habits that give us long term health benefits.

Physical - The training program is set up to safely induce specific adaptations (over time) to imposed demands, it’s a gradual process based on the order of progression, establish stability, build strength and movement confidence over a given time period. We want to develop skillful movement habits.

Mental - We also train the brain and nervous system so that we can learn how to move mindfully.

We come to our practice with the view that it is our objective to improve our mental and physical health. Over and above the specific training goals we may have, our objective is to nourish ourselves so that we can better connect with others. Our default intention could be one of healing in general or specific terms. Even fitness goals might be seen as a form of healing, we change to a more stable structure, stronger and resilient and better movement patterns.

Why do we practice outside?

The basic philosophy of ZXD/ILC has its roots in Taoist philosophy. Practicing outside gives us a direct connection to the natural phenomena of weather, a core concept in Taoism.

Recognizing the energy around this connection will develop sensitivity and our capacity for interoceptive reflection. Overall the long term effect of being connected with nature is nourishing to the mind and body. We are hard wired to connect to nature.

Key take away points:

I Liq Chuan is an internal martial art of awareness based on Tai Chi and Zen principles.  

I Liq Chuan is a moving mediation and practicing this art benefits the whole nervous system and cultivates a sense of relaxed awareness of the mind and body.

I Liq Chuan is a natural and safe body/mind practice that is easy to learn. Practitioners experience the benefits of relaxation by learning how to neutralise stress rather than resisting it and being able to concentrate and co-ordinate the body and the mind.

For example, I Liq Chuan is an excellent form of low impact training that can release shoulder stress.

I Liq Chuan training includes solo and partner work (optional).