Jar Training

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Dana Sheets
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Post by Dana Sheets »

So there's been several times that folks have posted quotes from one master or another on "keeping some of your breath" in Uechi.

In the hard form of the jar training I try to build up a good bit of internal pressure without unsafely sending my blood pressure too high. I pressurize my core and the pressure pushing out from the air works against the pressure of the contraction of my muscles against that pressure (again - in the core).

When I'm not doing the jar training I still maintain a level of internal pressure with my breath to give my muscles something to contract against - but not as much as I do with the jar training.

You can really hurt yourself if you try to build up too much internal pressure - so if you've got high blood pressure, a history of TIAs, heart disease, diabetes, or a stroke or a hernia in your past - this isn't something to play with.

It has been called "tiger training" to me by more than one senior person. The internal pressure is one part, the pulling down of shoulders another, the raising of the lats another, and the overall contraction of the core muslces another.

In this process the vascular system, the fascia, the ligaments, the tendons, and the muscles are all addressed and given a certain amount of stress to encourage development.

Like folks always say...sanchin is a full body exercise! :)
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Dana Sheets
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Post by Dana Sheets »

One exercise we use to help cultivate this internal pressure is to have students toss medicine balls at each other's stomachs. Not a new idea of course, but one introduced to me by Joe Graziano (thanks Joe!)

You'll know if students are just using muscles because they'll start collapsing foward as they try to shorten their ab muscles to get better contraction - if they're also using internal pressure then they'll stay upright - and you'll also be able to feel for pressure and focus over the kidneys.

Again - not something to get carried away with - you're not trying to plaster someone's abs against their spinal column. You're just helping them learn how to inflate their center while also contracting the muscles. Internal/external.
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Dana Sheets
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Post by Dana Sheets »

It is like having a tennis ball filled with water - and into the center of the tennis ball you add a small balloon. The more the balloon becomes inflated - the greater the pressure will be on the walls of the tennis ball.
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Dana Sheets
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Post by Dana Sheets »

But be careful - too much pressure and the tennis ball will leak! - ie. you'll give yourself a hernia or throw a clot or something. So be careful!

Now - I've heard two different ways of doing this - one is that you don't lift the traps - that the traps lift however much the chest sinks without collasping. The other method is that you DO consciously lift the traps - but no so much as to collapse the chest but more than if you're not thinking about it.

Why lift the traps?
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