I'm editing the hsing-i staff video that we shot on Saturday and breaking it down into video lessons for the online internal arts school.

One of the points I drove home during the teaching of the Hsing-I Staff form was the use of internal body mechanics. If you use the staff properly, with the right body mechanics, the form is very similar to the internal pole exercises that are included as a bonus on the silk-reeling DVD and in other video lessons on the website.

In the pole exercises (discussed in other posts on this blog) you take the arm and shoulder muscles out of the strike and use spiraling, ground path, whole-body movement and strong closing into the kua. When you do it right, the end of the pole shakes and whips with the energy that travels out through the staff.

Using a lighter staff--in the video I use a rattan staff--can give you a good idea if your body mechanics are correct.