I practice an eclectic approach to physical culture that includes bits from taiji, yoga, dao yin, gymnastics, pilates, and so on. Among my favorites is Olympic weightlifting, and the best coach with whom I've trained is Diane Fu <http://fubarbell.com>. She recently had an opportunity to chat with a coach from the (very, very good) Chinese oly lifting team, about which she relates:

"The Chinese are flexible in their thinking when it comes to individual expressions of movement. Largely, what they are looking for is how well the athlete is able to express and apply their strength. The aim of Chinese methodology is to help each athlete develop an awareness and a feeling for moving with the bar. By employing different strategies to help the athlete find their center the athlete is able to move more with less effort."

She goes on to quote Coach Wu:

"I often get questions from people regarding shoulder rigidity/inflexibility/stiffness. My response is that sometimes, our shoulder inflexibility isn't true inflexibility. Rather, it is the way
in which we move that creates a feeling of stiffness. How can one fully express 100% of one's strength/power through incomplete movements? Utilization of strength is a sensory experience. In other words, there is a mental aspect to the physical movement. Only through mastering this aspect of the mind can one truly express one's power. I never considered myself to be very strong, yet I am able to skillfully maximize my body's strength. Remember, in Oly, the amount of weight you can lift does not solely rely on your strength. This is the art of power."

This is one of the better summaries of what I think of as "internal" training that I've ever seen, and I'm curious what Tim has to say about it.

Nice read.

Physical Culturalist seems to be the new(but taken from old) way of saying, "I work out." I'm starting to hear this term a lot. "I'm into physical culture."


Not bashing. Just saying.