I was wondering about the Tru Balance Dynamics program. I realize I could buy the tape and have all my questions answered but..I do not own a t.v. Really!

Does the Tru Balance program have much in common with the approach mentioned in the Postures and Images section (pages 68 to 71) in the Xing Yi Nei Gong book ?

The reason I ask is that I am re-building my xing yi practice from the ground up. I realized about a year ago that my xing yi stunk. The reason for that was I was not using the body as a single unit, which most experts agree, is the one core idea of the internal arts. And the reason that I was not moving as a unit was that my san ti shi stunk and the reason for that was that I was not standing, sitting or moving in normal day to day life very effectively.

So time to begin at the beginning; learn to stand correctly.

Thus the question.

Take care,
Brian

Brian,

No matter whether you practice Xing Yi, Ba Gua, Tai Ji, or whatever, the basic alignments are always the same. There is only one "best" way to use the body - according to its functional design. Aligning with the principles of body use will allow you to utilize the body's inherent strengths (elasticity of the tissues) and perform any given task with the minimum amount of effort. Even though the Postures and Images section was written specifically about Xing Yi's San Ti practice, the feelings and postural alignments described should apply to any Internal practice.

The Tru Balance Dynamics program is a simple program that consists of five exercises. Three of the five are primarily spine stretches (twisting, leaning forward, and arching back). There is a horizontal arm swing, which is excellent for learning to develop power in punching, not to mention swinging a baseball bat, golf club, tennis racket, etc. The final exercise is body shaking, which requires proper relaxation to be performed correctly and has the effect of giving yourself a massage.

I have been practicing the Tru Balance program for about 2 years. I origianlly learned it from the video, but was inspired by the practice to travel to California and train with Tim personally, six months later. The program has literally CHANGED MY LIFE. I did not know how bad my posture was before beginning Tru Balance. I thought I was in pretty good shape, but, since then, the performance of my daily activities has become much less stressful on my body. My quality of life has improved 100 percent. I will always be grateful to Tim for developing the program. I can never repay him.

And Steven can hit really hard too.

Tim told me that I would never hit harder than his guys who weigh over 300 lbs. I'm still trying to prove him wrong.

Too bad, striking ability seems to be the least needed skill for success in a real fight.

Anyway, thanks for the compliment.

Steven