Pic: Me training with Yiquan master Yao Chengguang at his old Beijing wuguan, in the day
In SNAKE: Heart Center Drill - Part 1, I began with a note from a reader of the Bare Metal Minimality book who basically said the Snake Creep Down drill is too hard on his body. I responded with a few points, to wit:
I acknowledged that Snake Down can be challenging depending on your degree of flexibility, hip mobility, leg strength, and condition of your knees (past injuries? just had a knee replacement?) So in that case, back off it. Basically: protect yourself at all times.
But for those who want to work it, I provided some additional practical, mechanical tips for practicing it safely and effectively.
Most importantly for this Part 2, I promised an alternative drill that works the same energetic element without the extra mechanical challenge of Snake Down.
So here I’m going to show you an alternative that looks and feels, as a mechanical practice, totally different from Snake Down. It’s much easier. But strangely it has exactly the same effect of connecting your arm energy to and from your heart center.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to "Make it So" - Now to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.