06-14-2006, 09:04 PM
Interesting. I can't say that I've felt any pain from doing them.
I don't know if this will relate at all, but for a while I took kung fu. Part of our training was running two or 3 miles before each practice. I wasn't used to running, and my right calf had a lingering pain that was pretty much constant for 2 or 3 weeks. It didn't feel like a sore muscle from running too much. It was more like a dull/sharp pain deep in my calf muscle. I asked my instructor about it, and he said he had had the same issue when he first started. He said to just keep going and it would eventually go away. And in fact it did.
On the other hand, when I'm doing tensegrity, I notice that some of my joints tend to pop, or click, or rub together more than others, and more so with certain magical passes than others. Rather than ignore that and just keep going, I slow down and even do some of the passes almost in slow motion for a while. As I learn exactly how my body moves and reacts to the passes, I'm able to learn how to do them without causing any damage to my body. And also, I feel like this helps in gently building the muscle around certain joints to cushion them.
When I've been to a few workshops and practice groups, I've noticed that some people (especially men) tend to do the passes extremely fast. As if they're in some kind of hurry. I personally don't see any reason for this. In my experience, its very useful to start out gently and learn to do them with power and precision, rather than racing to see who can go the fastest.
I don't know if any of this addresses you're question. And I'm not sure what you mean by "real physical damage". I'd say if anything you're doing is causing real physical damage, then you must be doing something wrong.
My only advice is, listen to your body and be gentle with it.
I don't know if this will relate at all, but for a while I took kung fu. Part of our training was running two or 3 miles before each practice. I wasn't used to running, and my right calf had a lingering pain that was pretty much constant for 2 or 3 weeks. It didn't feel like a sore muscle from running too much. It was more like a dull/sharp pain deep in my calf muscle. I asked my instructor about it, and he said he had had the same issue when he first started. He said to just keep going and it would eventually go away. And in fact it did.
On the other hand, when I'm doing tensegrity, I notice that some of my joints tend to pop, or click, or rub together more than others, and more so with certain magical passes than others. Rather than ignore that and just keep going, I slow down and even do some of the passes almost in slow motion for a while. As I learn exactly how my body moves and reacts to the passes, I'm able to learn how to do them without causing any damage to my body. And also, I feel like this helps in gently building the muscle around certain joints to cushion them.
When I've been to a few workshops and practice groups, I've noticed that some people (especially men) tend to do the passes extremely fast. As if they're in some kind of hurry. I personally don't see any reason for this. In my experience, its very useful to start out gently and learn to do them with power and precision, rather than racing to see who can go the fastest.
I don't know if any of this addresses you're question. And I'm not sure what you mean by "real physical damage". I'd say if anything you're doing is causing real physical damage, then you must be doing something wrong.
My only advice is, listen to your body and be gentle with it.