I think it’s weird every time you see an article or something about the Muscle / Tendon Shift Classic, it’s about Bone Marrow Chi Gung. I wonder how this meditation and movement exercises were able to build and strengthen muscles and tendons. Please don’t get me wrong, I am well aware of the power of Mind, but to restructure muscles, come on! And again, don’t get it wrong, I know that Mind can do anything. But is this really what was brought to China so many years ago? Is this what the monks were taught to build muscle? After all, it’s called the Muscle / Tendon Change Classic.
Muscle / Tendon Change Classic, also known as Muscle Restructure, is a series of twelve exercises performed forty-nine repetitions each. These exercises are known for their Chinese origins, particularly from the Shaolin Temple, but they actually originated in India.
Bodhidharma, the Indian monk, is credited with bringing the muscle / tendon change to the Shaolin Temple. Upon arrival, Bodhidharma noticed that the monks did not lead a healthy lifestyle and had passed away at too young an age. Their days were filled with sitting meditation and they had a very poor diet. He then had the monks get up and exercise, with muscle change being the best program for building their bodies. Bodhidharma is also credited with bringing martial arts to China. Chinese martial arts existed long before Bodhidharma made his journey from India. If not, what was the military taught?
Unlike isometrics, where you push against objects, cup your hands and press against each other, the muscle / tendon changes the classic muscle-to-muscle holes. For example, if my arms are out to the sides, horizontally, from the shoulders to the elbows and vertically from the elbows to the hands. When performing the exercise, from the hands to the elbows (the vertical part of the arms), they are trying to pull down, while the horizontal part of the arms does not allow them to do so. By pitting muscle against muscle as described in this particular example, you can see that there is not much movement of the arms. Some of the movements are from the region of the thoracic cavity, this is called “lifting the organs”. It should also be noted that some of the exercises have a lot of arm movement, but keep in mind that you are still resisting with muscle against muscle. Also, keep in mind that the thumbs are tucked into the fists during this exercise.
In the classic muscle / tendon switch, only the first two and last two exercises are the thumbs not locked by the fists. This is to strengthen the tendons and give the “wingspan” to the forearms. This is the size and strength benefit your tendons receive from keeping your thumbs tucked into your fists while performing those eight exercises.
People familiar with Chinese martial arts know that the Iron Vests Program is also called “small body”, and muscle restructuring is also known as “big body”. How many of you knew that there is a second part to the classic muscle / tendon switch? Well, many have heard of it and some have read that there “was” a second part to this classic exercise program. It’s the second part of the classic muscle / tendon switch that matches the first part to make the big body.
In the second part of muscle restructuring, although a lot of attention is still paid to building muscles through tension, breathing is the key. Well, maybe I should say that there is a different style of breathing in regards to the second part of the Muscle / Tendon Shift Classic. Breathing is always important, although in the first part the breathing is “common”, inhale while the arms are entering, exhale while pushing out. Now, inhale before tension, exhale while applying tension. In the second part, this is not always the case. In the first section of this classic exercise you can also consider the breath, the Yin breath, while in the second part the breath is Yang, also called “hot” or “dragon” breathing.
The muscle / tendon switch classic is a proven exercise program that can benefit everyone. These exercises can be performed by most people who are even confined to a wheelchair. It is a program for both youth and adults, beginners, beginners or advanced martial artists. Man or woman is your body, so a machine is not necessary, only your own body and a very small space.
