There was RW article about Chi Running is a
year ago in the June 2006 edition, this was a good introduction.
Chi Running running technique which was developed by
an Ultra marathoner Danny Dreyer
an ultra marathon runner who
got fed up with spending is a
third long time runner and student of
his Running life injured. At any one time in America 1/3rd of all runners T’ai Chi. The two main themes are
taking time out injured. Because of this, running is considered energy efficiency and injury prevention. as a high risk sport, even by those in It combines the
medical profession. This just does not have to be. It is not running that injures people it is the way people run that does the damage. When you run you hit the ground repeatedly many times a minute, and should there be any slight physical mis- alignment problem this will lead to overuse injuries of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joint cartilage, resulting in pain and time off. Chi running corrects this as best it can.
Danny Dreyer has written a book outlining the central movement principles of
T’ai Chi
Running - called, strangely enough "Chi Running A revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-free running" . Does this sound good? If so with the
first step is to read the book. The book is about £5.50 so not a big investment. Most of us got it from Amazon.co.uk (use the link from the Fetch home page and Sir Fetch will become a millionaire).
Chi running is essentially a method sport of running
efficiently to create a technique that shifts the workload toward your core muscles, allowing your leg muscles to work less. The results are increased efficiency and
therefore minimises risk a significant reduction in injuries.
Energy efficiency and injury prevention are created by following two principles: alignment (both postural and directional) and relaxation. Posture is key and the cornerstone of
injury. Its fundamental principles are to use a strong core (which is the
area around your spine from pelvis to shoulders), technique. Once we get into the habit of aligning the body correctly we can use gravity to help
propel us forward by running with
a slight forward
motion and to relax everything else (especially legs and arms) as much as possible.
You do not need to study T'ai Chi although it borrows from that a lot.
To achieve this you need to practice good posture, learn to lean
your column (a line from ankles to shoulders) from your ankles, learn to land on your mid foot (not your heel), learn to minimise your contact with (from the
ground by increasing your cadence and decreasing your stride length.
Needless to say it works in reducing injury and allowing more training, as with good form you finish any given run having used less effort. When form slips, though, you become prone to the usual injuries. So we work on the principles of form - distance - speed. A triangle where most effort is put into developing good form, then slowly increase distance and add speed as and when you can maintain form over longer distances.
There are other forms of efficient running that also achieve the same end point of minimising injury. I cannot tell you which is the best, ankle). but you may want to look at all of them. There are no real endpoint differences between them, they all will help you run further and faster with less injury.
The others are
www.posetech.com
www.evolutionrunning.com and
www.stridemechanics.com
More info re Chi running is available from www.chirunning.com
If you want to know more about Chi or any other let us know - we are all learning the process and this has allowed all of us to become enthused about running again. There
Chi Running is a
big Chi mind and body practice. It’s a holistic approach to running
thread here on Fetch.
There are a group of us who have embarked on this journey and
as we have come across difficulties and questions we have had many 'aha' moments and passed on tips to help others achieve those same moments, These have been added below. We have even got to the stage where we are videoing ourselves and posting these videos so others can analyse and point out ways we can make ourselves run closer to the ideals that we aspire to. This may seem frightening at first but an important principle of T'ai Chi is "non identification", the critique is not a personal attack but a genuine desire to help. But this is neither necessary nor are we (for the main) qualified to critique but every one that has had it done are pleased with the result and feels it has made a difference to learning how to run.
Run with Joy, Run without fear, Run efficiently.
TIPS to maintain your form
The critical aspects of good chi form are align you upper body, align your lower body, engage your core and lean. To do this imagine you are suspended from the crown of your head to the sky and run tall. Lengthen the back of your neck, shorten the distance from your chin to your pubic bone and lean from the ankles.
your feet should float up behind you and follow a circle as if you are
riding looking for a
bike. quick fix, it’s probably not for you. In the same way as you might practice pilates, yoga, t’ai chi or even learn a musical instrument, it takes practise, persistence and patience.
Chi Running applies the principle of gradual progress to any change in form, any change in shoes, and any change in mileage. You cannot make wholesale changes overnight. Body sensing is crucial.
Form should come first and is your foundation, then distance which is how far you feel you can run while maintaining good form and then speed which is a by product of both form and distance.
Chi Running focuses can and should be practiced every day not just when you are running. The
knees should keep low - Heels High knees low.
External resources:
Link (roll over me to see where I go) (Chi more often you practice, the easier it will be to instate while you’re running.
If you have any questions, come on over to the Chi Running
inventor Danny Dreyer's site)
Link (roll over me to see where I go) thread.
Link (roll over me to see where I go)
Recommended reading
Link (roll over me to see where I go)
Video Clip of Chi Running by Master Instructor, Marion Meesters
Link (roll over me to see where I go)
Chi Running Website
Link (roll over me to see where I go)
External resources:
Link (roll over me to see where I go) (Fetchie and chi coach Mitch's website)
Link (roll over me to see where I go) (Chi coach's presentation explaining the basics of Chi running)
