Using methods developed through Matrix Karate, it is possible to build Internal energy literally within days. The actual physics of the matter, the exact science, is very easy to describe. Of course, there are a couple of items that the budding student should note.

I'm going to start with the warnings for the simple reason that I don't wish to cause damage to anybody. I found that it was very easy for over exuberant students to hurt the shoulder when developing power in their punches. This destruction of the rotator cuff and associated elements by looking to classical martial arts.

When somebody lets the arm bang against proper shoulder construction the tendons and ligaments start to give way. If you practice holding the shoulder back, which is the method of classical karate, the structure remains intact and is not damaged. I recommend that you search for classical arts which do not hurt the body, but which use the whole body in their motion.

Also, I discovered that as the energy mounts it is possible to give oneself whiplash. This is the result of throwing so much energy through the body that the neck is not able to handle the sudden increased magnitude and flow of energy. I caution that people learn to minimize their effort, and this through the study of energy as practiced by some internal styles such as Hsing i.

There are other things I could tell you, specifically to be careful not to grind the knees by pivoting on weighted feet, over throwing the hips when using the legs, and that sort of thing. The warnings I have given you here, however, especially in the previous sentence, should help you avoid any problems. Thus, let's move into building and using energy.

Take a pipe about 18 inches long, put a golf ball in it, and cap the ends. Tape the pipe to your arm, and perform strikes in such a way that the golf ball strikes the end cap at the same moment you end your strike. I know it sounds awkward, but soon you will learn how to move the golf ball smoothly through the pipe.

This is what internal energy feels like, and you can take this concept and apply it to blocks and kicks, and the entire motion of your whole body. Now get rid of the pipe and ball and practice getting the feeling of moving weight through your arm so that you feel energy wooshing through the arm and collecting, suddenly and with focus, in your fist. Heck, now that you know the 'energetical' physics of what is going on, you don't even need that silly pipe and ball tool.

Pipe and ball or not, you are going to learn subtle motions that will help you use your energy, and, if you are smart, you will look to the benefit of classical studies. The classics of karate, Shaolin, or other arts, have been developed to give this type of power. With the degradation of art in the last score of years, however, it is only through a study of Matrix Martial Arts that the physics are starting to come to light again.