Sangen Budo

The body is integrated through the soft, connective tissues, fascia/tendon; and the internal martial art practitioner endeavors to move the tissues in opposite directions (up & down, left & right, and front & back) which in turn manifests Yin/Yang and produces opposing forces.  Sangen translates to the theory of Heaven, Earth, and Man.  It is a metaphor of Man (or Human) as the manipulator of opposing forces.  Heaven and Earth represents the opposing forces translated as Yin & Yang or In/Yo.  Through Body Conditioning, introduced to our school by Dan Harden, the body can have the potential of being extremely strong, stable, resilient, and flexible while maintaining a soft but powerful quality.  Spiraling for example is one way of manifesting Sangen.  It is a method whereby through the manipulation of the  fascia/tendon connection utilizing dual opposing forces drives the skeletal system along with the movement through acceleration which then creates, not only stability, but unstoppable, potential power created through kinetic energy. Once attained and can be physically manifested, the theory or method of Sangen can be used for combat.  Health is the secondary benefit of the practice.  This practice had its origin in Ancient India about 5,000 years ago, and  it was how yoga was originally taught to the warrior class.  When an individual can manifest Sangen physically, they are then recognized as having an "Aiki body".