NGUPLUS

Fusion movements

Fusion movements are complex movements that are constructed by two basic movements that serve as building blocks of the new creation. The difference between fusion movements and movement sequences is that the movements in the fusion are blended together in a seamless manner, without any use of the transition movement used in the sequence, (the squat in our CSF, so far...) while basicly creating a new movement - it does not longer look like a sequence of two movements that have a start and an end to each of them.

Rotation Into Bridge With QDR Exit

This is a very beautiful fusion movement, that may take a while to develop. Stay focused, make sure your wrists are warmed up and do extra wrist prehab at the end of your sessions.
A strong and stable Static QDR together with the QDR Rotational Push Ups are essential here. Go back to them and practice them often. If you do not have the control to do these, choose the beginner workout and perfect those movements first.



First one should learn the Head Bridge To QDR Push Ups.
Lay on your back. Lift into a back bridge and slide your head back, leaning on it. This will allow you to free one of your arms. Lift it and bring it as far back and to the side as you can - towards your waist, placing the palm in such a way the elbow is pointing up waiting for the body to descend from above into QDR. Move your waist from above (dont collapse) and place the waist on top of the elbow in a QDR position. Make sure the elbow is firm and the wrist, lower arm and upper arm are active and resisting.
Push back up, place your head on the floor and support some weight with it. Free your QDR supporting hand and bring it back to neutral bridge position. Start over on the other side and repeat for reps.
This movement will allow you to oil the lowering down process from the bridge into the QDR. Practice it until it is easy and flowing. Do not neglect this stage, it is essential for futher development.

The next stage is the Head Bridge Lower To QDR And Leg Swings.
In this stage, while lowering down from the head bridge into the QDR we will be using a cross step, from behind the knee, similar to the cross step previously used in the QDR Circles. (Article is here)
After lowering down and cross stepping, and when in a solid QDR position, we will swing the free leg back and forth, while maintaining balance and control, simlulating the future exit.
After 2-5 leg swings, return the swinging leg from in front of the support leg and recross backwards the support leg into the neutral back bridge position, support on the head and change the arms to the other side. Repeat for reps.

The last stage in this developmental practice will be the full Head Bridge Lower Down to QDR and Leg Swings to Slide Out.
After a couple of leg swings in the last stage final position, use the momentum created by the swings to pivot out on the supporting elbow, while changing the orientation of the legs - from one bent and the other straight to the opposite position, and push sideways into the Squat.
I cannot highlight enough the need for strong wrists and arms in the positions above. Starting this practice too early, without the proper joint preparation and strength training specific to this practice, will lead to injury. No matter how strong you think you are, I have seen ex elite gymnasts, weightlifters and dancers hurt themselves trying to learn this movement. Be humble.



The next progression after being comfortable with the Head Bridge Lower to QDR Slide Out is to add a Rotation Into High Bridge at the start.
Start with a Rotation Into High Bridge, when you reach the bridge position, lower down to your head and continue with the last exercise sequence.
After being able to do the complete combination, take away the leg swings before the slide out, to make it even smoother.



The final product is the Rotation Into High Bridge to QDR Exit.
The only difference here is taking away the head lean in the middle of the exercise, making the two movements - rotation into high bridge and QDR rotational push up and blending them in a completely seamless manner. Notice the quality of the movement, smoothness and flow. Those are main concerns in our practice. Dont just do it. Do it with flow.


Corta Capim Rotations



This is a very ancient and traditional movement pattern in many cultures. You can see the Corta Capim movement in Russian Cossack Dances, eastern martial arts, african rituals and more. It is also used in a very sophisticated way in Floreio flow work. (This is only the tip of the iceberg concerning Corta Capim variations and uses in fusion movements... Stay tuned)
From a squat, shift your weight towards one leg, transfering to the ball of the foot and opening up the knee to the side. Straighten the opposite leg sideways and place both hands on the floor in front of you.
Bring the straight leg from the side towards the center, while lifting each obstacle in its path when it arrives at it, and placing the obstacle back down right after it passed.
The first obstacle would be the first hand, then the other hand, and then the opposite foot - the one that supports us on the ground.
In order to lift the foot, we need to momentarily shift the weight off it - to the hands. The body will lean forward, the inside of the supporting leg would lean against the elbow, and the weight shift will allow us to lift the supporting foot up, pass the opposite leg below it and come down into the supporting foot once it has passed.
When you finish the complete rotation either continue into another one or when reaching the original legs sideways position, pull your straight leg back and shift into the flat foot squat at the same time.

This whole process needs to be practiced until it is smooth and seamless. It will take some practice, start slow, and oil the movement as you advance.
Other improtant details:
1. The rotating foot will slide on the floor on it heel first, then the side of the foot, (knife of the foot) then the top of the foot, the inside of it and finaly back to the heel.
2. Completely extand the leg at all times during the rotation. You want to create the biggest circle possible with the rotation, there is an special tendency to shorten the arc in the back - making it easier but not complete. Dont fall into this trap.
I have seen many movement artists, athletes and sports man trying this skill, teaching it and.... doing it with very bad movement quality - not a full circle, jerky weight shift and an obvious lack of understanding of the movement details. Dont join them, please. Take notice of the video demonstration, study it and reread the details. The devil is in the details. (and so is God)

Fusion Movement Workout - beginner

Warm Up - Mobility
A1. 5 min Joint Mobility
A2. Wrists Routine X 1 set
A3. Shoulder ROM and Stabilization routine X 1 set
A4. Idos Squat Clinic Routine X 1 set
A5. Scapula Mobilization Routine X 1 set

Equilibre
B1. Static QDR 10-30 sec per side / 3 sets / 45 sec rest

Explosive Leg Work
C1. Jump Into Box - Standing 8 reps X 2 sets / 90 sec rest
D1. Jump Into Box - Iso-Squat 8 reps X 2 sets / 90 sec rest

Flow Work
E1. Head Bridge To QDR Work (choose the variation you are capable of) 10-20 reps / 3 sets / 60 sec

F1. High Bridge Static Hold 30 sec
F2. Rotations Into Arch Using The Wall X 10 reps
or
F1. Rotations into High Bridge X 10 reps
complete 3 sets / 60 sec rest

G1. Corta Capim Rotations X 20 reps per side / 3 sets / 60 sec

Conditioning/prehab
H1. Ecc Pistol + Side Push Up 10,8,6 (per leg) / as little rest as you need
I1. Wrist routine X 2 sets

Fusion Movement Workout - Intermidiate

Warm Up - Mobility
A1. 5 min Joint Mobility
A2. Wrists Routine X 1 set
A3. Shoulder ROM and Stabilization routine X 1 set
A4. Idos Squat Clinic Routine X 1 set
A5. Scapula Mobilization Routine X 1 set

Equilibre
B1. Static QDR 20-30 sec per side / 3 sets / 45 sec rest

Explosive Leg Work
C1. Jump Into Box - Standing 8 reps X 2 sets / 90 sec rest
D1. Jump Into Box - Iso-Squat 8 reps X 2 sets / 90 sec rest

Flow Work
E1. Rotation Into High Bridge to Head to QDR Exit X 10 reps / 3 sets / 60 sec
G1. Corta Capim Rotations X 30 reps per side / 3 sets / 60 sec

Conditioning/prehab
H1. Ecc Pistol + One Arm Side Push Up 10,8,6 (per leg) / as little rest as you need
I1. Wrist routine X 2 sets

Fusion Movement Workout - Advanced

Warm Up - Mobility
A1. 5 min Joint Mobility
A2. Wrists Routine X 1 set
A3. Shoulder ROM and Stabilization routine X 1 set
A4. Idos Squat Clinic Routine X 1 set
A5. Scapula Mobilization Routine X 1 set

Equilibre
B1. Static QDR 30 sec per side / 3 sets / 45 sec rest

Explosive Leg Work
C1. Front Flip - Standing X 5 reps X 3 sets / 75 sec rest
D1. Back Flip - Iso Squat X 5 reps X 3 sets / 75 sec rest

Flow Work
E1. Rotation Into High Bridge to QDR Exit X 10 reps / 3 sets / 60 sec
G1. Corta Capim Rotations X 45 sec of work per side / 3 sets / 60 sec

Conditioning/prehab
H1. Pistol + One Arm Side Push Up 10,8,6 (per leg) / as little rest as you need
I1. Wrist routine X 2 sets


News:

If you are interested in a small glimpse into the close future of the floreio art project, all you need to do is join the forum and post a small video clip of you performing some CSF work. (for description of CFS, go here)
Post the clip here and you will recieve a video clip by email immediatly. Your clip doesnt have to be perfect or long in duration, just a small demo of some work being done.

Join us at the forum for some excelent discussions about mobility, strength, flow and improvisation in movement. Forum.

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Fusion Powering the Future

I attended a fascinating event last night - a Cafe Scientifique meeting held in the town of Reading in South East England. Last month it was me in the bear-pit, talking about "What Happens When the Oil Runs Out?", which remains a pertinent question. Last night it was the turn of Dr Chris Warrick from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy based near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, which hosts both the MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) and the better known JET (Joint European Torus) experiments. Fusion research costs an awful lot of money and we are still told actually getting energy from it is decades away. In the audience was a veteran engineer/physicist who had worked on the pioneering ZETA experiment in the late 1950s, from which neutrons were detected leading to what proved later to be false claims that fusion had occurred, their true source being different versions of the same instability processes that had beset earlier machines.

Nonetheless, his comment was salient: "In the late 50s, we were told that fusion power was 20 years away and now, 50-odd years later it is maybe 60 years away." Indeed, JET has yet to produce a positive ratio of output power/input energy, and instability of the plasma is still a problem. Dr Warrick explained that while much of the plasma physics is now sorted-out, minor aberrations in the magnetic field allow some of the plasma to leak out, and if it touches the far colder walls of the confinement chamber, it simply "dies". In JET it is fusion of nuclei of the two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium that is being undertaken, a process that requires a "temperature" of 100 million degrees.

I say "temperature" because the plasma is a rarified (very low pressure) gas, and hence the collisions between particles are not sufficiently rapid that the term means the same distribution of energy as occurs under conditions of thermal equilibrium. It is much the same as the temperatures that may be quoted for molecules in the atmospheric region known as the thermosphere which lies some 80 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. Here too, the atmosphere is highly rarified and thus derived temperatures refer to translational motion of molecules and are more usefully expressed as velocities. However put, at 100 million degrees centigrade, the nuclei of tritium and deuterium are moving fast enough (have enough energy) that they can overcome the mutual repulsion arising from their positive charges and come close enough that they are drawn together by attractive nuclear forces and fuse, releasing vast amounts of energy in the process.

JET is not a small device, at 18 metres high, but bigger machines will be necessary before the technology is likely to give out more energy than it consumes. Despite the considerable volume of the chamber it contains perhaps only one hundredth of a gram of gas, hence its very low pressure. There is another matter and that is how long the plasma and hence energy emission can be sustained. Presently it is fractions of a second but a serious "power station" would need to run for some hours. There is also the problem of getting useful energy from the plasma to convert into electricity even if the aforementioned and considerable problems can be overcome and a sustainable, large-scale plasma maintained.

The plan is to surround the chamber with a "blanket" of lithium with pipes running through it and some heat-exchanger fluid passing through them. The heated fluid would then pass on its heat to water and drive a steam-turbine, in the time-honoured fashion used for fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. Now my understanding is that this would not be lithium metal but some oxide material. The heat would be delivered in the form of very high energy neutrons that would be slowed-down as they encounter lithium nuclei on passing through the blanket. In principle this is a very neat trick, since absorption of a neutron by a lithium nucleus converts it to tritium, which could be fed back into the plasma as a fuel. Unlike deuterium, tritium does not exist is nature being radioactive with a half life of about 12 years. However produced either separately or in the blanket lithium is the ultimate fuel source, not tritium per se. Deuterium does exist in nature but only to the extent of one part in about two thousand of ordinary hydrogen (protium) and hence the energy costs of its separation are not inconsiderable.

Exposure to radiation of many potential materials necessary to make the reactor, blanket, and other components such as the heat-exchanger pipes would render them brittle, and so compromise their structural integrity. Providing a fairly intense magnetic field to confine the plasma (maybe 4 Teslas - similar to that in a hospital MRI scanner) needs power (dc not ac as switching the polarity of the field would cause the plasma to collapse) and large power-supply units containing a lot of metals including rare earths which are mined and processed using fossil fuels. The issue of rare earths is troublesome already, and whether enough of them can be recovered to meet existing planned wind and electric car projects is debatable let alone that additional pressure should be placed upon an already fragile resource to build a first generation of fusion power stations.

World supplies of lithium are also already stressed, and hence getting enough of it not only to make blankets for fusion reactors and tritium production but also for the millions-scale fleet of electric vehicles needed to divert our transportation energy demand away from oil is probably a bridge too far, unless we try getting it from seawater, which takes far more energy than mining lithium minerals.

To quote again the ZETA veteran, "I wonder if maybe man is not intended to have nuclear fusion," and all in all, other than from solar energy I wonder if he is right. At any rate, garnering real electrical power from fusion is so far distant as to have no impact on the more immediately pressing fossil fuels crisis, particularly for oil and natural gas. Fusion Power is a long-range "holy grail" and part of the illusion that humankind can continue in perpetuity to use energy on the scale that it presently does. Efficiency and conservation are the only real means to attenuate the impending crisis in energy and resources.

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