Fluidity and my golf swing

         I've written in the past the similarities I've found between my golf swing and Kung Fu, and here I am again.  I've recently been taking some lessons to work on my swing, because I've been very inconsistent with it.  I'll hit some fantastic shots, and then I'll hit some outright terrible shots.  I'll have great rounds of golf, and then go out again and just fall apart.  I knew there was something wrong with the mechanics of my swing, so I sought a professional to evaluate my swing and to have an outside perspective. 

        The main takeaways so far are the tempo of my swing, and the tension.  I was coming down way to fast in my swing, probably trying to muscle it a bit to create more power and generate more distance, so having a nice even tempo really helps with better ball striking.  I found I didn't lose a lot of yardage either, and I was hitting the ball better more consistently, and straight.  I am also working more on relaxing my body and releasing any tension from my swing, so that my swing can become for fluid and allow everything to work in harmony.

        See the similarities yet?  How about thinking of the golf club as a weapon similar to stick.  It's an extension that exaggerates our movements.  I've written about that before too.  How the golf club is much like stick, but with the golf club you get immediate feedback in the shape of your golf ball flight.  The flight of the golf ball will tell you how well your alignment is.  When we are doing techniques in class, and the one that is dominant in my mind, is sparring drills, we're told to relax.  Like my golf swing, I'm wanting to eliminate tension in my body up until the point of impact.  Whether that is impact of club hitting ball, or fist hitting its target.  Taking tension out helps our body become more fluid.  That is important because then we can allow all the working parts move together in harmony.  If we allow this kind of movement, then we should be able to have our harmonies in alignment because they'll be acting on each other in a way that creates alignment.  Having tension taken out and creating fluidity will also bring more speed to our techniques.

        Tempo is our vocabulary in motion.  Tempo in a golf swing is having an even speed backswing to downswing.  It helps create that fluidity of motion.  Same goes when we are practicing our sparring drills.  We can change our tempo/vocabulary of motion between techniques.  Some will work better together than others, it may be 1,2 and then 3, or maybe it is 1, and then 2,3; and so on.  It also makes me think of rhythm.  Sifu Brinker talked about having your opponent matching your rhythm and then striking when they've synced with your rhythm as a way of throwing them off.  Tempo and rhythm are kind of the same in this way.  When we practice our tempo/vocabulary of motion in our forms, this can translate into a nice flow, or it can be very choppy.  Same thing was happening with my golf swing.  The more flow I had, the better contact and flight path I had.  When my swing and tempo was broke, it resulted in poor ball striking and flight path.

        As I write, I'm also reminded of the similar journey both my Kung Fu and golf swing have taken, and that is for me to slow down.  Slowing down in Kung Fu has helped me develop my harmonies, and same goes with my golf swing.  By slowing down, I'm allowing technique and my body mechanics to work in harmony to provide the results I want.  My other thoughts go towards how Kung Fu really is in everything we do.  Kung Fu teaches us how to move better, and this translates into all activities.