History
After being bullied as a child, Charles Atlas joined the YMCA and began to do numerous exercise routines. He became obsessed with strength. He said that one day he watched a tiger stretching in the zoo and asked himself "How does Mr. Tiger keep in physical condition? Did you ever see a tiger with a barbell?" He concluded that lions and tigers became strong by pitting muscle against muscle. The validity of this story is questionable however and may be nothing more than an entertaining story to help sell his course. There were many other "isometric" courses available at the time and it wasn't until Atlas used the ad with the bully kicking sand in the weakling's face that the sales took off. Some other notable users of this method include Joe DiMaggio, Max Baer, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Robert Ripley and Alan Wells.
Specifically, dynamic tension is a technique very commonly used within martial arts. This refers to the “dynamic tension” literally applied using a person’s movements. Tightening core muscles and applying dynamic tension allows a person to change the tempo of their movement. The reconstruction of such movements gives a person more power and speed. This especially becomes useful in performing or sparring. Taking a deep breath, and exhaling slowly while tightening the muscles, and sometimes even physically shaking the body part, portrays a stronger presence while performing. Following dynamic tension could be a series of quick movements to pick up the pace. Dynamic tension is a technique that is universal and could be used on any movement or any style.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Well, for us, in history where goodness is a rare pearl, he who was good almost takes precedence over he who was great.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)