I am investigating different methods to help with problems I have. I am looking at your method and Chi Running, but it looks like the latter conflicts with your method's principles. If you google Chi Running you can see the form and principles. Could you tell me if you feel it is incompatible with your approach? Thanks!
Chi Running vs. Gokhale Method?
July 29, 2010 - 4:57pm | 5 posts
#1
Chi Running vs. Gokhale Method?
1 hour 39 min ago
09/10/2008 - 8:36pm
11 years 4 months ago
11/15/2011 - 4:14pm
Curious to hear what your discovered. I recently started tucking in my pelvis (Chi running method) and it helped me with a lower back pain that only started on mile 12 (am up to 17, training for 22). What is your point of view?
10 years 5 months ago
03/27/2014 - 7:06am
I wanted to weigh in on this because i did chi running and took a seminar (4 hrs) from Danny.
It did not help my running, and precipitated pain. However, Chi-Walking did help, and got me up to 15 mile walks.
He teaches not spilling your chi by leveling out your pelvis so it would "not spill water". However, there is a subtlety here. when you do your setup body positioning, you do slightly hinge at the hip, although unfortunately he does not describe it like that. You basically put your fingertip about an inch in front of your chest and then bring your chest to touch it. What this does is induce a tilt, probably intended to be a pelvic tilt rather than a hunching of the upper back. He teaches that your run speed is directly controlled by your tilt from the ankle, and not the hips. He teaches that the gait is mainly to the rear, and the only way to do that is by tilting frwd a lot in order to run at high speeds. he teaches picking up the feet as does Esther. He also teaches elongating the neck, and imagining a puppet string pulling up to the sky and forward. At high speeds, this results in a high kick to the rear. For a forward type striker as i tend, the main thing was that the gait is to the rear and not a pull to the front.
7 years 3 weeks ago
09/11/2014 - 10:20pm
Hi PostureGuy,
I saw this and wanted to give my two cents. I believe natural running is about pushing forward using hip extension not lifting using the hip flexors or hamstrings. Good, worldclass runners can look like they are doing Chi Running or Pose Running, but I think both are missing the boat slightly. It is also important to point out someone running a 5-minute-mile will have much different form and joint angles than someone running a 8-minute-mile and both those are different than someone running a 11-minute-mile. Tucking the pelvis in my opinion is a big mistake, even if it makes someone feel better (less back pain, etc) because it is not natural. A better idea might be to correct the postural imbalances that are causing the low back pain then run naturally and you'd be faster and pain free. I do agree that the faster you run, the more forward lean (from the ground) you will have, but that is not to let gravity pull you forward but to allow you to push harder into the ground. Gravity is not what makes it run or run fast, your muscles do. All running involves working against the pull of gravity no matter how much someone thinks it doesn't because you are using your muscles to keep yourself from being prone on the ground.
Other thoughts?
"You weren't just born to run, you were born to run pain free." - Matt Whitehead