I have first-hand experience of trying to bend the arm of a soft-style martial artist who invited me to try with all my strength and power to bend his outstretched arm, and then he invited me to try again, but to also feel his arm with one of my hands as I continued to try. I did, and his arm was completely soft -- no muscular tension whatsoever. After I quit trying and was standing there perplexed, he showed me his wrist tendons which were impossibly thick like steel cables. If that was an explanation, it somewhat eluded me, for even if the force was being directed into and opposed by tendons and/or connective tissues, how could that be done without any perceivable muscular arm effort? I'm at a loss for a complete explanation beyond the "chi" theories. However, I recently discovered while taking muscle relaxers that I could break drywall with a slap by relaxing completely into a moving form where even my feet were without tension. Any ideas?
