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Inner power
This is perhaps the most important single source of power of the human body and also the most difficult to generate because it requires the coordination of physical as well as physiological principles. Physically, the inner power is the result of the force of the abdominal muscles located below the diaphragm. They are the strongest muscles of the body and take a prominent part in the transmission of force as they link the upper and lower body. When the abdominal muscles are contracted, the whole body becomes one single mass concentrated around its center of gravity; thus, in momentum MxV transmitted to the striking extremity, M represents the total weight of the body. Abdominal muscles must thus be contracted right at the beginning of the motion to solidify the body into one mass, on which, step by step, other muscles are going to rest to transmit the striking force.
The force of the abdominal region is developed by correct breathing and use of the centripetal pressure of the abdominal muscles. The proper way to breathe is to inhale deeply from the nose, lifting the diaphragm and filling up the lower abdomen (tanden) with air. The breath should then be held in the tanden and the abdominal muscles should contract to create an antagonistic pressure called centripetal pressure. This is truly the source of inner power. The lower abdomen should always remain slightly tensed, filled with ki, in a position of equilibrium between the centrifugal force excited by the breathing and the centripetal pressure of the abdominal muscles. This kind of respiration provides a constant massage of the internal organs (liver, spleen, and stomach) and facilitates blood circulation by pushing back to the heart like a pump, the blood irrigating the lower part of the abdomen. The movement of the diaphragm relaxes the solar plexus which is an important nervous center, and as a result, the functions of the central nervous system are better controlled and the mind becomes more serene.