Your body isn't tense -- there must be something wrong!

One of the peculiarities that I am noticing about American culture is the way they hold their bodies. I am examining martial arts videos to see what others are doing and what they deem to be worthy to teach. All the time I am noticing that there is a way of speaking that is fraught with tension. This isn't precisely in the tone of voice, but rather in the determination to teach something that is universally applicable, precise and understood to be authoritative. I notice this same thing even in American comedies -- the way women hold their bodies with a stiffness that belies their more relaxed mental demeanour.

I see in this stiffness the American puritanical value system at large. (One finds this in Australians, too, and no doubt in the British, to the degree that these are also puritantical.)

If stiffness is a sign of moral forthrightness, then somebody who is loose in movement and in attitude must certainly be up to no good!

There may be an attendant assumption, too, that loose people are inefficient.

Nonetheless, looseness is absolutely vital for mental flexibility. A supple mind and body is vital to avoid sudden attacks, and to defend one's territory.

This attitude of mental suppleness is precisely what is missing from the American videos I have watched.

This can't be taught as a technique, but it's two thirds of what's required for effective action in the martial arts.