shanmonster | Don't Pull Your Chin Back

I keep hearing this in lots of situations in reference to posture: pull your chin in.

This is wrong. I'll tell and show you why.

Here is the problematic head/neck position. I see it all the time. I call it turtle head, because it reminds me of a turtle poking its head out of its shell. This is perfectly acceptable posture for a turtle, but for people, not so much. It's often accompanied by forward sloping shoulders and a closed chest. It's also often accompanied by neck pain.

[Turtle head]

In order to correct this posture, people will often say pull your chin back, ostensibly to give this alignment, instead:

[Upright]

However, in order to go from the position in the first photo to that in the second, I did not pull back my chin.

When I pulled my chin back, I ended up with this position, instead:

[Chin back]

This unflattering angle not only gives me multiple chins, but also closes my windpipe off a bit, making it harder to breath. Not acceptable.

So, what did I do to go from the first position to the second?

Years ago, I picked up a Chinese martial arts book and flipped through it. I don't remember what style it was, but one gruesome analogy caught my attention. In reference to head position, it said to imagine your head was hanging from a meathook.

From this, I instead imagined the top centre of my head was suspended from above by a string (which is just a bit friendlier to me than the meathook image). By doing this, my head moved into much better alignment. My chin was no longer leading me along, leaving my throat open. I felt a better range of motion through my neck. It was comfortable. And it looked nice.

I combined this with my usual balancing tricks, carrying something on my head. If the weight is heavy and my head is forward in the turtle position, it puts a lot of strain on my neck. If I pull my chin back and carry something on my head, it applies uncomfortable compression, and also, breathing is still more difficult. And when I lifted with the imaginary string, the weight on my head was centred much better, and I had more stability and comfort.

And as far as fighting goes, you can hold this position and tip down slightly, guarding your throat without counterproductively cutting off your own air supply.