By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Why do old Chinese people walk backwards while clapping their hands?
You see this at every park. It's not enough that the old people take over the playground equipment, but you can see them taking up the running lanes with this activity of theirs. What's up with that?
11 years 25 weeks ago in Health & Safety - Other cities
From http://kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com/en/118Kaleidoscope5145.html
Walking Backwards
According to the theories of modern sports science, walking backwards is good for your health, as it can help prevent the development of a hunchback. It also helps promote blood circulation and metabolism and helps prevent lumbago. This exercise also increases the bearing capacity of your knees, and strengthens the muscles and ligaments of the joints. As you must balance yourself when you walk backwards, the exercise improves the functions of your cerebellum, which coordinates and balances your bodily movements, as well as the flexibility of your body.
However, you should pay special attention when you walk backwards, to make sure that the road is even; otherwise, you might stumble.
Zhao recommends you do the following when walking backwards:
1. Warm-up exercises: Limber up your ankles and knee joints, and sway your body from side to side;
2. Mark time: Relax your body when you do the exercise, with both arms swaying forward and backward. First, raise your heels a bit, but keep your toes on the ground when you mark time. After doing the exercise for a minute, raise your thighs higher, so that your feet will be off the ground. Keep practicing for another two minutes;
3. After you have adjusted yourself to the movement of marking time, you may start walking backwards. While walking, you should keep your steps steady, and sway your arms forward and backward to balance yourself;
4. If you suffer from lumbago and/or arthritis, you should walk backwards two or three times a day. You may walk 100-400 steps at one go, take a two-minute break, and then resume; and
5. If you want to lose weight, you should do the exercise two times every day—in the morning and in the afternoon. You should walk 1,500-2,000 meters each time, and increase the amount of exercise by speeding up your steps, or jogging backwards.
I doubt there is any science behind it. Anyway, as many then continue to spend their day in some horrible footwear, any benefits for the spine is gone. I love the recommendation is to warm up before walking 1500-2000 meters, man that's weak.
Clapping is described on the same page. I didn't read it as to not ruin my theory that people do it....... just to be f-ing annoying.
icnif77:
No, they don't! LOL. They're 'exercisiiiing'. Always when I see it, my first thought is about 'mental hospitals'. Why's that?
you're bad!
'Good evening.
This is your Captain.
We are about to attempt a crash landing.
Please extinguish all cigarettes.
Place your tray tables in their upright, locked position.
Your Captain says: Put your head on your knees.
Your Captain says: Put your head on your hands.
Captain says: Put your hands on your head.
Put your hands on your hips.
Heh heh.
This is your Captain-and we are going down.
We are all going down... together.
And I said: Uh oh.
This is gonna be some day.
Standby.
This is the time.
And this is the record of the time.
Uh-this is your Captain again.
You know, I've got this funny feeling
I've seen this all before.
Why?
Cause I'm a caveman.
Why?
Cause I've got eyes in the back of my head.
Why?
It's the heat.
Standby.
This is the time.
And this is the record of the time.
Put your hands over your eyes.
Jump out of the plane.
There is no pilot.
You are not alone.
Standby.
This is the time.
And this is the record of the time.'
Exercise. Nothing to do with exorcizing demons from an aging body or mental imbalances. Exercise, pure and simple.
I work out at a no-frills, neighborhood gym back home in Austin where a lot of serious weightlifters and fitness buffs hang out. Treadmills, bikes, medicine balls, machines and free weights. I'm a lightweight so I go easy on the treads and stick to dumbbells. But some major body-builders get on the mills and they do their 10k power walking forward and then backward. Swinging their arms and shit. Keeps them in shape.
What's so fucking weird about walking backwards swinging your arms?
If it irks you so much to see oldies doing their thing, find another playground to play in or track to run on. No wait. You're just whinging, aren't you? You don't play or run, do you?
If you're happy and you know it, and you really want to show it, clap your hands... while walking backwards.
IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, AND YOU REALLY WANNA SHOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS
Then do the hokey-pokey, and turn yourself around, 'cause that's what it's all about.
They replace their sight with the sound/rhythm (drummer Smiley), while they don't see in the direction they walk.
icnif77:
Walking backwards is 'challenge' in view of ex-martial arts practitioner. It is an exercise, it just look awkward, when they're doing it on the streets.
Ability to stand on one foot, anticipating moves behind your back, zen meditation, and so on, Tai-Chi, and other major Martial arts exercises.
What one would 'exercise', while walking fast over 5 m long log, 4 m off the ground? A 'sight'! Excellent exercise, butt….we don't walk on the railings in the cities (to have better sight).
Because by the time you get that old, most of your life is behind you, and it's a great way to see where you've been. I quote this from another thread by the user "giadrosich"
do u know yin - yang ?
do u know Tai Ji
what u saw is only the surface ( of course )
there is yin-yang theory deeply inside
and in fact ,,,in china history the yin-yang theory was used everywhere
such as dress,dinner,house,,,even sleep,breath,get up,,,,
very close to everyday life
but,,,all the above cant be know by only ur eyes or ears!
do u know yin - yang ?
do u know Tai Ji
what u saw is only the surface ( of course )
there is yin-yang theory deeply inside
and in fact ,,,in china history the yin-yang theory was used everywhere
such as dress,dinner,house,,,even sleep,breath,get up,,,,
very close to everyday life
but,,,all the above cant be know by only ur eyes or ears!
I used to know someone who looked forward to getting old because then they could take a leak in public and everyone would just say "oh it's ok - he's old". Walking backwards and clapping is probably a similar level of excitement for someone that's a bit "special".
It's just exercise of the calf muscles. No mystery.
