Muscle Control, Its Origins, And It’s Possible Appropriation
ContExt
Saw this comment the other day so I thought I’d explore this a little bit more. It’s important to know what’s at the root of ideas, practices, principles, etcetera. This is probably why I enjoy some aspects of history and majored in it in college. But what I’ve come to realize over the past few years is that most perceptions of historical events(including my own) have been wildly inaccurate. In the face of a mountain of evidence, we should modify our worldview.
Some of it comes through our own ignorance, the ignorance of those that teach us, or the intent behind those who teach us. We don’t like being uncomfortable so something that challenges and takes us out of that comfort is usually rejected. But we have to approach history like a detective and with a little bit of skepticism to get to the bottom of things for there is truth in all of this. We just have to reach it.
This post is designed to clear the air with, “Muscle Control” and to describe what it is and what it isn’t. I also wish to explore how practices between cultures get transferred and their point of origin is forgotten.
Maxick
He was a strongman performer from Germany in the early 20th century. He developed his strength and muscular development with muscle control, calisthenics, and weight lifting. He supposedly developed the concept of muscle control from a young age through trial and error. Calisthenics and weight lifting took a back seat to muscle control as the ability to properly activate and relax certain muscles was of primary importance to Maxick. The weights for him were a way to measure his efficiency in muscle control.
“To be a champion lifter one has to acquire certain physical and psychological qualities not purely connected with muscular strength. There has to be certain adjustments to the nervous system the “overhead balance sense” must be acquired; the personal knowledge of one’s own strength can only come from the “feel” of the weights and other things such as confidence, temperament and technique much be added.” (p11 The Why & How Of Muscle Control)
For one can contract and relax their muscles all day but you never know how truly strong you are until you test it.
His system spread around Europe and some parts of the world as other systems did at that time. His rise to fame occurred during, “Physical Culture” which was a period in time when some of the more industrialized nations got into fitness. There was also another muscle controller by the name of Otto Arco who was just as impressive as Maxick. He arrived on the scene and published his own book on muscle control around 1925 a decade later from when Maxick’s first book came out.
But both preached the importance of simultaneous contraction of muscle while relaxing the surrounding muscles and incorporating this into various movements for greater strength.
Physical Culture In India
Physical Culture reached India due to the connection between them and the British doing their things in the East India Company. From here is where you start seeing muscle control pop up in India in pictures and books.
As you can see from some of these pictures, these dudes look just as good as some of Maxick’s guys. It’s important to note that they did use weights more consistently in their training so that might explain the added size.
Yoga In America
From this point on is when you start seeing muscle control appearing in yoga literature especially around the 1960s in the U.S.
Bought this book a while back but I haven’t placed it in my library as I didn’t get any value from this. The reason is that it appeared to me to be a devolved form of what Maxick had taught. Viewing some of the notes at the front of the book looks like this author took some part in bringing the yoga craze to the US during the later part of the 20th century.
From the 1930s on seems like this yoga perspective on muscle control later inspired some sci-fi authors in the 1960s to put these ideas in their books.
Mix up?
It was difficult for me to find anything on yoga before 1930 to show that there was a system of relaxing and contracting one’s muscles for greater strength and muscle beyond verbal affirmations. What’s posited as Maxick’s Muscle Control system coming from ancient India seems like it’s the other way around.
“From this he evolved a simple manner by which others could learn abdominal control through the application of various forms of hand pressure. In the 1930s an attempt was made to take the credit for the discovery of these controls from Maxick by a statement from a certain quarter that they had been performed by Yogis centuries ago. The writer's father, Monte Saldo, replied if anyone could produce a single scrap of evidence in the form of a published illustration showing abdominal control prior to 1908 claim to priority would be withdrawn. But no such evidence has ever been produced to date.” (p 25 The Why & How Of Muscle Control)
Forms of Evidence
I’m not the type of guy to discount the power of oral traditions but in the absence of something written, I believe having a line of succession from the beginning would be helpful. If not, having a line of yogis teaching abdominal control and relaxing/flexing musculature going back just a few decades prior to this would have been beneficial. Another form of proof would be archeology and there are some carvings and images that would depict something that looks similar to modern yoga poses/meditation but not much muscle control.
But then the question arises if we’re imposing our current worldview and practice on history. Because I do XYZ I see a carving or something that looks like XYZ therefore XYZ has always been in existence.
And lastly, external eyewitnesses would also help in establishing proof. The British had their East Indian Company running for well over two centuries. During this time it would have stood out the number of dudes who are hella jacked but barely lift any weights.
But if I’m full of it let me know and present me with your evidence. It’s a possibility that he stumbled on a yoga guru who taught him this stuff and repackaged it for western civilization and came up with a story for his early childhood.
Wrap Up
I believe Maxick came up with something new that strayed from the norm. His pictures and relationships with various men in the physical culture sphere at the time point to someone who knew what he was talking about as if he had been doing it since childhood. Instead of more repetitions, and more weights, what was focused on was better control of the muscles in your body. Once this came everything would fall into place easily.
Muscle,
Strength,
and Willpower.
“When he did eventually have the opportunity to join his local athletic club he found that his controlled muscles put him far ahead of the other members and applying this same concentration and control to actual lifting he soon became the champion of the club; then champion of the area, later champion of Germany, and eventually the strongest man of his weight in the world.” (p 11 The Why & How Of Muscle Control)
He was a sickly child that had to think outside the box in order to get stronger. Often times the troubles we go through enable us to come up with better solutions.
Thank you for making it to the end. If you have any questions send them my way. Until next time…