Keep Your Knees Safe

Here's some resources on understanding 'structure' and your knees. Alignment is the most important principle to follow. The knee points at the centerline or the big toe of the foot. For the beginner, in a front stance, the front shin does not move past vertical. This limit must be respected when pushing or pulling.

Power will not pass safely through a knee that is out of alignment. The source of most knee pain is in the relationship betweent the hip and ankle, not the knee itself. A habitual misalignment, coupled with overtraining, will result in permanent damage to the joint.

Develop your awareness so that such misalignment does not occur. The UCB Program does not allow students to train improperly and damage themselves.

Common Dance Injuries

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Kalama Sutta (Kalama Sutra)

Do not simply believe what you hear just because you have heard it for a long time.
Do no follow tradition blindly merely because it has been practiced that way for many generations.
Do not be quick to listen to rumors.
Do not confirm anything just because it agrees with your scriptures.
Do not foolishly make assumptions.
Do not abruptly draw conclusions by what you see and hear.
Do not be fooled by outward appearances.
Do not hold on tightly to any view or idea just because you are comfortable with it.
Do not accept as fact anything that you yourself find to be illogical.
Do not be convinced of anything out of respect and deference to your spiritual teachers.

You should go beyond opinion and belief. You can rightly reject anything which when accepted, practiced and perfected leads to more aversion, more craving and more delusion. They are not beneficial and are to be avoided. Conversely, you can rightly accept anything which when accepted and practiced leads to unconditional love, contentment and wisdom. These things allow you time and space to develop a happy and peaceful mind. This should be your criteria on what is and what is not the truth; on what should be and what should not be the spiritual practice.