As you may know if you have perused my blog or website, Nia has moves called the 52 Moves of Nia or Nia’s 52 Moves. Moves concentrated and focused on. Generally moves included in all of the routines. Not all the moves are included in all of the routines, but the routines are jam-packed with most of the moves. The moves on the list have physical benefits. Some are fun or silly so they can have mental or spiritual benefits. And in this case I am talking about your spirit or inner child, the part of you that likes to have fun, the part of you that you might not get to display in your regular everyday work life. So not the religious type of spirit but the kind of spirit that you think of when you say or hear “school spirit” or inner child. The fun playful side of you. To me, one of those moves is Claw Hand.
Claw Hand is a great move. It is super easy. It can be done all on its own. You can just stand or sit and do claw hand. You can add it to some foot work. You can add it to some complicated choreography. You can make it soft or hard. You can do it fast or slow. It is very versatile.
You can even make noises when you do it. You can growl like a big cat or a bear. You can meow like a kitty-cat. You can make any noise you want. It is fun stuff.
As I said you can do it standing or sitting and this moves gets done in to all the stances and steps in the Nia Routines. The Nia Technique Book (by Debbie and Carlos Rosas) recommends it be practiced in all the stances and steps. And that is a great idea since we use it with all of them. The routine I am doing now even add it to blocks. We block in with claw hand and we block out with claw hand. Why not?
You can probably figure out what this move is from the description but I tell you what the book says:
“Mimic a claw with your finger and claw the air, as if you were in a cat fight. Keep your wrists relaxed, and sound a cat’s hisses as you do the move. Use both hands.”
The benefits can include strengthening your fingers and hands.
In addition to keeping a relaxed wrist I like to use the claw shape to bring tension into my entire arm. I imagine I am really clawing something. I figure I would need strength to do that so I put my entire arm into it. You can use one had to “claw” and the other hand to feel the muscles in your arm (forearm and upper arm) contract.
The book states that this move can increase your sense of power. When I am doing it with muscles contracted as if I am REALLY clawing something I do have a sense of power. I imagine that is how an animal feels when they wield their claw.
This move allows you to practice bending your fingers too. That helps with the mobility of the joints. I like this move. I like to add sounding to it.
Ok, so stop and try it? What sound do you like to do best with your Claw Hand?
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