I have arrived
I am home
in the here
in the now
I am solid
I am free
in the ultimate
I dwell
Reference: The Long Road Turns to Joy - A Guide To Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
ISBN: 093807783X
Page 1
Monthly Archive for August, 2006
Approaching the gates of the monastery, Hakuin found Ken the Zen
preaching to a group of disciples.
“Words…” Ken orated, “they are but an illusory veil obfuscating
the absolute reality of –”
“Ken!” Hakuin interrupted. “Your fly is down!”
Whereupon the Clear Light of Illumination exploded upon Ken, and he
vaporized.
On the way to town, Hakuin was greeted by an itinerant monk imbued
with the spirit of the morning.
“Ah,” the monk sighed, a beatific smile wrinkling across his cheeks,
“Thou art That…”
“Ah,” Hakuin replied, pointing excitedly, “And Thou art Fat!”
Whereupon the Clear Light of Illumination exploded upon the monk,
and he vaporized.
Next, the Governor sought the advice of Hakuin, crying: “As our
enemies bear down upon us, how shall I, with such heartless and callow
soldiers as I am heir to, hope to withstand the impending onslaught?”
“US?” snapped Hakuin.
Whereupon the Clear Light of Illumination exploded upon the
Governor, and he vaporized.
Then, a redneck went up to Hakuin and vaporized the old Master with
his shotgun. “Ha! Beat ya’ to the punchline, ya’ scrawny li’l geek!”
將欲歙之，必固張之。
將欲弱之，必固強之。
將欲廢之，必固興之。
將欲取之，必固與之。
是謂微明。
柔弱勝剛強。
魚不可脫於淵，
國之利器
不可以示人。
That which shrinks
Must first expand.
That which fails
Must first be strong.
That which is cast down
Must first be raised.
Before receiving
There must be giving.
This is called perception of the nature of things.
Soft and weak overcome hard and strong.
Fish cannot leave deep waters,
And a country’s weapons should not be displayed.
Referece: Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching XXXVI (Trans. Feng & English)
by Yang Cheng-fu (1883 - 1936)
as researched by Lee N. Scheele
1.) Head upright to let the shen [spirit of vitality] rise to the top of the head. Don’t use li [external strength], or the neck will be stiff and the ch’i [vital life energy] and blood cannot flow through. It is necessary to have a natural and lively feeling. If the spirit cannot reach the headtop, it cannot raise.
2.) Sink the chest and pluck up the back. The chest is depressed naturally inward so that the ch’i can sink to the tan-t’ien [field of elixir]. Don’t expand the chest: the ch’i gets stuck there and the body becomes top-heavy. The heel will be too light and can be uprooted. Pluck up the back and the ch’i sticks to the back; depress the chest and you can pluck up the back. Then you can discharge force through the spine. You will be a peerless boxer.
3.) Sung [Relax] the waist. The waist is the commander of the whole body. If you can sung the waist, then the two legs will have power and the lower part will be firm and stable. Substantial and insubstantial change, and this is based on the turning of the waist. It is said “the source of the postures lies in the waist. If you cannot get power, seek the defect in the legs and waist.”
4.) Differentiate between insubstantial and substantial. This is the first principle in T’ai Chi Ch’uan. If the weight of the whole body is resting on the right leg, then the right leg is substantial and the left leg is insubstantial, and vice versa. When you can separate substantial and insubstantial, you can turn lightly without using strength. If you cannot separate, the step is heavy and slow. The stance is not firm and can be easily thrown of balance.
5.) Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows. The shoulders will be completely relaxed and open. If you cannot relax and sink, the two shoulders will be raised up and tense. The ch’i will follow them up and the whole body cannot get power. “Sink the elbows” means the elbows go down and relax. If the elbows raise, the shoulders are not able to sink and you cannot discharge people far. The discharge will then be close to the broken force of the external schools.
6.) Use the mind instead of force. The T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classics say, “all of this means use I [mind-intent] and not li.” In practicing T’ai Chi Ch’uan the whole body relaxes. Don’t let one ounce of force remain in the blood vessels, bones, and ligaments to tie yourself up. Then you can be agile and able to change. You will be able to turn freely and easily. Doubting this, how can you increase your power?
The body has meridians like the ground has ditches and trenches. If not obstructed the water can flow. If the meridian is not closed, the ch’i goes through. If the whole body has hard force and it fills up the meridians, the ch’i and the blood stop and the turning is not smooth and agile. Just pull one hair and the whole body is off-balance. If you use I, and not li, then the I goes to a place in the body and the ch’i follows it. The ch’i and the blood circulate. If you do this every day and never stop, after a long time you will have nei chin [real internal strength]. The T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classics say, “when you are extremely soft, you become extremely hard and strong.” Someone who has extremely good T’ai Chi Ch’uan kung fu has arms like iron wrapped with cotton and the weight is very heavy. As for the external schools, when they use li, they reveal li. When they don’t use li, they are too light and floating. There chin is external and locked together. The li of the external schools is easily led and moved, and not too be esteemed.
7.) Coordinate the upper and lower parts of the body. The T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classics say “the motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the legs, controlled by the waist and manifested through the fingers.” Everything acts simultaneously. When the hand, waist and foot move together, the eyes follow. If one part doesn’t follow, the whole body is disordered.
8.) Harmonize the internal and external. In the practice of T’ai Chi Ch’uan the main thing is the spirit. Therefore it is said “the spirit is the commander and the body is subordinate.” If you can raise the spirit, then the movements will naturally be agile. The postures are not beyond insubstantial and substantial, opening and closing. That which is called open means not only the hands and feet are open, but the mind is also open. That which is called closed means not only the hands and feet are closed, but the mind is also closed. When you can make the inside and outside become one, then it becomes complete.
9.) Move with continuity. As to the external schools, their chin is the Latter Heaven brute chin. Therefore it is finite. There are connections and breaks. During the breaks the old force is exhausted and the new force has not yet been born. At these moments it is very easy for others to take advantage. T’ai Chi Ch’uan uses I and not li. From beginning to end it is continuous and not broken. It is circular and again resumes. It revolves and has no limits. The original Classics say it is “like a great river rolling on unceasingly.” and that the circulation of the chin is “drawing silk from a cocoon ” They all talk about being connected together.
10.) Move with tranquility [Seek stillness in movement]. The external schools assume jumping about is good and they use all their energy. That is why after practice everyone pants. T’ai Chi Ch’uan uses stillness to control movement. Although one moves, there is also stillness. Therefore in practicing the form, slower is better. If it is slow, the inhalation and exhalation are long and deep and the ch’i sinks to the tan-t’ien. Naturally there is no injurious practice such as engorgement of the blood vessels. The learner should be careful to comprehend it. Then you will get the real meaning.
Reference: http://www.scheele.org/
by Wee Kee-Jin
Master Huang Sheng-Shyan once suggested that a student should be prepared to look over the mountain for a good teacher, and a teacher should be willing to travel the oceans for a good student”. Both efforts reflect a good attitude.
Empty Your Cup
The first requirement to learning something new is to let go of what you already know. Only when your cup is empty is there space to add something further. Fully absorb the purpose and function behind the new lessons, before relating them back to the classics. If it fits with your understanding of the principles then incorporate it into your ongoing practise, otherwise let it go. It might be contrary to your present direction, or it might only have some relevance later, on your Taiji journey.
Practise
Students seldom give a teacher the chance to teach, by not practising what was previously taught you don’t have the foundation to be taught the next things. Just attending classes or workshops does not mean that you will become good at Taiji, results come from practise.
Accept the Keys
When someone teaches you they are imparting a method of training, or offering you a key to the door. To open the door and enter the room, you need to practise to develop a foundation of what was taught. During the next stage of training the teacher’s guidance can present you with another key. However if the you haven’t walked through the first door, this new key will be of no use.
Enjoy your Training
Initially it is necessary to establish a regular daily training routine to develop self discipline. However you must soon find enjoyment in your practise and therefore develop the want to train, otherwise you will build up mental resistance that will prevent the subtler depths of Taiji being apparent.
Become your own Teacher
The Taiji journey begins with a teacher being required to build the foundation, or as the classics put it “to come through the door, you need oral transmission”. But once the foundation is solid, and a clear direction is set you can still progress even without your teacher. Then when a certain level is reached, a new dimension of understanding will open up, and begin a process of exploration and discovery that can be continued for the rest of your life.
Always remain a Student
As a teacher it does not mean that you have stopped practising. “Teacher” is only a form of address, we are all just students, always learning and practising.
Reference: http://www.taijiquan.co.nz/
Building a Connection
by Wee Kee-Jin
Taijiquan is not simply relaxing, sinking and being grounded. It is about developing; the right structure; the right sequence of movements to connect the structure; the right timing of the movements; and the mind awareness (Yi) to travel through the movements.
A structure without the sequence of movements is like an electrical cable without the copper wire inside the plastic tube. Without the mind awareness (Yi) even the correct structure with the right sequence and timing of the movements, is like the wire not having a current passing through it.
Connecting the Base and Arms
Often the movements of the base (feet, legs & hips) and the arms are co-ordinated but unconnected, and therefore incorrectly act independent of each other. The connection between the base and arms is in the body’s torso and needs to be cultivated using the mind awareness (Yi) to create a melting sensation through the body as it leads the force from the feet to the finger-tips.
When initially practised it is difficult to recognise anything happening but after a few years of training it is possible to feel even very small muscles in the body change as the mind directs. Eventually the base movements will actually produce the movement in the body which in turn will produce the movement in the arms, both during sinking and issuing.
It is easier to first cultivate the body connecting the base and arms in static foot positions and repetitive movements such as in Master Huang’s relaxing exercises before involving the stepping and changing postures of the Form. Later work it with the addition of an external force in the controlled environment of fixed pushing-hand routines, before attempting it in the free pushing, where the external force direction and speed is not restricted.
Once the whole body is continuously connected, and the timing becomes almost natural, neutralising would involve allowing an incoming force to pass through you into the ground where it would be combined with the energy of the earth and rebounded in greater magnitude back to the source of the incoming force. This “interception” does not require you to initiate any issuing as your body will have become a medium for the forces to pass through unimpeded.
Reference: http://www.taijiquan.co.nz/
Master Huang’s 20 Important Points
Translated by Wee Kee-Jin
For the Taijiquan Form and Qi cultivation Master Huang Sheng-Shyan referred to 20 points:
1 Every muscle in the body has to be relaxed and loosened.
2 The body has to maintain an upright position without leaning or tilting.
3 Empty the chest, relax the shoulders and drop the elbows.
4 Tuck in the back and keep a light consciousness on the crown of the head.
5 Contract the anus, but ensure the buttocks are relaxed and hanging.
6 Bring the Spirit (mind awareness) within to cultivate the Qi. Avoid unnecessary movements in the three parts of the body: head, arms and torso.
7 Maintain an awareness of the three centres (centre of palms, tantien and bubbling well).
8 Use the mind, not brute force, to stay in your centre.
9 Calm the mind, relax the body and maintain an awareness of the body.
10 Initiate all the turning from the hips and waist.
11 When stepping forward or backward, the substantial and insubstantial feet must be clearly differentiated and firmly grounded.
12 The legs initiate the forward and backward movement.
13 In calmness there is movement and in movement there is sinking.
14 Upper and lower body must synchronise harmoniously, without dispersed movements.
15 Relax the neck, sink the shoulders and drop the elbows.
16 Three things that should never be locked straight in the form; the body; the arms; the legs.
17 Maintain continuity without any breaks, internal and external in harmony.
18 The hands move like reeling silk from a cocoon and the feet move like a cat in motion.
19 Have faith, modesty and perseverance and success will prevail.
20 Fully understand the Taiji Form and the applications will be natural.
Reference: http://www.taijiquan.co.nz/
by Wee Kee-Jin
In Taijiquan, we must know the direction we want to head in, then focus on the process not the result. Practising the right process will take you to where you want to go. Even knowing and preaching the Taijiquan ‘classics’ will not amount to anything, if you don’t practise it.
Structure
The ‘classics’ state that; the body has to be upright as if the head is suspended from above; the hips have to be relaxed and seated into their sockets; the chest should be hollowed; shoulders relaxed and elbows dropped. These requirements combined create the taiji ‘structure’.
However if all the attention in placed on the structure without having an awareness of the processes and details in the movements, the structure will be empty and without substance.
Substance
To develop substance we must learn the sequence of how the body moves in the taiji way. Any raising or lowering always having always originated from the feet, before passing through the ankles, knees, hips (kua) body torso, to the shoulders, elbows, wrists, palms and then fingers. All turning is motivated by the hips turning the waist, body trunk, arms then hands. Both the ‘opening’ and ‘closing’, stem from the ‘centre’. Expanding outwards from the ‘centre’ produces the ‘opening’ and contracting inwards from the ‘centre’ produces the ‘closing’. Similar to how an umbrella is opened and closed. A balloon inflates from air being blown into the centre expanding it outward, and deflates when the air is allowed to escape from the centre.
Most taiji practitioners sequence their leg movements (feet, ankles, knees then hips), and arms (shoulders, elbows, wrists, palms then fingers), but neglect the changes through the body trunk. The legs and arms may be co-ordinated, but are unconnected and therefore moving independently. The ‘classics’ state that when one part of the body moves every part of the body moves, when one part changes - every part changes along with it, and when one part arrives - every part arrives together. Therefore every movement originating in the legs must ripple through the body to produce the movement in the arms.
This releasing of the body trunk is produced by mind awareness visualising a melting sensation as it travels through the body muscles. Only then will the movements of the legs be connected to the arms and the whole body change as one.
Synchronization
Once the sequence of movement is established and connected, the sequence should be timed to synchronize the whole body. If we divide the body into three groups of parts; base (from the feet, ankles, knees to the hips); body trunk (abdomen, chest, spine and shoulder blades); and arms (shoulders, elbows, wrists to the hands and fingers), the changes must be timed to be in relation with each other. So if the base has released 10%, the body trunk should have released by 10% and the arms also 10%. 10% in the base but only 5% in the body trunk and 20% in the arms means that there is a disconnection between the base and body trunk, and you are holding yourself up, and the arms are collapsing into the body.
Continuous Sinking
Throughout the Taiji ‘form’ from the beginning to the end, the whole body is continuously changing and synchronizing, and the mind is initiating wave after wave of sinking. Master Huang maintained that sinking is the main theme of the ‘form’, and Taiji is all about changes. Sinking throughout the ‘form’, not only ensures that we are stable and grounded, it produces a continuous supply of ‘relaxed force’ (jing). To cultivate sinking we initially work it in three stages as follows;
1) When moving the insubstantial foot (e.g. stepping), we send the mind awareness through the body visualising a melting sensation, into the ground under the substantial foot.
2) During the transition (e.g. adjusting the substantial foot and turning the body) we send another wave of awareness and melting visualisation from the crown of the head, through the body into the ground beneath both feet.
3) When issuing the ‘relaxed force’ (fa-jing) from the feet, through the legs, body arms, palms to the finger tips, we visualise the melting sensation as the awareness passes through the body.
Eventually these stages must be combined into one continuous sink.
The Form
The ‘form’ is the foundation of Taiji. Whatever process happens in the ‘form’ will translate into the fixed ‘pushing-hands’ and ‘free-pushing’. We should therefore work on the same things in each. If we were to practise one way in the form, another way during fixed ‘pushing-hands’ and something different for ‘free-pushing’, it is like leaning the English words, using a German sentence structure (or grammar) and writing an essay in the Chinese direction (top to bottom left to right).
Pushing Hands
‘Pushing-hands’ is not just being able to neutralise an incoming force, or being able to stick to your opponent and follow his or her changes. When we are neutralising and the opponent is still grounded he or she can still come in from another direction. When we are advancing although we may be sticking, he or she can still change if they are connected to their base. Both in neutralising and sticking we must take them out of alignment so that they become immediately disconnected. Without a base they will have to rely on you to keep their balance so that effectively you become their centre. Being able to disconnect a partner from their base and use a ‘relaxed-force’ to uproot and throw them is a good level, but the ultimate is not to have to use any of your own force, rather absorbing the force of your partner and returning it to them. A public company operates and grows using the funds from shareholders not their own money.
Reference: http://www.taijiquan.co.nz/
by Wee Kee-Jin
Master Huang was a renowned practitioner, but it was as a teacher that he most stood out. He developed exercises and a systemised training method that recognised the stages of a student’s development.
Physical Mechanisms
When learning Taijiquan we all start with poor posture and awkward actions. So we need to work with big loose movements to free up locked joints and accumulated tensions, with particular attention on uprightness and an awareness of the feet to cultivate greater stability. Initially the body moves as one block, but as the joints and muscles loosen we start to turn from the hips, to lead the waist, to lead the body, to lead the arms. The raising of the arms, instead of lifting, gets motivated from a force below and expressed by the relaxation of the body’s trunk, shoulders and elbows. Then every movement in the upper body becomes a product of the changes from below.
From the beginning the importance of the structure must be emphasised. This is the accuracy and alignment both in posture and later during the transitions, and provides the pathways for the energies to pass through. Like the hose, where either kinking or squeezing can stop the water flowing, in the body locked joints and muscular tension will restrict the energy’s path.
Focusing on the Qi or Yi before the structure is established is of little use, like generating electricity without having the wires to transmit it. Meditation and Qigong also works on the Yi and Qi but without the Pushing hands they do not provide the method to deliver a relaxed force.
Accuracy is not just the details of the positions (the where), or the sequence (the when), but more importantly the process of how you move. Inaccuracies may be made obvious to you in Pushing-hands, but it is in the Form that you train them. If you can’t maintain your alignment when there is no external force affecting you, then it must be impossible if there is.
Alignment refers to a state of central equilibrium, that is being upright and centred both horizontally and vertically. When moving, both left and right need to change evenly, so both knees, hips and shoulders should drop at the same rate, not one side faster than the other.
If students only work on being loose, relaxed and sensitive then their Form will not be grounded (floating Form) and during Pushing-hands they not have a relaxed-force to issue. Even their sticking will only be at a surface level. Therefore you need to include sinking in the Form.
Song is an external and internal process – physically relaxing, and mentally sinking. The relaxation is a physical mechanism involving the releasing of the joints from the feet up. To connect with the ground you must relax the feet and ankles, give at the knees by dropping the hips into their sockets. This will create the space for the body to fall into. The shoulders can then drop closely followed by the lowering of the elbows and wrists. The base, upper body and arm relaxation should happen almost simultaneously to avoid holding-up the sinking.
Internal Mechanisms
All internal mechanisms in Taiji must be cultivated using the Mind (Yi), which consists of two parts - intention and awareness.
When you intend to move you first think of it, then the body acts, in a way that you need to be aware of, otherwise you will not understand the process or the changes. So in every movement you must have the intention first, closely followed by your awareness.
Thinking is only planning. It is the awareness that you use to cultivate the relaxation, the sinking and the rebounding forces – visualise them, and move your awareness to experience them. Initially they may not physically occur in a way that is obvious, but after prolonged practice they will happen as you have visualised.
The Yi directs the Qi, so wherever the awareness is, the energy will be there. Focusing on the Qi itself can actually block, or stagnate it. The flow of the Qi is a product of your directed awareness
Sinking is the continuous flow of sensation from the crown down. To first train we release (as described above) then visualise a cup of warm water being poured at the crown of the head, draining down the body and the legs with a melting feeling, through the feet and into the ground.
In the first stage of training with sinking in the Form, the student learns to sink into posture by getting into position then allowing the sensation to complete, before issuing and moving into the next posture.
After a year or so of sinking into every posture, sinking during transition is introduced. Here the process starts at the moment the insubstantial foot begins to move, whereby the student sinks into the substantial foot and continues uninterrupted by the adjustment of the foot, the turning of the hips, the transfer of weight, and even during the releasing of the force (issuing).
The result of relaxing and sinking is a noticeable increase of pressure in the feet. This is termed grounding, or taking root. It is important to remember that the calmness produces the relaxation, the relaxation produces the sinking, the sinking produces the grounding, the grounding produces the rebounding force. Therefore Jing is a product of Song, and continuous sinking will supply a continuous force.
Pushing-Hands
Tui Shou, is just an extension of the Form. The only difference is an external force motivates your movements. You should move in the same way, with the same awareness as you do in the Form and whatever you are working on in the Form you need to include your Pushing-hands.
Yielding is not to retreat from the force. Nor is to take root to stand against it. To move a moment ahead of a force, is pulling away or disconnecting. To move a moment after, is to resist. It is the fly alighting that sets you in motion, not because the fly lands that you move away. It is the incoming force that creates the movement in you. When you push into a sponge, it isn’t trying to move away from you, it just absorbs your force. When you force is exhausted, the sponge follows you back. This is sticking.
In Taiji Sticking is following someone else’s centre, being connected from your own root through and into another persons, so that two can move as one. It requires listening, sinking, opening, closing and harmonious movements. The process of emptying an incoming force into the ground, and sticking to the base of your partner, requires the same mechanisms as used to sink in the Form.
Therefore if someone has not trained the sinking, they could be able to yield and extend a force to weaken it, but an amount of it will still be on them. What’s more they will only be able to stick to the surface of the opponent and not contact into their root.
Neutralising is redirecting an incoming force and later the ability to empty it completely from the body into then ground. With good alignment the first direction learnt for neutralising is horizontal, pivoting about the spinal axis. When opening, closing and sinking can be incorporated, the neutralising also becomes vertical and internal, enabling the incoming forces to be intercepted, and rebound back into your partner.
Closing and opening refers to the space between your hands, arms and body. Letting go from the centre is closing; opening is expanding from the centre. The movement of the outside is a product of the changes inside. Closing needs space to take place, which is what the sinking provides.
Speed and timing must be in relation to one another. If your turn a watch, although the winder turns a gear, and that turns another wheel and so on until the hands move, they all seem to turn together. No wheel turns any faster than the one driving it, they all move at exactly the same speed and at the same time.
Although you turn from your hips, the linking together results in your body parts arriving at different destinations simultaneously.
In Pushing-hands, even with good listening skills and sensitivity, inaccuracies or poor synchronisation will either leave a gap for someone else to come in, or you’ll get stuck by locking yourself up.
Synchronising the changes throughout the Form is an important step in developing your Taiji. This is the natural timing that results when relaxation motivates your movement, sinking and issuing originates from the root below and closing and opening is from the centre within.
When letting the air out of a balloon, all sides contract together and at the same rate. This emptying is even and is called balance which should be within every closing and opening, that is - throughout the whole Form and Pushing-hands. If you are in balance then like a set of scales, the slightest pressure sets you in motion, providing the structure is in place.
Before issuing there is always a point of breaking the root of your partner, which can begin the moment you stick. When developing the ability to issue, the student needs to wait for the sinking to be complete before allowing the force to – bounce back from the root, magnifying it in the legs, directing it with the hips, and passing it through the body and arms to the fingertips (or any other point of contact).
Initially the release of force is triggered by a small push of the substantial foot into the ground. But later this becomes unnecessary as 1% relaxation becomes 1% of sinking, which is 1% of grounding which equals 1% of force. Just as in a spring, where as soon you push against it, a force returns towards you. Remembering that the efficiency of a spring is dependant upon its structure – if too rigid there won’t be any compression, too soft and it will collapse, poor alignment and it will buckle.
The quality of a push is much more important than the quantity of how far that you throw someone. With a good clean push, both of their feet will leave the ground, rather than them just staggering backwards. The power comes from the energies not physical strength so the experience of being issued upon should be light and comfortable not brutal or forceful. If everything is in place from structure through to timing you may be made to fly, but even that is not the point.
Taiji is a process not a result. Exercises, Forms and Pushing-hands are methods for exploring the Principles within all movements. To improve we only need to refine our movements and deepen our understanding of the Principles. However this is an ongoing, continuous process. Ultimately the Form becomes formless, and every action or non-action is in harmony – that is Taijiquan.
Reference: http://www.taijiquan.co.nz/
The Importance of Sequence and Timing to Achieve Synchronization
by Wee Kee-Jin
The Taiji Form regardless of what style, was created as a means to train moving in a synchronized and harmonious Taiji way. During Pushing-hands we extend the practise of synchronized movement to include when being effected by an external force. When we can synchronize all the physical (external) and mental (internal) movements in our daily life, we will no longer be restricted or imprisoned by the Taiji Form, because then the Form will have become formless.
Synchronization
The classics state that; when one part of the body changes every part of the body changes along with it; when one part of the body moves every part of the body moves; the destination might be different but the time of arrival is the same – all parts of the body arriving together.
The key to achieve this principle is synchronization both of the sequence and timing. Being the continuous fine tuning of muscles co-ordinated simultaneously throughout the body.
The physical synchronizing and aligning always begins at the base by releasing the ankles, knees and hips then the shoulders, elbows and wrists. Both upward and downward actions start at the feet, get magnified in the legs and ripple through the body into the arms before being expressed to the finger-tips.
All turning originates from within. There is a line you should imagine running from the crown of the head (niwan) to the tailbone (weilui) that serves as the central axis of the body. From directly above you would see turning as being initiated at the axis about a small circle then expands to the medium circle of the body, then reaching the big circle of the arms.
Although there is a sequence, the movements must be in relation to each other. Any missed timings would effect the whole synchronization.
When stepping forward or backward you need to continue the synchronizing into the substantial foot to create the movement of the insubstantial foot. While the insubstantial foot is stepping, the centre is changing, so the substantial foot adjusts continuously.
Therefore both in the Taiji Form and Pushing-hands all parts of the body synchronize to create a movement and to respond to an incoming force.
To internally synchronize, there first must be physical relaxation and mental calmness. Then the melting sensation of relaxation can flow through the body and legs, into the ground. This is what is called ‘sinking’ and produces ‘grounding’. This downward feeling can then be released and rebound up from the ground through the feet, legs, body and arms, to the fingertips, but only if the body has continued to relax. This generates the force (Jing) and cultivates the ability to deliver it (Fa-jing). Although there is a sequence from the feet to the finger-tips, the timing required is in close relation to each other. After a while the stages overlap until eventually simultaneous, that means at the moment of 1% of relaxation, there is 1% sinking, 1% grounding and 1% rebounding force, which will then continue to 2%, 3% onwards.
In Taiji the ‘opening’ and ‘closing’ originates from the ‘centre’, which is where the ‘tantien’ and the central axis meet. Not only does the opening expand from the centre, but the closing also contracts from there; – both are from the inside outwards.
Once the opening and closing are clear, their timing recombines until simultaneous. Then “when there is opening there is closing, and in closing there is opening”. So that at a moment of closure you also experience being open.
The opening and closing needs to be synchronized with the relaxation, sinking, grounding, and issuing of the relaxed force.
Finally when the external and the internal are in harmony, and the timing and sequence are in relation to each other, total synchronization is achieved. Then when one part of the body changes every part of the body will change along with it, and when one part of the body moves every part of the body will move, and when one part of the body arrives every part will arrive.
Qiqong and Taiji
A commonly asked question when someone is studying Taiji, is whether they should practise Qigong as well. Any exercise that develops the use of your mind to circulate the flow of energy (Qi or Chi) in the body is Qigong. Therefore Taiji is Qigong, however Qigong is not Taiji.
Yin and Yang
The terms of Yin and Yang are frequently used in Taiji, and are often made to sound mystical. Unlike words such as table and chair which refer to specific objects, Yin and Yang are concepts describing opposites that have a relationship to each other; up and down; front and back; internal and external; positive and negative; male and female; dark and light; etc. They are as complementary as they are contrasting. Their existence and combination are actually scientific, not mystical.
The essence of Taiji is simplicity; black and white. It is not necessary to colour it with esoteric descriptions.
Reference: http://www.taijiquan.co.nz/
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