[Path to Mastery 3/31/10 – Wk29 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Of course we covered ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ when we were covering the Alignment principles for the lower body.
The idea is that if you put your weight, more on one leg then the other, you create mobility. Also, if you only engage one leg at a time, you create a clear unified direction for the body, which creates power. Mobility and power are important aspects in martial arts, or life in general. Mobility creates adaptability and power creates the ability to change things.
‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ also is a movement principle. It is also used to describe the shifting between Yin and Yang. For instance, when one arm goes down, then the other goes up to act as a balance. When the muscles engage, it is Yang, when it is not it is Yin. When something is Yang, it must become Yin or it has no power. When something is Yin it must become Yang or it has no power.
When you do the form, as you move, if you pay attention of the filling of your limbs with movement and then emptying of movement, you will appreciate the flow of movement and the rhythm of movement. As you keep practicing you notice that the energy fills the arms when the limb is filled with movement and flows out of it when the movement flows out of it. Eventually you learn to surrender to the flow and feel of the energy, and the filling and empting of the energy becomes like the tides coming in and out from your limbs.
To be able to distinguish the insubstantial and substantial clearly in a form bring grace. And grace is power.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek movement in stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek stillness in movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual connect without interruption (Covered 3/29)
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow (Covered 3/30)
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly (Covered 3/31)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Top Bottom Mutually Follow
[Path to Mastery 3/30/10 – Wk29 D2 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Top Bottom Mutually Follow
One of the most common interpretations for ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is that the hands and the feet match. They are also called top bottom harmony. It means that your hands and your feet move together.
Now let’s test how good your memory is. ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ was covered once before. Do you remember which principle it was that was related to ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is? If you can’t, here is a challenge! See whether you can find it between the principles already covered. If you got, ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, you got the right one. I recommend that you go back can cover that principle again. The rest of the article will not be as concrete without you clearly remembering the ‘Squat Crotch’ portion of the ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ principle.
‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is simple, yet intricate like all Tai-Chi principles we’ve been covering. Tai-Chi principle is like an elephant. Imagine you are trying to describe an elephant. You have probably seen one so no problem. You know what I am talking about. But imagine you are trying to explain it to someone who’s never seen one. Tai-Chi principles are the descriptions and summary of when your mind, body, energy is in a certain state. So, ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ describes or summarizes how the body is aligned when the upper and lower body is unified. ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ describes how you when your upper and lower body is unified. If top bottom unified body is an elephant, imagine that one principle is describing how the elephant looks, and the other principle is describing how the elephant moves.
These are the things you should train in successive order to cultivate this phenomenon ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’.
1. When you move, move with your feet first. If your arms are relaxed, you will feel your legs leading the movements of the arm. For instance, let’s say you are in a back stance of your left leg, and your arms are both in a position ready to push. Then relax your arms and relax your front leg, and push with your back foot. You should feel your arms being pushed out like a hydraulic pump.
2. When you step, when your feet lands, your steps should also finish. In the form, what that means is that when your shift finishes, your strike also finishes.
3. Last, when you feel your arms are being moved by your legs, then you start moving from your lower back. Your legs and arms will move from a central location, expanding and shrinking.
4. When this feeling becomes clear, then you will feel your movements extending out from your Dan-Tien). You will feel the movement being connected to the surface of your lower abdomen and that connection traveling up your lats to you’re the underside of your arm until it reaches your palm. You will feel the same feeling extending out the outside of your legs as well.
5. This one is harder to describe, but you will feel a spiraling feeling out from your Dan-Tien.
6. Eventually you feel a spot inside the lower abdomen and it feels like the movement is coming out and being supported from the inside as if everything is a shell around it.
7. You feel a central pillar connecting the crown of your head and your perineum and you feel energy pathways out from the central pillar and you feel everything extending out from the central place.
All these things are supposed to happen. These are the different aspects of the elephant called upper and lower body unification. In case this feels overwhelming, just remember this. If you had never seen an elephant, you’d feel overwhelmed by the numerous descriptions. If you just saw it once, you’d be ah-ha!!!! The principles are summary of feelings. So, just try the suggestions above, and if you feel anyone of them, you will recognize it by feel a connection in movement between the lower and upper body. If you feel any connection, you may not have all of it, but you got some of it. When you see the elephant for the first time, you won’t get all of it either. To really get to know the elephant, you have to spend some time with it.
To summarize, ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is the description of a kinetic movement chain between the lower and upper body. When you are training to move while you performing ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, and you feel your legs are moving your arms as if your leg were like bellows and you arms were balloons being powered by it, you got it.
Have fun playing with the elephant.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek movement in stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek stillness in movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual connect without interruption (Covered 3/29)
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow (Covered 3/30)
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Top Bottom Mutually Follow
One of the most common interpretations for ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is that the hands and the feet match. They are also called top bottom harmony. It means that your hands and your feet move together.
Now let’s test how good your memory is. ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ was covered once before. Do you remember which principle it was that was related to ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is? If you can’t, here is a challenge! See whether you can find it between the principles already covered. If you got, ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, you got the right one. I recommend that you go back can cover that principle again. The rest of the article will not be as concrete without you clearly remembering the ‘Squat Crotch’ portion of the ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ principle.
‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is simple, yet intricate like all Tai-Chi principles we’ve been covering. Tai-Chi principle is like an elephant. Imagine you are trying to describe an elephant. You have probably seen one so no problem. You know what I am talking about. But imagine you are trying to explain it to someone who’s never seen one. Tai-Chi principles are the descriptions and summary of when your mind, body, energy is in a certain state. So, ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ describes or summarizes how the body is aligned when the upper and lower body is unified. ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ describes how you when your upper and lower body is unified. If top bottom unified body is an elephant, imagine that one principle is describing how the elephant looks, and the other principle is describing how the elephant moves.
These are the things you should train in successive order to cultivate this phenomenon ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’.
1. When you move, move with your feet first. If your arms are relaxed, you will feel your legs leading the movements of the arm. For instance, let’s say you are in a back stance of your left leg, and your arms are both in a position ready to push. Then relax your arms and relax your front leg, and push with your back foot. You should feel your arms being pushed out like a hydraulic pump.
2. When you step, when your feet lands, your steps should also finish. In the form, what that means is that when your shift finishes, your strike also finishes.
3. Last, when you feel your arms are being moved by your legs, then you start moving from your lower back. Your legs and arms will move from a central location, expanding and shrinking.
4. When this feeling becomes clear, then you will feel your movements extending out from your Dan-Tien). You will feel the movement being connected to the surface of your lower abdomen and that connection traveling up your lats to you’re the underside of your arm until it reaches your palm. You will feel the same feeling extending out the outside of your legs as well.
5. This one is harder to describe, but you will feel a spiraling feeling out from your Dan-Tien.
6. Eventually you feel a spot inside the lower abdomen and it feels like the movement is coming out and being supported from the inside as if everything is a shell around it.
7. You feel a central pillar connecting the crown of your head and your perineum and you feel energy pathways out from the central pillar and you feel everything extending out from the central place.
All these things are supposed to happen. These are the different aspects of the elephant called upper and lower body unification. In case this feels overwhelming, just remember this. If you had never seen an elephant, you’d feel overwhelmed by the numerous descriptions. If you just saw it once, you’d be ah-ha!!!! The principles are summary of feelings. So, just try the suggestions above, and if you feel anyone of them, you will recognize it by feel a connection in movement between the lower and upper body. If you feel any connection, you may not have all of it, but you got some of it. When you see the elephant for the first time, you won’t get all of it either. To really get to know the elephant, you have to spend some time with it.
To summarize, ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is the description of a kinetic movement chain between the lower and upper body. When you are training to move while you performing ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, and you feel your legs are moving your arms as if your leg were like bellows and you arms were balloons being powered by it, you got it.
Have fun playing with the elephant.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek movement in stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek stillness in movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual connect without interruption (Covered 3/29)
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow (Covered 3/30)
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Monday, March 29, 2010
Mutual Connect Without Interruption
[Path to Mastery 3/29/10 – Wk29 D1 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Mutual Connection Without Interruption.
This principle has 2 layers to it. On one level, it is talking about how one move is flowing to the other without interruption. On a deeper level, it is talking about how the body is uninterrupted and flowing. When the second one happens, the first one happens naturally, so I will dive into the second definition.
To explain ‘Mutual Connection Without Interruption’, it is best to explain ‘Stringing the 9 Pearls’. Stringing the 9 Pearls refers to getting the 9 major joints through which most of your force goes, aligned with each other. Starting with your arch (some refer to the first point as your ankle) (1), your knees (2), your hips (3), your Gate of Life (lower back) (4), between your shoulder blades (5), base of your skull (Some believe this point to be the major protruding vertebra that connects your neck to your shoulders) (6), your shoulders (7), your elbow (8), your wrists (9).
When you move, all of these 9 points are supposed to move. One is not supposed to move without the other. It is said that the waist is the commander. So, all movement starts at your Gate of Life, or your lower back. For instance, if you are in a front stance doing Push, and you want to shift back, then you move back from your Gate of Life, and you let the Gate of Life pull on your other joints.
Now, when you are learning the form, you will learn that you are supposed to clearly distinguish between the separate moves that you are not supposed to just flow from one move into another. So how does that work???? Which one is it? Well, it is both.
When you come to the conclusion of the move, you are supposed to extend the move into the eternal horizon through your mind. If we go with the Push example again, you should imagine that you are pushing into infinity. Also, you should feel that your fingers and arms are getting longer, your spine is getting longer and your head getting taller, and your legs getting longer and your feet more firmly getting rooted into the earth. In short, you are expanding in all directions. Perceptually, you will see that even if the body is not moving there is a sense of movement and the energy of the movement continues. It is weird and hard to explain if you have never seen it, but when you see someone doing it right, you will see them completing the push, but you will not feel that they really ever stopped, even though they distinctly finished the move and then moved on to the next move.
In Tai-Chi there is movement even when there is no movement.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement:
1.Seek Movement in Stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek Stillness in Movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual Connect Without Interruption (Covered 3/29)
4.Top Bottom ‘Each Other’ Follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Mutual Connection Without Interruption.
This principle has 2 layers to it. On one level, it is talking about how one move is flowing to the other without interruption. On a deeper level, it is talking about how the body is uninterrupted and flowing. When the second one happens, the first one happens naturally, so I will dive into the second definition.
To explain ‘Mutual Connection Without Interruption’, it is best to explain ‘Stringing the 9 Pearls’. Stringing the 9 Pearls refers to getting the 9 major joints through which most of your force goes, aligned with each other. Starting with your arch (some refer to the first point as your ankle) (1), your knees (2), your hips (3), your Gate of Life (lower back) (4), between your shoulder blades (5), base of your skull (Some believe this point to be the major protruding vertebra that connects your neck to your shoulders) (6), your shoulders (7), your elbow (8), your wrists (9).
When you move, all of these 9 points are supposed to move. One is not supposed to move without the other. It is said that the waist is the commander. So, all movement starts at your Gate of Life, or your lower back. For instance, if you are in a front stance doing Push, and you want to shift back, then you move back from your Gate of Life, and you let the Gate of Life pull on your other joints.
Now, when you are learning the form, you will learn that you are supposed to clearly distinguish between the separate moves that you are not supposed to just flow from one move into another. So how does that work???? Which one is it? Well, it is both.
When you come to the conclusion of the move, you are supposed to extend the move into the eternal horizon through your mind. If we go with the Push example again, you should imagine that you are pushing into infinity. Also, you should feel that your fingers and arms are getting longer, your spine is getting longer and your head getting taller, and your legs getting longer and your feet more firmly getting rooted into the earth. In short, you are expanding in all directions. Perceptually, you will see that even if the body is not moving there is a sense of movement and the energy of the movement continues. It is weird and hard to explain if you have never seen it, but when you see someone doing it right, you will see them completing the push, but you will not feel that they really ever stopped, even though they distinctly finished the move and then moved on to the next move.
In Tai-Chi there is movement even when there is no movement.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement:
1.Seek Movement in Stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek Stillness in Movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual Connect Without Interruption (Covered 3/29)
4.Top Bottom ‘Each Other’ Follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Friday, March 26, 2010
Training is a Teasure Hunt
[Path to Mastery 3/26/10 – Wk28 D5 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Sang’s World:
Sang’s World:
Training is an interesting experience.
Of course, when we train in our school we believe every moment is training, and we take time to work on our connection and our alignment, movement, breathing, relaxation in everything we do, while not working at it. The idea is to feel all that while not thinking about it. To just be. This is when you are the most natural, most powerful. In case you want to try this, you have to aim to ‘feel’, not think. If you are typing, and you are thinking about relaxing your forearms, and breathing through your fingers, you will have trouble in life. You have to not think about it and just feel your way through it. Have fun doing it!
And then there is of course focused training where you are working on developing specific qualities. By either practicing the form, or conditioning or pushing hands, you can limit some of the other variables, and zoom in on a certain quality you would like to develop.
So, I have been doing the 108 for over a decade now, and I am starting to really appreciate the form. There are infinite things you learn from the form. That’s right, if you learn the principles right, you start learning from your body as your body goes through the form and starts changing. As your body changes and adjusts, new connections keep getting developed and you start becoming aware of things you weren’t aware of before. From this awareness, you start a discovery process and you even start being able to control things you couldn’t before or didn’t know you had control over. The body keeps transforming and the new awareness provides an ongoing ever-expanding learning process.
Let me give a more concrete example of what I mean. A couple days ago while doing 2 person work, I experienced two lines extending from my bubbling well, through the back of my ankle, up my sides, through my armpit, all the way to my fingers became more distinct. When that happened, my Dan-Tien expanded and became more condensed, but more free. All of a sudden I could whip out my motion from my Dan-Tien in a much more powerful manner than I could before. The interesting thing about this is that as time goes on, it seems there are so many different types of connection to the Dan-Tien. There are different connections that are established or connections that were always there that you didn’t know to utilize because you weren’t aware of them. As you become more and more aware of these connections, your freedom of movement and the power of your movement naturally increases. Not only that, but your overall comfort of the body and emotional confidence increases as well.
This freedom of movement comes both through working with others and working by yourself. When you are working by yourself, the advantage is that you get to listen to your body without distraction. You can often times feel your integrity better when you are by yourself and a lot of natural connections are discovered while doing the form. When you find a new connection while practicing by yourself, you test the connection by working with someone else. Another person gives you good feedback and a reality check of your own sensitivity level. But of course, it can happen in the middle of two person work as well. In this particular instance I was practicing my Fa-Jing (Bouncing someone), and found the connections in midst of practice. I was feeling how my structure feels against my partner’s structure. When you look for this sensation, at some point his structure becomes really light. Also, it feels like he is starting to go in that direction even before I start. Then I just follow through that sensation and he goes. Sometimes, it helps to have a real person standing there so that you can feel how the weight feels through your body. You feel how your body wants to move naturally and how it feels powerful and how it feels weak.
It’s kind of a treasure hunt.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Seek Stillness in Movement
[Path to Mastery 3/25/10 – Wk28 D4 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Seeking Stillness in Movement… isn’t that contradictory to seeking life? Yesterday we talked about Movement being Life. So, if you seek Stillness in Movement, isn’t that the same as seeking death within life?
Seeking Stillness in Movement is seeking quietness within movement. It is seeking a continuous steady flow. We recognize a continuous steady flow as grace.
In Tai-Chi there is a concept and a training method that is called silk reeling. There are Tai-Chi styles where there are separate exercises that are called silk reeling and then again there are styles where they use the form to practice silk reeling. The concept of silk reeling came first before the exercises were developed, so you may practice silk reeling either way. The important thing is what it means so you may seek it in your practice.
When you reel silk from a cocoon, it has to be done with a steady hand. If, at any point, you vary the pulling speed or the strength of the pull you damage the silk. So you are not allowed to pull suddenly or hard. From the perspective of the silk cocoon, it is one uninterrupted continuous pull. You have to train the form with the same idea. It is said in the Tai-Chi classics that the Tai-Chi form is sometimes referred to as the long form. The reason it is called that is because it is considered one long continuous move. When you do the form, you are not doing a lot of different moves. You are indeed doing one long form, continuous, steady, and uninterrupted.
For some of you this may seem too abstract. On a more practical level, you may consider this as carrying over the structure and flow you learned during standing meditation to moving meditation, the form. As you do the form, you have to carry the same principles you maintained during the standing meditation practice. Since you seem still when you are doing standing meditation, and you are carrying it over to movement, you would be seeking stillness within movement. This principle is deeper than this, but this is the right entry point to a whole new world. You will see the rest as you walk down this path. Once the journey starts, follow the journey, do not hold on to the doorway as truth. If you hold on to the entry point, you will never experience the journey.
As your training in this principle deepens, eventually you start understanding how this applies in relation to another person. Until you gain the continuous connection within, you will not be able to understand the secret of the explosive power in Tai-Chi.
I have heard that infinite patience is immediate results. This is definitely true in Tai-Chi. Train with infinite patience, and you will understand what it means to have immediate transformation.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek Movement in Stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek Stillness in Movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual Connect without Interruption
4.Top Bottom ‘Each Other’ Follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Seeking Stillness in Movement… isn’t that contradictory to seeking life? Yesterday we talked about Movement being Life. So, if you seek Stillness in Movement, isn’t that the same as seeking death within life?
Seeking Stillness in Movement is seeking quietness within movement. It is seeking a continuous steady flow. We recognize a continuous steady flow as grace.
In Tai-Chi there is a concept and a training method that is called silk reeling. There are Tai-Chi styles where there are separate exercises that are called silk reeling and then again there are styles where they use the form to practice silk reeling. The concept of silk reeling came first before the exercises were developed, so you may practice silk reeling either way. The important thing is what it means so you may seek it in your practice.
When you reel silk from a cocoon, it has to be done with a steady hand. If, at any point, you vary the pulling speed or the strength of the pull you damage the silk. So you are not allowed to pull suddenly or hard. From the perspective of the silk cocoon, it is one uninterrupted continuous pull. You have to train the form with the same idea. It is said in the Tai-Chi classics that the Tai-Chi form is sometimes referred to as the long form. The reason it is called that is because it is considered one long continuous move. When you do the form, you are not doing a lot of different moves. You are indeed doing one long form, continuous, steady, and uninterrupted.
For some of you this may seem too abstract. On a more practical level, you may consider this as carrying over the structure and flow you learned during standing meditation to moving meditation, the form. As you do the form, you have to carry the same principles you maintained during the standing meditation practice. Since you seem still when you are doing standing meditation, and you are carrying it over to movement, you would be seeking stillness within movement. This principle is deeper than this, but this is the right entry point to a whole new world. You will see the rest as you walk down this path. Once the journey starts, follow the journey, do not hold on to the doorway as truth. If you hold on to the entry point, you will never experience the journey.
As your training in this principle deepens, eventually you start understanding how this applies in relation to another person. Until you gain the continuous connection within, you will not be able to understand the secret of the explosive power in Tai-Chi.
I have heard that infinite patience is immediate results. This is definitely true in Tai-Chi. Train with infinite patience, and you will understand what it means to have immediate transformation.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek Movement in Stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek Stillness in Movement (Covered 3/25)
3.Mutual Connect without Interruption
4.Top Bottom ‘Each Other’ Follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Seek Movement in Stillness
[Path to Mastery 3/24/10 – Wk28 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
So, we close one chapter and open a new chapter in the realm of principles. We finished the alignment principles, and how we will go into the movement principles.
When you are true to one principle, all the other principles are working. If you find only one principle working in your body at a time, that means that your understanding of that principle and all the other principles is lacking. All principles are one and the same. This is the beginning of understanding.
There are 5 movement principles we will be covering:
1.Seek movement in stillness
2.Seek stillness in movement
3.Mutual connect without interruption
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Seek movement in stillness is a very simple principle, but it is one of those things that gives you more juice the more you chew on it.
At a fundamental level, seeking movement within stillness is the same as seeking the movement you feel when you do the mental visualizations. When you are standing in a standing meditation posture, you are standing still, yet, when you picture ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’, then you feel your body shift, move and change. There is movement within stillness.
If you do not feel that there is movement inside your structure then it is dead. When it is dead, you do not have movement for movement is life. Anything that is dead has no power. To seek movement within stillness is to seek life.
When you stand and you feel stiff and like a statue, then you are a sitting duck. There is no energy within you, and you are still just waiting to be broken. Yet, when there is movement and flow within, you are like a live branch, green and lush inside underneath the bark, flexible, springy and full of life. It cannot be easily broken and it has power.
Once you get the fundamentals of the visualization, you enter the stage of breath and if you breath properly, you will feel hot air or energy moving through your body as if you were a hot air balloon. Sometimes, you will feel like molten lava flowing inside you, and you will feel like you are sweating from inside. When this happens, you have true intrinsic energy. This may take some time to cultivate.
When the inside moves, you will be grounded, relaxed and ready to move anytime. The inside will move first so that even when there is no movement you can generate a lot of power. Since there is movement inside you, you can generate power as if you are moving without moving. That is the true advantage of this skill. You have the power of movement without movement.
So, where to start on this journey of ‘Seeking movement within Stillness’? Start with standing meditation. Practice the Alignment principles while standing until you feel you are flowing all over even though you are not moving. But simplest of all, imagine you are standing by the edge of a swimming pool and imagine you are about to jump in. This state of getting ready to jump creates potential energy within you that is ready to be converted into kinetic energy anytime. As you stand in a manner readying yourself to jump, you will feel the energy filling your body all the way to the crown, it will open your body. Once your body is open, you will feel your energy flow through and around your body. When you ready yourself to jump, your Bubble Well opens and your Dan-Tien opens. This seemingly trivial detail is the secret to mastery. Pay a attention to the details and your path won’t wander.
It is said, a few inches off ends up being a thousand miles off. Tai-chi is a lifetime of play. Do not hurry. Enjoy the journey where you are. Pay attention to the details and that is the short cut.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek movement in stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek stillness in movement
3.Mutual connect without interruption
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
So, we close one chapter and open a new chapter in the realm of principles. We finished the alignment principles, and how we will go into the movement principles.
When you are true to one principle, all the other principles are working. If you find only one principle working in your body at a time, that means that your understanding of that principle and all the other principles is lacking. All principles are one and the same. This is the beginning of understanding.
There are 5 movement principles we will be covering:
1.Seek movement in stillness
2.Seek stillness in movement
3.Mutual connect without interruption
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Seek movement in stillness is a very simple principle, but it is one of those things that gives you more juice the more you chew on it.
At a fundamental level, seeking movement within stillness is the same as seeking the movement you feel when you do the mental visualizations. When you are standing in a standing meditation posture, you are standing still, yet, when you picture ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’, then you feel your body shift, move and change. There is movement within stillness.
If you do not feel that there is movement inside your structure then it is dead. When it is dead, you do not have movement for movement is life. Anything that is dead has no power. To seek movement within stillness is to seek life.
When you stand and you feel stiff and like a statue, then you are a sitting duck. There is no energy within you, and you are still just waiting to be broken. Yet, when there is movement and flow within, you are like a live branch, green and lush inside underneath the bark, flexible, springy and full of life. It cannot be easily broken and it has power.
Once you get the fundamentals of the visualization, you enter the stage of breath and if you breath properly, you will feel hot air or energy moving through your body as if you were a hot air balloon. Sometimes, you will feel like molten lava flowing inside you, and you will feel like you are sweating from inside. When this happens, you have true intrinsic energy. This may take some time to cultivate.
When the inside moves, you will be grounded, relaxed and ready to move anytime. The inside will move first so that even when there is no movement you can generate a lot of power. Since there is movement inside you, you can generate power as if you are moving without moving. That is the true advantage of this skill. You have the power of movement without movement.
So, where to start on this journey of ‘Seeking movement within Stillness’? Start with standing meditation. Practice the Alignment principles while standing until you feel you are flowing all over even though you are not moving. But simplest of all, imagine you are standing by the edge of a swimming pool and imagine you are about to jump in. This state of getting ready to jump creates potential energy within you that is ready to be converted into kinetic energy anytime. As you stand in a manner readying yourself to jump, you will feel the energy filling your body all the way to the crown, it will open your body. Once your body is open, you will feel your energy flow through and around your body. When you ready yourself to jump, your Bubble Well opens and your Dan-Tien opens. This seemingly trivial detail is the secret to mastery. Pay a attention to the details and your path won’t wander.
It is said, a few inches off ends up being a thousand miles off. Tai-chi is a lifetime of play. Do not hurry. Enjoy the journey where you are. Pay attention to the details and that is the short cut.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong); 2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation; 4. 7 Basics; 5. Basic Form; 6. 30 Form; 7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11); 2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19); 4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1.Introduction (Covered 2/25); 2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26); 3.Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1); 4.Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2); 5.Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body #1~5 (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body #1~5 (Covered 3/16 – 3/22)
5. Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered 3/23)
6. Principles Governing Movement
1.Seek movement in stillness (Covered 3/24)
2.Seek stillness in movement
3.Mutual connect without interruption
4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow
5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
Body Body Centered Upright
[Path to Mastery 3/23/10 – Wk28 D2 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
In the last 2 weeks we have completed the Alignment principles concerning the Upper Body, and the Lower Body, five principles each. Now there is one principle left for the whole body: Body Body Centered Upright.
Body Body? Well, if I translated it instead of transliterating it, it would simply be Body. The Chinese word for Body is Shen-Ti. Both words mean body. The first word, Shen, describes the bulk or the mass of a body. The second word, Ti, describes the form or the type of the body. Both words put together describe the human body.
So, the principle means that the body is centered and upright. Boring right? I mean this is so obvious. This is what we learned from our 4th grade elementary teacher but promptly decided to ignore. It just didn’t seem that important and besides it wasn’t cool to be centered and upright. We may have gotten laughed at.
Well, the Chinese had an art for making something not only very interesting, but very cool. They even went one step further. They showed how this one principle holds the secret to the universe. Curious yet?
To start with, the concept, centered, within this context means you are in the middle when seen from above. Next, upright is from the context of seen from the side. Having this background, now you get a clear picture that you are supposed to be centered, in the middle from the top view, and upright form the side view.
But what’s in the center? What is upright? Often times it is considered to be the spine. This is not a bad start. Eventually, however, one’s training will loose its depth unless ones move towards the real center. The real center is the line that is in front of the spine, connecting the crown of the head and the perineum. To be centered is to mentally align the crown and the perineum. When this happens, the main energy highway in your body is established and your whole body straightens around this line. Once it is straightens, it starts radiating in all directions and the column starts expanding, and the energy spreads evenly though the whole body.
When you get this sensation, it is pretty cool. For some of you, this sensation will be very strong and immediate, but for some of you, you will have a tough time feeling the center line. This will depend on how much blockage there is in your energy channel. As you do the form day in and day out, within 90 days doing the form daily, with the center line in mind, you will see a profound change. Mark it on the calendar and see for yourself what happens. You will be amazed.
When you feel the energy spreading, you will start feeling your aura expanding, and eventually you will start feeling the boundaries of your aura clearly. That is a good place to be. As you walk around, you will feel your boundaries and when your energy is low, you will feel them less and less and more of your body. This becomes a good gauge of where you are with your energy level.
So, we covered centered. Where are we with upright? In the very beginning, when you first learn the form, you learn that upright means to keep the spine, or your center line we discussed above vertical. This however, is only to train the sensitivity to keep the center line straight. Often times people don’t have a sense for the center line and when they bent from the hips, the spine bends and thus the center line bends as well. Eventually you learn how to maintain the center line even as the spine bends, but one should establish a strong center line before that can happen. This often takes years. So, don’t start bending your center line before you start getting a clear sense of your center line.
Once you get a clear sense of your center line, you naturally move in a way where your center line is uncompromised. In the beginning you will have to hold the structure to cultivate the center line, but eventually the center line empowers your body and holds the structure. You will feel a well of energy supporting your structure from within. When that happens, you will feel a sphere around you emanating from the sphere and you will feel your center line hovering in the air, between your legs and arms. You will feel yourself naturally moving around from the center line and you will notice that the center line does not need to be vertical. It can be at any angle as long as the spine is straight. In the beginning like all things this feeling comes and goes. But when you have this feeling, this is when you feel your opponents push into your structure and bouncing off of your center and your field. You literally feel the negative vibes of other people bouncing off of your aura. Now this is a much better incentive to keep your spine straight then the one you received in 4th grade isn’t it? I can’t even remember what mine was.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered 3/18)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ (Covered 3/19)
5)’Foot Sole Stick Earth’ (Covered 3/22)
5.Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered today)
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
In the last 2 weeks we have completed the Alignment principles concerning the Upper Body, and the Lower Body, five principles each. Now there is one principle left for the whole body: Body Body Centered Upright.
Body Body? Well, if I translated it instead of transliterating it, it would simply be Body. The Chinese word for Body is Shen-Ti. Both words mean body. The first word, Shen, describes the bulk or the mass of a body. The second word, Ti, describes the form or the type of the body. Both words put together describe the human body.
So, the principle means that the body is centered and upright. Boring right? I mean this is so obvious. This is what we learned from our 4th grade elementary teacher but promptly decided to ignore. It just didn’t seem that important and besides it wasn’t cool to be centered and upright. We may have gotten laughed at.
Well, the Chinese had an art for making something not only very interesting, but very cool. They even went one step further. They showed how this one principle holds the secret to the universe. Curious yet?
To start with, the concept, centered, within this context means you are in the middle when seen from above. Next, upright is from the context of seen from the side. Having this background, now you get a clear picture that you are supposed to be centered, in the middle from the top view, and upright form the side view.
But what’s in the center? What is upright? Often times it is considered to be the spine. This is not a bad start. Eventually, however, one’s training will loose its depth unless ones move towards the real center. The real center is the line that is in front of the spine, connecting the crown of the head and the perineum. To be centered is to mentally align the crown and the perineum. When this happens, the main energy highway in your body is established and your whole body straightens around this line. Once it is straightens, it starts radiating in all directions and the column starts expanding, and the energy spreads evenly though the whole body.
When you get this sensation, it is pretty cool. For some of you, this sensation will be very strong and immediate, but for some of you, you will have a tough time feeling the center line. This will depend on how much blockage there is in your energy channel. As you do the form day in and day out, within 90 days doing the form daily, with the center line in mind, you will see a profound change. Mark it on the calendar and see for yourself what happens. You will be amazed.
When you feel the energy spreading, you will start feeling your aura expanding, and eventually you will start feeling the boundaries of your aura clearly. That is a good place to be. As you walk around, you will feel your boundaries and when your energy is low, you will feel them less and less and more of your body. This becomes a good gauge of where you are with your energy level.
So, we covered centered. Where are we with upright? In the very beginning, when you first learn the form, you learn that upright means to keep the spine, or your center line we discussed above vertical. This however, is only to train the sensitivity to keep the center line straight. Often times people don’t have a sense for the center line and when they bent from the hips, the spine bends and thus the center line bends as well. Eventually you learn how to maintain the center line even as the spine bends, but one should establish a strong center line before that can happen. This often takes years. So, don’t start bending your center line before you start getting a clear sense of your center line.
Once you get a clear sense of your center line, you naturally move in a way where your center line is uncompromised. In the beginning you will have to hold the structure to cultivate the center line, but eventually the center line empowers your body and holds the structure. You will feel a well of energy supporting your structure from within. When that happens, you will feel a sphere around you emanating from the sphere and you will feel your center line hovering in the air, between your legs and arms. You will feel yourself naturally moving around from the center line and you will notice that the center line does not need to be vertical. It can be at any angle as long as the spine is straight. In the beginning like all things this feeling comes and goes. But when you have this feeling, this is when you feel your opponents push into your structure and bouncing off of your center and your field. You literally feel the negative vibes of other people bouncing off of your aura. Now this is a much better incentive to keep your spine straight then the one you received in 4th grade isn’t it? I can’t even remember what mine was.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered 3/18)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ (Covered 3/19)
5)’Foot Sole Stick Earth’ (Covered 3/22)
5.Principle Governing the Whole Body:
1)Body Body Center Upright (Covered today)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Foot Sole Stick Earth
[Path to Mastery 3/22/10 – Wk28 D1 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’. Straight forward.
This principle means that you have to feel as if the Sole of your feet is stuck to the ground as if it is a suction cup. I had to look up the dictionary to be sure but ‘Sole’ apparently indicates the part of the foot between the balls of your feet and the heel.
This is interesting because in Chinese, the word sole that they use means whole bottom of foot. But interestingly enough, the Tai-Chi Classics say that your bubbling well should be stuck to the floor. The bubbling well is the place of the foot that goes in when you try to make a fist with your foot. When you imagine that you are standing on your bubbling well, you will feel as if your sole is a suction cup. So for our purpose, sole works not only fine, but might even work better.
Here are some key things to know about ‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’.
It’s not about the foot, but your knee. ‘Huh?’ Did I get your attention? I hope I did. That’s right. It’s not about the foot. It’s about how you position your knee. This is the secret. If you position your knee properly, you get the ‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’ phenomenon.
Now as you stand shoulder width apart, Visualize your knee lining up with your bubbling well. That’s it. That is the secret. But if you do this simple step right, this is what give you the rooting power and the sensation of your sole sticking to the floor.
If you are not sure what the bubbling well is, line your knee up with the balls of your feel and stand on the ball of you feet, while your heel is still touching the floor. You may wonder how this creates a suction cup feeling if you are not standing on the whole foot equally. When the knee is over the ankle, the foot and the leg up to the knee creates a very secure base. When the base is secure, everything above the knee can relax. You will find out that if your knee is aching from practicing it is often because your knee was not balanced over your bubbling well, and the weight was not falling on the bubbling well/ball of your feet. This alignment secures the knee.
Once the knee is secure, your thigh and hamstrings relax, and you will feel the ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’. Without a secure base, without support you cannot properly relax. It’s like laying down on you back. When you are laying down in a good bed, you can feel the entire body relaxing and then just basking in the pleasure. This is because your entire back is supported and your muscles don’t need to engage as much to keep the body balanced. The same is true when you are standing. When your base is secure, it helps you to be better balanced and thus be more relaxed. The more secure your base, the deeper you can relax.
For training purposes, you can stand heavier on your heel. Standing on the heel will bring more structural strength and muscular tension. I often find that people also get their knee pain this way. However, it is a good supplemental training since it trains different aspects of your structure. Standing on the whole foot will calm you and deeply relax you more, but your stance will be higher. This is a good one to practice if you are feeling like you need rest. Last, you may practice with your weight primarily on the balls of your feet and your toes. When you are on your bubbling well, unlike being on your heel, it creates jing, springy power. When you are on your toes, the springy power and mobility amplifies. On the day, your body will tell you which method you should use to train that day.
Now, one important note is that the alignment of the knee and the bubbling well is not a physical alignment. There is a physical alignment, but it is more a feeling that your knee is aligned with the bubbling well. There is a connection you should feel from the bubbling well to your knee. Another thing you should mind is that you should never stress this connection physically. For instance, in the beginning it is fine to stand on the balls of your feet where you feel a lot of pressure on the ball of your feet. But as you get more secure in your sense of the connection, you should lessen the physical pressure until there is no physical pressure and only a sense of connection with no extra physical burden. Tai-Chi is a mental martial art. The mind intends it and the body follows the intention, so as a general rule, your intention and visual perception, and your kinesthetic sense of internal connection will increase but your physical stress will always decrease. The body will feel more and more relaxed, lighter and lighter, and movements will become easier and easier, and you will feel an intrinsic sense of strength coming from deep within almost as if you are a highly pressurized balloon. This is one of the reasons Tai-Chi is called an internal art.
In short, less is more. Always remember, less is more. Start with concrete and then try to do less and less. Have fun with ‘Foot Sole Stuck Earth’.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered 3/18)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ (Covered 3/19)
5)’Foot Sole Stick Earth’ (Covered Today)
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’. Straight forward.
This principle means that you have to feel as if the Sole of your feet is stuck to the ground as if it is a suction cup. I had to look up the dictionary to be sure but ‘Sole’ apparently indicates the part of the foot between the balls of your feet and the heel.
This is interesting because in Chinese, the word sole that they use means whole bottom of foot. But interestingly enough, the Tai-Chi Classics say that your bubbling well should be stuck to the floor. The bubbling well is the place of the foot that goes in when you try to make a fist with your foot. When you imagine that you are standing on your bubbling well, you will feel as if your sole is a suction cup. So for our purpose, sole works not only fine, but might even work better.
Here are some key things to know about ‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’.
It’s not about the foot, but your knee. ‘Huh?’ Did I get your attention? I hope I did. That’s right. It’s not about the foot. It’s about how you position your knee. This is the secret. If you position your knee properly, you get the ‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’ phenomenon.
Now as you stand shoulder width apart, Visualize your knee lining up with your bubbling well. That’s it. That is the secret. But if you do this simple step right, this is what give you the rooting power and the sensation of your sole sticking to the floor.
If you are not sure what the bubbling well is, line your knee up with the balls of your feel and stand on the ball of you feet, while your heel is still touching the floor. You may wonder how this creates a suction cup feeling if you are not standing on the whole foot equally. When the knee is over the ankle, the foot and the leg up to the knee creates a very secure base. When the base is secure, everything above the knee can relax. You will find out that if your knee is aching from practicing it is often because your knee was not balanced over your bubbling well, and the weight was not falling on the bubbling well/ball of your feet. This alignment secures the knee.
Once the knee is secure, your thigh and hamstrings relax, and you will feel the ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’. Without a secure base, without support you cannot properly relax. It’s like laying down on you back. When you are laying down in a good bed, you can feel the entire body relaxing and then just basking in the pleasure. This is because your entire back is supported and your muscles don’t need to engage as much to keep the body balanced. The same is true when you are standing. When your base is secure, it helps you to be better balanced and thus be more relaxed. The more secure your base, the deeper you can relax.
For training purposes, you can stand heavier on your heel. Standing on the heel will bring more structural strength and muscular tension. I often find that people also get their knee pain this way. However, it is a good supplemental training since it trains different aspects of your structure. Standing on the whole foot will calm you and deeply relax you more, but your stance will be higher. This is a good one to practice if you are feeling like you need rest. Last, you may practice with your weight primarily on the balls of your feet and your toes. When you are on your bubbling well, unlike being on your heel, it creates jing, springy power. When you are on your toes, the springy power and mobility amplifies. On the day, your body will tell you which method you should use to train that day.
Now, one important note is that the alignment of the knee and the bubbling well is not a physical alignment. There is a physical alignment, but it is more a feeling that your knee is aligned with the bubbling well. There is a connection you should feel from the bubbling well to your knee. Another thing you should mind is that you should never stress this connection physically. For instance, in the beginning it is fine to stand on the balls of your feet where you feel a lot of pressure on the ball of your feet. But as you get more secure in your sense of the connection, you should lessen the physical pressure until there is no physical pressure and only a sense of connection with no extra physical burden. Tai-Chi is a mental martial art. The mind intends it and the body follows the intention, so as a general rule, your intention and visual perception, and your kinesthetic sense of internal connection will increase but your physical stress will always decrease. The body will feel more and more relaxed, lighter and lighter, and movements will become easier and easier, and you will feel an intrinsic sense of strength coming from deep within almost as if you are a highly pressurized balloon. This is one of the reasons Tai-Chi is called an internal art.
In short, less is more. Always remember, less is more. Start with concrete and then try to do less and less. Have fun with ‘Foot Sole Stuck Earth’.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered 3/18)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ (Covered 3/19)
5)’Foot Sole Stick Earth’ (Covered Today)
Friday, March 19, 2010
Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly
[Path to Mastery 3/19/10 – Wk27 D5 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly means that your weight is either on one foot or the other.
Pretty boring right? Why would they even have such a lame principle after all those deep mysterious and powerful principles?
Nothing beats simplicity. What is simple once has dept year later. The principle Yi-Chi-Li, when I first learned it was the blandest principle ever. I mean seriously, I thought to myself, who doesn’t know that already? How can that be a secret? Now I know it is a secret, and now I understand it is the best kept secret.
‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ is the same. For now, use it as feedback to let you know whether you are getting the other principles correctly or not. When you shift from one foot to the other, when you are done with the move, if you are well centered, you should be able to pick up the other foot without moving your upper body at all. If someone was just looking at your upper body, they should not have been able to tell that you picked up the other foot. If your hip has to tilt to one side or the other for you to be able to do this, that means your stance is no good. By learning to shift clearly to one side and the back to the other, you learn how to keep your structure balanced while shifting from one leg to the other.
Now of course there are a lot of moves where you don’t shift all the way, and your weight distribution is only 60:40 or 40:60. The deeper meaning of ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ is that you engage only one leg at a time. When you shift forward you push with your back leg only. When you shift backward, you push with your front foot. This creates unified power. Rest of the body is relaxed so it doesn’t fight itself anymore. A good example is that of the unbendable arm. Try this with a partner. You stand with your feet a shoulder width apart, and implement ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ and ‘Chi in Dan-Tien’. Then extend the arm out from your center, and relax it. Then in your mind extend the arm as if the fingers are going to lengthen until they touch the wall on the other side. Then try to have your partner bend your arm. You will find that it is either impossible for your partner to bend your arm, or it is extremely difficult to do so. Now, clench your fist and tighten you arm and keep it stiff. Then have your partner bend it. You’ll notice it is a lot easier to bend the arm. This is because the bicep and the triceps were both engaged and they are antagonistic muscle to each other. In the same manner, if the body is relaxed then the body will not fight itself, and when you are shifting you only engage one or the other leg, the direction and power generated from the body is streamlined and clear.
Last, the reason you should not stand equally on both legs is because when you stand more to one side or the other, it creates mobility. You are not a sitting duck. Because you are relaxed, when you stand on one leg and you get pushed, you flow from one move to the other naturally.
Flow is what creates energy. By maintaining ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’, you learn how to create flow while being relaxed and maintaining your core integrity!
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered 3/18)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ (Covered today)
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly means that your weight is either on one foot or the other.
Pretty boring right? Why would they even have such a lame principle after all those deep mysterious and powerful principles?
Nothing beats simplicity. What is simple once has dept year later. The principle Yi-Chi-Li, when I first learned it was the blandest principle ever. I mean seriously, I thought to myself, who doesn’t know that already? How can that be a secret? Now I know it is a secret, and now I understand it is the best kept secret.
‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ is the same. For now, use it as feedback to let you know whether you are getting the other principles correctly or not. When you shift from one foot to the other, when you are done with the move, if you are well centered, you should be able to pick up the other foot without moving your upper body at all. If someone was just looking at your upper body, they should not have been able to tell that you picked up the other foot. If your hip has to tilt to one side or the other for you to be able to do this, that means your stance is no good. By learning to shift clearly to one side and the back to the other, you learn how to keep your structure balanced while shifting from one leg to the other.
Now of course there are a lot of moves where you don’t shift all the way, and your weight distribution is only 60:40 or 40:60. The deeper meaning of ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ is that you engage only one leg at a time. When you shift forward you push with your back leg only. When you shift backward, you push with your front foot. This creates unified power. Rest of the body is relaxed so it doesn’t fight itself anymore. A good example is that of the unbendable arm. Try this with a partner. You stand with your feet a shoulder width apart, and implement ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ and ‘Chi in Dan-Tien’. Then extend the arm out from your center, and relax it. Then in your mind extend the arm as if the fingers are going to lengthen until they touch the wall on the other side. Then try to have your partner bend your arm. You will find that it is either impossible for your partner to bend your arm, or it is extremely difficult to do so. Now, clench your fist and tighten you arm and keep it stiff. Then have your partner bend it. You’ll notice it is a lot easier to bend the arm. This is because the bicep and the triceps were both engaged and they are antagonistic muscle to each other. In the same manner, if the body is relaxed then the body will not fight itself, and when you are shifting you only engage one or the other leg, the direction and power generated from the body is streamlined and clear.
Last, the reason you should not stand equally on both legs is because when you stand more to one side or the other, it creates mobility. You are not a sitting duck. Because you are relaxed, when you stand on one leg and you get pushed, you flow from one move to the other naturally.
Flow is what creates energy. By maintaining ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’, you learn how to create flow while being relaxed and maintaining your core integrity!
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1. Principles (Covered 3/4)
2. Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3. Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4. Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered 3/18)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ (Covered today)
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Round Crotch Bend Knee
[Path to Mastery 3/17/10 – Wk27 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
One of my student and good friend told me that I only get away with some of the things I say because of my Asian accent. I think these Crotch subjects definitely qualify for those subjects that I can talk about naturally because I have an Asian accent. So listen to these words with an accent. It will sound more authentic!
So, we are on a roll with Crotch principles. Yesterday I covered ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, today we will be covering ‘Round Crotch and Bend Knee’.
So far we have been covering the principles from simple straight forward visualization principles that allow you to lead your chi. As we covered in the very first day of the principles series, all the principles are covered by one, and only one principle. Which one is it? You thought ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ didn’t you? Go back and check the blog on 3/5, principles principle.
If you did remember correctly, congratulations! The principle of all principle is ‘Yi Chi Li’, which stand for ‘Mind Chi Strength’, simply meaning that the mind leads Chi, and that Chi leads your muscles. Visualization is one of the most effective ways to lead your energy.
The body is a very complex organism. To consciously coordinate all the different parts of the body moving together while making sure your timing and all the different angles are correct is too much for your brain to handle, especially if you are dealing with an opponent. Visualization allows for a simple mind picture to simplify the coordination of all the different aspect of the body. Here is an example of this concept. I had a friend who was learning how to run. She would keep pounding her heel into the ground, and she had trouble because of it. She received advice from her friends who were consummate runners and she even received advice from professionals. They taught her the mechanism of running, of how to land with the heel and to go heel toe, heel toe. They taught her how to coordinate her arms and legs. It wasn’t helping and she was frustrated. I told her to just keep her eyes on the horizon and start running at a comfortable pace, and to forget the body mechanics. I told her to imagine that as she started running towards the horizon, the horizon was coming towards her. As the horizon came towards her, it started merging with her feet and that as the horizon merged with her feet, it started pulling her forward. I told her that the floor would come towards her and merge with her feet and she would start flowing towards the horizon as if the floor and she were one.
You should have seen her face the next day. She was ecstatic! She said that her feet stopped pounding and she started flowing! Now she is an excellent runner. This is some of the Tai-Chi visual principles for running. If you stop to consider, it is not easy to control the body when you are going at a fast speed to precisely land and smoothly coordinate the heel toe transition. Most of us learned how to run when we were kids and hardly think about it anymore, but if you actually consciously try to run heel toe heel toe, you will notice that most of you will get stiffer and start pounding the floor too. This goes to show how much of even our simple movements are highly complex movement that we don’t think about it anymore because we mastered them when we were little kids. The visualization takes the burden of having to individually coordinate the different parts of the body and simplifies things.
Today, we will depart from the straight forward extension principles. Today we will create balls!
So, here is today’s visualization practice:
8) Imagine your crown being pulled up by a golden string (Ok, maybe one simple extension).
9) Now as your spine lengthens, and your shoulders drop away, imagine that there is a tennis ball in your arm pits creating a hollow sensation in your armpits. When this happens, you will feel your arms lengthen. When that happens imagine your arms on the side are comfortably resting on a large ball as if you had a giant Buddha belly.
10) When you perform ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’, imagine that your upper back and your lats are part of a giant ball and is expanding. This should make your chest feel so relaxed that you can imagine that your chest cavity is empty and there is an empty ball sitting in your chest cavity.
11) ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ should make your Dan-Tien feel like a ball with a black hole at it’s center.
12) Now that Chi is in Dan-Tien (A shorter way to translate ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’), you should feel Relax Waist Squat Crotch.
13) Yesterday I explained that your legs should be bent and your tail bone dropped, and your small of your back should flatten out as your lower abdomen becomes engaged. When this happens, you should feel as if there is a ball supporting the inside of your legs. This is called ‘Round Crotch’. If you don’t feel it, imagine that you have a tube of balloon that comfortably rounding your legs and supporting the inside of your legs. Now you should not round it in a exaggerated manner. It has to be natural. It is the sensation of feeling a ball of energy between your legs.
14) The knees should be bent comfortably. You should feel the natural springiness of your legs through the bent legs as if they are springs. The knees being bent should make you slightly bow legged, but only enough to make the knees be directly above your arches. So, if you are standing shoulder width apart or more with your legs, you bow them enough so that seen from the front, you knees are directly above your arch. This creates direct support from the ground for the knees, and since the knees are not at odd angles, they are well supported. This is what creates the sensation of having a ball between your legs. This is called ‘Round Crotch Bent Knees’. It is this principle that creates the rooting power and the springy power generation that make Tai-Chi powerful as a martial art.
The application principles which we will be covering later talk about how the power is generated in the legs, control by the waist, expressed through the fingers. The ‘Round Crotch Bent Knees’, is analogous to the root of the tree. The trunk above the root can only shake as vigorously as the strength of its roots. As you train this principle, these words will become clearer to you.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered today)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
One of my student and good friend told me that I only get away with some of the things I say because of my Asian accent. I think these Crotch subjects definitely qualify for those subjects that I can talk about naturally because I have an Asian accent. So listen to these words with an accent. It will sound more authentic!
So, we are on a roll with Crotch principles. Yesterday I covered ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, today we will be covering ‘Round Crotch and Bend Knee’.
So far we have been covering the principles from simple straight forward visualization principles that allow you to lead your chi. As we covered in the very first day of the principles series, all the principles are covered by one, and only one principle. Which one is it? You thought ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ didn’t you? Go back and check the blog on 3/5, principles principle.
If you did remember correctly, congratulations! The principle of all principle is ‘Yi Chi Li’, which stand for ‘Mind Chi Strength’, simply meaning that the mind leads Chi, and that Chi leads your muscles. Visualization is one of the most effective ways to lead your energy.
The body is a very complex organism. To consciously coordinate all the different parts of the body moving together while making sure your timing and all the different angles are correct is too much for your brain to handle, especially if you are dealing with an opponent. Visualization allows for a simple mind picture to simplify the coordination of all the different aspect of the body. Here is an example of this concept. I had a friend who was learning how to run. She would keep pounding her heel into the ground, and she had trouble because of it. She received advice from her friends who were consummate runners and she even received advice from professionals. They taught her the mechanism of running, of how to land with the heel and to go heel toe, heel toe. They taught her how to coordinate her arms and legs. It wasn’t helping and she was frustrated. I told her to just keep her eyes on the horizon and start running at a comfortable pace, and to forget the body mechanics. I told her to imagine that as she started running towards the horizon, the horizon was coming towards her. As the horizon came towards her, it started merging with her feet and that as the horizon merged with her feet, it started pulling her forward. I told her that the floor would come towards her and merge with her feet and she would start flowing towards the horizon as if the floor and she were one.
You should have seen her face the next day. She was ecstatic! She said that her feet stopped pounding and she started flowing! Now she is an excellent runner. This is some of the Tai-Chi visual principles for running. If you stop to consider, it is not easy to control the body when you are going at a fast speed to precisely land and smoothly coordinate the heel toe transition. Most of us learned how to run when we were kids and hardly think about it anymore, but if you actually consciously try to run heel toe heel toe, you will notice that most of you will get stiffer and start pounding the floor too. This goes to show how much of even our simple movements are highly complex movement that we don’t think about it anymore because we mastered them when we were little kids. The visualization takes the burden of having to individually coordinate the different parts of the body and simplifies things.
Today, we will depart from the straight forward extension principles. Today we will create balls!
So, here is today’s visualization practice:
8) Imagine your crown being pulled up by a golden string (Ok, maybe one simple extension).
9) Now as your spine lengthens, and your shoulders drop away, imagine that there is a tennis ball in your arm pits creating a hollow sensation in your armpits. When this happens, you will feel your arms lengthen. When that happens imagine your arms on the side are comfortably resting on a large ball as if you had a giant Buddha belly.
10) When you perform ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’, imagine that your upper back and your lats are part of a giant ball and is expanding. This should make your chest feel so relaxed that you can imagine that your chest cavity is empty and there is an empty ball sitting in your chest cavity.
11) ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ should make your Dan-Tien feel like a ball with a black hole at it’s center.
12) Now that Chi is in Dan-Tien (A shorter way to translate ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’), you should feel Relax Waist Squat Crotch.
13) Yesterday I explained that your legs should be bent and your tail bone dropped, and your small of your back should flatten out as your lower abdomen becomes engaged. When this happens, you should feel as if there is a ball supporting the inside of your legs. This is called ‘Round Crotch’. If you don’t feel it, imagine that you have a tube of balloon that comfortably rounding your legs and supporting the inside of your legs. Now you should not round it in a exaggerated manner. It has to be natural. It is the sensation of feeling a ball of energy between your legs.
14) The knees should be bent comfortably. You should feel the natural springiness of your legs through the bent legs as if they are springs. The knees being bent should make you slightly bow legged, but only enough to make the knees be directly above your arches. So, if you are standing shoulder width apart or more with your legs, you bow them enough so that seen from the front, you knees are directly above your arch. This creates direct support from the ground for the knees, and since the knees are not at odd angles, they are well supported. This is what creates the sensation of having a ball between your legs. This is called ‘Round Crotch Bent Knees’. It is this principle that creates the rooting power and the springy power generation that make Tai-Chi powerful as a martial art.
The application principles which we will be covering later talk about how the power is generated in the legs, control by the waist, expressed through the fingers. The ‘Round Crotch Bent Knees’, is analogous to the root of the tree. The trunk above the root can only shake as vigorously as the strength of its roots. As you train this principle, these words will become clearer to you.
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered 3/16)
2)’Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ (Covered 3/17)
3)’Round Crotch Bend Knee’ (Covered today)
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Relax Waist Squat Crotch
[Path to Mastery 3/17/10 – Wk27 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)]
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
I hope you got a kick out of today’s title ‘Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’.
So, yesterday I covered the nature of Chi, and the existence of the Dan-Tien. And then we reviewed how ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ is related to the rest of the principles that have been introduced so far.
If you thought I covered all the secrets of ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’, you are mistaken. Yesterday, I only covered the visual aspect of the principle. I couldn’t tell you all the secrets even if I wanted to because I don’t remember all the details unless they are triggered by some stimulus. I am a natural walking secret! ;) Moral of the story? Ask lots of question until it’s been all covered.
So, here is how the rest of the secret of the ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ was triggered. As I was contemplating how to teach ‘Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’ in relation to ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’, I remembered I needed to cover some more details before I could do it. Lame isn’t it? I know.
Here we go:
4) Perform ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’. Now you should have mastered this concept. If you don’t know what I am talking about, go back and read blog on 3/8.
5) Perform ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’.
6) Perform ‘ Settle Shoulder Drop Elbos’.
When you do this, you should by now feel your chest is relaxed and your lower abdomen is feeling full from your relaxation having sunk to your pelvis. This is nothing more than your diaphragm relaxing and the breath dropping lower and your organs relaxing and resting on your pelvis as they should. Now, we covered portions of this yesterday. Here is the extra information. When your chest is sufficiently relaxed, you will feel your rib cage dropping. It will feel as if your rib cage is dropping into your abdominal wall. When your elbow is dropped or extended properly, you will feel that your elbow is connected to your solar plexus. Only then will you feel as if the solar plexus is empty. To add some more detail, you should feel that your solar plexus area relaxed and as if it is hollow inside. Some consider this to mean ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’. This may be because ‘Contain Chest’ is also translated ‘Hollow Chest. Any way, at this point, you should feel as if you have a buddy belly.
When you reach this point, then you will feel your lower back letting go. Waist in the oriental concept is not the belt line. Waist is your lower back. It is the entire area that is between your ribs and your hips (pelvis). When your lower abdomen engages, and your rib cage relaxes to the point it hides in your abdominal walls, you will feel that your lower back lets go and relaxes. This is because you lower back is supported. In short, ‘Relax Back’ is the description of ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ from the back. Key to remember, you cannot achieve either ‘Relax Back’ or ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ without ‘Drop Elbow’.
Now to the Squat Crotch. When you lower back is relaxed, you will feel your sides below your armpit relaxing all the way down to the side of your legs. When that happens, you will feel your pelvis relaxing. When that happens, bend your knees a little bit and sit on your legs. Just imagine that you are sitting on a high stool. Make sure that you feel as if your hip bones are facing forward and you will feel that the curve in your lower back disappears. When the lower back flattens, this is called ‘upper and lower body become one’ or ‘Top and bottom mutually follow’. More on that later.
As you get better, your legs will get straighter and straighter and eventually you will be able to squat with your legs straight.
When you achieve ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, then you will feel as if your pelvis is floating across the air as if you are a hover craft when you walk or do the form. The level of your head will stop bobbing up and down, and level out. Your balance will be steady, and you will feel rooted and settled at the same time.
Tomorrow, ‘Round Crotch Bend Knee’!!!!!!!!
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered today)
2)’Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’
3)’Round Crotch and bend Knee’
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
I hope you got a kick out of today’s title ‘Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’.
So, yesterday I covered the nature of Chi, and the existence of the Dan-Tien. And then we reviewed how ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ is related to the rest of the principles that have been introduced so far.
If you thought I covered all the secrets of ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’, you are mistaken. Yesterday, I only covered the visual aspect of the principle. I couldn’t tell you all the secrets even if I wanted to because I don’t remember all the details unless they are triggered by some stimulus. I am a natural walking secret! ;) Moral of the story? Ask lots of question until it’s been all covered.
So, here is how the rest of the secret of the ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ was triggered. As I was contemplating how to teach ‘Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’ in relation to ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’, I remembered I needed to cover some more details before I could do it. Lame isn’t it? I know.
Here we go:
4) Perform ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’. Now you should have mastered this concept. If you don’t know what I am talking about, go back and read blog on 3/8.
5) Perform ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’.
6) Perform ‘ Settle Shoulder Drop Elbos’.
When you do this, you should by now feel your chest is relaxed and your lower abdomen is feeling full from your relaxation having sunk to your pelvis. This is nothing more than your diaphragm relaxing and the breath dropping lower and your organs relaxing and resting on your pelvis as they should. Now, we covered portions of this yesterday. Here is the extra information. When your chest is sufficiently relaxed, you will feel your rib cage dropping. It will feel as if your rib cage is dropping into your abdominal wall. When your elbow is dropped or extended properly, you will feel that your elbow is connected to your solar plexus. Only then will you feel as if the solar plexus is empty. To add some more detail, you should feel that your solar plexus area relaxed and as if it is hollow inside. Some consider this to mean ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’. This may be because ‘Contain Chest’ is also translated ‘Hollow Chest. Any way, at this point, you should feel as if you have a buddy belly.
When you reach this point, then you will feel your lower back letting go. Waist in the oriental concept is not the belt line. Waist is your lower back. It is the entire area that is between your ribs and your hips (pelvis). When your lower abdomen engages, and your rib cage relaxes to the point it hides in your abdominal walls, you will feel that your lower back lets go and relaxes. This is because you lower back is supported. In short, ‘Relax Back’ is the description of ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ from the back. Key to remember, you cannot achieve either ‘Relax Back’ or ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ without ‘Drop Elbow’.
Now to the Squat Crotch. When you lower back is relaxed, you will feel your sides below your armpit relaxing all the way down to the side of your legs. When that happens, you will feel your pelvis relaxing. When that happens, bend your knees a little bit and sit on your legs. Just imagine that you are sitting on a high stool. Make sure that you feel as if your hip bones are facing forward and you will feel that the curve in your lower back disappears. When the lower back flattens, this is called ‘upper and lower body become one’ or ‘Top and bottom mutually follow’. More on that later.
As you get better, your legs will get straighter and straighter and eventually you will be able to squat with your legs straight.
When you achieve ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, then you will feel as if your pelvis is floating across the air as if you are a hover craft when you walk or do the form. The level of your head will stop bobbing up and down, and level out. Your balance will be steady, and you will feel rooted and settled at the same time.
Tomorrow, ‘Round Crotch Bend Knee’!!!!!!!!
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Meditation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered today)
2)’Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’
3)’Round Crotch and bend Knee’
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien
Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey:
Starting today we will be covering the Alignment principles concerning the lower body. Today’s principle will be ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.
Let have a quick review. There are 4 areas that need to be trained to enhance and cultivate your energy. We call these 4 cultivation areas the BARS: Breathing, Alignment, Relaxation, Slow/Synchronous Movement. Currently we are covering the Alignment principles. Within the Alignment principles, we have covered the principles of the Upper Body:
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
We also discovered that all these principles are just one principle, each describing different aspects of the same principle.
Now, there are also 5 Lower Body principles:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’
2)’Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’
3)’Round Crotch and bend Knee’
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Let’s start on our journey of the Lower Body principles. The first of the principles is ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.
Two words that need to be explained, Chi and Dan-Tien. Chi is the Chinese word for air or energy. The Chinese character for Chi is the symbol of rice with steam rising from the rice. The steam is the Chi. This kind of gives you and idea of how the Chinese view Chi. I would like to note that even though the word Chi means air, it is closer to the meaning of energy and not oxygen as we are accustomed to thinking nowadays. It is important to note that when this word formed way back when, they did not have a concept of this gas called oxygen.
Here is a better way to get a feel for the word Chi. Imagine that these Taoists are observing what the breath does to the body, and how the energy interact within the body and outside the body. They realize that the energy is invisible, and they also note that whatever they breathe in is invisible. They also note that depending on how they breathe, their body heats up, softens, and this heat or energy circulates around the body. They don’t know what it is, but they know it is invisible and it has power. They have to call it something. So guess what, they call it “Chi’.
So, from a modern perspective if you look at the word Chi as the catch all word for the phenomenon of energy you have an idea. Chi describes all the different sensations or phenomenon that you get to experience in the body that is not visible. I think the new hip modern word to describe this in English is energy. When you see the world Chi, you can safely substitute the word energy.
Dan-Tien is another one of these mysterious words. Dan is the word for red, and Tien is the word for field (like farm land). The Character for Dan is the world Sun and Moon put together. It is supposed to symbolize the essence and source of all energy. So Dan-Tien is the field where Chi can be cultivated. Dan-Tien is the field of Chi. The location of the Dan-Tien is 3 finger width from your belly button from the front view. From the side view, it is a third of the distance of the cross section from the front of your body.
Here is the visualization:
1) Imagine that you’re the crown of your head is being pulled up by a golden string. Yup that’s right. ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’!
2) Once you feel your spine is suspended, imagine your forehead opens up. You may imagine that the place a little above the space between your eye brows has a dot, and that dot expands into a big circle until it spreads to your temples. You should feel as if there is a glowing ball right behind your forehead as if there was another eyeball. Some of you may know this is called the 3rd eye, or as 7th Chakra. In the Taoist system this is called upper Dan-Tien. There are 3 centers, or 3 Dan-Tiens in the body. The upper, middle and lower Dan-Tien. The middle Dan-Tien is center of the Cest. The lower Dan-Tien is the Dan-Tien mentioned above. The word lower Dan-Tien is used when the other 2 need to be mentioned.
3) Place your tongue on the roof of your pallet behind your teeth. Make sure that the tongue does not touch the teeth.
4) After opening the upper Dan-Tien, use your mind to guide a line down the center of the front of your body. As you guide your mind down, you will notice that there is a heavy sensation that follows. Guide it down until you reach your Dan-Tien. You will feel the heavy sensation sinking to your Dan-Tien. When the sensation reaches your Dan-Tien, you will feel a sinking sensation and the insides of your lower abdominal walls letting go. That letting go makes the lower Dan-Tien, or the abdominal walls feel like a full hot air balloon.
In the beginning, some of you may feel this sensation and some of your may not. Stay with it and you will feel the power of this exercise as your cultivation of your Dan-Tien deepens. If you don’t feel this in the beginning, keep up with the visualization, but at the physical level, when you perform ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’, you will feel your chest relax and the relaxation sinking to your lower abdomen. That is another way to do this. Continuing on the same theme, if ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ is done is properly, and ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’ happens, and then you will feel ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.
Aren’t you curious how the rest of the principles are tied to the same principle?
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered today)
2)’Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’
3)’Round Crotch and bend Knee’
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Starting today we will be covering the Alignment principles concerning the lower body. Today’s principle will be ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.
Let have a quick review. There are 4 areas that need to be trained to enhance and cultivate your energy. We call these 4 cultivation areas the BARS: Breathing, Alignment, Relaxation, Slow/Synchronous Movement. Currently we are covering the Alignment principles. Within the Alignment principles, we have covered the principles of the Upper Body:
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
We also discovered that all these principles are just one principle, each describing different aspects of the same principle.
Now, there are also 5 Lower Body principles:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’
2)’Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’
3)’Round Crotch and bend Knee’
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
Let’s start on our journey of the Lower Body principles. The first of the principles is ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.
Two words that need to be explained, Chi and Dan-Tien. Chi is the Chinese word for air or energy. The Chinese character for Chi is the symbol of rice with steam rising from the rice. The steam is the Chi. This kind of gives you and idea of how the Chinese view Chi. I would like to note that even though the word Chi means air, it is closer to the meaning of energy and not oxygen as we are accustomed to thinking nowadays. It is important to note that when this word formed way back when, they did not have a concept of this gas called oxygen.
Here is a better way to get a feel for the word Chi. Imagine that these Taoists are observing what the breath does to the body, and how the energy interact within the body and outside the body. They realize that the energy is invisible, and they also note that whatever they breathe in is invisible. They also note that depending on how they breathe, their body heats up, softens, and this heat or energy circulates around the body. They don’t know what it is, but they know it is invisible and it has power. They have to call it something. So guess what, they call it “Chi’.
So, from a modern perspective if you look at the word Chi as the catch all word for the phenomenon of energy you have an idea. Chi describes all the different sensations or phenomenon that you get to experience in the body that is not visible. I think the new hip modern word to describe this in English is energy. When you see the world Chi, you can safely substitute the word energy.
Dan-Tien is another one of these mysterious words. Dan is the word for red, and Tien is the word for field (like farm land). The Character for Dan is the world Sun and Moon put together. It is supposed to symbolize the essence and source of all energy. So Dan-Tien is the field where Chi can be cultivated. Dan-Tien is the field of Chi. The location of the Dan-Tien is 3 finger width from your belly button from the front view. From the side view, it is a third of the distance of the cross section from the front of your body.
Here is the visualization:
1) Imagine that you’re the crown of your head is being pulled up by a golden string. Yup that’s right. ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’!
2) Once you feel your spine is suspended, imagine your forehead opens up. You may imagine that the place a little above the space between your eye brows has a dot, and that dot expands into a big circle until it spreads to your temples. You should feel as if there is a glowing ball right behind your forehead as if there was another eyeball. Some of you may know this is called the 3rd eye, or as 7th Chakra. In the Taoist system this is called upper Dan-Tien. There are 3 centers, or 3 Dan-Tiens in the body. The upper, middle and lower Dan-Tien. The middle Dan-Tien is center of the Cest. The lower Dan-Tien is the Dan-Tien mentioned above. The word lower Dan-Tien is used when the other 2 need to be mentioned.
3) Place your tongue on the roof of your pallet behind your teeth. Make sure that the tongue does not touch the teeth.
4) After opening the upper Dan-Tien, use your mind to guide a line down the center of the front of your body. As you guide your mind down, you will notice that there is a heavy sensation that follows. Guide it down until you reach your Dan-Tien. You will feel the heavy sensation sinking to your Dan-Tien. When the sensation reaches your Dan-Tien, you will feel a sinking sensation and the insides of your lower abdominal walls letting go. That letting go makes the lower Dan-Tien, or the abdominal walls feel like a full hot air balloon.
In the beginning, some of you may feel this sensation and some of your may not. Stay with it and you will feel the power of this exercise as your cultivation of your Dan-Tien deepens. If you don’t feel this in the beginning, keep up with the visualization, but at the physical level, when you perform ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’, you will feel your chest relax and the relaxation sinking to your lower abdomen. That is another way to do this. Continuing on the same theme, if ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ is done is properly, and ‘Contain Chest Raise Back’ happens, and then you will feel ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.
Aren’t you curious how the rest of the principles are tied to the same principle?
History of Tai-Chi Journey up to this point:
Before the blog opened to the public, we covered the single person part of the system.
1. Chi-Gong (Taoist Longevity, White Crane Chi-Gong)
2. Standing Meditation
3. Stepping Mediation
4. 7 Basics
5. Basic Form
6. 30 Form
7. 108 Form
8. 4 Type Pushing Hands
Interactive training after we went public with the blog.
1. 8 Type Pushing Hands (Covered from 2/2 ~ 2/11)
2. San-Shou (Covered from 2/12 ~ 2/15)
3. Ba-Gua.(Covering from 2/16 ~ 2/19)
4. Weapons (Covered on 2/23)
5. Healing System (Covered on 2/24)
Non-Structured System:
1. Introduction (Covered 2/25)
2. Free moving – conditioning (Covered 2/26)
3. Free hand pushing hand (Covered 3/1)
4. Free hand (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/2)
5. Free hand weapon (2 person drills and multiple person drills) (Covered 3/3)
Detailed Instructions:
1.Principles (Covered 3/4)
2.Principle of Principles (Covered 3/5)
3.Principles of Upper Body (Covered 3/8 – 3/15)
1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ (Covered on 3/8)
2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)
3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)
4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)
5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15)
4.Principles Governing Lower Body:
1)’Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’ (Covered today)
2)’Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’
3)’Round Crotch and bend Knee’
4)’Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’
5)’Foot Palm Paste(Stick) Earth’
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