| Taijiquan
Classics:
One Yin, One Yang, that is the Tao.
Yin and Yang are rooted within one another.
There is no such thing as single Yin, or Single Yang.
Lesson Two
- On Body Structure
In Taijiquan, body structure is called Shun-fa, which means body law, or
body method. Keeping correct body structure is the most important skill in the
art of Taijiquan. If the Structure is wrong, it is bad Taijiquan! First learn
to maintain correct body structure in a fixed posture, then learn to maintain
correct body structure while in motion.
Shun-fa (body
structure) :
Suspend head-top - Keep chin in. Imagine that you are balancing a book on top
of your head.
Loosen shoulders, sink elbows - relax and let gravity do its work.
Keep the spine straight - Imagine a vertical line from the head-top (Baihui) down
to the torso (Huiyin).
Loosen your stomach, keep your buttocks in.
Keep your chest slightly in and expand the upper back - do not over do this.
Keep knees bent and relax the insubstantial leg.
Stretch the tendons and relax the muscles.
Clearly separate the substantial from the insubstantial.
Lesson Three
- On Stances
Students should take a few minutes to work on basic stances before practicing
the Taijiquan form. If they do not know their stances good enough, they will not
be able to focus on the hands and torso when they do the forms.
Basic stances for Wu Style Taijiquan:
Front stance (Bow stance) as in Brush knee posture - keep weight mostly on the
front leg.
Back stance as in Seven Stars posture - keep weight mostly on the back leg, buttocks
in.
Horse stance as in Single Whip posture - keep weight on both legs evenly, buttocks
in.
Stand in a correct stance for a few minutes to improve your stamina. All other
stances are variations of the basic stances. Experiment with different widths
and lengths on the same stance. You will find out that if your stance is too narrow,
you will feel squeezed at the center. If your stance is to wide, you will feel
that you are being pulled apart from the center.
Remember - students can use these Taijiquan postures as Qigong practice!
Lesson Four
- On Using Strength
In Taiji, the first thing a student learns about strength is: USE LESS.
The more strength a student uses, the less effective he becomes. How can this
be so?
There are many reasons:
1. It is because of poor body mechanics. When a student tries harder, he tenses
his muscles and freezes his body. He becomes rigid and awkward.
2. Qi flows better if the body is loose.
3. When a person uses less physical force, his mental force will immediately increase.
4. E=MV² Energy (force) is equal to mass times the square of velocity. Even in
Taiji, speed is important.
Here are some simple guidelines:
1. Calm your mind and emotion.
2. Suspend your head-top
3. Focus on using less strength.
4. Relax the body.
5. Move slowly.
6. Enough is enough.
7. Less is better.
Lesson Five
- On Team Work
The Taiji Classic said, "The whole body (moves) as one family." Nowadays
we can say, "the whole body works as a team."
The key words to "whole body as one family" are: balance and harmony.
There are big guys and small guys in this body team. The big guys are strong so
they should contribute more force. The small guys are weak and they naturally
should contribute less force. This is balance. However, if the small guys contribute
more force and the big guys less, this team is not in harmony and there will be
problems.
Work force contribution:
The whole work force is 100%
The two legs and feet contribute 40%
The torso and hips contribute 40%
The two arms and hands contribute 20%
Together the total force equals 100%
When a student pushes very lightly, he uses very little force. When he pushes
hard, he will use more force, but the percentage of the force contribution should
remain unchanged.
Every member of the team should work simultaneously, contributing the correct
percentage of force. This is harmony in Taiji.
It is a common mistake to use too much strength from the hand, especially in
push hands. Students should try hard to avoid this.
Song of Push-hands
(A Taiji Classic)
rewritten by Chun Man Sit
When practicing push-hands with a partner, it is important to focus on both
the mental and physical aspects.
In order to prevent your partner from entering into your space, you should
keep correct vertical center line when moving back and forth.
When your opponent pushes with great force, all you need is a small force to
redirect his move. This will cause his attack to slide out of the attack line.
You must allow your opponent's push to advance and fall into emptiness. Should
this happen, immediately make your move without hesitation.
What is the secret
of Taiji push-hands?
Stick tight to your opponent's hands and follow his moves.
Do not lose contact.
Do not fight against his force.
Secret of Discharging
in Push-Hands by Master Li Yue Yi
rewritten by Chun Man Sit
In order to borrow strength from my partner, I need to uproot him first. I
can do so by raising his body slightly.
When he attacks with a push, I use my own hands to stick tight to his hands
and let them advance forward until they are right in front of my torso. Now is
the time to store my jin (energy).
I have to let my muscles and my shoulder joints stay relaxed, otherwise my
body will become rigid and my fa-jin (discharge of energy) will be slow and therefore
weak.
When I discharge my partner, I will focus on my waist and my feet. The source
of energy mainly starts from the waist and feet. If I try to do it from my hands,
my force will be weak.
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