Fulfilling the Principle of Duality

Taijiquan first requires expansiveness then compactness. However the expression of expansiveness is controlled and precise. If expansiveness is overdone and not within boundary then it may be difficult to achieve compactness at a later stage.

 Compactness does not mean being tightly locked. It is an integration of all parts of the body that are capable of expansion and contraction. Fulfilling the core principle of duality - “within expanding is contracting” and “within closing is opening” - the mutual transformation being its root.

Taijiquan is a practice of reconciling paradoxes. Practitioners are often hovering between the “rights” and “wrongs” as there are no absolutes. There is only a minuscule between over-doing and under-doing. Just in the correct distribution of expansion and contraction and the body exhibits a strong and impenetrable “peng jin”. A little over is resistance, a little under is lax. “Peng jin” should be a state that is not in response to an outside stimuli. The inability to maintain this state during transitions of movements directly affects structural cohesion and transformation.

 

 

Some key points to practice...

Some key points to practice:

*To practise any movement, the body should be divided into Yin and Yang, insubstantial and substantial, open and close, that is, expansion and contraction. For example, the left side of the body contracts, the right side expands; expand on the right, contract on the left; the upper body contracts, the lower body expands; the front expands, back contracts etc..

*The emphasis of practice is not on the fixed postures of a form. It is on the transition movements between the fixed postures.

*"Song chen" (release and sink) is not about the whole body sinking. Only release and sink from below the Mingmen. Above that there is rising.

*When there is a place in the body that cannot be released, stop thinking about that place and let go of the place above or below the place of tension.

*Always keep three places insubstantial, the middle of the palms, the chest and the centre of the feet.

*What is the right way to “release and sink”? Sink is not dropping like a stone. It should be like a light piece of paper falling to the ground. The left side sinks, the right side rises, then the right sinks and the left rises. Like this, it falls to the ground.

*Only on completion of one posture and all the movement criteria are in place, do you start the next posture. Be strict and disciplined.

*All movement begins and ends at the "midline" of the body.

*One way to loosen the shoulder, sink the elbow, and sit the wrist: first, relax the whole hand. Use the intention to open the shoulder joint. Imagine opening a valve in a water pipe, let a stream of water slowly flow through the shoulder joint into the upper arm. When the upper arm is filled with water, the elbow sinks under the weight of the water. Then let the water continue to flow through the elbow joint into the forearm. When the forearm is also full of water, open the wrist joint and let the water go to the palm. Open the hukou and let the water finally flow to the fingertips.

Select one key point to practise at a time. However a key point is only a means or a tool to help us achieve the requirements of Taijiquan . When a key point is understood and realised we should forget it and let it occur naturally.

Training Taijiquan Power

The power of Taijiquan is not just about strength. It is a comprehensive and integrated quality. It is strong and soft power generated by the coordination between internal consciousness (intention) and external movements. This power is changeable and flexible. Therefore, the improvement of power cannot only rely on training methods that increase the body strength. Training involves a holistic approach; not only to increase strength, but also to incorporate consciousness. In Taijiquan it is the consciousness that expedites power.

 

There are often misunderstandings about power training in Taijiquan, that it comes from fast and hard movements. In fact, contained within the process of form training in taijiquan are the potentials and intentions of power that are not often obvious. The theory says: "Taijiquan is a needle hidden in silk floss; gentle yet firm”. That is to say, although the external movements are gentle and slow, the internal support force is strong. The power of Taijiquan is embodied in the slow and gentle movement through the coordination of the different parts of the body under the direction of intention/consciousness. This is the kind of internal power training required.

 

To improve the overall skill of Taijiquan, the most fundamental is to improve the integration of the body’s frame and movement with the mind’s intention. That's the reason why through the generations Taijiquan masters practised the routines for a lifetime.

 

 

Stages of Zhan zhuang

Zhan Zhuang (Standing Pole) occupies a very important position in traditional martial arts practice. What are we actually doing and how do we practise it?

Zhan Zhuang is a training method by which to know oneself. Invariably the human body become “deformed” (out of its natural form/structure) because of incorrect use throughout life. The average person has such a poor sense of their body that they cannot feel, let alone command and control the different parts. In particular, they cannot differentiate and separate flesh, tendons, and bones, so that when expressing energies, the flesh, tendons and bones tense up together forming a stiff mass. Zhan zhuang is a static practice through which to experience and understand your own body frame and structure, so as to improve the body's capability and functionality.

The first step of zhan zhuang is to learn to fangsong (relax and let go of tension). Through fangsong, allow the “deformed” body to return to its natural state: qi and blood calm, neck insubstantial and the jaw drawn in, chest empty and the abdomen filled, back rounded and the waist relaxed, the buttocks level and the hips seated so that the ability of the mind and consciousness to perceive the structure and sensations of the body is gradually improved.

Having learned how to fangsong and to improve the ability to understand and feel the different parts of your body, you are ready to express strength, as you are now able to tell whether you are using tendons and bones or using muscles to do so.

The second stage of zhan zhuang involves stretching the tendons and pulling the bones. Because the tendons, bones and flesh are now differentiated, during zhan zhuang the emphasis is on training the tendons and bones - the tendons are stretched to the correct tension, the bones are braced whilst the flesh is relaxed. If the first step is not complete, and you cannot distinguish tendons, bones and flesh, it is not possible to practise the second step.

Changing from slow to fast training...

At what point and under what condition is it appropriate for your practice to change from slow to fast?

There are two standard criteria:

1. The ability to maintain physical and energetic integrity....
When you speed up your actions either in a single posture or the whole form, you are ready only when the the body structure remains composed and intact and qi remains contained and not floating. If you are not able to do this, then it’s not time yet to add speed to your movements. You should slow down immediately and, following the guidelines of the criteria, gradually add speed as you improve.

2. The ability to express the appropriate energies.
Taijiquan is composed of different elements of the so-called “eight methods and five steps” or the “thirteen energies”. Any one of these elements should be expressed during movements. If a movement is done too quickly often the details are skipped over or lost and the intended energy is not expressed. Therefore, if you find it difficult to clearly express all the necessary energies, or competently change from one energy to another during fast practice, then you should continue to practise at a slower pace that allows you to do so.

These are the two criteria for the most appropriate time to incorporate speed into your movements. The power release of Taijiquan is realised by using this accelerated process. As well as its changeability and neutralisation skill. However this does not mean that all the movements of Taijiquan should be changed to fast movements. Instead, within the opening and closing, rotation and folding of Taijiquan, there must be an alternation of fast and slow.

Looseness in Taijiquan

“Song” (translates as loose, unimpeded, relaxed, devoid of tension) is the most important component of Taijiquan and cannot be spoken of enough.

“Song” in Taijiquan is achieved only when every part of the body has acquired the state, not in isolation but in uniform distribution. “Song” must be initiated from inside out - the mind first rid of tension in order to facilitate the physical body to relax.

“Song” is prone to two common misrepresentations: the first is being over...ly soft so that the body is weak and flaccid; the second is believing prematurely that a state of “song” has been achieved and the mind is no longer open to guide the body. The first instance is very common. In the search for “song” earnest players often overplay softness and become deficient and lacking in vigour and effectiveness. “Song” involves releasing and letting go and therefore opening and expanding. It is not contracting and shrinking. It is not a localised but an overall releasing. It is permeating rather than in-situ.

To reach the correct state of “song” it is equally important to overcome deficiencies as well as excesses.

Extracting JIn

The main purpose of form training is the extraction of its core components, referred to as its intrinsic jin. This is the ultimate aim of all martial arts.
 
Sun Lutang, for example, understood this and through a lifetime study and practice was able to “extract”the core components of three kinds of martial art to create his own system: Taijiquan’s balance and harmonisation of opposites; Xingyiquan’s footwork whose core component is “step forward to follow, step back to withdr...aw”; and Baguazhang’s core body method of agile twisting and circling. Taijiquan itself was created through the extraction and absorption of the core components of several martial arts systems at the time of its creation as well as the incorporation of the core principles of an ancient Chinese philosophy and Traditional Chinese Health Methods.

"Jin" is the most important component of Taijiquan, and the understanding of "jin" is the door to the application of its skills. The initial Taijiquan practice concerns “fixing the frame”. Fixing the frame is the fundamental of skill building because the correct body frame is the key to realising jin.
Begin with the basic foundation of vertical and horizontal alignments of the body and joints, and then, strictly in accordance with the requirements for Taijiquan, proceed in an orderly way.

Sloppiness to strict adherence leads to gradual distortion and the desired result will not be achieved.
Form practice is the foundation for entry to the attack and defence elements of the art, which in turn is gleaned from understanding the core components that make the art what it is. The past masters have clearly summarised the practice process for us in the form routine. The arrangement of the routine in the whole set is not arbitrary. Its compiler used the clever combination of potentials to form a continuous situation that trains attack and defence from all directions, not by single technique but integrated through a complete set. This is the representation of Taijiquan.