The taiji state of “the formfollowing the intent, internal and external harmony, following the opponent,and overcoming hardness with softness”
The theories are the accumulation and fruits ofpeople’s comprehension of taijiquan, as well as the theoreticalsystem to measure the learning and improve our way of practicing. Theyprovide the laws and guidance on the hows and the dos and don’ts for thelearning process, to shorten the journey.”
The mutual breeding of yin and yang in taijiquan meansthe internal power consisting of the spirit , intent, and qi actsas the yin side, which guides the boxing form as the yang side.
Taiji isneither pure yin nor pure yang, but the mother, nurturing yin and yang.
THE BALANCE OF MOTION AND STILLNESS.
- Extreme motion generates stillness. Extreme stillness generates motion. It is a repeated cycle.
THE SPIRIT OF TAIJIQUAN
- Virtue
o The virtue of taijiquan includesrespecting life, the laws of nature, the teacher and the Dao, advocatingpeace, justice and positive social values.
- Courage
o One needsthe courage to go ahead first, but not necessarily to do so !
o Taijiquan aimsto cultivate a strong character with both wisdom and courage, which is aneffective means to overcome difficulties.
- Wisdom
o Taijiquan isthe wisdom of change – Since we cannot alter change, we must face it calmly,with thought-free awareness.
o One of the great wisdoms of taijiquan isobservation and the utilization of serenity and softness.
- Emotion
o The emotion of taijiquan is that ofthe heaven and the earth. The Dao [path/ Truth] followsthe laws of nature and is in harmony with nature, following andforgetting both the objective world and one’s self.
o The emotion of taijiquan indicatesthe harmonious communication between people and people’s hearts.
- Harmony
o Harmony is a status with minimum consumption.
o Harmony can only be the fusion of Yin and Yang.
o The harmony of taijiquan is firstlyknowing one’s self.
POWERS OF TAIJIQUAN
o Practitioners of taijiquan whounderstand the essence must also cultivate themselves with it. Practicing taijiquan is simply self-cultivation.
- Improving physical stamina
o Practicing taijiquan requirescomplete relaxation, concentration, directing qi with intent,and circulating qi throughout the body.
o Taijiquan requires using intent instead of strength, with a constant momentum like thesea and the river, and exerting ‘force’ like a silkworm spewing a threadcontinuously.
o Taijiquan requiresdiaphragm/abdominal breathing that is deep, slow, long, slight, even andco-ordinated with the movements which increases the depth of the breath andlung capacity.
- The Waist dominates the whole body
o Taijiquan emphasizes relaxing the waist, with good feet forceand a stable lower body, changes are controlled by turning the waist.
o Taijiquan requiresclear differentiation of substantiality and insubstantiality, stable and steadyfootwork, light and agile movements, and stepping like a cat walking.
FOCUS ON NATURE, EMPTINESS AND SERENITY
- Nature
o With “the Dao following the laws of nature” as theguiding spirit, taijiquan requires natural relaxation andserenity in terms of techniques, with no restriction on any part of the body,and is purely natural in motion and stillness.
o When practicing, taijiquan alsostresses being well-centred, and not being excessive of deficient. Theharmony in your mind has thus been incorporated into a new range.
- Emptiness and Serenity
o Practicing taijiquan is to form acalm, modest, quiet and peaceful state of mind Practicing taijiquan isto seek emptiness and serenity, which are essential for self-cultivation andfor returning to inherent nature.
THE CULTIVATION OF QI
o Taijiquan encompasses the integration of the fightingtechniques, preservation, and philosophy and values qi greatlyfrom practice to theory, from concepts to methods, and focusses on the use,training and cultivation of qi. In practicing it requirestrickling the qi into the dan tian, andsteady, thin, deep, long, natural, and peaceful breathing.
o Wu Youxiang wrote “Let the mind direct the qi so thatit sinks deeply and steadily and can permeate the bones; let the qicirculate throughout the entire body freely, and without hindrance so that thebody will follow the dictates of the mind.”
o Direct the qi just like threading apearl with nine crooked paths, penetrating every hollow part, without the useof brute force. Pay full attention to the spirit instead of the qi ,otherwise there will be stagnation.
- Instinct in Taijiquan
o “The true essence will reveal itself after practicingthousands of times.” “While learning, it should start from being natural,then substantial and insubstantial, to master the harmonious changes betweenYin and Yang to be able to understand the use of force, to seek emptinessand serenity to be able to comprehend shen ming. [extreme andcomplete unpredictability] Master and comprehend gradually. Once there is no obstacle one shall instantly understand the greatemptiness.” “When people act according to natural procedures and rely ontheir intuitive knowledge, they will have happiness”
- Fighting Techniques
o Yao Jizu said that the purpose of taijiquan fightingtechniques was self-defence, and to study the techniques for the weak toconquer the strong in defence – guiding your opponent to fall into emptiness,using your opponent’s force against him; conquering motion withstillness; hardness by softness; the swift with the slow; thebig with the small; and retreating to advance. The movement anddevelopment laws of all things tend to turn to the other direction.
- The Role of Stillness in fighting techniques.
o Stillness is contained in motion, and motion istriggered by stillness. Stillness is the way and motion is thegoal. Stillness serves for effective movements. This isconquering motion with stillness.
- The Role of Softness in fighting techniques
o The softness of taijiquan is soft butnot weak, tenacious but not broken. In practice it is relaxation,steadiness, slowness, evenness, and incessant; in fighting it issticking, linking, adhering, following, not losing nor resisting head-on, followinga bending and adhering to an extension.
CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN TAIJIQUAN
- Philosophy
o Taiji deals with contradictory elements in pairs, such as external and internal,opening and closing, substantiality and insubstantiality, as well as practicingand preserving, which are all categorised as Yin and Yang, and stresses more onconstruction, flexibility and bending than on destruction, rigidity and beingstraight .
- Art
o When one watches a Taiji performanceyou will be impressed and will appreciate the beautiful form, postures, feelthe internal passion, the healthy belief in life, love of nature, respect forand tolerance of others.
- Medicine
o Practicing but without the essential technique offighting skill as well as the internal power cultivated for preservinghealth, will be all in vain.
- Military
o “If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can winmany battles.” Wang Zongyue. “In the midst of stilness one comes incontact with movement, moving as if remaining still. Being in accord withone’s opponent, the transformations appear wondrous.”
- Religion
o Daoism is relatively more involved with thepreservation of Qi. Its approach of ‘practicing whilstpreserving’ is studied by many taijiquan masters. Itsperception of the relationship between humans and nature is also enlightening.
- Ethics
o The ethics of taijiquan = firstly itemphasizes virtue – taijiquan practitioners must be veryparticular about self-cultivation in order to maser the essence of taijiquan ; Secondly = taijiquan emphasizes benevolence, which is aboutthe rules in using the skills; Thirdly = taijiquan emphasizesmanners – how the skills are used. Taijiquan Practitionersshould respect one another their teachers, and fellow practitioners.
BODYWORK OF TAIJIQUAN
o The bodyworkof taijiquan exemplifies the laws of unity of opposites in Yinand Yang; when there is an up, there is a down; when there is aforward, there is a backward; when there is a right, there is aleft. The eight body works are both separate and interconnected. The movements of taijiquan are integrated, with upper andlower body following one another, and with internal and external harmony.
- Suspending the Top of the Head
o “suspending the head top”, as Chen Xin said; “whenpracticing, never lose the suspension of the head top. Otherwise thelimbs are without support and spirit. Therefore, suspending is essentialin leading the entire body” Suspending the top of the head requiresthe baihui to be slightly led upwards as if a thread werepulling from the top of the head to keep in the same vertical line with huiyin.
o While practicing, the neck must be straight withoutlowering, raising, leaning, stretching, or withdrawing the neck, even whenturning left or right. Keeping the neck straight with the intent ofleading up to the headtop can loosen the cervical vertebrae joints bit bybit, enable light and agile moves, unblock the qi and blood,clarify the senses and responses, and lift the spirits of the practitioners,which also means concentrating the spirit on the head top.
- Suspending the crotch
o The huiyin, [perineum] betweenthe anus and the genitals, is the crotch, connecting the legs and thewaist. Push the hips forward, lift the anus and the huantiao [locatedon either side, on the sides of the buttocks] The pelvis aligns with thefemurs to straighten the hip bones, aligning the waist and the crotch. Upturning of the crotch allows the quadriceps to eb used more forcefully.
o The crotch must be round and empty instead of beingclamped like a herringbone. With the hip joints open and the knees turnedinward slightly, the crotch will naturally round. Only in the case of thebent knees and the round crotch can the force start from the hells, exertfrom the legs, rise to the spinal column, and form on the fingers.
o Generally, a protruding bottom will inevitably lead topushing the chest out, deforming the bodywork.
- Hollowing the Chest
o Hollowing the chest needs a downward relaxation withthe shoulders slightly slumped. Hollowing the chest does not meancontracting inwards, but it feels as if it is expanding outwards whilst beingreleased. Relaxing the pectorals enables up and down flexibility, and rightand left rotations. All hand movements used for dissolving the forcescannot exist / live without hollowing the chest.
- Raising the Back
o With the muscles of the shoulders and back relaxingand sinking, and the spine joints being led upward, on will have an upward feelfrom the backbone. Raising or lowering the head, will deform the bodywork.
o Hollowing the chest helps in dissolving the forcewhile raising the back helps rolling in and issuing the forces.
- Wrapping the Crotch
o Wrapping the crotch needs the knees to exert force asif closing inwards, with the two legs as if only one, capable of beingsubstantial and insubstantial when necessary.
o When practicing wrapping the crotch, use only themind. One need only to carefully check this feeling repeatedly tcompletely master the essence of wrapping the crotch.
- Relaxing the Shoulders
o To relax the shoulders, one needs t use the intent torelax both shoulders and sink the qi, with serenity, smooth breathing, andflexible shoulders. Relax the shoulders with the intent diffusing intothe arms. With the shoulders relaxed, the upper limbs are at east. Pay attention to relaxing the shoulders during practice and before long, onewill feel as if shoulderless with flexible and heavy arms.
o When relaxing the shoulders, there should be a marginunder the armpits. This is called the “empty armpit” Practiceas if holding two hot steamed bread under the armpit, which burns if held tootightly or falls down if held too loosely.
- Sinking the Elbows
o To sink the elbows, one needs to use the intent tocontrol the qi diffusing into the elbows, the intent on the elbows to sink. It must be connected with relaxing the shoulders.
KNACK OF PRACTICING TAIJIQUAN
1. Intent goes first, the form follows
2. The waist dominates, and the limbs follow [Dan Tian]
3. Distinguish substantiality and insubstantiality- AVOIDdouble weightedness
4. No serenity of the mind = no relaxation in the body
5. Harmonize internal and external, and align the upperand lower body.
6. The qi is excited, and the momentum surges out
7. Be extremely soft, and then extremely hard.
8. Seek for harmony and integrity, and go with the flow.
- Intent goes first, Form Follows
o Using intent instead of strength is the SUPREMEPRINCIPLE of practicing taijiquan. Every movement isconstantly driven by the intent to be light and agile, without brute strength .
- Waist Dominates, Limbs Follow
o The waist [dan tian] is in the middle of the body,called the centre. It controls the weight centre for the body and leadsthe limbs to move.
o The waist [dan tian] is like an axle, while the qi islike the wheel. Power should be in the feet, released through the legs,controlled by the waist [dan tian], and manifested through the fingers.
- Distinguish Substantiality from Insubstantiality
o The postures, movements, intent, and breathingof taijiquan all change between substantiality andinsubstantiality, always containing and accompanying each other and sharing thesame source.
o The postures, movements, intent and breathing of taijiquan allchange between substantiality and insubstantiality, always containing and accompanying each other and sharing the same source. “Sinking to one sideallows movement to flow, being double weighted is sluggish.”
o When you are able to tell substantiality frominsubstantiality in practice, you will truly play taijiquan with“one-legged movement’, “cat walking steps’, and moving “like a turning wheel”in changes of bodywork.
- No Serenity of mind = No Relaxation of Body
o Wang Yongquan said “Relaxing and serenity are closelylinked. The body cannot relax without the serenity of the mind.” Zhu Datong regards “relaxing and serenity” as the soul of taijiquan.
o Lao Tzu said “Each separate being in the universereturns to the commons source. Returning to the source is serenity!” He also said “Taiji is born from Wuji.” Whichmeans that the source of Taiji is Wuji
o When you empty your mind of all thoughts, let yourheart be at peace and you will feel both your body and mind have let go and arecompletely relaxed. When you push hands with your counterpart, with thebody totally relaxed, each part of your body will not be isolated butintegrated as a whole; andwhat you exert from every point will no longerbe simple strength but integrated force.
- Harmony Internally and Externally – Alignment of Upand Down
o Yang Chengfu said “Harmony internally and externally; practice of taijiquan is about spirit” When theinternal and external integrate as one in qi , the body willbe a seamless whole.
o To reach the internal and external integration inpracticing, the external from needs to be driven by the internalmovements. The internal power requires three internal harmonies betweenthe mind [heart] and intent, the intent and qi as well asthe qi and force. The external form requires threeexternal harmonies [alignments] between the shoulders and hips, the elbows andknees, as well as the hands and feet.
o Always remember that once in motion, everything movesand, once in stillness, all is tranquil.
- Qi is excited, Movement surges out
o Sun Lutang said “The opening and closing, movement andstillness of martial forms have this balanced qi as theirroot.” To open is to extend and to move. To close is tocontract and to be still. Opening is Yang, and closing is Yin.
- Be extremely Hard, then extremely Soft
o Wu “Yuxiang said “The feature of taijiquan islike that of water, which has two types of virtues; extremely soft, weak, andsmooth in stillness, while extremely firm, hard, and indestructible inmovements.”
o Relaxation and softness are the soul of taijiquan Relaxationis the condition for softness. To be “extremely soft” one needs toget rid of rigidness. Then “extremely hard” can be possible.
- Seek Harmony, Integrity, and Go with the Flow
o The opening and closing, substantiality andinsubstantiality, lifting and falling, twisting and turning of each movement –all are circular.
o There is a proverb that says “Martial arts is allabout rotation around the body. The movements of hands and feet arenothing more than circles, without any straight moves.” Thiscircle orientation is the circular movement of taijiquan witha three-dimensional and spiral arc. The earth rotates and orbits aroundthe sun. The movement laws of taijiquan are fundamentallythe same as those of celestial movements. Therefore, the heaven and earthis a big taiji , the human body is a small taiji. The heaven and earth is the model for taijiquan whichnaturally fuses with nature.
FOUR PRINCIPLES OF TAIJIQUAN
o 1 Use no strength
o 2 Follow the opponentinstead of the self
o 3 Convert stiffness ofthe body into softness and flexibility
o 4 Become threedimensional or four and a half dimensional, from points to lines, planes, andbodies become super three-dimensional.
- Use No strength
o There are many boing arts, for the most part they areno more than the strong dominating the weak. For the practitioner mustuse his inherent weight, i.e. gravity, instead of strength. Falling downwith the gravity is sinking, and rising up due to the counterforce of theground and the Yin and Yang conversion of the circle is floating.
- Use Asamskrta-dharma instead of Samskrta-dharma
o The dharma [approach] can be divided into ‘not formedapproach’ and ‘formed approach’. Those acquired by learning areSamskrta-dharma and those acquired without learning are Asamskrta-dharma. The mind of the opponent decides my approach, which vanishes with the mind.
o Practicing taijiquan through “givingup oneself and following the opponent” also is Asamskrta cultivation ofeliminating the delusions and retaining the true thoughts.
- Convert stiffness of the body into softness andflexibility
o The life of a person starts from the softness of thebody of a new-born to the stiffness of that of the dead. The purposeof taijiquan is to realize “longevity as if the agelessspring” by keeping the body as soft as a new born through the practicing ofvaluing serenity and softness.
o The qi is formed through internal andexternal opening and closing, substantial and insubstantial turns, harmonybetween the upper and lower body, changing the stiff body into a relaxed, soft,and flexible one with every part strung together.
- Improve the one-dimensional advancing and retreating
o Improve the one-dimensional advancing and retreating,to-and-fro, and opening and closing to become three dimensional orfour-and-a-half dimensional. The movement of taijiquan isspiral and rotary one, its directions include up and down, left and right, afour-dimensional sphere of points, lines, planes, and bodies as its track.
LEVELS OF TAIJIQUAN
o Familiarity with the correct touch starts with knowingthe sequence of your taijiquan style
§ Yin and Yang are mutually containing, dependent, andcomplementing
§ Follow the bodywork essentials
§ Hollowing the chest to raise the back, wrapping thecrotch, protecting the stomach, suspending the head-top, suspending the crotch,relaxing the shoulders, and sinking the elbows.
§ Have alignment between shoulders and hips, hips andknees, as well as hands and feet.
§ Have harmony between the mind and intent, intentand qi, as well as qi and force.
§ Accord with the knacks. Intent goes first – formfollows; the dantian dominates, the body follows; avoid double-weighting; etc.
§ Intent goes first, and form follows; the waist [dan tian]dominates, and the limbs follow.
§ Discern substantiality and insubstantiality, and avoiddouble-weightedness
§ No serenity of the mind = No relaxation in the body.
§ Harmonize internal and external and align the upperand lower body
§ The qi is excited, the momentumsurges out
§ Be extremely soft, the extremely hard; seekharmony and integrity, go with the flow.
§ Be familiar with the thirteen postures – peng,lu, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou, kao, advance, retreat, look left, lookright, and settle in the centre.
- Comprehending the Force;
- Comprehension of the force come from pushing[sticking] hands….To achieve comprehension of the force, practitioners, shouldunderstand the concepts; Yin and Yang being mutually complementing; subduing the motions with serenity; overcoming hardness with softness; flexible opening and closing; transforming between substantiality andinsubstantiality; resigning oneself to follow the opponent; guidinghis power to fall into emptiness; storing then releasing; straightness within a curve; start after but arrive before.
- In addition be familiar with the debilitating forceof; sticking; linking; adhering; following.
- Avoiding; go against head-on, weak orflat; lose the touching point; resist at the touching point; and be well-versed on the uses of the eight forces of peng, lu, ji, an, cai,lie, zhou, and kao.
- Reaching shen ming [unpredictable,imperceptible]
- Lao Tzu said; “He who devotes himself to learning[seeks] from day to day to increase [his knowledge]; he who devoteshimself to the Dao [Truth][seeks] from day to day to diminish [hisdoings]. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, until he arrives atdoing nothing [with intent / on purpose] Having arrived at this point ofnon-action there is nothing that he does not do.”
- Shen ming,as described by Li Dao Zi; Formless and shapeless the body istotally empty; Respond naturally, like the hanging wing on the Westmountain; Tiger roars and ape shouts, clean water and tranquilriver; Like brewing storm on the sea, reveal the true nature andlive a real life.
- Levels of Taijiqauan defined by Skill
- The skills of knowing yourself are; relaxing,spreading, connected and empty
o Relaxing; Relaxing is the basic skill of taijiquan Onlyafter that can one gradually grasp the skills of knowing the opponent.
§ Suspend the head. Think about the sky, andconnect the baihui with it. Think about the necktouching the collar – without any stiffness.
§ Open the chest and round the elbows; Keep thechest natural without bending in or out; Relax the pectorals; Hollow the chest and sink the qi without holding in any breath; Relax theshoulders and sink the elbows with the back expanded and relaxed.
§ Trickle the qi into the lower dan tian; Keep the lower abdomen relaxed and full; Keep the diaphragm relaxed;
§ Relax the waist; Feel comfortable and natural asif sitting without support, expanding or stiffening;
§ Relax the hips; the crotch must be round insteadof clamped.
§ Relax the coccyx as if it is sunk into water.
§ Relax the knees – the knees are flexible.
§ Relax the ankles.
§ Relax the soles of the feet; sink the intentionthree inches into the ground; The feet should step as if on a calabashfloating on water.
§ Relax the shoulders, elbows, wrists one by one. The arms are as if dislocated; the wrists should be very flexible andsoft.
§ Relax from bottom to top; One needs to relaxboth downward and upward.
§ Relax the body with INTENT rather than strength.
§ Relax all the way; Relax all the way frombeginning to end when practicing.
o Spreading; Spreading is linked with relaxation,Spreading is further relaxing with a purpose
§ There is a spindle from which to spread - It isthe central line of the body; Suspend the head, sink the qi intothe dan tian; Sag the coccyx, keeping the body in a straightline; Spread the intent rather than the expansion of bones ormuscles; Spread, but without strength; Spreading of theintent goes from the centre in all directions; Exhale when spreadingrather than holding the breath
o Connected - The connection of the Intent and theQi;
§ The Intent and the Qi draw a circle and return to thecenter of the body to draw a circle within the body and diffuse through theoutside of the body. This circulation of exchange between the inner andouter Qi can enhance the inner qi.
o Empty – The entire body is relaxed with the intent andthe qi spreading and all are “empty” in practicing;
o When issuing force in fighting skills, the forcereaches outwards, separating from the body, which is relaxed with nothing,making it so the opponent finds no origin of the force.
- Knowing your opponent
o The prerequisite is to let your own spirit and qipermeate into the opponent’s body and concentrate your intent and qi onattacking his “center” to make the opponent’s body move;
- Sensing;
o Sensing requires the whole body to relax into asphere; When touching the opponent, one needs to sense the source,path, direction and transformation of his forces, which are either brute orflexible, from the spot of contact. Once there is an opportunity, youneed to let your own force permeate his source of force, making himuncomfortable so that he will lose his center.
- Controlling;
o Control the opponent’s center to make him unable toexert any force and he feels controlled; Controlling with theintent and qi should be soft, steady, and accurate and permeate his joints.
- Releasing;
o There are two types of releasing; One is todivert the opponent’s force and lead it onto your own body and thenbehind you; The second type is to penetrate your force into his body toattack his center along the edge of his force.
§ Familiarity with the correct touch; the skillsof knowing yourself, using relaxation and spreading;
§ Comprehending the force; the skills of knowingyourself, being relaxed, spreading, and connected, and the skills of knowingthe opponent, using sensing and testing;
§ Reaching shen ming; the skillsof knowing yourself, being relaxed, spreading, connected, empty with the skillsof knowing the opponent.
PRACTICING TAIJIQUAN
- The Five kinds of Mindset – includes sincerity,determination, confidence, perseverance, and patience.
- Sincerity;
o Taijiquan is “philosophical boxing” that is metaphysical andplayed subconsciously. Only with faithfulness can one obtain the inherentand natural ability through practicing taijiquan .
- Determination;
o The determination to practice taijiquan canbe big and small. Take time to look after your health whilst you stillcan. After all, taijiquan can be of benefit even if youstart at a later stage, or in a weakened condition.
- Perseverance;
o True gong fu cannot be obtainedwithout perseverance. Wind or rain, hot summer or cold winter,travelling on business, are not excuses for not practicing taijiquan everyday.
- Patience;
o Practicing taijiquan is a processduring which haste makes waste, and perseverance prevails.
- Three Conditions for Practicing Taijiquan
o These three conditions are a wise, knowing master,comprehension, diligent practice
§ A “sagacious master” is one with high moral character,proficiency of taijiquan theory, consummate skills, and goodteaching approach. A student must be guided by a capable hand. Itis not easy for a “sagacious master’ to find a worthy student and the reverseis also true.
§ Comprehension includes a clear mind, love of thinking,agile reaction, receptivity, and imitative ability. Even if a studentreceives the same tutorial from his teachers, improvements will differ,according to individual levels of comprehension. If you put more effortinto your practice, you will be able to understand that just one movement oreven one concept contains many things; philosophical content or combatskills.
§ Practice; It is critical for positiveimprovement. The subtlety and profoundness of taijiquan canbe substantiated only through long-term practicing.
- Notes on Practicing
o Selecting a Style;
§ The features of Yang Style are soothing, stretching,natural and smooth, slow and soft, integrated force with a slightly largerform.
§ Chen style is soft and hard complementing each other,fast and slow in between.
§ Wu style is compact, relaxing, quiet and natural,light and agile, flexible, consistent.
§ Sun Style is mutual assistance of opening and closing,following the advance and retreat, stretching and flexible, agile and natural.
o Steps in practicing;
§ Fundamentals include the standing posture bodycultivation
§ The complete form
§ Sticking hands
§ Weapons – straight sword, etc
o Time for practice = Practice at least TWICE aday – Half and hour after getting up in the morning; an hour before goingto bed. At least THREE complete sets of the form. For full healthbenefits, one should practice for at least half an hour or longer.
o Place for practice = any place with goodventilation and good light. Once the essence, the gong fu hasbecome stronger, the amount of space may be reduced.
o Clothing = loose and non-restrictive to the arms orlegs, flat shoes with soft thin soles – “as if stepping on duckweed in water”
o Physiological reactions = initially, for the first twoor three months, general weakness and sore hands and feet after practice isnormal. Appetite may increase; you may sleep more than usual.
o No Haste = it is recommended not to start a new formuntil the previous form has been fully mastered. It takes a life time toperfect !
o Health for practice = Do not practice immediatelybefore or after meals – allow an interval of about 30 minutes; Do notpractice when exhausted; Do not use your brain immediately afterpractice; Do not eat raw or cold food [fruit or melons] immediately afterpractice; Do not disrobe in a breeze, or wash with cold water; Remove damp, sweaty clothing. Don’t give up ! Be patient !
o Safety = You can learn Taijiquan ifyour knees are fine. If you practice incorrectly you can hurt yourknees and it may result in disease. Keep the knees over the toes and donot go beyond them. You must control your forms during practice to avoidinjury to the knees. Warm up before practice; Stretch thoroughly,to loosen and stretch the tendons / ligaments.
o If you can complete a full right side form AND a leftside form your gong fu will improve dramatically.
- Use INTENT instead of Strength
o If you perfect this, wherever the intent goes, the Qiwill follow; Using INTENT instead of force / strength means notusing the brute force of the muscles and tendons. [less chance of injury]
- Seek Open and Expanded postures first
o Beginners should – First = seek for openness andexpansion, and gradually change large-range, movements into small ones tofinally achieve compactness; Second = the relaxation of taijiquan mustbe achieved through the extension of the joints.
- Increased Gong Fu – is achieved through calm and slowpractice.
o The objective / material world, and one’s self can beforgotten by following the qi naturally, sensing the natural flow, wait fornatural timing, and conform to the natural way.
o Slow practice contains many things; this meansthinking of the INTENT leading the form; use INTENT instead ofstrength; feel how the joints are extended; baihui leadsto the sky; yongquan connects to the earth; feel how the inner qi diffuses through your finger tips; learn to allowthe eyes follow the opening and closing.
- Breathing =
o The movements of taijiquan enableLONG, DEEP, GENTLE, SLOW AND EVEN BREATHING.
o As your proficiency in the form increases, begin toinclude close co-ordination of the intent, breathing and movements.
o Taijiquan stressesbreathing naturally.
Inherence;
- The essence of taijiquan is inusing INTENT instead of strength.
- “Inherence” in Buddhism means originalexistence. “Primal existence” means the natural capacity for good. The inherent qualities are full of virtues, it is not increased by being asaint, and not decreased by being ordinary.
- Everyone inherently has Buddha nature, BUT need to getrid of false thoughts and to reserve true thoughts; everyone inherentlyowns the pre-natal ability, but needs to “remove stiffness and reservesoftness” to acquire the real gong fu of taijiquan tobe able to follow whatever your heart desires.
General Principles
- The three ‘dharma seals’ are; impermanence; non-self; nirvana [release from material attachment]
- The three dharma seals are the general principles oftruth which guide the enlightened one to ‘wisdom’ and for humans to understandthe ‘world’ with its extensive and profound theories.
- All things in harmony are impermanent. Impermanence indicates that all behaviours, phenomenon, and things in the worldare impermanent, unstable and changing.
o All laws, phenomenon, humankind, and things in theworld are non-self. There is no constant nature in all things rather thandenying the existence of “self”
o There is not a constant nature in all things in theworld; we are obstinate to our subjective views.
o If we understand this, we will not go to extreme, butrather be more tolerant, and consciously use the middle path and unity toachieve harmony.
- Nirvana = Nirvana isperfect tranquillity, a state of mental tranquillity when pain, affliction anddistress vanish. However, tranquillity reminds us to avoid pain,affliction and distress, and end suffering.
Yin and Yang
- Those who know computers should understand theprinciple; the binary system is equivalent to the Yin and Yang in nature,representing two powers of unity of opposites in nature. The differencebetween Yin and Yang and the binary system is that the relationship between Yinand Yang is a unity of opposites.
- Either one takes the other asthe condition for its own existence.
- The process of waxing and waning is unconditional,while the dynamic balance is relative.
- Yin and Yang will transform when extremes arereached. They are interdependent and are mutually supporting.
Non-existence and Existence
- Things are generated from empirical combinations ofdifferent conditions and are, thus, not permanent - non-existence
- An empty cup can only be used when it is empty. Thefunction of the cup is to hold liquid. Thus, in order for the cup to ‘exist’ itmust start from ‘non-existence.’
- “Seeking blessings from Buddhism issuperstition; seeking super-natural powers through Buddhism iserroneous; the only right way is to seek wisdom through Buddhism
- Extending from the empty center in all directions isopening and being. The Truth opens so wide that there is no ‘outside’.
MIND APPROACH IN PRACTICING TAJIQUAN
Six Points for the Mind Approach
o Taijiquan consists of Yin and Yang; The mind approachpresents the mutual re-inforcement of Yin and Yang revealing the basic rule – harmony internally and externally.
o Every move is made by intent
o Use intent to lead Qi to trigger the body form; use the ‘heart’ to circulate qi; use qi o move the body – first in theheart and then in the body.
o Intent and Qi are the rulers and leaders – the body isruled, led and dominated.
o Emphasis on intent first can change the habit of usingbrute force, aid in getting rid of stiffness and build flexibility.
Intent – Qi – Form
From “The Thirteen postures” - “Use the heart[mind] to mobilize qi; use qi to mobilize the body; first at theheart, then at the body. The intent and qi change and function throughthe change of bodily movement. The trend of the intent and qi isrhythmic, which comes from the existence and change of the subjectiveconsciousness or the practitioners.
The heaven and earth is a big Taiji whilst the humanbody is a small one. The heaven and earth developed from nothingbut with qi as an origin. It is necessary for taiji practitioners to takeqi as an agent in the transformation from INTENT to FORM to be able to enterthe REAL world of taijiquan.
Intent Arrives – Qi Arrives
When you realize that qi is an objective being freefrom form and matter, permeable, and inherently dynamic, it is no longer amystery. How is qi formed “intent arrives – qi arrives”
In practicing, the qi led by the intent is all aroundthe body and under control of the INTENT. The Gathering, Scattering,Turning and Rotating, Rise and Fall of the inner qi are caused by its differentmoving patterns.. After a long time of practice, one day you will noticea flow of qi travelling to the fingertips, making the palms warm. Only THEN will you find this is the arrival of Qi.
- Peng = Ward off
- Lu / Liu = Rollback
- Ji = Press
- An = Push
- Cai = Pluck
- Lie = Split
- Zhou = Elbow strike
- Kao = Shoulder strike
