Famous Practitioners of Xing Yi Quan[edit]

Since the validity of lineages are often controversial, this list is not intended to represent any lineage. Names are

presented in alphabetical order using pinyin romanization.

Famous figures

Name Chinese Other names Notes

Bu Xuekuan 布学宽 布子容 Famous disciple of Che Yizhai.

Cao Jiwu

Cơ Tế Khả曹繼武

Reported to have won first place in the Imperial Martial

Examinations sometime in the 17th or 18th century.

Student of Ji Jike and teacher of the Dai family. From

him, the art split into the two lines of Dai XinYi and Liu

He Xin Yi Quan.

Che Yonghong

Or Che Yizhai.

Xa Nhị Trai

车永宏 Che Yizhai 车毅斋 First disciple (kaimen) of Li Luoneng.

Chu Guiting 褚桂亭Disciple of Li Cunyi. He mastered Xing Yi, Bagua and

Taiji.

Dai Long Bang

Đới Long Bang戴龍邦

First student of the art from the Dai family. Was taught

by Cao Jiwu.

Fu Chen Sung 傅振嵩

Chief instructor of Bagua Zhang at the Nanjing Central

Goushu Institute. Was good friends with Sun Lutang and

exchanged martial arts skills with him.

Guo Yunshen

Quách Vân Thâm郭雲深

A famous student of Li Luoneng. A legendary tale

reports him as having been incarcerated for killing a man

with his Beng Quan, and when confined to a prison cell

only being able to practice the Tiger shape movements

due to his hands being tied by chains.

Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥

Student of Zhang Junfeng. Founder of the Tang Shou

Tao school in 1960s Taiwan. Teacher of Xu Hongji, Luo

Dexiu and Su Dongchen.

Hong Yimien 洪懿祥Older brother of Hong Yixiang and Student of Zhang

Junfeng. Teacher of Allen Pittman

Ji Longfeng 姬龍峰 Ji Jike (姬際可)

The first person to be have historically been shown to

practice the style that later diverged into Dai XinYi, XinYi

LiueHe Quan and Xing Yi Quan. Taught Cao Jiwu.

Li Fuzhen 李复祯 Famous disciple of Che Yizhai.

Li Luoneng

Lý Huệ Năng

Lý Lạc Năng

李洛能 Li Nengran (李能然)Nicknamed "Divine Fist Li"; The founder of modern Xing

Yi Quan.

Li Tian Ji 李天骥 Li LongFei (李龙飞) Author of "The Skill of Xingyiquan". Was the first

Chairman of the Chinese Wushu Administration under

Communist China. Helped to preserve the art during the

Cultural Revolution.

Li Cunyi

Lý Tồn Nghĩa李存义 Li Kui Yuan (李魁元)

Famous Boxer. Disciple of Liu Qilan and Guo Yunshen

(1847-1921). Was the owner of an armed protection

services company in which many Xing Yi practitioners

worked, including some of his own students.

Ma Xueli

Mã Học Lễ馬學禮

Founder of the Henan or Muslim branch of XinYi LiuHe

Quan.

Shang Yunxiang

Thượng V.Tường尚云祥

Founder of the Shang or "New Style" of the Hebei

branch. Was a disciple of Li Cunyi.

Song Shirong

Tống Thế Vinh宋世榮

Founder of the Song Family Style - a sub-style of the

Shanxi Xing Yi branch.

Sun Lutang

Tôn Lộc Đường孫祿堂 Sun Fuquan (孫福全)

Author of several books on internal arts, also known for

developing Sun-style taijiquan and Sun-style Bagua

Zhang. Disciple of Guo Yunshen and Li Cunyi.

Zhang Baoyang 张宝杨

Disciple of Wang Jiwu 王继武，Zhang Xiangzhai 张祥斋

and Hu Yaozhen 胡耀贞. Founder and honorary

president of the Beijing Xingyi Research Association.

Author of the book "Xing Yi Nei Gong", written with

grandmaster Wang Jinyu and translated by Tim

Cartmell. Still has a few highly skilled disciples in Beijing.

Zhang Junfeng 張俊峰

Founded a major school in Taiwan in the 1950s. Later,

via the lineage of his student, Hong Yixiang, his branch

became one of the most popular lines of Xing Yi in the

West.Hong Yimien, one of his most Senior students.

Zhang Zhaodong

Trương Triệu Đông張兆東 Zhang Zhankui (張占魁)

Famous Boxer. Disciple of Liu Qilan. Founder of the

Xingyi-Bagua-Palm system. Taught many people in the

Tianjin area who later became masters in their own right.

Lineage Chart[edit]

Lý Tồn Nghĩa và Mã Phụng Đồ ( Ma fengtu)- hai tổng giáo tập của Trung Hoa Võ Sĩ HộiThượng Vân Tường và Mã Lễ Đừơng (1903 – 1988) – Hình Ý Quyền kỳ nhân. 

In the positive circle (3 counts). 1. come inwards, using the rear kua as pivot. 2. turn left and sink, using true center of spine line as pivot. 3. put outwards, using front kua as pivot. The power arm has to be longer than the weight arm in a lever situation. The above does that. If the front kua does not move, the downward movement of the rear kua (which is one of the move difficult things to do on earth) will produce “Sink down and grind out”, bouncing the opponent.

Taiji Secrets revealed in Ottawa! Sept 2012 Seminarby MING  on 2012/09/17

Once again, the Ottawa group with the hard work of Daniel and Rachelle hosted a great weekend seminar. Over the course of three days, Master Chen shared his knowledge and experience in the secrets of training in the Chen Style Practical Method. .The workshop covered many topics. I will only describe some of the key ideas.

Traditional systems vs. modern systemsThe Practical Method of Chen Taiji is a traditional Chinese martial arts system. This system is based on rote learning or learning through repetition of the form and not through intellectualization. The key in the traditional method is to copy, imitate or follow until the student can demonstrate a physical ability. The traditional method is the only way to acquire real “kung fu” (功夫) – the effort over time in practice which creates an innate ability that is not present without training. In comparison, the modern method suggests an emphasis on theoretical understanding or “deep understanding”. The suggested advantage of modern methods is that it establishes the student’s critical thinking skills. The traditional method is quite simple yet quite harsh. Follow the teacher’s instructions and do the yilu 10,000 times and the

student might acquire a physical ability. In this modern age, the traditional method is no longer acceptable because we are conditioned to be analytical. From the view point of the traditional method, when the mind starts to think, then the learning stops (see “Monkeys” ). Master Chen relays one story to illustrate the traditional method: Grandmaster Hong would watch his students practice and his only comments occasionally would be “Don’t move”. It is only after the Grandmaster’s passing and on further reflection did the student realize the profoundness of those instructions.Luckily, for the Practical Method, Master Joseph Chen can act as a bridge between the traditional method of Grandmaster Hong and modern society. Master Chen provides the student with a taste of the traditional method through correct physical training and yet he can provide the correct theoretical information to satisfy the student’s curious mind. If Taiji training is food, then yilu practice is the main course. Practicing yilunourishes the student and any theoretical explanation is a dessert that satisfies your cravings but it might not necessary be good for you.As Grandmaster Hong reminds us on learning:

妙造自然， The wonder of nature,源於苦功； Comes from hard training,自強不息, Persist without stopping,Over the next two days, we performed many yilus as well as corrections to the foundations techniques such as the positive circle, twist the towel, and fetch water. We are reminded, that hard work is the only key to progress. Master Chen is extremely kind by satisfying our cravings for sweets.The topic of Traditional Training Methods was also discussed by Master Sun ZhongHua (孙中华) in his articleThe Ancient Training of Quan ( 古法 练拳 )   which was expertly translated into English by Michael Koh   from Singapore Practical Methods.

The Ancient Training of Quan by Mr Sun ZhongHuaWe can only through history documents, legends, novels, understand the ancient martial art masters, their will, their skills, hero acts, how they made them supernatural and

captivate our fantasy. The geeat masters that existed at the end of Ching Dynasty, as they were a bit closer to our era, were less mysterious and more “human”. “Big Sword Wan Wu”, Chen ChangXin, Yang LuChan, AiShi, Guo TunXiang, Yan JingCheng, Huo YuanJia, Chen FaKe, Wang ZhiPing… like bright stars, each deserved our admiration.Looking at the present martial art world, it is a sorry sight. One has to painfully ask, only a gap of a few generations, our country’s (China) glorious martial art circle has degenerated until such!The problem in martial art skill transmission has been discussed in my blog “Seeking Realistic and Pragmatic TaiJi”. Itb is too late to be sad, anguish or weep over this. If we have the “DNA for Martial Art”, what can we do? Why don’t we make effort to seek a teacher who has the real ancient skill, use the ancient method of learning quan.The teacher who has the real transmission would have the ancient fighting method. Moreover, the learning method would also be ancient one.What does the quan of ancient practitioner looked like? Let me first tell you this story, a few days ago, one of my junior TaiJi brother, Liu WenQi, from FuZhou came to DaQingShan. He saw the photos of GM Hong JunSheng’s yilu form displayed infront of the Han Palace Restaurant, he said to me “(Hong)’s quan form is very good, very simple!”. On the second day, he repeated that again. Many people would feel that this comment is disrecpectfull, actually, this is a compliment from a expert. Clearly and sharply, WenQi discovered GM Hong’s form is different in quality from the popular fancifull forms.1)     Ancient masters’ quan is simple and practical. In the cold weapon era, practice martial art is for use, then, there is no point-accessing competition. The place to use martial art has life and death risk. Thus those who were famous had real skill(gongfu). Fancifull form for performance is developed later, not related with real gongfu (skill). Real gongfu is for application, has to be simple. We train quan has to be practical, do not seek visual effects. I said said many years before “A deceitful heart has a evil hand”.

2)     Ancient masters’ quan is not reviewed easily. Saying “When you hit, do not review your method, if you review your method, it wont work”. Only those with high level skill would understand. “Quan hit those who do not know” Today, training with performance has become a bad habbit. The purpose is for performance, for the judge to see.3)     Ancient quan method must be transmitted along the lineage.The importance and method of selecting a teacher has been discussed in “Seeking Realistic and Pragmatic TaiJi” blog. We shall now discuss the method of training.1)     Copy the teacher’s form. Mimic is the ideal method. You need a model to practice caligraphy. A child learning to speak need to copy someone. There is many examples. You need to observe carefully in order to copy exactly. Ancient saying “Observer approach mastery, copy to seek the same”. You have to be detail in observation and experience, copying the movement must be exact. Good mimic is not enough, repetitive training, be very familiar, “from familiarity comes understanding of energy”, not familiar and you don’t. Previous blog mentioned “Train quan ten thousand times, skill will present itself” and how TaiJi DNA can come to your body. Why do we always discuss this, those who have experience in repetitive training will understand, it is very boring to keep training the same form over and over again, it is very hard trial on a body, a huge challenge on a person’s perserverance. 2)     Do not change the ancient method. We should not think too highly of ourself. After training a few years, thinking we can change ancient masters’ form; and because we cannot learn the move and start to change the form to fit. If we think that we can change the ancient method, it means we have not acquired the skill. If we have actually acquired the skill, then we would not want to change; and knowing we cannot change, once changed it is not what it is. If DNA is changed, is it still the same? Ancient people trained the form right, present people do not observe and train correctly think that it is just slow movements. Understanding is progressively. Same as practicing Zen, initially when you see a mountain as a

mountain, river as river; later a mountain no longer is a mountain, a river no longer is a river; now a mountain as a mountain and river as a river. 3)     Do not desire new and forget the old. Ancient people training martial art, demands “An art for life, seeking deeper knowledge”. If we have a career, we can teeat our quan as a hobby, do not put down. This moment practice quan, next moment “搓麻” (game), another, moment yoga, result is grasping only the surface. Ancient people were more pragmatic, invested in hard work and more committed. Learn from them! 4)     Indifferent to fame. Once you are involved in fame and fortune, it will not work. When a person is engrossed in fame and fortune, the skill will not be accomplished. Once entangled by fame, it will take away a lot of time and effort, loss of concentration, reduced ability to understand, complacency sets in, can you still be successful? No! In this aspect, there were many warnings before. In these days and age, more people wanted quick success, instant gratification, those that succeed are few. If we are practical, persevere, use the ancient method, we will succeed after a few years.

Seeking Realistic and Pragmatic TaiJiby Mr Sun ZhongHuaSeeking realistic and pragmatic (TaiJi), to us TaiJi practitioner, has a special meaning. To seek the truth, is to understand and grasp the essence of Tai Chi. To achieve this, it must be pragmatic. The two are inseparable. Not pragmatic will not achieve the truth. Practicing Tai Chi is a pragmatic and practical process.

Present Situation and Thoughts

Over time, of the existence and development of TaiJi Quan in China, faces daunting challenges. Some people might think

this is alarmist talk, right? The unprecedented popularity of TaiJi, lots of competitions and participants, how can it be said that TaiJi faces severe challenges?

The issue we are bringing up is the problem of inheritance and development of TaiJi, which is covered by the popularity of “TaiJi for Health”. We want to discuss real TaiJi, the continuity and development of real skill.

There are many people paying attention to this cultural inheritance issues. And they are worried about the loss of this traditional martial art. You might have read their articles. Those who have contacted the older generation of practitioners, after understand them will have the sense of urgency, some refuses to teach, or no one to teach to.

Of course, many do not consider this problem, and many feel different about this problem. As one who has trained TaiJi for many years, we cannot help but worry for the presence and future of TaiJi. From the passion and the responsibility to continue this art, we are willing to share our thoughts with the huge TaiJi community.

Misconception of Current Understanding

The serious problem of “TaiJi for Health”. Some said that after the era of cold weapon, martial art’s fighting capability and purpose no longer needed, what is left is the purpose of creating good health. Some suggested it as performance art. If this is the fate of Martial Art, it is the same with TaiJi. It seems that TaiJi’s movements are not aggressive, almost everyone can practice, popular for creating good health, TaiJi Quan naturally become a serious crisis. In recent years, taiji is very popular with healthy living, developed as performance, Dao Ying (QiGong), entertainment. This concept in many people’s mind is flawed.Recently, human’s most advanced technology, with most monetary investment are into manufacturing of weapons. Now, development of weapon is at incredible pace. From this

we can see that martial art is destined to decline. Taiji is only good for health. This is wrong.

Firstly, those who push this wrong thinking has forgotten, as an important school among our country’s martial arts, TaiJi Quan is passed down from our ancestor, an important cultural inheritance. If, during our passing on of this TaiJi Quan, ignore its combat function, is to discard all its special quality. Without the combat characteristic, TaiJi Quan is no longer a martial art, it is the same as dancing, stretching, acrobat, exercise, no difference from these. In this way, it is fatal to TaiJi Quan, what we have left is fake TaiJi, imitation TaiJi. Only appearance. I want to ask, do we want to continue this way? Is this what we want as a precious cultural continuity? If we are to think calmly, clearly about this problem, the answer is obvious.

Everyone here, who are passionate about martial art and seek combat characteristic will not merely accept the excuse of “cold weapon era” statement. The combative function of martial art has attracted all of us. One of the subtle but important reason is, these people has a passion for martial art DNA. If a person loves Martial Art, it means to say his ancestor could be a soldier or hunter and the love for combat genes has passed down to his body, and is revealing itself. Abandon combat and learn fancy form, people will learn Judo, Tae KwanDo etc. This passion for combat cannot be denied. Put aside the reason of gene, human always strive to develop and discover its potential, to excel himself. This is normal, not something a fake TaiJi can fulfil.

Another point, without application, the moves in the TaiJi Quan form will lose its practicality. Lose its measuring stick to determine right from wrong. The moves will deviate! Whoever think you can get your form right without knowing the application will be wrong.

Lets take a step forward and discuss the original purpose. How did the form come about? Martial Art great masters who founded schools, compiled their most practical combat moves,

most important, most basic, most advanced moves, together into series of forms. In normal days, will train repeatedly, to maintain or improve one’s level of combat. After all these martial art engineers progressive addition or subtraction or hard training, compiled a form or sequence and after fixing the routine, became a form routine. After that, they pass this form to their disciples and students, generations after generations, if we abandon the practical aspect of the form, is like destroying the form. The form become rootless, will not survive, cannot be developed.

From the training aspect, what combat can provide to a training, cannot be matched by empty forms.

To elaborate further, in today’s world of global economy, we should all the more protect and treasure our culture’s multifaceted sides. This is also the wish and strive of many countries and governments and even United Nations. If we can unite the world’s culture, the world will be wonderful!

An Indian scholar, presented a similar point at the United Nations meeting. His example, is that McDonald culture is a strong culture, taking advantage of global economy to popularize, Although India’s yoga is most popular throughout the world, and actually this culture inheritance is decaying in its core. Without human’s self-control and minimized natural resources consumption, became an art of maintaining good health, a kind of high consumption of resources, a modern toy.

Example, drive a car to a luxurious club, make a yoga stance to aid indigestion etc.

As a citizen of a developing country with long history and cultural richness, should have some knowledge of protecting our own culture. We should all have “everyone has a responsibility” mentality. We sounded very serious, actually it is. We think that multifaceted culture is far from us, actually it is a close issue to everyone. This is to present a different angle to the problem.

To those who don’t like or not suitable to train combat, it is also good to train TaiJi for health, good for self and country. Besides everyone decides for himself. However, if he has influential or decisive power, cannot decide for those who enjoy otherwise. You cannot tell those who loves combat “You can only practice empty forms, the combat is long gone.” Hope this doesn’t happen too often, otherwise, not only TaiJi, it is also the end of Chinese Martial Art. We, as the unfortunate generation, cannot face our ancestors and descendants.

Not Careful in Selection of Teacher

In this popular craze of keep fit or good health situations, those who had the real transmission and insist on total continuation of the art of TaiJi Quan is few and precious. However, mostly, they are ignored by everyone. Choosing a teacher is most critical for one who seek martial art. Unfortunately there is many flaws here. Mostly it is due to not being realistic and scientific in choosing the teacher. The following are most common among TaiJi lovers:

Choose teachers with highest fame. We always seek out those who are famous, and learn from them. Actually, however famous is about who recommends and exaggerates. And it is not about whether he has the real skill transmission. Especially in this commercialized society, using the commercial term, it is about advertisement. Falsified promotion is common.

Follow those who speaks well. We always listen to teachers’ words to select. Thus those who are low profile will not be selected. But low profile and humbleness are characteristics of great masters. Have we not setup wrong criteria? Those who are loud spoken and boast of many feats (put aside whether they are truth or not), will not mention of their failure. Thus don’t heed what you hear. And, some always talk about supernatural, do not be misled. How this move can complete small circle (moving qi around the body), this move is to along

the meridian, that move is to move the acupuncture point, create internal “dan” to defeat opponent. Do not be misled. If you like QiGong “DaoYin”, go and learn “DaoYin”, if you like to practice Taoism and Buddism, do so. They have a strict theory and discipline to guide, you might succeed, do not mix up with TaiJi.

Follow those who can perform well. Some teacher, can manipulate his opponent like a toy. It is very easy for us to believe this teacher has high skill level. However, if the opponents are this teacher’s students or disciples, it is difficult to discard the fact it could be a performance; Even if the opponent is not a student of disciple, but the skill levels differs greatly, and the reason of win and defeat is not explained properly. Very often we did not wait for that teacher to compete with a stranger with good skill level, and too quick to decide that the teacher has high level skill. In this case, don’t even believe what you see.There is also another type about performance. After seeing that the teacher performs well, you decided to follow. If you do not like combat, do not care if you can apply what you learn, it is alright. However, if you are really interested to learn real TaiJi, this is not enough. First, without real TaiJi, it will not look good. In another words, in displaying the form, things that are not TaiJi is not good to look; only real TaiJi movement is good to look. We cannot, watching a person using dancing moves to play ping pong, decide he can teach ping pong. We have to use a technical viewpoint to judge if the moves are correct. Can you win a game, am I correct? In this case, why do we as we search for TaiJi teacher, not care about right or wrong or correct results? Every Martial Art and exercise do not allow wrong moves. Not even extra but technically correct moves. Not to mention so call pretty but non-TaiJi moves! Now we understand, without correct practical applications and only discuss whose taiji moves are pretty, visually pleasing, relaxing and big movements etc, and not consider its usefulness, is not an expert. If we have not train our eyes, do not listen to our eyes.

Follow those who have the most number of students. We love to follow the crowd. Selecting the right teacher is utmost important, not merely follow the crowd, cannot follow blindly. If we don’t understand deep enough, not seriously experience ourselves, but only decide based on if the teacher has huge followers. It is too casual. Think again, isn’t it not so?  It is not polling or about minority follows majority! Besides, “the truth lies in the hands of the few”, generally, majority is harmful and damaging.

Anxious to learn, just pick one teacher. We always want instant result. Always think “I can’t wait, just find a teacher first, will change after I find a better one. Can’t I do that?” It is not absolutely forbidden. It is just too difficult. If we choose a wrong teacher, we not only waste time and not being able to learn the real skill, even acquired problems and injuries to ourselves. Among TaiJi practitioners, knee joints injuries are very common. A saying “Easy to learn quan, difficult to correct quan”. If you want to correct your wrong or bad habit moves, it is difficult! The actual situation is, find a wrong teacher, not only do you have wrong movement, you learn a lot of wrong theories, to give up all these wrong theories, to receive new theories, is not easy. It is like a piece of paper, if you write on it, and draw on it, if you feel it is wrong and want to correct it, is it easy? Perhaps it is because of the reason of “First in takes the lead”, we cannot accept a different theory, thus we are not fated to receive good teacher.

Therefore, we as TaiJi practitioner, should have the mentality of realistic and pragmatic approach, follow the examples of the ancient people with virtue, study and practice real TaiJi. You have this mentality, follow a good teacher to learn real TaiJi, you can be a future expert; if follow the wrong path, train empty form for your whole life, is a lost to the real TaiJi.

Eager for fame.

There are waves of various TaiJi competition, very well attended. Many prices and medals were given out. We have

many people among us who pursue these. However, it is only form competition and push hand competition. Competition routine movements are very difficult, objective is to differentiate the skill level from the difficulties. Think about it, execute a high jump, rotate 360 degrees, and land on one foot, the jump must be high, landing must be graceful, besides injuring your knee joints, what usefulness is there? Those who studied exercise physiology would know landing from a high jump, the knee joint will have to sustain a force equivalent to 24 times the body weight (above the knee), and this is for landing on both feet, for single leg landing, it is 48 times. At the same time we have to consider the risk of twisting the joint causing injuries. Therefore, abandoning real skill to achieve difficult move is ridiculous. Next step is to achieve 720 degrees rotation and single leg landing? And about push hand competition, what we see is “modified” Chinese wrestling, cannot find anything that is TaiJi. Even if you get first price, it is meaningless. Why do human still do these? Some take part to gain fame, some audience will enjoy the show. But I have to say “This is not TaiJi”.

The competition mentioned above are organised by Martial Art management system. Recent years, non-sport programmes like Central TV organised push hand competition has cause me to be exited. This is because Central TV’s objective is to bring out TaiJi’s combat functions, and set up their own competition rule (although it is not perfect). In this way, the competition is good to watch. In this current situation, this effort is rare.

TaiJi Quan is internal art. Have to train from outside to inside, what does competition encourage? Form routine has combative purposes, what does competition routine demonstrate? To be crude, performing the form, is deceiving the public, evil intention. TaiJi skill is accumulative; skill is acquired from quantitative to qualitative. The time required to achieve the skill could be fast or slow, but cannot be instant. Real skill, is not the same as technique and form. You will be controlled once you touch hand with someone with real skill.

You cannot use any technique. In this impatient society, many place more emphasis in fame, but we understand eagerness to succeed is always conflicting with the path of learning real skill.

Many Books but Low Quality

Now, we have also another problem. To seek a good teacher is difficult, to find a good book is also difficult. There are many books on TaiJiQuan,  more so compared with other martial art. In recent 30 years, many TaiJi related books are published. But to find one or two with “goods”, too difficult! What is “goods”? It means the crucial points in learning real skill. The points experienced by the authors.

There are so many TaiJi related books, how are they written?

Some author has low education, so they narrate while the students will write and compile. There are good books written with this method. Good example is Wang YongQuan narrated and compiled by Wei ShuRen, <Authentic Yang Style TaiJi Quan>. Unfortunately many are not like this. Teacher’s skill is not accomplished, attracted by fame, wanted to write a book to be famous. Or coax by the students to publish a book. It is very easy to write TaiJi book, copy and quote from everywhere, you can easily write a book. Some, the students wrote the book, and the teacher authored it without reading carefully, relying the teacher’s fame to publish the books. Once the book is published, both student and teacher benefitted from monetary and fame. Only the readers are deceived.There are authors who are skilled and highly educated, but publish only one book. Example, Sun LuTan’s <Martial Art Log of Sun LuTan>, Liu WanHua, Liu ShiQiao’s <TaiJi Quan Form and PushHand>, each word is a gem, but too short. Hong JunSheng’s <Chen Style TaiJi Quan Practical Method>, they are rare. Some authors published their books too early, before they reach the peak of their skill, some authors honestly believe they are good enough, even though they are not, not

considered as cheating. The problem is, most people uses book publishing as a way to gain fame and benefits. Inside the books are just common sense or baseless assertions, and real insights are lacking. Especially those who publish books but do not train TaiJi. Check them out if you do not believe me. “TaiJi books are so easy to write” Thus if you want to purchase a good book, is like finding a good antique in a shop. Many a times, TaiJi lover often see book titles with “authentic”, “advanced level”, “secret transmission”, and author with long list of credentials, and with good critics on the contents, photos taken with famous people, but after you purchase the book and careful reading, you know in your heart you just have another useless book.

I believe everyone TaiJi practitioner have this disappointing experience. We cannot blame the publisher, cannot demand that the editor is a martial art or TaiJi expert. We can only hope the authors be conscientious and readers to be carefull.

How to Choose a Teacher

A problem begets hope, and hope begets a solution.

We have discussed the wrong method of selecting a teacher. How do we choose a teacher? From my own experience, first we have to see if the candidate is from a authentic lineage. Only those with proper lineage, will have received the proper transmission. If not from a proper lineage, we have to put aside. This statement seems arbitrary. It seems unfair to those not belonging to the lineage. I have to apologise for my truthful words. TaiJi Quan is a highly powerful fighting method both theoretically and application wise. Since ancient times, it is only transmitted orally and physically. Without authentic teaching, you do not have the real skill. TaiJi cannot be self studied, even with good teacher does not guaranteed correct movements, self-taught success is even not possible.Please note, we have said “Only those within proper lineage, have a chance of receiving real transmission”. In another words, “those outside proper lineage not possible to have real

skill; even those within the proper lineage, might have received real transmission, also might not have received real transmission”. A TaiJi teacher with real skill, has many students, those student with true transmission is very few, sometimes only one or two. Among the taiji brothers, skill levels may vary greatly. There are many reasons, could be because of the teachers, or due tonthe student’s themselves. No matter what reason, this is a fact, choosing a teacher must have real transmission.

We must have realistic and pragmatic approach, spend time and use wisdom, avoid taking the wrong path, select a teacher with “goods” and can teach. To fulfil our love for our art, obtain self defense skill. Only then, our treasured culture heritage will be continued and develop further.

Using another example of the other body line (2013-11-14 21:07:42)

Reproduced▼Label: Chen Style Tai Chi Practical boxing Pushing Hands trainingRoutine body with physical education

Category: tea talk Sword

Let this topic in the "magic line" where talked, also cited examples such as "play the strings." This afternoon in training, when it comes to routine in usage, one thing we are interested in, also got down here and talk stupid.After the horse mane, there are three repeat step withdrawal stroke and progressive squeeze, there is a trick to do this action, is to make each other's arms to become a straight stick, so that when we squeeze through this arm strength to squeeze spread the other body. The squeeze Jin Jin is a long, very large, and is up to, and can put people feet off the ground, even down to send out very far distance. Master Chen Zhonghua had a sudden attack on the issue of his Han Shu

Zhang, scared all the way to escape the stadium yelled. Under this stupid thing a few years ago I wrote, on his site.So, how to make each other's arms (such as the right arm) in a straight line it? Often put his arm to the other side we are ready, if not ready, we have three ways to teach it straight: one stretch, the second is the pressure, the third is screwed, of course, need the left elbow in the other helped. Under stupid way like with a twist, right wrist in the other parts of 顺缠 screwed, left or left arm elbow ulnar tube with each other, then a slight right-twist waist, back then (right) foot withdraw as far, before (left) foot With the retreat, the other side will be able to wring from the hand to the shoulder pressed into a stick, will become a line, while the shoulders were too low (because the elbow is also affected by a fresh blanket). At this time, two hips position we are former low-high, which is low right high left.At this time, the front left (front) foot change item shovel out as far, then lifted his hands to the other side of the tone arm strength line takes our hair the same, violently straighten his hands below the right (rear) foot back just control and force Avoid hard, so that the momentum built up through the other arm straight forward at the top to the other body, other forces move back or the other want to earn back (with stubborn strength) when our right (rear) foot forward quickly wipe advances into place the heel stomp stop, the impulsive issued a steady stream. Since forward instead issued before hip to mention, after hip to fall. So good, release many feet are common. By this afternoon, Yu told everyone: "put my arm when a large bayonet out!" To everyone looking for that feeling.When did make it? The other a hand, it is also the right, take the hand can make. Or by pushing each other to get right with our Supporter chest, it also can make. The other party the right arm is inserted into the oblique, he ran to the right armpit when axillary not teach plug clip when it makes more. A lot of opportunities.Because it is a long effort, there is time to try to break the other. The solution is often to toggle, especially when we paid, people do not want to teach elbow impulsive spread body. We

left elbow was time to step up its control, tube well, and even a little song with, and we put his hand to his elbow on delivery, then elbow to his shoulder sent also, and even put his hand on allowing its shoulder, still can be made. If the other song is powerful, and we will count on the meter, under their feet with a good, straight left hand to squeeze their elbow, which hand a stick of it, while the right hand tube squeezed his wrist, and the other has lost no victory. What matters is not to teach his elbow free, even if they have bent the elbow pipe, two hand-tune it, not control on the game. In addition, the person may twist the body into the right foot to the left counterattack; we can use both hands pressed down and turned the other arm, let the right arm and the right shoulder of this line, the alignment thereafter (left) shoulder, will be able to send fresh people out. To cite just two examples in this regard, surely you also magic bullet.This is an example in the other body to produce a stick (or line, also categorized as "stress line"), and then take advantage of winning. Examples of this are numerous, grasp one of it is easy to extrapolate, a pass Belden.To master the techniques above examples, of course, have to work in the routine, the movement has done quite satisfactory, with companion had the stuff to feed each other strength and practice them. Usually pinch to large pole is a good special training methods.For you enthusiasts deliberate.

I axis in the side (2013-10-29 21:40:02)

Reproduced▼Label: Chen Style Taijiquan Practical boxing Pushing Hands Waist physical education

Category: tea talk Sword

You have seen the master a twist waist, put the issue of how far the opponent or the ground. Experts are able to do, first of all is to own the body axis so good, especially the vertical and diagonal axis, it will go to the longitudinal axis of the central axis in Case talk.To turn off if you get good results, they have to at the center position of the rotation, while opponents followed them outside. Into vivid metaphor, it is "already in the axis in the side", "edge" is the wheel rim. We all know this, but in truth had to put Yi Bai Yu, who may have wanted to see it?First, the two sides the same angular velocity: Let the axis of rotation (rotation) with the opponent wheel rotation (revolution) in the same angular velocity, that we tighten the waist and shoved a big angle, and the other was at the same time we turn around the much angle .Second, the linear velocity of movement is not the same parties: we turn the axis of place, at the head of the line speed theoretically should be zero; the other side of the line speed is much higher (like the wheel edge), because the line speed with RPM radius circle about, so the other is to keep up our control of the site, but was unable to keep up under their feet and staggered down want.Third place we are in the axis of rotation, like a top, balance; and they do not gyroscopic directional effect exists, it can not maintain the balance.Fourth place is our turn, no centrifugal force; the other by the centrifugal force, it is easy to fall out in a tangential direction.Five it is active rotation, prepared; no other passive devices.So the other party can easily Yang horse lying down or fall, and later because we let go and fell out of the tangential direction, then make technology that help teach people according to our meaning it fell to the ground and fly.Some people make bad axis because faulty. One common Xieshen, not to twist the body out Xieshen seems so significant to so energetically. This oblique axis can it still has it? You end a bully people pile out of your own hand. In addition, you get it out of the axial position of the axis is not so, and if the people accounted for, the people down to make up. Is the people prostrate, home also untenable.

Some friends hand owed. Twist the body when his hand did not move place because of a shoulder or elbow move, the result is to own their own arm of the move. Stupid thought, right before I turn, has made the head arm, twist waist when the arms like tree branches along the trunk rotation, shoulder fixed, arms no longer have any active action, can not be deformed lag, which can be considered 'hand transfer back to play. "Some old friends his arm length, waist twist hard to move when people's shoulders, and that is very hard, people are easily disassembled. If you allow the opponent to leant direction plus a rotation (rotation), he becomes completely resistant to the.Of course, there are other ways to talk to them today, taking into account any of it for you!Handle becomes a weapon (2013-09-09 21:29:57)

Reproduced▼Label: Chen Style Taijiquan Practical boxing Hand is weapon physical education

Category: tea talk Sword

Let the highest level is the person sword fencing. I have often told the students that the sword fingers extended, palm knife is extended. These are the weapons excel said with a part of their body, without any barriers between mind and body and arms, to achieve a high degree of consistency. That was practicing instrument, hands must have the sword, no can not. All special fighting technique are training people to use anything as a weapon was copied to fight opponents, proving that there's something to hand as a weapon, you do not have something can not. Obviously, the results of these two training with the body into a weapon compared to compete with the other. "Means the Sword" and "seven inch knife (palm plus a portion of the arm)" and is to practice Chen Style Taijiquan Practical boxing out of practice.

How to handle (arm) into weapons?The most important thing is to handle as inanimate things. Master Chen Zhonghua repeatedly take a chopstick as an example, that although only the root of small wooden chopsticks, but with the palm a shot behind, ahead headlong into the human body can go. Chopsticks has been able to when weapons, because it is no life. No mastered before hand how much suffering we break out of the total "not self-inflicted" nature of the constraints on intensity combat compromised.So, how to handle excel not life it?First, the hand is not hard, beat feet to strength. Hand hard, it can not life it?Moreover, hard hands, feet Energizer will pass, however.Furthermore, the hand does not take the initiative to do the movements. If you hand the initiative to do the movements, it is alive. Hand does not take the initiative to do the movements, so that the back and bottom of the site to do the movements. For example, we make hairpin chisel stone chisel should not move, the big action is a hammer.There, too psychological hurdle, when the promoter than the technology, and to develop and strengthen the habit until our hand is the weapon, completely eliminate the psychological barriers.Of course, in the hands of the strike force to improve the speed, accuracy at the same time, we should improve the strength and speed can control it, to avoid accidental injury to others and self-injury.Even if the hand has been trained in life when there is no weapon can make, but we have to clear "action and reaction are equal and opposite, in a straight line," the truth. After all arm bones, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, nerves and skin composition, it will be the reaction force injuries. Fortunately, push hands and more technical, with nothing more than what peers and competitors, and even self-defense and courageous general, have no need to use too much force, his hands would not suffer any injury. The other said the police force in the military, was to protect the exercise and maintenance of specialized hand.

Similarly, the other attack sites, such as the knee, shin, foot, also can excel weapon.For the division to be extremely cautious, for misconduct or violent character pupils, Professor Wan Buke this technology! To have taken hold of this effort Lietu, in order to avoid harm society, so that the door flies fly-oriented, WAN service Abolishment!Chatted to such "ruthless" topic, and I feel a little strange, but also I would like for you to deliberate it!There are three body steelyard (2013-08-30 21:06:23)

Reproduced▼Label: Chen Style Taijiquan Practical boxing Pushing Hands Lever physical education

Category: tea talk Sword

Chen Xin said:. "Tai chi, weight is also" the right is the weights is weighed mean. Chen Style Taijiquan Practical also rule in boxing: the body has three steelyard.Everyone knows that the promoter can not live without leverage than the technology, the scale is our ancestors discovered the mathematical relation between the distance and power, created out according to the lever principle, been 使到 today's utility. Our Chinese traditional scales and balances, reflecting leverage very intuitive.There are three steelyard body said upper body has a steelyard (we called it "the scale"), lower body has a steelyard (referred to as "lower scale"), the body also has a steelyard (systemic scale). Listen to Chen Zhonghua said the master, Hung was born guru met pupils push handle people sent out, often ask, "is how 'bar' is." Visible leverage on more technical so how widespread the promoter.We can think of from the principle of leverage, power point is our force point, which is our feet, so-called "force occurs in the foot," not occur in the hands. Chen Zhonghua master used to

say: "Hands are not pushing people." Some friends used to make hand pushing people, I feel bad for these things to understand, now combined with leverage, it may be easier to understand something.We also talked leverage. Since it is a lever on the powerful, power point, arm, fulcrum of these concepts, these concepts will have corresponding body parts and power, which the fulcrum of choice is crucial. Elbow upper body, head, arms and lower body a little and so hip, a knee, etc. are often set as a fulcrum to the site. In the use of systemic leverage, because of different circumstances, so the leverage is different, the fulcrum may also be in the shoulder, thigh, hip, even in the feet. Also, in addition to the fulcrum is located in our own body, also may be provided in the other body, it can also set up outside of the two bodies in space, as long as keep it intact, but the arm was around its rotation on the line.There seems to be a more critical: the fulcrum is not moving. Should the move to place the fulcrum, leverage would be spoiled, invalid. Let's imagine, using the balance of the time, if the fulcrum to move around in space, this balance can make it? Because of this reason, only the provisions of the definition in the fulcrum of this point must be "immobilized" in. To maintain a fixed fulcrum is not easy, to other parts of the body move when the fulcrum was not at all affect. It turned out that the use of leverage enemy is our own. According to the original, "a move without a fixed," Tai Chi friend, was after a long period of practice to pull over, divided able to leave, and when it is expected to do the fulcrum does not move.Arm have a certain rigidity, or can not transfer power. Curved arm limb can also be used, but the length of the arm of the arm was straight-line projection between two to calculate the torque (force multiplied by the arm), can not be measured according to zigzag and then simply adding the measure.Master Chen Zhonghua said: "upper body is a steelyard, is called the other side; lower body is a steelyard, is to fight each other." Here, "said," is called out each other's strength, direction, speed, etc., "he said out on You can beat him.

" "Said foot beat, beating leg, waist and crotch actually hit." Scales so that the body is also said that there is fight a reason.Under stupid with you previously talked lever thing, this time be regarded as a supplement it! Or that, then I would like for deliberate. Front knee does not move (2012-10-03 20:28:20)

Reproduced▼Label: Chen Style Taijiquan Practical boxing Front knee rules

Category: tea talk Sword

    Regardless walking frame pushing hands, pay attention to forward before the shot when the knee does not move. Under this stupid thing in Bowen we discussed, but still there have been enthusiasts asked. Visible people to eliminate "a move are all moving," the impact is not easy.    For example, pushed forward before the other hand, most likely before the knee can move forward, this is actually leaning forward (in the swing) or forward translational caused the knee so moving, there is harm following aspects:    One: easy to make a double and a human being prepared;    Two: mobility affect their movement, the most obvious manifestation is moving backward and backward vertical jump retardation;    Three: convex front knee to the ankle before, more often cause knee patella injury in particular.    If you move out before the knee, the entire structure is not right. Recently, a young friend out front knee downwards, stupid good at his knee out before the wave, he fell down out of the whole person, under the stupid hand pulled quickly. You think that would have been a good structure themselves to split up, had a good line force, which has a traverse happen, can not give each other a chance? Knee before moving to the inside as well.

    I remember a few years ago, Chen Zhonghua masters have said before the knee can not move things in the distance once he sent out the people, under the stupid just to see the positive side of his front knee really moving, said to him, and he and said: "That is, before the knee strike did not move!"    If a friend who did not pay attention to this matter, please note, not only pay attention to their own good habits, pushing hands have to pay attention when the other side has a convex knee, shaking knee problems, and that is to give our chance. Please enthusiasts deliberate.

Taijiquan DNA (2012-05-30 21:03:10)

Reproduced▼Label: Taijiquan Taijiquan dna Routine Taiji suchttp://practicalmethod.com/category/online-lessons-on-chen-style-taijiquan-practical-method/cess Zatan

Category: tea talk Sword

It is often said, I would certain Taiji routines. In fact, the light will gestures will not only Tai Chi Kung Fu on the body, considered really learned. How to make the effort to do upper body ? "punch thousand times, effort from now," the ancients this, is to tell people practicing tai chi, training routines trained enough, and naturally there will be kung fu upper body.Originally, we heard this, despite the practice is routine. In ancient times the rules large, master how to say how to do, do not ask pupils not dare to ask so much why. People today are different, love to ask why. People will ask: "Why say 'punch

thousand times, kung fu from now?'" So, Master Chen Zhonghua said: "Taijiquan DNA . In the routine in "So, tai chi DNA (genetic) What does it mean? Problem is indeed more people today. Under that stupid, who have tai chi genes play is shadow boxing; they do not have, can not even play tai chi.Simply put, tai chi DNA it means this.People would ask: "So Taijiquan DNA is how they got through training routines body? "to hear the question, under the stupid people today feel too smart, just like people today meditation, prior to reason and process We know very clearly, and to make the contrary, much less time than the old. The ancients with some lack of acting of resourceful effort, in practice in their own stumbling understand a little bit, because it is a real repair themselves realized, it is a big step sophisticated, but more so fruition. However, under stupid after all engineering background, a better understanding of people in search theory, try to talk about is how to make exercise routine DNA upper body.Tai chi are all actions that are not in everyday life, in other sports and martial arts, nor was there, these actions were all in the repertoire. Training routines, action must by imitating the teacher, be precise and pure, not mixed with any non-tai chi movements. Just like we learn English, as long as we get used to English pronunciation with the voice of Chinese, like, that is wrong; vice versa, if the Chinese pronunciation British English which takes the same tone hair, must be wrong. Only through long-term repeated imitation exercise routine Taijiquan techniques to develop stereotypes in order to suppress and forget or even completely non-tai chi completely replace the old habit of action.Action on the still not finished, "right" is a relative term. Taijiquan is always necessary and may have increased. The reason lies, practicing tai chi routine practice for the bin is not necessary to practice repeatedly transporting the body of a signal Taiji, such a signal would stimulate and aid the body's ability to adapt gradually changing practice's body, so that the action more in line with the requirements of Tai Chi. Here is a simple example, the consumption of people stretching the legs, the relevant parts of flexibility will

increase. Signal tai chi movements, who have physical and mental training to produce good effects, continuous quality better and better Taijiquan, who will practice Tai Chi in the physical and psychological process of entering, one's performance It is to practice those moves and getting closer to the ideal structure of various lines.It belongs to the "quantitative" process, in this process of change, the precise muscle control practiced by the body, muscle performance, ligament tendon flexibility, functionality of the joint, coordinated limb, the quality of internal actions, actions all aspects of contact, perceptual psychology, etc., rationalization actions, stereotyped as strong as technology, nervous system response and resolution and action continue to improve gradually achieve internal and external coordination, so where to move where moving, so where to set where the given action Precision, structure no difference, pushing the hand than the technology exploits the other, the extent of the whims of their own hair.To a variety of conditions are met, when (according to tradition is the "heat to the"), a qualitative change occurs inside the body. At this time, the human body can be inside and outside the body, where the where to move automatically, which where given where custom skin such as elephantiasis, everywhere tai chi, unintentional unintentionally, superb, pushing hands than the technology without right.Under stupid nonsense, in theory, should practice those endless amount "qualitative change" should be endless, Xihu limited Lawson, experiencing a "qualitative change" who is rather unusual, I hope can be witnessed through two "qualitative change" The people, who will go down in history.Next, under stupid to affirm that for routine discussed above have high standards for teacher course, there are high standards. Members who are interested, please see the subsequent "ancient boxing."

Yin / Yang Separation

Figure 1. Yin Yang Separation and a LeverWáng Zōngyuè (王宗岳) in his Taijiquan Treatise (太極拳論 ) said that “Yin / Yang is the source of Taiji”. (太極者 …陰陽之母也). Master Chen in his Sept 17 2011 – Ottawa seminar discuss the concept of connecting pairswhich is one step in applying the concept of Yin / Yang separation. In this seminar, the emphasis is placed on the demarcation (the boundary between the Yin and the Yang). Once you have found the connecting pair, you have to find the demarcation point or line and apply the concept of Yin / Yang separation. A clear visualization of this idea is a fulcrum (See Figure 1).The idea of a Yin-Yang separation can be found in top/bottom (see “Want to be good at Taiji? Be a dummy!”), left right, inside and outside and so on.Positive Circle and Yin-Yang Separation

Figure 2-4 showing the relationship betweenPositive Circle and Yin Yang Separation

Yin Yang separation is important concept when performing the positive circle. I was finally about to gain an insight to its implication. Master Chen has often repeated the instruction performing the basic positive circle: 1-Elbow in, 2 – Turn the waist 3 – Hand out. The three actions and the position of the hand are seen in Figure 2. Super-impost on the figure is three reference points (A, B, C) that together forms the energy lines.Figure 3 and 4 are schematics representing the energy pathway as a function of time or action. Super-imposed on the

schematics are the same physical reference points (A, B, C) as seen in Figure2.

Figure 3 shows the normal force path of an untrained person. For such a person, the first step (Elbow in) brings transfer the force from Point A to Point B. They perform step 2. In step 3 (Hand out), they physically return the hand back to Point A. The force path is demonstrated as a return along the same space as in step 1. The net effect is that there is no change in force. (In physics, energy is a scalar quantity but force is a vector quantity).

Figure 4 shows the trained force path of a student of the practical method. For the student, the first step (Elbow in) transfers the force from Point A to Point B. In step 2, they are reminded that the waist rotation is a switch. In step 3, the force path continues from Point B to Point C. The force generated by the Step 1 start from the hand (Point A) and continues all the way until it reaches the ground (Point C). The switch in step 2 is generally described in Taiji lore as the “Turning of the Dantian”. The net effect is a positive force directed to the ground and a reaction force exhibited by the hand at Point A. This clear and simple explanation contains both the secret and mystery Chen Taiji. It is also an illustration of Yin / Yang separation.The Thirteen posturesLast time I was pushing hands with Master Chen and he told me his secret was “I only rotate”. I thought he was just kidding but this seminar I finally understand what he meant.Taiji enthusiast often talk about “The Thirteen postures” (十三勢) “Eight Gates” (八門) and provide some vague explanations of its importance and use. Master Chen was able to explain clearly the physical implications of each of those postures as a manifesting of the same phenomena – the rotation of a sphere.

Figure 5-6. The Thirteen postures and the sphere

Figure 5 shows a sphere on a plane (a circle). The circle is rotating on its center and the circle can be divided into four quadrants based on the vertical and horizontal axis. An incoming force can touch any segment of the circle but as the circle rotates, the resulting reaction on the incoming action will be different. When an on-coming force touches the top right quadrant, the force is deflected that is the P’eng (掤) technique. When an on coming force touches the bottom right quadrant, the force is brought towards the center and in Taiji terms this reaction is called “Lu” ((捋). If the on coming force touches the lower left quadrant, the resulting force is uprooting and in Taiji terms this reaction is called An (按, àn). If the on-coming force touches the upper left quadrant, the resulting force draws the force in and in Taiji terms this reaction is called Ji (挤)

Figure 6 shows the sphere rotating in three dimensions. The combination of rotation of the sphere in three dimensions results in the techniques of Cai (採), Lie (挒) and Zhou (肘)., The translation of the entire sphere forms the bases of the K’ao (靠).Such a vivid illustration of the beauty of the Practical Method but it only highlights how difficult it is to play with Master Chen.

ConclusionI conclude my observations again with the sayings of Grandmaster Hong:

師教言， The teachings of the teacher多詳記， You must record carefully,師示範， The teacher’s demonstration,看仔細， You must watch closely.

Until the next seminar, April, 2013.

Ottawa Workshop March 11 – 13, 2011 Summaryby MING  on 2011/03/15

Daniel and Rachelle once again organized a great seminar weekend with Master Chen. For three days, Ottawa Chen style taiji practitioners as well as special guests from Toronto and New Hampshire were able to benefit from the extensive knowledge and expert guidance of Master Chen.The training for the three days are summarized as follows:

On Friday, the topics include the fundamentals of the Taiji Ruler (bang) and various qigong forms and theories. On Saturday, we started with the Foundation exercises, practiced the Yilu after lunch and finish with push hands and practical Taiji applications. On Sunday, we started with Yilu, push hands, then advanced Foundation exercises.The benefits of the seminars were of course training in the Practical methods under the careful guidance of Master Chen. As always, a deeper appreciation of the art was conveyed when Master Chen explained the theoryand philosophy of authentic Taiji practice.The following is some my personal notes and observations:

vanka-vstanka

“Want to be good at Taiji? Be a dummy!”Master Chen uses the action of a vanka-vstanka (a Russian type roly-polly toy) as a physical representation of the structure ideal for Push Hands and Taiji applications. In a roly-polly toy, the top is light and the bottom is heavy. So no matter how hard a person pushes the top, the object will not fall down. This idea is repeated in push hand practice by making the top soft and the bottom strong.

“Taiji practice is two panes …”… of glass separated by vacuum. Each glass pane is an efficient heat conductor but the space between the panes represents resistance to energy transfer. Taiji practice is to increase the space between the two window panes; to increase the resistance to energy transfer.

How a Roly Poly toy works

“The Taiji form should be self-similar (scale invariance).”One of the basic ideas when practicing the form is that “distance is not relevant – as long as the aim is established.” The mathematical expression is the idea of self-similarity or scale invariance; regardless of the length scale the form is preserved“Make the square a circle and chop off the corner!”A basic property of a Taiji form is to have the kua and shoulder rounded. Normally, the kua and shoulder is angled and therefore the structure is not conducive to energy transfer. So Taiji training is to pull the kua forward (making the square a circle) and dropping the shoulder down (chop off the corner).

Square to circles

“Tied the ends”Once you have achieved the curve structure in the kua or on your shoulder, then you need to move the curve towards an imaginary line that connects the end of the curve. This is like a bow. The tension between the ends represents structural power (or peng energy).

“Taiji is as easy as 1,2 3 Part 2.”In the last seminar, Master Chen uses the numbering of 1, 2, 3 as a basic idea in Taoism. This idea reappears in the concept of locking.

In order to develop structural energy, the student should understand the concept of locking body component in place. The concept of locking is defined as holding a particular body part in place.

Visualizing the concept in Grandmaster Hong

In Taiji, there are three types of locks denoted by the number 3, 2, 1 and the corresponding name “deadlock”, “double lock” and “single lock”. Each number represents the dimensions that must be kept constant.

In a deadlock, the part of the body must be kept stationary in space (three dimensions) and therefore cannot move. In a double lock, the part of the body must be held in place in a plane (two dimensions) and move in one dimension (along a line). In a single lock, the part of the body must be kept stationary in one dimension but allow to move in two dimensions (alone a plane). Taiji training is the manipulation and rearrangement of those types of locks on different parts of the body. In most situations, the Taiji form is performed with the rear foot being deadlocked, the dantian double locked and the hand single locked.

Using the bow as an image

“How to learn real Taiji? Stay on task, no deviations, if the Taiji principle does not work, try again and again until it works.”There is no need to come up with anything new, the system is already in place. Any changes are a deviation that prevents you from reaching your destination. This idea is often repeated by Grandmaster Hong, he provide the following reminder:

所謂差之毫釐,謬以千里。學者不可不詳辨焉。A deviation of one millimeter at the source,Will cause an error of a thousand miles at the destination.Learners be aware.This concept is applicable to the philosophy of training and not just on the accuracy of a movement. Trust in the Practical method and you will progress.

The three locks as seen on Grandmaster Hong

How do you know when you actually get it (achieve a certain level in Taiji)?If you are persistent, and correctly apply the principle of Taiji, then all actions will use structural energy. As Grandmaster Hong said“同自然之妙，有非力运之能成”“Naturally wonderful, appears to be effortless.”The analogy is that of a professional carpenter who can hammer endlessly without tiring or being injured because he is using and manipulating energies in the correct manner.

http://practicalmethod.com/2011/03/chen-zhonghua-march-2011-ottawa-workshop-on-tai-chi-online-video-trailer/

riangle, Double Lock, Single Lockby KELVIN HO  on 2014/07/20

In today’s Practical Method practice in Toronto, we covered the triangle, double lock and single lock. Ketong Lin wrote an excellent article on this topic: http://dqstaiji.cn/archives/11907. Double lock means truly not moving the point in the 3D space. The solid line means that the two points are physically connected, while the dotted line represents that two points are not physical connected (there is as if an invisible line connecting them).

 

Figure 1

 

By creating a double lock at point A and C, and forcing point B towards the invisible link, we turn an “A” into an “Arch”. Points A,B,C can present different parts of the body, e.g. Shoulder-Elbow-Hand, Foot-Shoulder-Hand. Right Foot-Dang-Left-Foot. For the Right Foot-Dang-Left-Foot case, this is how we make a dang rounded as supposed to be pointy.

Figure 2

 

Single Lock means the point is allowed to move along a specific direction, like running on a train track. By turning point C from double lock to single lock, and point B towards the invisible line, point C will shoot out along the A-C line. Let’s use A-B-C for shoulder-elbow-hand as an example, the hand is squeezed out while the shoulder does not move.

Figure 3

 

Consider the following mapping:

A – Right FootB – Right KneeC – Right KuaD – Right ShoulderE – Left Shoulder

F – Left ElbowG – Left HandIn order for the shoulder not to move, it needs support from other triangles, so the left hand can find a connection to the ground for the true support. Each invisible line is a rod/stick that we need to realize in our bodies. Essentially, with this concept, we can create a triangle with any points having 2 solid sides, and 1 invisible side. Instead of using the E-F-G triangle, we can use the C-E-G triangle. 

Figure 4

 

Earlier we talked about turning an “A” into an “Arch”. Figure 4 shows the S-Curve (Taiji Symbol). It also shows that our internal actions (color arrows) are different from what the opponent will perceive (black arrows). Often in reality, we are affected by our opponent’s actions, and we lose these internal actions as soon as contact with the opponent is made. We need to train enough such that we can maintain these actions regardless of what happens externally.

Do Not Move!

by ALLAN BELSHEIM  on 2012/12/21

Originally written by: Allan Belsheim Nov 2007

When Master Chen Zhonghua shows us how to do the Chen form, he assures us that the

hands are NOT moving. To look at him, everything is moving, including the hand. When

we copy his moves, we are told that we are moving our hands and on top of that, we are

tossing our bodies. The less we seem to move the more we are told that we are moving.

Master Chen tells us a story about his

teacher Hong Junsheng. When Hong was touched, even after he was paralyzed from the

waist down, the person touching him was thrown with barely a move on Hong’s part.

Hong would be in contact with the attacking person and NOT move, but yet the person

was thrown. Master Chen assured us that it wasn’t fakery involved. We wondered how

this is possible, so we checked further into the form and especially the “circles”.

In doing the circles, either positive or negative, we try not to move. If we are in the

perfect stance and do not violate the rules, there is NO way that we can move. Well, at

least there is no moving, but there is not much happening either. To do the circles we

have to move, so as we turn the trunk of the body, the elbow comes in toward the

center. The hand follows. As everything appears to be moving, Master Chen tells us that

we are not moving. It seems we are allowed to move some parts and still be considered

to be not moving.

Now when we turn the trunk of the body some more, by utilizing the knees, kua, waist

and feet, the elbow follows the movement and of course the hand follows the elbow. So

now we are ready to turn the trunk back. Here it gets interesting, as the body turns the

hand is leading and the elbow follows. Now we ask the question: “At what part of the

circle is the hand not moving?”

Master Chen shows us that when his hand is in contact with his opponent, the hand

doesn’t move but everything behind it realigns, thus setting up the push. In theory, the

hand did not move, but the opponent is pushed away.

Let’s see what happens when we do

the Chen Style Practical Method form. As we move, everything moves. Try as we might,

it seems we are unable to not move the hands. So, we watch Master Chen do the form.

Everything moves, but his body moves with co-ordination and is alwasys in unison. When

one part moves, all the other parts of his body move also. Sometimes his body parts

move in two, three or more directions at once. We cannot tell but it is very possible that

he is moving in more directions than we can see.

We better try this on our own. The results were not much better. We all seem to move

everything in one direction at a time. When we try to go in different directions at once,

we are disconnected. We tend to move the hands by themselves without the rest of the

body being involved. This is extremely frustrating.

We have to try something different. Maybe there is something we have overlooked. Let’s

see how we can move without moving our hands. One way is to place a hand on a table,

chair or any stationary object. Leave the hand in place and move the rest of the body

around that hand. Everyone can see that the hand did not move. That must be one way

of not moving the hand. Another way is to hold a hand in front of you or on your own

person and move about the room. Now, it is easy for the person doing it, to see that the

hand is not moving. To the other people present, everything is moving. That must be

another way of not moving the hand. So there are two ways of not moving the hands.

Now, that is interesting because no one has said that there was more than one way to

not move a hand.

When we don’t move the hands using both definitions, switching from one to the other,

we can move the body and the hands to different positions. But in fact, we are NOT

moving the hands.

Now, that we know how to move without moving the hands independently, we have to

learn to move the rest of the body with coordination behind the hands.

That will definitely need more practice.

The Hand does not move, it is moved!by BRUCE.SCHAUB  on 2012/11/23

No problem, I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in these discussions. It helps to solidify my understanding of things as I study videos and practice. One of the videos that helped clarify one of the main contradictions/sources of confusion is the mini lesson “Hands on Positive Circle Sequence” where Master Chen is detailing

the 9 count circle for you, Michael, and a small group of students on the mountain.In this video we can see how the hand itself NEVER MOVES, yet it IS MOVED, through space by other parts of the body. The hand ROTATES as it is pulled through space but even the rotation is caused by movements elsewhere in the body. The intention is never to “self move” or even “self rotate” the hand. It’s like the hand is completely removed from the process, with no action on it, it never moves and therefore all the power of the rotations of the joints, goes to the hand.If you showed this video to someone off the street and said “hey look, Master Chen is moving without moving! he never moved his hand” they would say “your crazy, i can clearly his hand is moving”…. Not only that, but it is difficult for someone who doesn’t understand the importance or potency of these relationships, to grasp why it is so extremely important and how it creates Taiji power. It just seems like a big contradiction…..

http://practicalmethod.com/2010/07/positive-circle-sequence/Don’t Move Your Hands!by RICHARD JOHNSON  on 2008/02/24

“Don’t Move Your Hands!”Contrary to what most believe, the hand in most cases move too much. Everybody wants to learn how to move the hand. In fact, they should learn how NOT to move it!When the hand moves too much, the following will occur:1.The hand will skip off the contacting surface, resulting in loss of power on the opponent.2.The power leaks out to the hand which is not directed towards the opponent.3.Power becomes front-drive: flexibility but less power.So it is very important to keep your hand inline (that’s a different topic) and don’t move it around too much!

Yilu Detail: Fixed Handby ADMIN2  on 2011/04/22

Fixed Hand. Having the hand fixed in relation to the wrist is one of the most important technical principles of Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method system. Only when the hand is relatively fixed, all other actions will start.

Move the hand not the waistby ADMIN  on 2012/01/17

Body movement principle is that the upper and lower parts of the body must not be synchronized. When the upper body moves, the lower body must not move. When the left side of the body moves, the right side of the body cannot move. When the hands move, the waist cannot move.

Private Lesson with Master Chenby KELVIN HO  on 2011/01/21

Tonight, we did yilu corrections and push hands.Yilu corrections:1.Form 42. Embrace Head to Push Mountain (Bao Tou Tui

Shan) – I need to imagine a line when the right hand goes out from the chest and under the left armpit, once the arm is extended, open the right shoulder to bring it inline with the line formed between the right hand and the chest.

2.Structure is there, next step is to maintain the structure when I move the legs. Keep the upper half steady and stable, while the lower half moves.

3.Concept of a fork. Imaging a triangle is formed with the holding end and the 2 outermost points at the pointy end. When I twist the holding end, the pointy end will rotate. The power source (the active point) is at the holding end. The opponent will think that the power is at the pointy end, therefore, will not be able to stop the rotation. Between the 2 points at the pointy end, they are both passive, but one is more passive than the other. The most passive one gives the illusion to the opponent that it is the source of power. Master Chen showed me another example: a triangle formed by the dantien and two knees. He rotates the

dantian, and the front knee is the less passive, and the rear knee is more passive, and the rear passive knee is free to move up to the front. Form a reverse ‘V’ with your fingers, rotate the converging point (the active point).

4.Don’t move  up and down. Keep the same height through the entire routine.

Push hands:

1.Don’t ever retreat, do what you need to do to move a little bit forward. If you are climbing a wall with 2 hands, you have to anchor the left hand, and move the right hand, then anchor the right hand, and move the left hand. Repeat this process as you go up. If you do this in many, many small increments, you will appear to others as if you are moving up very smoothly.

2.Move, adjust, move, adjust, move adjust, repeat many of these.

3.Aim your dantien to the opponent’s dantien, and keep the aim fixed and forever.

4.Someone pushes my right elbow to the chest, I step forward (bring my waist closer to the opponent). I keep the front kua (in this case, the right kua) fixed, and extend my hand while at the same time, I need to make sure the energy comes back to my centre. The size of the circle depends on the amount of force from the opponent on me. At a certain point after I extend my hand, I rotate my shoulder (outside downward) while my waist keeps turning right (yin yang split here).

5.When someone pushes straight onto me, I need to make sure that my back doesn’t move, so I can just brush the person off to the side (of course, timing is important here to catch the moment). Also, my rear kua needs to rotate downward to my point at my ankle.

6.After the hands touch the opponent, keep the arms fixed (no movement whatsoever). Use the rest of the body to adjust. Imagine a line between the hand and the rear foot, bring the shoulder into that line.

7.Concept of a boat floating on the wave. It is always on top of the wave for the same amount. The wave goes high, it goes high; the wave goes low, it goes low.

8.When pushing someone forward, look for the point, go over it. Since the opponent is not static, that point you are looking for will keep changing, so you have to adjust to look for it, go over it a bit, adjust to look for it, go over it a bit, and repeat forever. Going over it is like rotating over it.

9.Look for the fixed point in the opponent’s body, do whatever to move that point.

10. Rear-wheel drive is strong, front-wheel drive is convenient to use.

11. The movement needs to be just right, not too much, not too little.

12. In push hands, I need to make sure that I maintain a fixed point for a given movement, while looking to move the opponent’s fixed point. Once the move is done (stopped), you change the location of the fixed point, and execute another move.

13. A complete rotation in reality is composed of many different arcs with different fixed points in the three-dimensional space.

14. What Master Chen said tonight all seemed to be variations of the same thing.

Positive Circle:

1.Keep the rear waist fixed when the elbow comes in, and keep the front waist fixed when the hand goes out.

Elbow and Waist can only close, cannot openby CHEN ZHONGHUA  on 2011/09/08

1.1.The elbow and waist (from one side of the waist to the

other side) must have a connection through the waist (side wall of the waist and shoulder on the same side). In this case the functional modifier is the kua.

2. The elbow and waist must stay on a curved or straight line, causing this connection.

3.Closing means to move inward, causing the distance between the elbow and waist to shorten.

4.The elbow and waist can never move away from each other (please note that the meaning of this requires further clarification later on).

 

Elbow and knee combination is certainly correct according to taiji principles. However, it does not mean that the elbow cannot work with other parts of the body. In the present case, the elbow can work with the waist. It is important to view the following in context: hand foot is one pair that is outside; elbow and waist is another pair that is inside. The key is that the outside pair can only have outward active movements while the inside pair can only have inward movement intentions.

Hand-Foot opens but does not closeby CHEN ZHONGHUA  on 2011/09/07

1.The hand and foot must have a connection through the waist, or dantiian area. In this case the waist becomes the modifier.

2.The han d and foot must stay on a curved or straight line, causing this connection.

3.Opening means to move outwards, causing the distance between the hand and foot to lengthen.

4.The hand and foot can never move towards each other (please note that the meaning of this requires further clarification later on).

You can see this principle in action in the video clip through the link below.http://practicalmethod.com/2011/03/importance-of-waist-for-hand-foot-connection/

Conversion of Powerby KHAMSERK  on 2010/07/17

The main goal of Taiji is the transmission of power.  But what does this mean? In technical terms it refers to the conversion of power from one form to another.  In Taiji it’s the conversion of the straight up and down power of the two legs into rotational power of either the waist vertically or the hips horizontally.  It is exactly the same as pedaling a bicycle: the up and down  power on the pedals is converted into a rotation of the gear because the axle of the gear is fixed in a way that encourages movement (rotational movement) but doesn’t allow wobbling.  We must train our bodies to have the same fixed axle. When you do this your waist becomes a continuous lever.This is level one and it takes many years of training to achieve, but without this there is no Taiji.  Hong said that Chen Fake was the only one who could do this but Master Chen

Zhonghua believes that Hong also had this skill.  Everyone else talks about many different movements and techniques but they do not understand or even know about this one. This is the basic movement of Taiji.

To this end, training Yilu can be compared to spinning a top.  At first you do it slowly to try and figure out how you are going to do it.  But after a while you realize that the faster you do it the greater the chance that it will spin.  So at first you do yilu slowly to gradually try and understand the basic mechanics but later you just do it fast without thinking about it: the faster you do it the more chance that you will rotate.

Horse Stance Online Video Trailer

In the Chen style Taijiquan Practical Method we are taught to always keep our dantien in the

center and to never toss the dantien nor the spine forward, backward, nor side to side. To do

that is to lose structure which leads to loss of power.

“How can one then move in such a rigid posture?” (Some may ask). “Isn’t that double heavy”,

others might say. First of all, according to the principles of Chen style Taijiquan written in both

Chen Xin’s and Wang Zong Yue’s books, and as taught by Chen Fake and Hong Junsheng,

double heavy is not about weight distribution, but about body coordination. Also the teachings

of the mentioned masters required that a central equilibrium in motion be kept where the

center does not move, but acts as a fulcrum.

“How then do we move by keeping those “rigid” standards of postures?” The answer lies in the

proper use of the kuas and the unique posture of Chen style Taijiquan called the Half Horse

Stance. In this video, Master Chen Zhonghua teaches you the details of this posture and how

something can be rigid and mobile at the same time satisfying the Taiji principle of

contradictory conformity where yin and yang are always present in everything.

Weight shifting can be accomplished without tossing the center around and, most importantly,

without your opponent realizing what you are doing. Theory with Master Chen is always

backed up by action and demonstrations of him applying what he says, and showing how it

works in relation to applying it martially on an opponent. Weight shifting, only necessary

movement, and maintaining a powerful structure is possible in Taijiquan by learning how to

master the Half Horse Stance. With this video you will learn how to set up the basis for

practice of this unique martial arts posture.

The 1/3, 2/3 Rule was very enlightening. I think it helps with identifying a location for rotation.

It made me think of The Hinge video, which I haven’t seen, but I felt like I found a good place

to have a hinge with applying the 1/3, 2/3 Rule.

I particularly liked the line can be a stretch or a squeeze. The squeeze was especially relevant

to my recent practice. I’ve been working on fixing points and pushing or pulling them through

my form. Bringing the line in by squeezing made a big difference. I now understand one of the

lessons Master Chen was trying to teach me in Edmonton this summer.

Maximizing Powerby KHAMSERK  on 2010/07/19

The sequence of events for using power when confronting an opponent is:

1. Manipulate distance2. Adjust Angle3. Apply powerThis sequence is opposite from the physical priority, that is, physically power is most important, angle is second and distance is least important. The problem with using power first is that whatever you do, if it is perceived as threatening, will be automatically (unconsciously) matched by the opponent.  If you use power first the opponent immediately powers up to match your power and it becomes a matter of who is stronger.

So the Taiji sequence is used also as a mind game to entice the opponent.  To do this you must manipulate the distance or “get in” without changing the power on the hands.  This way the opponent does not feel your intention to get in. They do not power up to match you because they feel safe.  Next you add accuracy by changing the angle .  Finally you can add a little power. This way you maximize your power.

Taiji: Power or no powerby KELVIN HO  on 2010/05/24

I watched the Toronto Workshop 3-4 video today. I got a different understanding on the material presented. Although I was there at the workshop, I didn’t really understand much at the time as I was so new to Taiji. I had no clue on many of the concepts.

One topic was on Taiji power. According to Master Chen, Taiji practitioner had no real power, but only perceived power. That kind of power was based on the manipulation of length, width, height, weight, speed and angle of the body. We needed to always locate the centre. At this stage, we could regard it as the dantian. Later, it could really be at anywhere inside the body or even outside of the body. If we were able to keep the dantian as the centre all the time, we would be very long (hand to foot). However, a slight touch on our bodies by the opponent might change the centre, as we tried to fight it off. To be better than the opponent, we needed to be longer. We needed to train to keep that in mind.

Another concept I got from the video was to rotate the elbow. In order to lead with hand, you needed to find a spot for your elbow, at which it could be rotated. Once the spot was located, it should not move. Lead with hand, and rotate the elbow. Locating the right spot for the elbow might involve aligning the rest of the body parts.Foot – straight to the groundKnee – rotate empty (meaning no displacement, but just transmit the energy)Thigh – rotate horizontallyWaist – adjustShoulder – rotate down or upElbow – rotate sideways and lead inHand – lead out Structural powerby SUN ZHONGHUA  on 2012/04/06

I often heard a Taiji teacher saying to a physically strong student, “You are using force, you will need to first get rid of it, then what comes out afterwards will be Taiji energy.” What is Taiji energy? How is it used? Many people have their own opinions. However, most of them are very abstract, and difficult to grasp and understand. The more the students hear, the more confusing it comes. Isn’t that true? If the information provider is unclear himself, how can the listener understand?A Practical Method teacher will say to the same student, “Your physical strength is good, let’s learn how to use it!”

Grandmaster Chen Fake once put a two hundred pound man over his head, this proved that he was strong and knew how to use his strength. It also proves that what the Practical Method teacher said is correct.A Practical Method teacher will tell a less well built student, “If you diligently practice your martial art, not being physically strong is not an issue.” Grandmaster Hong Junsheng and Master Chen Zhonghua are not tall nor muscular, they often throw a two hundred pound opponent up and around. This also proves that the above statement is indeed possible.To most people, what a Practical Method teacher teaches is different from others. The difference comes in terms of the usage of power, and the type of power. In Practical Method, structural power is trained and applied.At this point, you may like to ask, “What is structural power?”You should gain a better understanding with the examples below.Let’s use a Taiji basic stance as an example for our discussion on structure. We have seen passthroughs under bridges or arches. We should form an arch in a horse stance. This is the best load bearing structure under the influence of gravity. Since ancient times, regardless of east or west, all architects include the arch (the best load bearing structure) in their designs. Once they consider safety, this is the best choice. The distance between the two feet in a stance is similar to the width of an arch, it is determined by the qualities of the waist and legs. If we take a bow stance, the front leg should be like a bow, the knee needs to be behind the ankle. Otherwise, it will be like a broken bow, except that it’s held together by the thigh muscles. Please refer to the article “Let’s begin with the ‘frame’”.Whoever fails to follow the above structural requirement and causes the knees to be injured, the dang (the top of the arch) to be collapsed, or the loss of mobility during push hands, it’s all because one doesn’t spend the best effort in imitating the structure of an arch, leading to the failure of the load bearing structure.Let’s use a move in Yilu to illustrate. “Fist covering hand” uses the right hand to punch, but we don’t really hitwith the right

hand. In other words, the arm and other parts of the body do not use force (or tense up). We must drop the shoulder, sink the elbow, hollow the chest, and rotate down the rear kua to the point that the right arm is almost straight. At that moment, we push on the right heel, causing the right kua to move to the front left very slightly. The reaction force from the ground through the dropping of the shoulder, the sinking of the elbow, the hollowing of the chest, and the down rotation of the rear kua, is transmitted efficiently to the foremost point of the right fist. At the same time, due to the slight movement of the rear kua, the front of the fist is also moved very slightly. By how much? According to Master Chen Zhonghua, only one centimeter. With that, the reaction force from the ground is further transmitted to the opponent’s body. Please refer to the article “The Magical Line”.You may have noticed when we push on the heel, the reaction force from the ground is transmitted to the right fist and then to the opponent’s body, and none of the body parts in between issue any power. They are purely a medium for power transmission. This is the true meaning of what the great masters refer to and what every body knows as, “Power originates from the foot, and ends at the finger.”No body part in between generates any power. These body parts are only adjusted to form the most efficient structure for power transmission overall. This kind of transmitted power is “Structural Power”. You should give it a try. This  kind of “Structure Power” is very intense, very concentrated, very crisp, and very penetrating. Your opponent will feel this unfamiliar but yet powerful.The human body is not ideal for power transmission. It must be adjusted to form the conforming structure. Any extra movement will prevent the power transmission structure to be formed or to function properly, and the reaction force from the ground will then never reach the hand. If any of the hand, finger, wrist, arm, elbow, shoulder, chest, abdomen, or kua generates any power, the reaction force from the ground will also be interrupted and not get to the hand.The key is “adjustment”, the adjustment of the proper power originating part and the proper power transmitting structure.

Further more, the ability to “adjust” is one of the Taiji gong fu as adjustment is performed inside the body or internally. Similar to a gear box, gears of different sizes are working inside in a complex but co-operating manner. The better of a job they do, the structure will become more proper and scientific, the stronger the power, and the opponent will have no chance to counter.In this perspective, even if most of us look explosive when we issue power, it is actually incorrect.

The Magical Lineby SUN ZHONGHUA  on 2011/09/27

Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method pays a great deal of attention to the lines on the human body. No matter in the performance of the routines, or in push hands, the body will naturally form energy lines. Some lines are formed quite naturally while others are formed gradually only after specialized training.

If one does not know about these lines and does not know how to utilize these line, one does not know taiji. It will be impossible to practice the routines correctly and to improve push hands abilities.

Center LineWhen a person stands up, a line is formed from the top of his body to the the bottom of his body. This is the center line. In general terms, a person turns the body by revolving on this center line. The martial adage says, “The head must be upright, body twisted, top and bottom one line.” is a perfect analogy for the taiji center line requirement. As the central axis for body vertical rotation, this line cannot bend or twist. Therefore we have the saying “suspended head”, tuck in the botucks, and body straight, when practicing the routines and push hands. Otherwise, when rotating the body will be unstable without a centered axis. The old saying, “A student with protruding bottucks and bent back shows that the teacher is not skilled.” talks about this point. My friends, do not believe for a minute that you can do it because it is so clearly laid out in front of you. If you pay some attention, you

will notice that many people including some famous masters practice the routines with protruding bottucks.On the other hand, if you can use your center line as the axis to let your opponent revolve around you and throw him out with the cutting line, you are using your center line correctly. In pushing hands, the center line is the vital point of attack. Correct attack can rock his center. If you take a look a the human body accupuncture chart, you will see that all the meridian lines connect to this center line. This is why not only in Taijiquan but also in all other martial art systems, the center line is always the first choice.

人 Shaped LineIn addition to the center line, another two lines can be produced through specialized training. These two line start from the top and split into two at the lower reach. It looks like the shape of the Chinese character 人. Sometimes it looks like a reversed version like 丫. The top of this line can be on the head, the shoulder, the dantian, the waist or the kua. Either of the two lines can be used as the axis. But the two lines cannot be used as axis at the same time because that would be “double heavy”. The magic in using this 人 line is the switching of the axis from one line to the other, for example, switching from the left line to the right line in order to throw the opponent out. I have personally seen Mr. Chen Zhonghua skillfully use the switching of these two lines to throw opponents. I call this technique “Two line switches”. Chen Zhonghua replied with a laugh that, “You have a name for it now!”Energy LineAnother line is very important in Practical Method. For example, when issuing long power to attach the opponent, one’s own power must stay on one straight line. To be more precise, one’s own front hand and rear foot must form a straight line. But the human physiology makes this impossible to do so. Precisely because of this, the Practical Method specifies many body requirements so that the body parts can instantly form a straight line in action. At the same time, it also requires that the body parts between the front hand and

the rear foot can only transmit energy, they cannot produce energy or interrupt the proper energy flow. Energy can only be issued from the rear heel. Another requirement is that the energy transmitted must be a concentrict stretching power, which means it cannot be a power of the hand and foot going to the same direction. Practical Method does not allow power of two places to go towards the same direction. I have stated in the past that “Power must have a source and must have a destination.” This is also to say that the originating and resulting power must be clear. This statement is correct but only after I learned the Practical Method from Chen Zhonghua and practiced for several years that I felt the real connotation of this statement. Since this is the key, we then must form this line when attacking the opponent. We must both form this line ourselves and interrupt the opponent from forming this line. We can also utilize the line formed by the opponent. We can also say that in general practice, the line does not have to be straight and does not have to originate from the rear foot, it can be a curved line and stop at any point. As long as the requirement for issuing and transmitting power is met, the energy line is set. We are not getting into details here.

Response LineThere is another kind of line, which is an energy line for the issuer but for the reciepient, it is a line in response to the oncoming power. As it is a line caused by the response to power, we call it “Response Line”. In dealing with oncoming power, the Practical Method requires the body to form a straight line to transmit the power to the rear foot and then to the ground. No matter how great the oncoming power is, it will disappear into thin air. In push hands, there are various energy changes under complex conditions. And the complexity of the body physiology will cause a miriad of these response lines. They can be long, short, straight and crooked. They can be two-dimensional (on one plane) or three-dimensional (in real physical space). For example, they can be on the shoulders, back or side of the torso. We should use our observation skills and experience to ascertain the position of the opponent’s “response lines” so that we know where to

attack. We can also force the “response line” onto a certain part of the opponent’s body. Once achieved, success is instant. There are also other “lines” that we will discuss in another article.

Guitar String (line)Of all the lines we discussed above, which one is the line to attack? We recommend you to hit the line in the middle. According to the law of geometry, when you hit the middle, the power on the two ends is larger than your original force. The longer the line, the greater the two forces created. It can even be multiples of your original force. When used properly, your two fingers can cause the opponent to bounce out. 50 pounds of power can create several hundreds of pounds. The martial result is obvious. I call this “Guitar string line”. The theoryis not difficult to understand as we have learned enough in middle school already. Even if you have not studies this, as long as you know it is useful, it is adequate for you. Sometimes we are not accurate when attacking the middle of the “guitar string line”. As long as we can hit the line, a bit of inaccuracy does not matter (it won’t work only when you miss the guitar string). According to the laws governing parallelograms, the two forces created will not be equal but will be adquate enough to defeat the opponent. Highly skilled masters will sometimes miss the point intentionally so as to use the larger force for attack. I personally cannot do this yet. Grandmasters such as Chen Fake and Hong Junsheng, and today’s Chen Zhonghua can do this, and they can do so without any effort.Masters with real skill could issue opponents in ways defy Newton’s Law of physics. Here I like to remind readers that in order for the “guitar string line” to take effect, one must first of all, fix the two end of the line. This is also called that you must first “harmonize with the opponent”. When attacking the “guitar string line”, one must keep the “harmony”. Not one movement is allowed. If one thing moves, the opponent is released. This is just like the strings on the guitar, only when the strings are tightly fixed can music be made. In another word, all lines must have strength and tension to be used as

leverage points, axis or guitar strings. How are the strength and tension created? It is concentric stretching, compression and spirals. As for the line, the straighter the line the high level of quality and more powerful.

The above are all “lines”. If some people don’t believe in the importance of the lines, I hope my words here can help.

The Circleby MAT BEAUSOLEIL  on 2012/02/23

The circle, simply put, is the basis of every move in the Taijiquan Practical Method system. Every action or movement in the form is actually a part or variation of either the negative or positive circle. Therefore, common sense would suggest that one must gain a deep understanding of the circle and its mechanics in order to have any kind of understanding of Taijiquan and its practical applications.Although the circle might be the most fundamental movement of the system, it is also one of the most malpracticed and overlooked basic skills. When one begins to understand the circle, every move in the form can be understood and perfected to meet its actual purpose and function. I would like to discuss my own personal conclusions and understandings of what I think the circle is and how to break it down so that training can become more meaningful and productive.It is my belief that all Taijiquan players, regardless of their level of ability, should perform the circle in exactly the same sequence and following the same basic principles and guidelines. Quite often different steps and explanations are given to student depending on their ability. I believe this is confusing for students and sometimes detrimental to progress. The only difference between the way an advanced student and a beginner should perform the circle is in the quality of each step. Because a student’s body will move differently depending on whether or not he is sufficiently opened or connected, the moves will seem to have some extra

components or flow differently. Nevertheless, they are fundamentally identical.

Before discussing the different steps of the circle, I think it is wise to mention the function of the dantian in relation to the circle. Eventually, higher level practitioners should realize that when used properly, the dantian is a fixed and central part in the body which has the ability to rotate in every direction without moving, much like the center of a ball. Although the dantian and its internal complexities could be discussed in greater length, for ease of learning I will limit the discussion to the waist and how it rotates on a horizontal plane when doing the circle. Through experimentation and observation, I have concluded that the waist/dantian should only rotate into three possible positions when doing the circle, or any other move in the forms for that matter.

I refer to the first position as the neutral position. In this position, the waist is not twisted to the left or to the right but “relaxed” to the center with the lower back pushed out. The other two positions are full 45 degree rotations or twists to either the right or to the left. These two positions can only be achieved by twisting the waist and torso to the furthest extreme possible while keeping the lower body fixed. To be able to do and feel this properly however, the upper and lower bodies must be connected. If the lower back is properly pushed out, the waist’s range of motion will be greatly diminished. This is a good sign as it shows that the upper and lower bodies are both connected. If the body is not sufficiently connected, the waist will rotate loosely and be able to move more than 45 degrees to either side. I believe this is undesirable and in most situations, wrong.If looked at from this perspective, one can easily conclude that the when the waist is centered in its neutral position, it is only able to make rotations of either 45 degrees to either the left or to the right. In situations where the waist is already fully rotated to either side, the waist is able to make a full rotation of 90 degrees to go into its full opposite direction. This means that if the waist is turned completely to the left and would like to rotate completely to the right, it would have

to make a 90 degree rotation to do so. In the explanations below, rotations of the waist will be described in measures of 45 and 90 degree turns.To better understand the circle, I have broken it down into four basic steps. Even though some might argue that there are more or fewer steps, through my personal experimentation, these four steps are clear and easy understand. By breaking things down, students start with a simple understanding of the foundations. Once fully grasped, these foundations can be added onto and built upon through further exploration and analysis. I’ve broken the circle down into the pulling in of the elbow, two rotations of the waist, and the pushing out of the hand.The steps below are true for and can be easily applied to both the negative and positive circles with only slight variations in arm positioning. For this reason I will not discuss each circle individually but will give all instructions as if the practitioner was doing a right sided positive circle. Once the positive circle is understood in practice, the practitioner should consciously go through each step and see how they apply to the negative circle.In with elbowThe pulling in of the elbow (in with elbow) is the first step of the circle. Before going into its mechanics though, I feel it is important to describe the initial positioning of the body before starting. The feet should be positioned in a right sided bow stance which means that the opponent would be at a 45 degree angle to the right. The head and eyes should be pointing towards the opponent and the arm should be extended with the elbow and palm both facing down, the latter at 45 degree downward pointing angle. The positioning of the waist and torso here is the main area for concern. Most people tend to also turn the waist and torso 45 degrees to the right to face the opponent. I believe this is wrong and a very common mistake, even among advanced practitioners. The waist or torso should start in its neutral position, pointing away from the opponent. The reason for this is simple. Because the configuration of the feet and lower body are positioned at a 45 degree angle to the right, as are the eyes,

the waist must be turned in the opposite direction. If the torso, or waist, is also turned to the right at a 45 degree angle, no twist or spiral is produced to connect the two halves of the body. Also, if the waist and torso face the opponent, the leading shoulder protrudes back and the stretch and connection through the shoulder and into the chest are lost. This can very easily be tried and confirmed. Therefore, every time the practitioner has the intent of pulling in the elbow, or initiating a pull in Taijiquan, it is imperative that the waist/torso not be pointed towards the opponent, but pointed at a 45 degree angle in the opposite direction. Another important factor to remember when pulling in the elbow is that the palm should remain facing down at a 45 degree angle. If the palm rotates and faces upward at this stage, the connection and spiraling of the lower arm is lost and the pull is not as effective.The pull in Taijiquan seems to be the only movement which is not really initiated by a rotation of the waist. Because the body is in a properly spiraled configuration, the stretched out tendons of the this structure seem to allow the elbow to pull in tremendous amounts of weight without the help of the muscles. The waist positioned at 45 degrees to the opponent ensures that the shoulder does not pop back and that the elbow is pulled and tucked directly into the side of the ribs. As the elbow is pulled in, the front leg should dig and push into the ground to stabilize and power the pull.A point to remember is that in practical applications, it is actually the rear hand ‘latches on’ to the opponent and does the actual pull. The front hand is used as a guide or lever to help control the opponents’s body or entice him into emptiness.The first rotation of the waistThe second step of the circle is the first rotation of the waist. When the elbow reaches the side of the rib cage, the whole upper body must lock. Ideally, this lock is a result of the tendons and ligaments of the torso and arms tightening up because of the contracting spirals running throughout the right side of the body. At a lower level however, I would suggest the the locking of the body be ensured by contracting

one’s muscles. When everything is locked, the waist must rotate left 45 degrees from its neutral position to a full left rotation. If done properly, the rotation of the waist to the left should tighten up and condense the power into the right side of the body, leaving the rear/left leg moderately relaxed. At this point, what should happen in the practitioner’s body will depend on his level of flexibility and connectivity. At a beginner’s level, the main focus should be to rotate the waist to the left without tossing the torso. At a higher level where the practitioner is relatively connected, several things should automatically happen. First, the 45 degree rotation of the waist/torso to the left should stretch open both kuas and push each knee out into their respective directions. Because both knees are pushed out proportionately, the body should naturally sink on a perfect vertical axis. As this happens, the hand should naturally turn over from a 45 degree downward pointing angle to a 45 degree upward pointing angle. The more connected a practitioner is, the more naturally and proportionately this turning over of the palm will happen.Second rotation of the waist

When the waist has been fully turned 45 degrees to the left, the first half of the circle will have been completed. At this point, the function of the circle changes from an inward pull to an outward push. To initiate the push, the waist must rotate a full 90 degrees from the left all the way to the right. I believe this is the most difficult step to master as the level of connectivity greatly influences the result and proportionality of the movement. At a beginner’s level, the waist should be rotated to the extreme right while once again focusing on not tossing the torso and keeping the spine vertically straight. The arm should simultaneously be pushed out and and palm rotated downward. At a more advanced level, several things should happen simultaneously. As the waist turns right, the knees should once again push out into their respective directions and the body naturally sink even more. As the body sinks on its axis without tossing, the hand must push out with the palm going from a 45 degree upward pointing position to a perpendicular to the ground position. If the body is properly

connected, the arm should push out proportionately. This means that the arm should only push out far enough for the forearm and upper arm to form a 90 degree angle. If the body is not connected enough, the arm will not open proportionately and the angle will be bigger or smaller than 90 degrees.It is during this third step that the rear heel should be pushed out and adjusted if necessary. Once again, separation and proportionality are produced by ensuring the torso does not toss as the waist/dantian rotates to push out the heel and hand. At this point, the rear leg will change from its moderately relaxed state to become fully connected and engaged. As the rear leg pushes into the ground, a lign to the hand is created which shifts most of the energy off the front/right leg and onto the rear/left one.

Out with hand

At this stage, both kua joints should be stretched open with the knees pushed out, the arm should be bent at a 90 degree angle, the palm should perpendicular to the ground and waist rotated fully to the right. The fourth and final step requires the body to return to its initial structure with the waist at its neutral position. This requires the waist to turn 45 degrees left from its full right sided position. This final rotation to the left pushes the arm out further and turns the palm over to its original 45 degree downward pointing position and sinks the body even more. Therefore, the final step of the circle is a rotation in which the shoulder and torso are turning in opposite directions, working like gears. This ensures that the shoulder and torso rotation is where the energy and power is being produced, not in the arm or hand. The final rotation ensures that the leading shoulder does not protrude back, but is pushed forward to allow the energy to travel through the torso into the arm and out of the hand. Once the body has reached its neutral centered starting position, the body may be raised to compensate for the sinking which occurred in the three final steps.Once a student reaches a proficient enough level, each move should be dissected and understood in terms of how each arm

is powered up and where the energy comes from. When this is done, one quickly realizes that most moves in the forms require each arm to perform opposing circles and functions at the same time. However, because each rotation of the waist always pushes the knees out further, the legs are able to continuously support and power up each arm even though they might be performing different functions.Being Connected?by MAT BEAUSOLEIL  on 2011/06/28

One concept which seems to come up in almost every lesson and principle Master Chen teaches isconnection.  But what does “being connected” actually mean? How do we achieve it and what are the benefits of being connected? I think these are all important questions that any serious Chen Style Taijichuan Practical Method student needs to explore and understand in order to gain a deeper understanding of this complex art.  While most practioners seem to focus on the external choreography of the art, which is the first step and the foundation of the Yilu, I think the answer to what connection is can only be found by focusing on what happens inside the body. Taiji is, after all, an internal martial art!I think the easiest way to understand the principle of being connected is through Master Chen’s excellent comparison of the tendons and ligaments found throughout the body to rubber bands. Most of us have surely seen him use these rubber bands in his tutorial videos, or workshop demontsrations and therefore this is nothing new. Master Chen teaches that in order to be properly connected, the tendons in the body must be reconditioned through continuous tension and stretching during the form. Any time this “internal” stretch of the tendons is lost, the connection is broken and therefore only the external aspect of the move is present.

I think most of us don’t realize how important it is to do the form while “being connected” and the amazing and rapid trasformations which occur inside the body if one focuses on this overlooked and misunderstood principle of Taijichuan. I’m

sure most of us have felt this internal stretch of the tendons at some point while doing the form, but is it actually possible to do the whole form without breaking this connection or stretch? It is my belief that it is not only possible, but essential!

There seem to be three phases of development to the process of connecting the body as a whole while doing Taijichuan. Based on the detailed lessons I have had from Master Chen on my fulltime courses, the things I have personally felt happen in his body and through my own experimentaion with the Yilu, I would like to discuss these three phases and the effects they have on the body and how they relate to a deeper understanding of the art and principles taught by Master Chen.After having learned the choreography of the Yilu, the first stage of learning how to connect the body happens in the upper body, mainly in the shoulders and arms. To begin the process of feeling the internal stretch, Master Chen emphasizes the use of big movements which force the body, mainly the shoulder and elbow joints and ligaments, to stretch out and open.An important point Master Chen makes about stretching is that in order to stretch something properly, there must be something fixed to stretch against. For example, If you were to extend your arm in a stretch, your torso should stay in a fixed position to stretch against. If the torso moved in the same direction as the stretch, there would obviously be very little stretching going on. Therefore, in the beginning stages, it is very important to constantly be aware that the torso does not “toss” from side to side so that the hand has something fixed to stretch against.

Once a practitioner is able to feel that stretch when the arm is fully extended by sinking through the shoulder, that same tension should be kept on the arm as the elbow comes in to

the dantian. Master Chen’s use of the rubber bands to demonstrate this is excellent. If the arm is fully stretched out with the torso locked and the hand is fixed at a point in the air, the turning of the waist and pulling in of the elbow creates even more stretch throughout the arm. This also forces the shoulder to properly turn over and rotate, for if the connection is broken, the shoulder won’t rotate properly. By focusing on this while doing the form, the tendons in the arms, shoulders and upper back become reconditioned and the joints open up to a new level of flexiblity.At the beginning it almost seems impossible to keep the internal stretch intact while moving, and so it is necessary to slow down and make each movement consciously. With practice and patience, the speed of the form can be increased as the connection becomes stronger and harder to break. Eventually the internal stretch and connection can be kept in the arms, shoulders and upper back throughout most of the form while keeping a steady pace.

Once the upper body is connected throughout most of the form without having to focus on it too much, the attention should be shifted to the lower body. This phase of keeping the body connected seems to be a bit easier than the other two phases. Because the legs are used everyday to support the body, it is my opinion that most people’s legs are more connected than their upper bodies. It seems most of the transformations at this stage happen to the ligaments surrounding the knees and the kua/the hip joints. Again, Master Chen emphasizes using low postures to help everything stretch out and open up the joints.

As one’s flexibilty increases and the ligaments of the knees become stronger, it becomes important to focus on the positioning and angles of the feet and knees. To maintain good inner connection in the legs one needs to keep the kuas open at all times. To ensure this, the feet must be in their proper positions and the knees must not collapse to the ground, as this breaks the stretch and the connection.

Master Chen has compared the claves to tent pegs. “If the pegs of the tent move around in the ground too much, their rooting will be lost and the pegs will be easily pulled out.” Therefore, to keep the legs properly connected it is imperative that the kness do not toss about or collapse but push out in their respective directions.

Even though at this stage the upper body and lower body are both individuallyconnected and are starting to work together in synchronicity, they are not yet able to work as a whole. However, at this point the principles of separation, proportionality, differential and spiraling that Master Chen always talks about start manifesting in the movements throughout the form. The upper body, which is fixed because it is “internally” connected, can start stretching against the lower body, which is also connected. The relationship between hands and feet, kua and shoulders starts becoming established in the form and the movements start feeling much stronger and more stable.Once the practitioner is able to complete the form while keeping both the upper and lower body individually connected without much effort, both halves of the body must be connected through the mid section. In my experience, this is the most difficult and painfull phase of the process of connecting the body. Keeping in mind that the upper body and lower body must remain connected and retain their structure,

the lower back must be pushed out and the tailbone tucked into the front. This creates a rounded “turtle shaped” back and also forces the chest to hollow out. If this is done properly the waist area should feel totally deadlocked with a very limitedrange of motion. If at the beginning you push out your lower back and are still able to move the waist freely, chances are that either your lower or upper body have lost their connection. This deadlock in the mid section is due to the newly rounded ‘S’ shape of the connected body and the lack of flexibilty in the waist. However, this is a good sign and means you are on the right track because to open up the waist, the body must stay locked so that it will have something to stretch against.This process of locking the body and stretching is extremely uncomfortable, sometimes painful and most definitely exhausting. As you practice each move while keeping this rounded structure, you can actually feel the two halves of the body beginning to fuse together. The tendons that run from the knees, through the kua, into the waist and up to the back and spine begin to stretch and the mid section of the body begins to open up and connect. If this is done properly, there sholuld be a lot of discomfort and pain in the triangular shaped plate above the buttocks, the kua, the spine and even the abdominal wall. Once flexibilty in these parts starts to build up, the pain will subside a little, but don’t stop there!

To speed up the process of opening up all these heavily locked areas, look for the pain in the stretch and push through it. If you find a certain position is particularly painful, hold the stretch there and slowly move deeper into it. It is very important that the connection in the rest of the body be maintained in order to have a proper stretch. At the beginning it is difficult to do more than 2 or 3 moves while keeping this connection. Master Chen says this is normal.

With a lot of hard work however, the body finally opens up and the tendons in the mid section become more supple and the pain slowly goes away. When the body is able to move through the entire form in this internally connected manner, where each part is connected and powered by another, one

can feel the strength, stabilty and potential power produced within the body.

Suddenly, Master Chen’s example of the body moving as a gearbox can  not only be understood intellectually, but also be experienced in practice. Initially, doing the form like this might look quite rigid and blocky, but this is because the body is not flexible enough and the tendons not supple enough to allow the body to move fluidly while staying connected.

However, with time and practice, the body develops the ability to move in a deceivably soft manner externally, while remaining rock hard and connected internally. Remember, just as a sculptor might start off with an ugly stump of wood, chop away big chunks to get a rough outline of the shape, slowly work out the smooth edges and finally add in the finer details to complete his masterpiece, I believe the same must be done with the form! The only difference is that we should start from the inside and work our way out.

Related video: http://practicalmethod.com/2010/11/connections-in-tai-chi-movements-video-by-chen-zhonghua/

Trigrams in shoulder and kuaby NIKO  on 2011/02/15

Hi, just some thoughts here i actually wanted to post on the specific category, but that is not possible anymore. It deals with shoulder and Kua and the connections between the trigrams.The Kua is associated with the element of fire. If you imagine the trigram you find both solid lines having embraced the weak. That is one solid surface from the femur-head and the one from the pelvis. Inbetween the “soft” synovial fluid.

In the shoulder it is somehow opposite. The trigram of water is two weak lines having a solid center. The upper arm head is the solid part, the muscles and sinews the soft ones giving the shoulder great freedom.In the joint, the part coming from the scapula can be neglected as a solid surface since it is not restricting the movements by the small surface it has.So according to this model, if you can extinguish the fire in the opponents kuas with the fire water ( hehe) of your shoulders

he can´t move anymore  . That is strange, since i can not remember dreaming to become a fireman in my childhood.

Notes 3.1.05-3.11.05by ADMIN  on 2005/03/11

Compiled by Todd McGown

There must be horizontal and vertical movements. The shape of the positive and negative “circles” is that of an egg. Not a true circle and not a 2D oval. The horizontal movement is mainly achieved by the hand, shoulder, waist, opposite kua, opposite knee, opposite foot line of the body while the vertical action is achieved by the shoulder, waist, kua, knee, foot line of the body.  Movement should be like a timing belt, not too slack or too tight. If too slack there will be uncontrolled friction and the rubber will start burning. If too tight the belt will break. This is especially important in push hands. The level of pressure on

your opponent must be governed by this principle. This is how your energy is transferred to your opponent.External martial arts have too little biting of the gears. Wrestling has too much. In Taiji we search for a happy medium between these two extremes. Taiji is like an idiom. Idioms are couched with cultural references. There are many, many things synthesized into one simple idiom. This is hard for North Americans to understand, although they are often better learners of technique. People who do Taiji have less mental degradation than people who do other types of sports. In Taiji the mind is more involved with the movement of the muscles. The circle is never off on the outside, but on the inside it is on and off like peddling a bicycle. The chain of the bike is a continuous circle even though the power alternates from one foot to the other. Upon touching your opponent, your own power must go directly to the ground under your own feet. If not the top will become heavy and will float. Top heavy is caused by putting power and pressure on your opponent through the use of the contacting point as a source of power. The contacting point can only be used as a conduit. When you use a hammer, the hammer does not power up, you power it up. The goal is to be totally solid from the base up, as if submerged in concrete. Master Hong’s dantian had moved up to the around the center of his collar bone and the rest of his body was like a thick tree with deep roots.When you achieve this, you must be able to rotate on your center. If not, the solid state becomes a liability of double-heaviness. “The arm cannot move.” Many argue with Shifu and say, “Your arm is moving! What are you talking about?” What he means is that the arm (or any other body part) can only move within limited confines. If it departs from the confines it is said to be moving. The same thing goes for the knees. At the beginning the knee must move in order to “turn” at all. Later, this knee movement must be decreased.The ability to move within the confines of the requirements of Taiji is the demonstration of one’s level of skill. The exact

measurement of the “confines” is called the “rules”. These are the secrets of taijiquan. Neither kua moves, but merely shifts internally. The two hips have to be one up, one down all the time. Every action must be accompanied by a kua sinking. The motion of the kua must be continuous. There must always be an opening and closing relationship between the area directly above and below the inguinal crease. Foot doesn’t move, but the knee can adjust. If you move the foot you nullify yourself. The knee is always at 45 degrees. Create a pivot point (on the forearm for instance) and move the body behind it. Aim the power that is generated from pressing off the ground and moves up through your body through this point. Find the tunnel through the opponent’s center. There is always a vulnerable point on his body depending on how he is moving. The more training a person has the more they tend to rotate around a central point. A person with no training is all over the place and has no clearly defined center. Through experience one can intuitively see where this point is at all times. This is how Hong made the 10th Dan Karate sensei jump back. When the sensei advanced to attack he could feel Hong’s intent upon his center and felt too uncomfortable to keep advancing. Shifu is able to see a condensed dark spot on his opponent’s body. Whenever he touches someone he immediately measures their body. The ability to perceive the opponent’s intent of attack paired with the ability to instantly identify his center allows one to be relatively quicker, albeit he may be physically stronger and faster. Monkeys can swing from branch to branch and choose the best branch to swing to next in a split second. They can judge for sturdiness using a number of criteria such as thickness, color, texture, etc. If a city-dwelling human was to try this it is highly probable they will grab the wrong kind of branch and fall to the ground. We must develop our sensitivity and our ability to identify that “spot” on the opponent. Shifu says this ability is like seeing a candle no one else can see. Partner drill for locating the center:o Both partners power up. As always, the “shoulder well”

acupuncture points must be on a plumb line with the kua. Shrink the imaginary box formed by the shoulders and hips. One tries to line up with the other’s center and split yin and yang. If done correctly, one should feel as if there is a “hump” that is suddenly overcome at which point the opponent is uprooted.o When you want to extend energy into and through your opponent’s body imagine something you desire immediately in front of the fingertips and slightly out of reach. Touch it! The Taiji “zero inch punch” is like a hollow-tip bullet. The gunpowder is packed into a small container, when it explodes and exits the body it leaves a big hole. Power must be directed through a small aperture, like the compressed air powering a pneumatic nailer or the increased water pressure created by putting a nozzle on a hose. When done correctly, it is like the energy is pulling the opponent from behind. If the arm is held straight and power is transferred from the earth through the waist the result is pretty powerful, but if other mechanics of the punch are added it becomes at least 70% more powerful. A fist is small. By opening up the hand it opens the way for energy to pass through, the wrist expands. The leading hand “let’s go” into the target. Energy is like water, if the hand is held with tension it will not come out. By fanning out each finger your intent should be to aim at multiple places on their body. Five ropes extending down through your arm. The five fingers aim at the five zangfu organs. Most martial artists use excessive heart. They turn red in the face, huff and puff, suffer heart attacks, etc. The goal in Taiji is to use the five zangfu organs in a balanced way to derive power. By using mind intent, one can move the point of strength or energy around on your body. For example, the point may be moved from the elbow to the fingertips with little to no perceptible external movement. Guoyi’s analogy:o Most students are only fighting on one plane. Thus, no one can defeat Shifu. He works on at least 2 planes (vertical and

horizontal). Most do Taiji like they are driving a car. They think they go up because they go over a hill, but are nonetheless bound by the surface of the road beneath them. Shifu, however, is not limited and could be said to resemble an airplane. By short circuiting the incoming push you can diminish its power. If you are pushed against your chest, then put the energy back onto their shoulder. Extend the arm but do not move the torso forward. If done correctly there is much power. If the opponent tries to push into you while you extend they will begin to corkscrew. Developing shaking power and a mobile waist:o Start with big, relaxed movements in the upper body. End with shaking movement of the waist and dang. This is similar to “Golden Cock Shakes Wings” in the Hunyuan Qigong set, except do it in the half-horse stance with arms at a 45 degree angle. The circles should be able to be done with a pole inserted behind the shoulder and in front of the kua. The position of the pole should never change, even if you take steps. Eventually, you must be able to establish this plumb line anywhere on your body. My knees should be more closed. If too open then the kua cannot be locked or stable. When someone presses into your kua you should not lose your feet. The body must be restructured gradually. If you try to immediately assume the correct structure, you may not be able to stand or move at all. The goal is to squeeze in close to the other’s body and to become comfortable with this position. Squeeze in by increments. Gain one, lock it in place, then gain another… Yilu trains the energies involved in Taiji and develops stickiness. Erlu trains crisp, clear moves for combat usage. In Erlu there is no more grasping. Rapid positive circle practice. Don’t worry about how correct it is. If holding a towel in your hand it should fling out to the farthest point away from your body. The towel should hit the same point again and again. At the beginning the energy cannot leave the structure. If

you get embedded in the format you’ll never get it. Do the form feeling as if you are carrying weight. Do it slowly to understand the techniques. Do it fast to get over the “hump”. At this point energy will begin to come out of the frame. It is if you are trying to reach the boiling point so that the water begins to boil over the rim of the pot. It can also be likened to peddling a bike up a steep hill. After crossing the apex you effortlessly coast down the other side. Falling into a half split. You cannot be afraid of falling and hitting the ground. If you cannot fall you can never get over the “hump”. All too often I fight from the chest or the upper body. What I must learn is to pull from the hips by sinking and turning. This requires lots of training in which I must “hit” the floor with my hips. Peng is the energy. All others are directional manifestations of this one energy. The power must be consistent when doing the circle. We are always powering up and then going slack. Whether a car is going uphill or downhill the engine is always on. You don’t turn the car off when you descend down a hill because you’ll lose control. Many bicyclists only ride vertically. When they need to round a corner, they slow down and continue riding plumb to the ground. For others, they round corners without slowing down by leaning into the turn. This was Shifu’s analogy used to describe the ability to access different dimensions as well as the consistent power that should be present in the circles. “If you don’t believe me why are you here? If you really believe then you can do what I do.” In the west, everything new (science, medicine, etc.) is highly valued and the things of the past are seen as out-dated and obsolete. In the east, the things created by the ancients are held in high esteem and as time goes by they are further elucidated and penetrated into deeper and deeper. Many times you read and study only what you resonate or agree with. In this way you will never learn anything new. We can’t understand extraterrestrial things because as humans our reference is the earth. We look for things on Mars that are

familiar to us on Earth. If you can break from this you can achieve enlightenment. Yilu is railway construction. If someone touches you they’re on the tracks. You have to coax your opponent into boarding the train and then close the door behind him. High level masters split the space-time continuum. It feels like they suck you down into a black hole or up into a tornado. Double heavy is when two gears move in the same direction. It doesn’t matter whether this happens horizontally or vertically. Acceleration without proper distance is useless. Your speed could be 500 m/hr., but if your target is 100,000 miles away then who cares. The point at which two circles on your body intersect is known as the “agile pearl” or the “red bullet.” The most common place on your body is the kua for this action. The arm continues to lengthen and chase without 1 mm of retreat. Eventually there is no movement, only mind intent. When you stand, the idea is to round things by stretching. This is not meditiation, but a strengthening exercise. The goal is to move differently. If the opponent moves in a jerky manner, then you move in between his jerks. Do not try to be a bigger jerk. You must always be powered up (“tense”), but constantly turning. The schools that advocate relaxation go into a push hands competition and tense up when they touch. In the beginning your body will appear very stiff. If you do it right it won’t look very good at first. It is preferable to start without slack. If this is not possible, take it out as soon as possible. It is impossible to move without slack, however. Maintain contact points and move into an empty space. The most difficult thing to do is rotate on a point that is not there, such as a point on your arm between the two hands of the opponent. Make the center appear real. The opponent then aims for it, but it is never there. Your job is to surround this fake center. The higher the quality of skill you have, the closer you can be

to this point without ever actually inhabiting it. If the center is moving there is no power, but if it doesn’t toss you may turn without vulnerability. Basic requirement: shoulder and elbow must disappear. “Feed your elbow and shoulder to the dog.” If he is drilling then I go straight and vice versa.

The three-joint theoryby CHEN ZHONGHUA  on 2014/01/11

The classic mention of this term is “understanding the three joints” (明三节）.The whole body is composed of three joints. Each section of the body is further divided into three joints. The wrists and fingers are exceptions. The ankles are exceptions.The three joints are defined as two solid parts with a joint in the middle.Here is a video on the three joints theory.

Stacking the Jointsby  JEAN-PHILIPPE RANGER  on 2012/01/11

Being able to “stack the joints” is an important skill in Practical Method. It means not only that all joints have to be aligned to be able to receive the oncoming force, it also means that they have to react in sequence.

Instinctively, the untrained person will react to a push with the upper body, especially with the shoulder joint. In Practical Method, the reaction has to first come from the ankle up through to the other joints. Another common mistake in improper joint alignment is to react to a push with the waist area without readjusting the rest of the body. What happens is that the push is absorbed by the body and instead of being sent down to the ankle, it “leaks out” towards the back. One image I use in class is the spring (I’m not sure if I came up with it or if I picked it up from one of my teachers). When a spring is compressed correctly, it bounces back, expressing energy through the extremities. When it is folded in the middle, it does not have any power in it’s extremities because the joints are not stacked properly.

9 joints in the bodyby ADMIN  on 2011/11/09

The body has 18 joints, nine on each side. They are:1.neck2.chest3.shoulder4.elbow5.wrist6.waist7.kua8.knee9.ankleWrist and ankle should be locked in accordance with the three-joint theory.

Relationship of Taiji Movementsby  JOHN UPSHAW  on 2013/12/19

 By John Upshaw and Levi SowersThe interaction occurring amongst the various elements of our body are numerous and complex.  This is especially true when applied to the movements, and thereof lack of movements, in Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method.  The purpose of this article is to provide a framework that will allow the reader to conceptualize the necessary movements that are congruent with the taiji principals, and inherent to the Practical Method system.  The 1, 2, 3 theory of taiji movements will be the framework for describing these internal relationships.  We hope that readers will be able to distinguish between what parts of the body moves from what does not move. When that is identified, then a clearer understanding of the lines that are stretched upon within oneself becomes more recognizable.Within this theory of taiji movements, the numerical representations can be defined as a physiological location that has the capacity to function as a joint.  The many joints of the body are present to connect the movements of two or more structures. Proper alignment of these joints and the associated body parts allow/prohibit power to move throughout the body. Moreover, the joint’s functions are to connect two or more structures.  The resulting alignment creates lines on the body

untimely leading to the generation of power on the opponent. When the numeric representations interact, this is referred to as being “related”. In this theoryof taiji movements, the following relationships are allowed to move towards one another (Figure 1):

1 can relate to 2 2 can relate to 1 2 can relate to 3 3 can relate to 2 

At this point you may be thinking “how does this relate to my body and taiji movements?”  Remember, each numeral represents a physiological location within its anatomically correct sequence.  For instance, elbow, waist, and feet can be directly inserted into the 1, 2, 3 theory format (Figure 2).

 

Elbow can relate to waist. Waist can relate to elbow. Waist can relate to feet. Feet can relate waist.These sequential relationships exist in several places throughout our body.  For example, hand-elbow –shoulder, waist-knee-foot, and elbow-waist-rear foot are few sequential relationships that can be applied to thetheory.  The purposes of these relationships are to ensure there is no slack, provide a pivot point, maintain structural integrity, maintain space taken from an opponent and develop a line of power that is present in the body (Figure 2).

Another important component of this theory is that of being “unrelated” or a state of “unrelatedness”. Unrelated, from a taiji perspective, can be defined as a relationship in which the nonmoving elements of ones’ physiology are not associated, thus having no effect, with the moving or rotating body part and vice versa.  The moving or rotating body part functions independently from the rest of ones’ physiology.  This is directly correlated with one of Practical Method’s key principals; one part of the body can perform one function. Therefore, in the 1, 2, 3 theory of taiji movements, the following illustrates the relationship of movements and no movements. When 1 relates to 2, then 3 and everything else is unrelated When 2 relates to 1, then 3 and everything else is unrelated When 2 relates to 3, then 1 and everything else is unrelated When 3 relates to 2, then 1 and everything else is unrelatedTo make the theory more concrete, we will use a section from the positive circle as an example. Imbedded in our minds is Master Chen Zhonghua’s voice saying, “in with elbow, turn waist, and out with hand”.  Hearing this instruction allows me to “connect the dots” in applying the theory.  The first thing that is required is to identify the 1, 2, and 3 physiological locations, out of a multitude of combinations.  For the positive circlecoming in we will use the combination of elbow (1), waist (2), and left rear foot (3).  Beginning from right hand extended out while in a half horse stance, elbow relates or goes to waist. During this time waist is the anchor point and foot is unrelated.  Then waist goes to left rear foot.  When this occurs, the foot is the anchor pointand elbow is unrelated. Within this small sequence of movements is a microcosm that can be applied throughout the entire yilu.  However, we would recommend beginning with the foundations and perhaps a section of individual postures from the yilu, erlu, and even sword forms.We previously placed much emphasis on how movements are related in functional manners.  We will now shift our focus to movements that are related in dysfunctional manners that compromise the physiology’s structural integrity.  Within

the theory, the following relationships are prohibited to move toward one another (figure 3):

1 can not relate to 3 3 can not relate to 1It is important to note that moving away is allowed as long as one of those points is fixed.  In both of the relationships mentioned above, 2 is pushed out causing the structure to buckle (Figure 3).  Buckling from a taiji perspective is when a structure collapses from the inside out.  Another Practical Method principal, “the inside stays on the inside and the outside stays on the outside”, is directly related to this dynamic of compromised structural integrity.  Please refer to the clip below: 

 

When Levi, on the left, is issued energy from Master Chen Zhonghua, his structure buckles.  Applying the 1, 2, 3 theory, the following illustrates what happens; 1 is head 2 is waist 3 is feetLevi’s head (1) relates to his feet (3) causing him to buckle.  If you watch closely you will see Levi’s waist (2) leave the inside and move to the outside until his rear foot makes adjustments.

It is clear that Levi buckled under Master Chen’s power and structural integrity. 

The purpose of this article was to present the 1, 2, 3 Theory of Taiji Movements.  It is our hope that readers are better able to understand, identify, and implement this framework of taiji movements within their practice/training regimen.  With adherence to these relational principles, we hypothesize taiji practitioners will see a series of changes including: a reduction in slack, increase ability to maintain space taken from an opponent, increased structural integrity, and enhance one’s ability to generate power on the opponent.  Ultimately, with continued practice and adherence to these principles, it gives the practitioner an option to be the buckler or the one prone to being buckled…the choice is yours.

Reconditioning the Bodyby MAT BEAUSOLEIL  on 2012/01/06

It is a fact that most modern people, especially westerners living in urbanized areas, are not as physically active as they once were. As society becomes more dependent on machines and electric tools to do the physical labour once done manually, the bodies of modern men seem to be changing accordingly. Because most people use their bodies in the same way, carrying out the same simple motions every day of their lives, the body adapts and forms certain movement patterns to support its daily activities. After many years of living relatively non-active lives, many body parts such as the small connective muscles, tendons and ligaments which connect the muscular and skeletal structures of the body begin to cease up and harden. Because of this, the range

of motion of most people’s joints are greatly restricted by poor flexibility.Therefore, the first stage of Taijiquan training should be the reconditioning of the body. In the first few years of correct training, the body should go through a series of systematic changes in flexibility dealing with the muscles, ligaments and tendons of the joints. This “opening” of the body is crucial as it will allow the body to move in very specific ways (kaihe, open and close) characteristic of Taijiquan. Because normal people’s bodies cannot move freely due to lack of proper training and years of misuse, this stage of development must be taken very seriously. Depending on how hard the practitioner works and how correctly he trains, this stage can take anywhere from a couple of years to a lifetime to achieve.At the beginning of one’s training, the joints of the body will be locked and their range of motion greatly restricted. The goal is therefore to slowly open up each joint in the body by stretching out and reconditioning the tendons, ligaments and connective muscles surrounding each joint of the body. At first, it will seem nearly impossible to complete the movements properly; this should be expected. The more the body “opens”, the more one is able to perform the movements correctly while following the principles of Taijiquan.Even though the body will benefit and change every time the form or any movement is practiced, I believe it is beneficial to use a systematic approach to opening up the body. Proper Taijiquan training requires the practitioner to change the habits of movement of one’s own body. Because these patterns have been present and unnoticed for so many years, it initially seems impossible to break all these habits and replace them with new ones which follow the principles of the art. A systematic approach to opening the body breaks down the body into different sections and focuses on making changes to certain areas of the body before moving onto the next. In this organized training method, the mind’s energy is focused more clearly, the old patterns are dealt with individually and progress is made at a much faster rate.At first, this method seems tedious and slow because one realizes that there are so many changes that need to be

made. However, once a practitioner becomes comfortable with this systematic method of training, the training method itself becomes a habit and changes start occurring at an extremely fast and efficient pace. From my personal experience and experimentation, trying to focus on and change many different aspects at once scatters the mind’s energy and awareness of what is happening in the body. Trying to do too many things simultaneously leads to confusion, stress and frustration which are all detrimental to learning.

As Taijiquan is an internal martial art, one must have a basic understanding of the function of the ligaments and tendons which hold the skeletal and muscular structures together. The elastic properties of tendons and ligaments are actually what allow flexibility throughout the body. Without them, the different parts of the body would be welded tightly together and there would be no range of motion in the joints. Because they are so important to flexibility, a practitioner should always be aware that what he is actually reconditioning when working on “opening” certain joints or body parts are the ligaments and tendons.Therefore, it is essential to remember that to properly train and engage the tendons and ligaments, they must be put under constant tension by stretching out the body parts to their maximum. Because of a lack of use, at the beginning of training the tendons and ligaments can be compared to old dried out rubber bands which have been left sitting in the sun; their elastic and spring like qualities have gone and they are easily overstretched and broken. After years of correct training however, the tendons can be compared to brand new bungee cords which are extremely supple with strong elastic properties.

Because the joints of the body have been moving in very restricted patterns over the course of one’s life, the joints start to form grooves. These grooves are created in the build up of calcium which commonly settles and hardens in the joints. This calcification is due to the build up of insoluble calcium salts in the joints which can lead to pain and restricted movement. Through the training and the opening of the the

body, these grooves must be worn down through repetitious friction so that they are able to rotate and move freely in their sockets. When the ligaments surrounding the joints become more supple and flexible, the rotation of the joints normally cause some clicking and crunching sounds. Even though these clicking and crunching sounds might be a bit disconcerting, they are a normal side effect, and in my opinion, a good sign of progress.Although every body part will eventually go through drastic changes in terms of strength and flexibility, some areas must be focused on directly while some others will get reconditioned inadvertently. Through my experience, focusing on the main joints and ligaments realigns and strengthens the smaller ones.

I believe the first area to focus on when opening the body should be the arms. Because the arms are used everyday and are easily controlled by all people, I believe it is a perfect starting point. The shoulder, the main joint of the arm, and a very important joint in Taijiquan practice, should be the first area to change and adopt new habits and develop flexibility. In modern day society people are generally taught that to have good posture is to stand with the chest pushed out, the back straight and the shoulders raised to the rear; much like a soldier standing at attention.Because of this, most people’s posture does not comply with the Taijiquan requirements and some serious changes need to be made to the habitual way they hold their bodies. In Taijiquan, the shoulders should not be pushed up and back but should be naturally sunk down to the front. When most people try to adhere to this basic principle while doing the form, it becomes evident that the shoulders have set patterns of movement which always seems to push them up and back. The fact that the shoulders have trouble relaxing to the front is evidence that the joint is locked because its tendons and ligaments are ceased up and no longer flexible.To help open up these joints, the shoulders needs to be consciously pushed down throughout the different movements of the form. Also, the arms should always be stretched out as far as possible to help the ligaments and tendons surrounding

the joint to start stretching out to create a “gap” between the ball joint and its socket. Once the tendons and ligaments of this area start to loosen up, the shoulder will be able to be “turned over” and rotated in its socket. At this point it is important for the practitioner to start consciously turning over the shoulders every time the arms are fully extended. This rotation of the shoulder must become habitual and so requires the practitioner to be aware and conscious while doing the form. Painless clicking and crunching sounds normally come from the shoulders if they are properly turned over. If pain occurs, one should use good judgement and let the shoulders rest before continuing the training of this specific area.When the shoulders become more open, the positioning of the elbow must be brought into consideration. One very fundamental principle of Taijiquan Practical Method is that the elbows should always be pointing down regardless of the position of the hand. This reconditions and strengthens the tendons around the elbow which run down to the wrist and up to the shoulder.To ensure this principle is being adhered to, one must become aware of the position of the elbow at all times. The elbow must NEVER point out to the sides and must always be pointed to the ground. This new flexibility of the elbow and shoulder joints will allow the elbows to be pulled into the center of the body more accurately without contortion. This is also a very important principle of this system as it helps to round the back.

The wrists and hands should also be strengthened and reconditioned by following some basic rules. The wrist should never bend back or forward and should be as if it were welded to the forearm. To recondition the hands, it is important that the palms be pushed out and the fingers held back to create a convex shape. The fingers should be stretched out and angled much like the blade on a fan or the propeller on a boat. The thumb should be tucked into the side of the palm with the tip rounding outward.If all these principles are consciously and slowly added into the form one by one, they will become second nature and will

not require any further attention. When the tendons and ligaments of the arms are reconditioned there should be a tight sensation which runs through the arm. At this stage, one should also notice some inadvertent changes occurring to the tendons and ligaments of the neck, rear deltoids, upper back and shoulder blade regions.While the practitioner’s attention was being focused on the reconditioning of the arms, the muscles and tendons of the legs and knees were also being conditioned without conscious effort. Generally, most people’s quad muscles are quite weak and therefore need to be strengthened in order to continuously support the body’s weight throughout the forms. Tension and stress in the knees is also very common among beginners and is usually due to the incorrect foot positioning during certain stances. Although most people totally avoid any kind of pain or stress in the knee area, I believe certain types of pain should be expected and are actually a good sign of progress.However, one must become sensitive and aware of the different types of pain in the body, especially in the knees. If the pain seems to be in the muscles, tendons or ligaments surrounding the joint, it is my belief that it is a natural part of the reconditioning process and therefore should not be cause for concern. If the pain seems to be coming from inside the joint however, the practitioner should be cautious and rest before continuing.

Once the legs are strong enough, lower stances should be taken to help stretch out and recondition tendons of the kua and hip joints. This joint, similar to the shoulder joint, is a ball and socket joint which if properly trained and opened, can rotate in a wide range of motion normally not common in most human beings. Because the tendons and ligaments of this area are bigger and stronger than the ones in the arms, the process of opening this area seems to be much slower and difficult for most practitioners. Once the hip joints start to open up, deep clicking sounds are normally heard as the hips pop out of their sockets to rotate even further.When the ligaments and tendons surrounding the joints of both the arms and legs seem to have gone through some

major transformations and the body is much more flexible, one will realize that the waist and torso have also started becoming somewhat more flexible. Eventually, deep clicking sounds are normally heard all throughout the back and also in the chest. At this stage however, the mid section of the body is generally still locked and the tendons of the waist still ceased.

At this phase of the training, the more repetitions the body does, the more the ligaments of the body are stretched out and the more the joints are ground down. The form should be practiced consciously as many times as possible while keeping the principles discussed above in mind. It is important to remember that the muscles at this level play an extremely important role in helping to stretch out the body into the biggest stances possible and to keep certain body parts in their correct positions.

This method of training can be very taxing on the body and might seem like the complete opposite of what Taijiquan seems to be about. However, this is simply a stepping stone and in my opinion, an essential part of the systematic process. If one is to make speedy progress, it is important to train with intensity and strength. Once the internal body has gone through most of its transformations and is relatively open, the muscles and external intensity should be incrementally diminished. This however should only happen once the body is properly connected.

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Notes Unfiltered Part   1 Posted on June 6, 2009by wujimon

Rather than keeping the Chen Zhonghua workshop notes until I can fully prepare a blog

post, I figured I would just release them and then loop back to them in future posts. 

Already, my understanding of the Chen Taiji Practical Method has changed a lot since

the workshop.  I can only hope that with correct practice, my understanding of the

material will only get better.

More and more students of Master Chen Zhonghua are posting their own workshop

notes online at the Daqingshan Fulltime Blog.  In the spirit of spreading taiji word and

following the footsteps of Master Chen Zhonghua, I will do the same.

The wujimon blog started in late 2002 as an avenue of exploring my own path on this

journey we call taiji.  Most of the time, it’s just me rambling on whatever comes to my

mind about taiji. My ramblings are snapshots in time that change and evolve with

practice and contemplation.

Without further ado:

===

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Notes

March 2009; Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Hosted by Tim Duehring

Do not lift the point of the broadsword, but pivot the sword about the point of contact

When doing the buddha warrior pound mortar with broadsword, as you lift the sword,

keep the blade perpendicular to the chest. This hides the blade from view. You end the

position with the tip of the sword pointing at the opponent.

There is no pushing, only pulling. It feels like someone is pulling you from behind.

Other times, it feels as if your insides are being jarred up. Quite an unsettling

sensation.

CZH let me armbar him and he showed me what it was like when the energy went into

his shoulder. He then demonstrated what it felt like when he sent the energy back to

me, pinpointing the energy at the top of my spine. He made no movement and I felt a

weird sensation as if someone was  pulling me from behind.

Rolling the energy, example of having a spear/staff pushing against you. Without

retreating, you energetically roll around to the other side of the spear and attack. It’s

like physically standing on one side of the spear, but energetically attacking on the

other side.

It’s about percentages and splitting your energy.  You don’t push with your hand, the

hand remains fixed and you push with your whole body.  The movement of the knee can

then direct the energy into your opponents body.

In pushing, you make 2 contact points. You attack with the third point (like the vertex

of a triangle).

You must put yourself in an awkward position to make your opponent feel like they got

you, but in reality, you get them.

When turning, isolate the knee, do not let it turn out. Turn using your kua, but at the

same time, do not close the kua, but keep it open and activated.

Sometimes you must create space between you and your opponent by using the waist.

This open area can then generate a lot of power in the body by utilizing the dantien.

A lot of times, we fall down b/c we only have horizontal energy. We haven’t yet

developed vertical energy. This means that when someone pushes you, you redistribute

the energy vertically instead of being pushed back horizontally.

Vertical energy is developed through pile stacking. He showed us an exercise where we

get in a zhan zhuang position and rock back on our heels until we feel like we are losing

balance. At that point, you elongate the spine, stretching from the top of the head all

the way to the heels to regain balance.

When I asked about the hand method in the practical method, he said that you must

lock the wrist and expand the energy out into the fingers and pile them. It’s like the

chinese broom where the bamboo is tied together. When you squeeze the bamboo

shafts, the bristles spread out. It’s like a hard container that allow the energy to

disperse out.

When doing the movements, all energy goes into the body. Everything folds in or goes

into the center or the dantien almost like building a little energy ball.

Asking, talking or explaining about chi is not really relevant to what we are doing.

In the original chen family broadsword, there was only 13 cuts. The hard part is to be

able to execute the techniques WITHOUT retreat. He talked about how Hong was able

to get the third movement off, but it felt as if it was humanly impossible.

In the practical method, it is hard to judge your skill or progress. It feels like you are

doing nothing when you are actually generating quite a bit of power. It feels awkward

at first.  Your movements are going into your opponent’s opening and trapping your

opponent at the first contact point, then you trap at the second contact point. This

causes your opponent to either over extend themselves or put themselves in a

compromising position. Finally, after defining the vertex of energy, you move WITHOUT

moving any of your previous contact points to send your opponent down.

Hong said at the highest level, when you do 1 move, it feels like your body moves in 9

directions at the same time. At a point you get used to it and feel as if it’s normal, but

your opponent doesn’t understand how you move thereby feeling awkward against your

attack.

Defense and Attack happen in 1 movement at the same time. Not 2. It’s all about

percentages and the splitting of energy

When entering the workshop conference room,  on table was a taiji ruler, bang, rubber

cords and a lot of pole and stick. One pole has a weight tied to the end of it.

In taiji, there is no pushing, only pulling.

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Notes Unfiltered Part   2 Posted on June 14, 2009by wujimon

For previous write up on the Chen Zhonghua workshop, please see the following posts:

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part 1

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part 2

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part 3

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Notes Unfiltered Part 1

Below is the second part of my unfiltered workshop notes.  Be sure to check out Master

Chen Zhonghua’s workshop calendar to find one near you so you can experience the

Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method for yourself.

As a picture is worth a thousand words, a physical touch by a taiji master is worth a

thousand sentences! Enjoy ;)

===

When you pull back the cock of the gun, you are full of energy and just waiting for the

trigger. IN push hands, our body becomes full of energy (development through static

power training) and just waiting for our opponent movement to provide the trigger

You must always stretch your body. When pushed in the chest, you stretch the spine

from the top of the head to bottom of the heel to make a large concave shape that can

send the energy back to the opponent.

CZH showed an example of stretching at hands/arms.  I faced him and put my hand on

the upper part of his tricep near the shoulder.  In this configuration, I was able to push

him easily while he was not able to push me due to the length of my arm.  CZH then

showed how he could stretch his arm so I was unable to push him. It was like he

elongated the shape of his arm.

Chen Fake’s secret method: engage the exercise of stretching the wrists/fingers by

motioning the hands over the shape of the elbow. Imagine standing with arms crossed,

in this position alternate the stretching of one hand over the shape of the elbow.  The

hand/wrist stretches forward and then curves around the shape of the elbow.  This

helps in developing silk reeling power.

Big pole with heavy weight tied to end (like the forearm exercise). Put over the chair,

while standing perpendicular, use one hand/finger to roll the weight up/down without

letting it slip. This helps to develop the wringing power

CZH showed an example of how to lengthen the inside of the arm as well as the outside

of the arm, like the motion of an electrical current.  A stretch can happen on either the

inner side of the arm or the outer side.  This is helpful but you have to know how your

opponent is coming at you so you can provide the appropriate lengthening to offset his

energy.  Looks like the same action, but goes on different paths of the arm.

When doing the circle, really pull the elbow in. Most people are a couple of inches off,

with the elbow closer to the side. This is incorrect, the elbow should be pointing at the

dantien.

Isolate the movements, perform like a robot to learn isolation, this way the whole body

does not ‘toss’.

How to you sink/drop yet not physically move? The idea is to try and expand the area

between your armpit and your hip via stretching, but do not drop/sink any other part of

your body.

One of the most powerful moves is the twisting the towel exercise. At first, there is

gross knee up/down movement to get the body feeling. Next level is to minimize the

up/down motion of the knee and have the internal potential energy within you explode

and initiate the movement. Almost like a spontaneous reaction.

The most most dangerous move is the fetching pail with water. Imagery of standing on

a well hole with feet around brim. To conserve energy, use the body mechanics to fetch

a pail of water. Can be used in push hands in a shoulder strike by dropping down and

striking with shoulder. Also can be used to apply arm-bar, qinna, many applications.

Anytime you touch someone, you try to get 2 points of contact. You try to then stretch

that person out, like stretching a string/rod and when you apply a snap to the middle,

the string/rod reverberates with your energy

Move like don’t move. The stick does not move, but the person holding the stick moves. 

Most don’t understand this principles b/c the author is really talking about something

else.

Pick a part of the body and turn it into a weapon. That part becomes the dead weight or

like the stick in the above example. Now there can be power.

When doing circles, keep both kua open, do not fold or close the kua. Going into a

lower stance can help to keep the kuas open. Always keep it open, once open, easier to

use.

Rule of thirds (1/3). The body is always 1/3 vs 2/3. The 2/3 part is the strongest and use

it to push/pull. The split is generally at either kua.  You always adjust your fulcrum

point, 1/3 vs 2/3.

Peng, Lu, Ji, Ji, Ji. Ji (press/squeeze) is the most important of the energies. Ji is taking

space but not letting go of any space taken (similar to the game go/weiqi).  Peng is a

result of Ji, it’s the show, Ji is the action that creates the show. Analogy of an opera

singer and how we don’t see the training and the steps the opera singer does (ji) to

prepare for the show/final results (peng).

Exercises:

1. Double Heavy Exercise: Tie a band to an object and then around the waist. Run the

opposite direction until the band is very tight and try to stop. Feel what it’s like to fall

backward from the pulling band. This is the feeling of double heavy, or being unable to

move. The idea is to put yourself into awkward position and train so you can move and

be calm in awkward positioning. Later, hold the position and begin alternating up/down

motions of the knee, note how this can be used to counteract double heavy.

2. Elbow In with Band: Using the band, stretch it out until there is some tension. Then

do the positive/negative circles using the band. Focus on elbow in, and only using your

elbow to pull in. The resistance helps to identify if hand/shoulder or other parts of the

body are being used to compensate for the movement of the elbow.  Doing so will

progress 3-5 yrs in 1 yrs time.

3. Static Power Training: The goal of this next exercise is to basically train static power.

Facing a wall, get into a bow stance with your front toe touching the wall. The knee

should be directly above the heel of the foot and remain in that position. You can use

some type of pillow or styrofoam block to keep the knee in place. Next, place the

forearm of the forward arm (if left leg forward, then use left arm) against the wall with

your fingertips roughly at forehead height. The palm of the forward arm is facing the

wall. The palm of the rear arm is placed on the wall about solar plexus height. Bend the

rear leg.  The idea of the exercise is to basically lock the shape of your arms, torso, the

space between you and the wall, and push against the wall using the rear leg. While

pushing, try to lengthen/expand the back and spine. This exercise also helps in

developing vertical force.

Whenever you move in taiji, the body should feel bigger, not smaller. Stretch the body

to make it bigger.

Let someone push you until you can frame their energy. In essence, you are stretching

your opponent out on an imaginary frame (think picture frame). In doing so, you can

feel the source of the opponent’s energy, then you can define your attack. Requires

some sensitivity, frame them to spread them out, then you send energy back, like

rebounding the energy.

In the fist drape over body form, imagine the hands are locked from the elbow, like

fighting against yourself.

When there is action, no movement. When there is movement, no action.  Things must

be clearly defined, no action and movement at the same time, otherwise muddy. 

Movement can be defined as stepping movement and action can be thought of

arm/body movement. Think of the idea of attacking with the legs and connecting with

the hands.

Flat surfaces do not move, only rotate by a joint. Image of a train’s crank shaft. While

the wheels appear to be moving, they are being rotated by the crank shaft.

Think of a clock-face. Energy approaches from either 3 or 9, then must decide whether

to go to 12 or 6.  If being pushed down, use the negative circle. If being pushed up, use

the positive circle. Seems backward, but it’s just following with your opponent. The

positive circle starts with elbow in, this can be used to take the downward push, etc.

Demarcation is the act of creating a boundary around a place or thing. How to establish

the demarcation line? If you feel stuck at 9 or 3, how do you get to the other side? Find

the momentum like a train crank shaft.  Imagine 2 pool balls hitting each other, the

point of contact is very small, from the point try to determine the intention of incoming

force and redirect either up or down, positive or negative circle.

Instead of big force, use small. Train self to be small.  Dropping the elbow and sinking

the shoulder makes the body small.  Then stretch things out, become smaller and more

powerful.

Sequentially connect the joints of the body.  In the outward path of the negative circle,

only move the hand. Then when hand connect to elbow can move. Connect elbow to

shoulder then move arm. Elbow in, turn body left. Turn waist right, shoulder connects

to elbow, then the hand extends. Only move the hand on the last step, NOTHING else.

Must isolate parts, don’t try to move everything together. If move all together then can

lose that part of the body. Example in 6 sealings 4 closings, if shift weight back can lose

shoulder and be uprooted.

Stepping method: Foot-Knee-Foot. When step to the right, curve left kua to the right

foot. This makes the energy structure strong, creating a concave energy that goes from

right foot to the left kua.  Energy maintains the structure so you can lift the left foot

and slap it against the back of the right knee, WITHOUT shifting weight right. Similar

to a sumo walk.

When move (step) don’t let the air out of the ball (kua). Keep structure and do not fold

the kua.

90% intention, 10% action.

The secret to taiji is like a sickle cutting grass. The farther it is away from the action,

the better. If you want to move the hand, rotate the elbow. If want to move the elbow,

use the rear foot.

Duck walk: Split step from rear leg, use the rear leg to drive the body forward. When

pulling rear foot up, flex the inner thighs and pull up.

Everything is a container that stores energy in different ways. The outside has to be

strong, the inside can be soft.  The outside is strong so the inside can move.  Can do

peng, and allow to move the body inside.

Our legs get tired b/c we don’t know how to use them. Notion of pre-tense cement,

where you stretch out the rod then put cement, when they return to original shape it’s

compact and more stronger.  The idea is to keep both legs tensed/tension and kick the

energy from heel to dantien and back, never crossing the centerline of the body.

If someone tries to push you in the chest, don’t push back, just drop the elbows.

positive/negative circle, positive/neg with stepping, twisting towel, fetch pail, double

negative

Positive circle with stepping, the movement of the front hand is proportional to the rear

leg.

In hand out, only the hand goes out, not the waist, not the shoulder.

In yilu, there is 81 movements (9×9). Refers to the 81 possible techniques the body can

do. During push hands, Hong would ask them to pause and tell him what technique

they were executing.

CZH was showing us the circles and we noticed a lot of movement on the outer edges

of the foot as well as stretching. He said while it appears to look different, it’s no

different, just the intention is different.

Zhan zhuang is like doing 3 stretches, the first is spine (up/down), the second stretch is

the arms (horizontal). The 2 stretches then overlap at a point and this point has a lot of

power/energy.

Broke us into groups and has us push on each other to try and identify the opponent’s

line. CZH would then come by and tell us not to move A and not to move B but to just

turn the hand. Our opponent then went falling down with little to no effort other than

straightening out the hand.

When asked how to get out of buddha warriors pound mortal qinna, he said to just

spiral up. Similar to the twisting the towel exercise, just spiral out of the qinnas.  Same

for armbar, just spiral out.

CZH Demonstrated and showed us how to use the energy of the rear foot, the idea was

to eliminate all the space between ourselves and the opponent and to get your body

underneath your hands and with a light tap of the rear foot, the opponent would bounce

up.

All stepping in push hands is like duck walking. The rear foot initiates the movement

and projects the body forward.

In stepping, land on the heel, but once both toes touch the ground, the knees never

move.

vertical power exercise: stand in zhan zhuang position, but then roll up on the heel to

feel like losing balance, but then stretch the spine from top of head to heel of foot to

regain balance.

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part   3 Posted on March 29, 2009by wujimon

Conditioning Exercises

Master Chen introduced us to a lot conditioning and strength training

exercises over the course of the 3 day workshop.  Master Chen often

mentioned the idea  of vertical energy and how we could develop vertical

energy to redirect an incoming horizontal force.  One way to develop vertical energy is

by training static power using a wall.

Facing a wall, get into a bow stance with your front toe touching the wall. The knee

should be directly above the heel of the foot and remain in that position. You can use

some type of pillow or Styrofoam block to keep the knee in place. Next, place the

forearm of the forward arm (if left leg forward, then use left arm) against the wall with

your fingertips roughly at forehead height. The palm of the forward arm is also facing

the wall. The palm of the rear arm is placed on the wall about solar plexus height. Bend

the rear leg.  The idea of the exercise is to basically lock the shape of your arms, torso,

and the space between you and the wall.  Then push against the wall using the rear leg.

While pushing, try to lengthen/expand the back and spine. This exercise also helps in

developing vertical force.

Other excises included using a rubber tube with the ends knotted together, making it

look like a necklace.  One end of the tube was securely fastened and the other end of

the tube would go around a person’s waist. The person would then run in the opposite

direction to stretch out the tube. Once the tube was stretched, the participant would try

and sink into a horse stance.  However, due to the force of the tube, the person was

pulled backwards and off balance.  This is an example of being double heavy or double

weighted.

The follow-up exercise is to do the same thing as above, except when going into a horse

stance, you alternate up/down motions in each knee, resulting in a rotation about the

center.  The participant would not be thrown off balanced initially, but the goal is to

practice this until one does not become off balanced with tension of the rubber tube.

The second exercise is similar to the double heavy exercise above, except the person

stretches out the tube and holds the tube in a fist. The idea is to use the elbow to draw

the arm into the body and the hand leads the arm away from the body. The cord is used

as a feedback method to show where the tension and what muscles are being used.

Here’s a video of Master Chen Zhonghua doing both positive and negative circles with

a rubber cord:

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part   2 Posted on March 22, 2009by wujimon

Please note, below is the second part in a multipart series. For Part 1,

see Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part 1.

Chen Taiji Broadsword

After dinner, we returned to the hotel conference room for the introductory

broadsword routine.  We started off with directions on how to hold the

broadsword by the hilt in the left hand.  Next, we practiced stepping out into

a horse stance and doing a basic horizontal slash.  Emphasis was placed on slashing

with unified body movement and not just the shoulders.

After stepping out with the right foot in a horizontal slash, the next exercise was to step

back with the right leg and bring the handle of the sword to eye height ending with the

left hand slapping the right wrist.  When bringing back the sword, the goal was to not

lift the point of the sword, but pivot the sword about the point of contact.  Imagine if

the horizontal slash resulted in the block of an oncoming sword.  With the weight of

another sword on your blade, it would be very difficult to simply flip your wrist, lifting

the blade of the sword (on a clock, going from 9 => 12).  Instead, try rotating the

sword about the point of contact (on a clock 9 => 12, but from a horizontal plane)

before pulling the sword back.

During the buddha warrior pounds mortar sequence, Master Chen corrected the class

to keep the sword hidden until the very last minute. This meant that when we raised

our left hand while holding the sword by the hilt, we should keep the blade flat against

our arm.  In doing so, the opponent does not see we are holding a sword.  Only at the

last minute when the elbow strike is executed, do we show the sword.

In the Hong Practical Method, there is a strong emphasis placed on the notion of “no

retreat”. Master Chen demonstrated to us how this applies in the mechanics of

swordplay.  In all connecting movements between slashes and parries, there is no

retreat. Keep the energy moving forward.  This little shift of mechanics and intention

really brought about the deadly nature of sword combat.  I had done some wushu

broadsword before, however I now felt more aware of the sword, the angle of slashes,

and the intensity of the fight.  I have a better understanding of the taiji classic: when

doing the form, we should imagine an opponent.

At one point, Master Chen had all of the students stand on one side of the room and he

would call out 2 volunteers to demonstrate sections of the form.  A great thing about

Master Chen is that he engages with and seeks active participation from all students

attending the workshop.  Everyone who attends will *feel* exactly what Master Chen is

talking about.

Stay tuned for part 3 ;)Posted in Taiji, workshop | Tagged Chen Zhonghua | Leave a comment

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part   1 Posted on March 18, 2009by wujimon

I recently had the opportunity to attend a 3 day workshop with Master Chen Zhonghua.

Friday evening consisted of an introduction to the Practical Method Chen Style

Taijiquan Broadsword routine.  Saturday and Sunday covered taiji foundations, taiji

fundamental exercises and push hands.  Note, the summary will be presented in

multiple parts as I have over 60 voice memos to transcribe and 14 notepad pages of

information from the workshop!

Chen Taiji Tile Hand

I had arrived in Milwaukee, WI early Friday afternoon.  After

some private lessons, Master Chen and some students were

heading out to dinner and invited me along. While waiting for

others to arrive, I had asked Master Chen about the significance

of the tile hand shape. He said think of a Chinese broom, the

fibers are wound together so tight causing the bristles to spread. 

The handle is like the forearm, the handle base is like the wrist,

and the bristles are like the fingers.  The wrist must be locked

firmly, causing the energy to expand out into the fingers. The

fingers are tiled, the middle finger has a strong intention and is

pulled slightly back while the pinkie and thumb have a slight pulling towards one

another.  Additionally, the base of the thumb is held firmly against the knuckle joint of

the index finger with the thumb pointing slightly towards the back of the hand.

I have heard about the Chen taiji tile hand before, but not in this much detail. Master

Chen demonstrated the hand position to me and then asked me to try it myself.

Immediately, he corrected me to lock my wrist and extended my fingers while putting

them in a tile shape. This position is not easy to hold and will take quite a bit of practice

to get the hand used to the shape.  Master Chen asked me to grab his wrist and showed

me how the intention in the fingers could be used to redirect incoming energy.  Later in

the workshop, I would learn how the  pointing of the fingers assisted in directing the

energy.

Always Training

One thing I noticed right away about Master Chen is that he is always practicing. While

standing, his hand would be tile shaped and extending out from his dantian (twisting

the towel foundation exercise).  During the walk to a nearby restaurant, he stopped and

proceeded to do some push hands with a student on the sidewalk of a busy street.  At

the dinner table, Master Chen was often seen doing the double negative circle

sequence of fist drapes over the body.  There were very few moments during the whole

weekend workshop where Master Chen was not doing some type of taiji training

movement.  I have to admit that I now often practice these same movements during idle

time.  One of my favourite exercises is to practice sinking the elbow into the dantian, a

component of the fist draping over body sequence.

See the following video for an example of Twisting the Towel, a foundation exercise

within the Practical Method.  Note the tile shape of the hands and the matching of

power between the right and left hands.  This movement can be practiced anywhere as

it requires very little room and movement.

Don’t move the kneeby CHEN ZHONGHUA  on 2013/03/06

At a higher level when the inside of the body is stretched out, the outside frames (structure) of the body should start to close. This is in compliance with the principle of “the energy must be released but structure remain intact”.

Here are some simple explanations of the structure and energy movements of the knee.

1.The whole body power aims at the front kua.2.Energy comes out of dantian and then front kua.3.The energy that comes out of the front kua must only travel

in a straight line to the knee.4.It must have the tendency to travel straight past the knee

(as indicated by the straight red line with an arrow).5.The white vertical line is an assumed hard wall, blocking the

traveling energy from the kua.6.The curved red line with arrow is the resultant energy path. 

1.This is how energy can pass through the knee to go to the foot.

2.In practice, one must ensure that the imagined while wall line is made real and motionless.

3.The movement of energy along the red arrow line is made less stable and powerful than the white wall line.

4.The production of a fixed spot on the knee and the vertical wall is crucial.

5.Any movement on the knee, especially horizontal movement, will disrupt the energy moving to the foot.

The Torso Stickby CHEN ZHONGHUA  on 2011/02/25

Arrived in Vancouver in the evening. Had supper with Gary, Jody and Wilkin. It was cold outside. We came to Wilkin’s for a practice. Showed how to create a “Stick” in the torso. This is a vertical stick that must be present at all times. It “awaits” the opportunity to act. It is half of the applications puzzle. The other half a similar “stick” in the arms. The arm stick works in the open while the torso stick works in the background. The two must meet in a special interaction to produce “application”. It turned out that the torso stick is harder to produce than I thought. I showed methods to help its production.

Creating a stick in the rear legby KELVIN HO  on 2011/12/31

Recently, I notice when I rotate the rear kua in a certain way to bring the knee up, a stick seems to be created between the rear kua and the rear ankle. Note that the leg itself is actually not straight, it really is just like the half horse stance with the rear side longer than the front side. It feels like this stick can support me with the proper alignment against an incoming force.

Two images come to my mind:

1.Master Chen has his back against the wall and lets others push onto his chest, he can easily wave off the push sideways with his hands.

2.A tissue is normally nice and soft. In order to for it to have some structure, we can twist it into a little stick. The tighter the twist the stronger the stick.

With this, I see myself making an effort in rotating the kua rather than fighting against the incoming force directly.

Chen Zhonghua December 31, 2011 at 8:21 pm

Very good, Kelvin. It’s important at this point to know that you did not MAKE a stick. Instead,

there was a stick in the first place. It is the fact that you can now rotate your kua instead of

moving it that leaves the stick in place while changing angles of your force (rotating the kua).

Understanding this will help you solidify what you are doing.

In stepping, the weight must remain in the center. This ensures balance of the body. Move the body weight to one leg. This does not mean shifting weight as in physical shape. Press the body weight onto that leg until you feel that the weight is solidly on that leg. At the same time, the other leg is empty and is pushed out by the pressing leg. Anchor the leg that steps out. Pull your original leg close to the newly anchored leg.

y TODD ELIHU  on 2013/05/17

In 2009 on Daqingshan, Master Chen Zhonghua instructed me to keep one point on my body stable and fixed during push hands practice. The location of the point was up to me; I could make it be the lower back, rear foot, etc. However, the most important thing was to maintain the integrity and stability of the chosen point. I could move the rest of the body in any way that I wished as long as this point did not move. When I started experimenting with his instruction, I felt an immediate improvement in my push hands. It is still something that I am working to perfect.Lately, during form and push hands practice, I have been trying to establish the crown of my head as my nonmoving point. I may have other points that are also nonmoving on my body at the same time, but my main focus has been on the top of the head. I am specifically referring to the baihui point, which is an acupuncture point that is at the vertex of the head on its midline. There is a small palpable depression at this location.Baihui is a very important point in many

systems of Qigong, yet its meaning and function in a Qigong context are not related to its terminological usage within the Practical Method system.My motivation behind this recent focus on the top of the head stems from the insightful advice that my disciple-brother Michael Calandra gave me at the Seishinkan Budo Camp that he hosted last June. Michael had observed me pushing hands with several people and identified that I was leaning forward too much, and thereby compromising my structure. I have since been working to resolve this problem.The top of the head is a challenging point to put under one’s conscious control. This may be because it is below one’s normal field of vision and is therefore normally “out of sight, out of mind”. This relative lack of awareness might explain why sometimes, even though my eyes are very near and should conceivably take notice of something so close to them, I end up bumping the upper portion my head on low-hanging objects. Another reason may be that the head sits atop the frame of the body and is therefore more susceptible to being set in motion by various moving parts of the body which serve as its base. Within the Practical Method, according to Master Chen, we generally train things that other people do not train. It follows then that bringing awareness and utility to the top of the head, an area which many may ignore and underestimate, would be something we should attend to during training. We also train to separate the functions and orientations of different body parts from one another, instead of moving them all as one piece, which is the default way of movement for many people.In Grandmaster Hong Junsheng’s commentary on the Taiji Treastise of Wang Zongyue in Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method, Volume 1: Theory, he discusses the phrase “虚领顶劲”, which Master Chen literally translated as “empty collar push-up energy”. Hong writes that “empty collar” refers to the line that must be formed and maintained between baihui and changqiang, which is located on the tailbone. I was discussing this with my disciple-brother Carl Lindberg last night and I was conjecturing that if you were wearing a collared shirt and slouching forward, the collar

would press against your neck, however, if you were to hold yourself so that there is a line between baihui and changqiang, the collar will become loose and free of the neck, i.e. “empty”. Regarding “push-up energy”, I have felt such an energy from Master Chen before. He once had me stand on a chair and push down on his crown. When I applied pressure, he firmly connected our point of contact with the ground by means of excellent structural alignment, matching the power applied from above. Furthermore, he was able to freely rotate various joints on his body, and even perform movements with fajin, without any change or movement of his head.I know from Master Chen’s instructions that there can be many lines of force present on the body at one time, both straight and curved. There are actually 18 lines on the body. When they can be aimed at the right location, the resultant power can be amazing. Just by being able to precisely aim 4 or 5 lines, Master Chen is able to move me from a stable and rooted stance to being pushed backward. He often uses the line connected to the baihui, which is very hard to perceive when pushing against him.My disciple-brother Ronnie Yee related that he once showed the video of Grandmaster Hong’s form to a friend who had studied the Alexander technique, a process developed by a Shakespearean actor which teaches people how to unlearn bad postural habits and return to a balanced and well-aligned state of poise. After watching, his friend was very impressed and remarked that Hong was the only person she had ever seen whose energy went straight to the top of his head in every move that he made.I have heard some martial artists from other systems say that Taijiquan practitioners are too concerned with keeping the head upright, exposing them to blows to the head and throat. They advocate for crouching, slipping, bobbing, and covering up, techniques which all involve some sort of tucking of the head or bending from the waist. However, such folding disconnects certain lines of force and places one in a weaker position to both defend and attack. In the Practical Method training, we seek to maintain the integrity of

the baihui tochangqiang line, even if that line is inclined as in “Punch to the Ground”. Moreover, when Master Chen teaches one-step or two-step sanshou drills, he changes his relative position with speedy and agile footwork in response to an attack, rather than compromising the structure of his head and torso. In these drills he usually moves his head-torso column slightly off the line of the incoming force so as not to take its direct impact, yet remains on it enough so as to connect with its source. While undermining the center of an attacker’s movement, his foot-connected hand is used to deliver a strike to a soft target on the opponent’s body. This type of fight training is not for Queensberry rules bouts which presume an extended slugfest, rather it is aimed at ending a conflict quickly and efficiently.All this thinking about the top of the head and its columnlike connection to the lower torso has led me to reflect on the nickname of Chen Changxing, the 14th generation standard bearer of Chen Family Taijiquan – “Mr. Ancestral Tablet”. An ancestral tablet, which is analogous to a tombstone, is not meant to sag, fold, or bend, it is meant to unflaggingly maintain a certain structure for perpetuity. Like Chen Changxing, I hope to one day to be known for the quality of my posture and the integrity of my internal connection. To reach such a level of achievement I will continually seek to refine my understanding of the method and its principles and will consistently practice to physically realize such understanding.If you have any teachings you have received about “suspended head” or other insights on this topic, please share in the comments section below. Thank you in advance!

Twisting the TowelI found an interesting way to do it. If i am wrong please correct me.

The Setup:

-First i sat down on the floor against the wall: this way i can’t move my lower body including my hips,

knee and ankle.

-Then i put my elbow directly under and aligned with my shoulder. My forearm 90 degrees from the

upper-arm and parallel with the floor.

-The forearm and fingertips are pointing forward. Because the elbow is half-chest apart from the

spine, so are the fingertips.

The semi-rules:

-Your entire arm is not allowed to move, only your forearm is allowed to twist. The shoulder is not

even allowed to rotate.

-The neck is not allowed to bend nor twist.

-The spine is not allowed to bend nor twist (but twisting will be used as a guide to learn which

muscles we are working on).

The semi-objective:

-Move certain portions of your body so that your fingertips aligns with your spine and nose.

-If you are allowed to rotate the spine (which is not allowed), you can align your fingers with your

spine. But because your neck is not allowed to rotate, your neck rotates with the spine so your

fingertips is not aligned with your nose.

-At first allow only your spine to twist so that you realize that specific muscles on your abdomen and

lower-back move in order to twist your spine. Then concentrate doing the same action without

allowing your spine to twist. You realize that those same muscles will both contract and stretch; and

your fingertips slightly moved towards the center-line trying to align with the spine and nose.

The real-objective and improvements:

-The real objective is to workout your abdomen and back muscles without your body to displace in

space.

-When sitting down, your abdomen and back muscles can’t move your hip-bone. But when standing

up, contracting such muscles will want to pull your hip-bone and therefore moving your knees. So the

next stage is doing the same exercise standing up without moving your hip-bone or knees.

-The twisting in the forearms is not really needed but serves a purpose as a guide for simulating the

contracting and stretching of the abdomen and back muscles. It is like when people tell you to lift

your arms when breathing-in and lower your arms when breathing-out; you will be guiding your lungs

to expand and contract.

-And when you feel comfortable that your body remember which muscles to pull, take away the

twisting of your arms so that you can pull your muscles even without any guide.

When done correctly without any body part moving at all, it will look like from your clothes that your

entire body is standing still but your abdomen is spinning and swirling around; as if there is a

creature inside your stomach.

cshum00 January 22, 2012 at 3:31 pm

I take back the part of removing the forearm. Without the forearm it is just moving the

abdominal muscles. With the forearm, it establishes a relationship between the abdomen and

the hands.

REPLY

Khamserk January 27, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Cshum00, what you have written is very in-depth, but according to the Practical Method there

is a major problem here. The teaching is that whenever we deviate from the lesson ie. add to,

theorize about, change the method etc. we inevitably get it wrong. We must go from physical

understanding to mental understanding, the other way will not work. The words of the lesson

must be preserved verbatim even if they are not understood. As Master Chen has said, it is

better to forget a lesson than to remember it incorrectly. Once the concept is implanted

incorrectly and you practice according to your misunderstanding, it is incredibly difficult to

correct later. It is far better to copy the exercise as best you can repeatedly (thousands and

thousands of times) with the rules in mind even if you don’t really

understand what they mean. Eventually the body will be ready to do the moves correctly.

Master Chen has also said that if you want to develop taiji which is good for fighting, then you

must learn from copying what is seen. Trying to unravel taiji intellectually, while fun, is

ultimately meaningless.

REPLY

Khamserk January 27, 2012 at 8:46 pm

I guess maybe all I’m trying to say is don’t be tempted to look for shortcuts. But I am not a

master, and maybe there is value in your method. It’s just that I’ve been told many times that

expanding on a partial understanding is dangerous in terms of making progress. Something

about reinventing the wheel comes to mind here.

REPLY

cshum00 January 29, 2012 at 10:26 am

I understand what you are saying and it is quite a complicated topic to debate too.

Some people are best starting at mental while others at physical. Usually, it is best when we

get a taste of both. For those who are physical, theories will expand their understanding. While

for mental ones, physical practice will solidify their experience.

Although it does not take one to understand how thing works to be able to use it; it sometimes

necessary to re-invent the wheel in order be able to apply the knowledge elsewhere else.

Some may feel there is too much information for them to absorb. While others may feel that

there is too little information to work on.

Some may debate that we are dealing with human habits and habits die hard; therefore it is

best to avoid mistakes. Others may debate that it is alright to make mistakes and the more

the better; as long as you keep room and an open-mind to correct the mistakes.

So, it is hard to debate one over the other. Some say start with learning the theories, others

say start practicing, and others say do both; there may be even other group telling you not kill

yourself and do neither.

It is impossible to make a one size fits all teaching curriculum when dealing with large group of

students. I mean heck! Even with our career academia, we all complain on our school system

because we all have our own flavor when it comes to studies. So many things i had to correct

even when learning math and science and it took me years to realize some i have been doing

wrong.

P.S.> I wanted to make it short but ended up making it a long rant. Sorry about that.

REPLY

Alex January 27, 2012 at 10:14 pm

While initially sounding like the restricted circle exercise

see, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ-b3hW3X_U

it doesn’t sound like the same intent is there (ie, in the exercise you mention the forearm

doesn’t need to rotate, shoulder doesn’t move, etc). If that’s the case, I am not sure how

useful training the center is like this. The waist needs to act like a connection between the

upper and lower body, it’s not very helpful to move it without it acting in its proper role.

REPLY

cshum00 January 29, 2012 at 9:48 am

You guys are right. My theorization are rather too restrictive and ended up removing

“connections” within the body. I started to realize it too towards the end and which is why i

took back my word on taking away the twisting of the forearm.

The problem with the way i theorized was that, at the beginning i did not understand how to

move the internals of the center. So once i understood, i got too excited and carried away with

it by removing the connections. In other word, the next step is gradually put back the

connections in the right manner.

I guess the learning process of Taiji the following steps:

-Doing external movements to get an idea what internal muscles are deployed

-Start restricting external movements to train and enhance internal movements

-Start removing external restrictions little by little to deploy connections among body parts

REPLY

studentofmethod January 29, 2012 at 12:03 pm

… or just do what Master Chen says to do.

REPLY

Alex January 29, 2012 at 5:02 pm

not 100% clear, do you mean keeping the rotation you’ve experienced and work back in

everything else?

REPLY

cshum00 January 29, 2012 at 5:24 pm

I am sorry. I am a little confused on your question and where you are not clear. Can you be a

little more elaborate?

REPLY

Alex January 29, 2012 at 5:39 pm

What got me asking this was this “In the beginning i did not understand how to move the

internals of the center. So once i understood, i got too excited and carried away with it by

removing the connections. In other word, the next step is gradually put back the connections

in the right manner.”

It seems you mean keeping the center rotation you’ve learned in your exercise described

above, and put back other things in twisting the towel (more core movement, arms spiraling,

legs spiraling, etc).

REPLY

Alex January 29, 2012 at 5:34 pm

I am just saying this cause if that’s the case, I wouldn’t bother. Best to stick with the other

‘known’ rules and ways of moving, and have the rotation develop naturally. The main problem

being, with the rotationthat you’ve come up with, you don’t know if it’s correct or not. It’s best

to experience something within the established exercises (of course, doing them correctly). I

first noticed something of a circular rotation(not very distinct, and very small) in the center

when the joints weren’t wobbling as much and the stretches were big enough. I think the first

exercises I noticed this in was fetching water foundation exercise done at a moderate (not

fast) pace.

REPLY

cshum00 January 29, 2012 at 6:38 pm

Well you see, it is possible to stretch and spiral your arms and legs without any involvement of

the center. Before i learned to involve the center, I even tried to open/stretch the kua while

doing the twisting of the towel but i could not connect my legs with my shoulder. The opening

of the kua only connected my knee to my upper-abdomen at most without the involvement of

the chest which is connected to the shoulder and arms.

So my shoulder and arms were involving my chest and hands as one group. While my kua was

involving my abdomen and legs as another separate group. They would work at the same time

but not together. It took me to twist/rotate/turn my spine sideways to get the feeling on how to

involve the kua with the chest.

The way i explain things might sound like rushing or making the pace faster but i don’t really

mean that there is a shortcut. Even if i understand and know how things work it does not

necessarily mean that all of the sudden i become powerful. The training and practice we all

need is irreplaceable. Even in external martial arts, i may be able to punch correctly with all

the sharpness but if my body build does not allow it; i will end-up doing more damage to my

hands than my opponent.

I am just saying that it is important to learn what gets involved. Put some restrictions so you

learn what other ways you can get those involved without excess movement. Too many

restrictions will just lock up the connections on one body part to the other, so gradually learn

how to involve multiple body parts by loosening some of the restrictions.

I don’t think it is too different from what Master Chen teaches. I always see him talk that you

first imitate the moves. Then you gradually learn that you can do things on certain new ways

by putting up restriction. Like how he lets himself getting pushed around. Then he tells how

one learns one can just give away by moving back. And then we can give away without

moving back but only by moving our arms and elbow back. And then we gradually learn that

while moving our elbows back we can step forward.

REPLY

Alex January 30, 2012 at 12:17 am

I understand where you are coming from. To be fair, your variation was sounding less like a

restricted version, and more like something pretty different, which is indeed not the way to go.

From my experience, A bit of a litmus test would be to check the thighs. If they are rotating as

well and you have a straight spine, then you are probably on the right track. If they are not

rotating, I am guessing your tailbone is wagging from side to side, or your mid back is

contorting from side to side.

REPLY

cshum00 January 30, 2012 at 1:46 am

Thanks for the tips Alex.

Well, in my first post there is far too many restrictions for twisting the towel. After

understanding that with all the restrictions i put in place lead to simply abdominal movements,

i started to understand that i had to engage also my forearm. Proper twisting my forearm

would eventually lead the elbow towards the center, which the elbow pulls down my shoulder.

My center would pull-in my ribs-cage which also pulls down my shoulder. That is how i

managed to connect the center with my hands.

So as you can see, that is how i seem to get the thought of less restrictions over time. The

thing is that with all the restrictions i had, either i am moving only a single part with no

connections or i am all tensed and locked up. I believe that the idea is to be able to replicate

the same feeling and intention while the flow of movements are natural.

As for the thighs, i believe that in other to push into the ground without displacing the knee; I

have to rotate the thighs so that the force get past the knee to the foot. As for the tailbone,

when i began learning opening the kua i did indeed move it. But i gradually thought of it being

not quite right so i started focusing pulling-up the abdominal muscles. Although pulling the

abdominal muscles up while stretching the legs muscle down did connect the center with the

foot, it doesn’t connect the chest nor anything above.

REPLY

Xavier Santiago January 30, 2012 at 3:05 pm

An interesting sub-topic that has come out of this lesson of “twisting the towel” is whether

Taiji is learned first intellectually and then physically, or first physically and then understood

intellectually. Here is my two cents worth into this discussion. I frankly recommend that the

best way to understand Chen style Taijiquan Practical Method is to practice and follow Master

Chen’s instructions to the letter, and not try to verbally explain or interpret his lessons. I use to

try to explain to myself what I was supposed to be doing in each movement and Shifu’s

answer would always be “you are thinking opposite of the correct way”. From my experience

discussing Taiji with many people in the last few years is that I realize that many people think

the object of Taiji is first to understand it intellectually in order to understand it physically.

However, as a physical art form, the understanding only comes by being able to physically

apply it at will. I eventually came to realize what Shifu has always been telling me is that just

practicing and following instructions and nothing more is actually the correct way to learn.

When we try to explain or interpret what Shifu teaches we are actually adding or subtracting

to his lessons based on what we knew before learning the Practical Method. When we add or

subtract to Master Chen’s instructions, we are no longer doing Taiji. We are doing our own

exercise with our own movements. My advice to all new students learning from Shifu Chen

Zhonghua is to just follow the instructions to the letter and practice, practice, practice and

keep on practicing.

When I trained full time in Edmonton in 2008, Shifu once told me to practice 800 repetitions of

the circle and the only thing that can happen is that I can only get better. When he makes a

correction, he told me to focus only on that correction. Other corrections will be given by him

in time. At the beginning, we will inevitably move wrong. The only way to make corrections is

to just practice, even if in the beginning you are wrong. The movements will eventually

become ingrained and we will be ready to receive corrections as the body is able to physically

apply those corrections.

One of the methods I use in training the new students in our Puerto Rico group is that when,

for example, questions are asked about the circle I tell them to just focus on “in with the

elbow, turn with the waist, and out with the hand.” That simple. With Yi Lu, just copy the

routine and let’s repeat it over and over again. As we come in contact with Master Chen, he is

then able to give each one in our group the correction each person needs in order to

progressively improve their Taiji. When our bodies have changed through training and are able

to do the proper Taiji movement, we will understand the principles. Trying to learn the other

way around will only stall progress. That is opposite to what is normally believed. One of the

biggest lessons I have received from Shifu is that in order to learn Taiji we have to think in the

Taiji way, and that way is totally opposite to “normal human thinking or intuition.” That is my

advice to all the new people 

Best of success in your training.

REPLY

studentofmethod January 30, 2012 at 4:47 pm

Good advice Xavier. Thank you very much.

Daqingshan Taiji Stories (1)by ZHU DONGSHENG  on 2011/08/10

Mr. Chen Zhonghua says: learning boxing enlightenment, when those who have the opportunity to so-called epiphany of opportunity and carve machine is made by a Hong adviser anecdotes:... A year old man out walking summer unexpectedly underfoot, one thing that can not be controlled and pour fall He hung up adviser, for series, thanks to the Quartet worship.Himself, saying: I do not know which way the gods so clever escape silently in my down, is the result of the

master (Chen Fake) is sent to me, also somewhat signs, you also worse than we admire admire my master !!. Yan Bi, touch the ground, was actually a piece of watermelon rind, and phrase reads: The original is marching watermelon rind, Thank you kind which is based on inaction striking it. 

Hun Sen Yan Hung old brother also other anecdotes: a flood of old in labor, did not pay attention to step on pole pole is bent, stepped on the head and another head up the old man's body hit the elderly suddenly be enlightened:... to himself, saying: Oh ... .. income that is put So. 

Shinsaibashi words: since ancient times, can be lent to the essence of art, the culmination of those there were not obsessed madman Xu selfless person such as painting calligraphy rice epileptic poet Li Bai and so on different terms is the intention of madness,..... So there is great achievement. 

jewels, how can light have? Mr. Chen Zhonghua Yan Hung old lifetime. whenever people say that non-compliance is bewildered. Yan Tai Chi is exultant spirits, tireless. lifetime painstaking Shadowboxing. poor life I do not regret, it is more than two anecdotes, Hong old humor charm. obsession is evident. 

worthies normalized Hill Road, hate my own eyes. And Mr. Chen Zhonghua school is also true in my eyes crazy person in tai chi at large Aoyama study period, Chen Shih after five o'clock every morning to lecture to the students. due to foreign students. Therefore, every question is repeatedly explain Chen Shi in Chinese and English, and combined with the practice so that students continue to test strength in his body. Chen Shih learning support rich, informative. through languages and the arts. very humorous. lessons are all common example often heard of the phenomenon seems to be picked easily, the listener understand picturesque Every student of Taijiquan and friends late into the night, and Speech Other Zeyue: I do not understand their situation like feel a dull evening back to the room, but also in the online guide for international students.... 

Chen Shi Taiji worked tirelessly on the development of such epigenetic boy who ignorant as I can not respectful from the

school also? 

2011.8.2 in Linyi

Daqingshan Stories (2)by ZHU DONGSHENG  on 2011/10/05

OneBefore talking about Master Chen Zhonghua's Daqingshan Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method Seminars, it is necessary to discuss the historical significance of Practical Method of Grandmaster Hong Junsheng.

It's common knowledge that Hong Junsheng was a favorite disciple of Grandmaster Chen Fake. Hong's Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method already took shape and was approved by Chen Fake when he passed away in 1957.From the 1980s to the 1990s When Hong passed Away, it was Hong's era as the Cultural Revolution in China martial Arts Were Persecuted in China. Hong's taiji was unparalelled in Both theoryand Practice. His Achievements Were Closely linked to His Lineage, Personality, Knowledge and practice. According to historical accounts, Chen Fake was a martial art of high level with an honest character. He taught students patiently with demonstrations. After dozens of dilligent practice, Hong achieved high level skill in Chen Style Taijiquan.The establishment of his Practical Method has tremendous ramifications for those in the future who wish to master the real Taiji. Why say so? We must start with the intention of his method and its characteristics. From historical record, folklore and legends we know that martial . artist in the feudal society were conservative We heard things such as "Teach the routine

but not the theory"; "Teach the form but not the gong";. "Teach the form but not the steps Those who know the steps will beat the master. "That THESE reflect in the Past Masters Were Heavily influenced by Their Education, social status Poor and Backward Outlooks. As a result there was a Separation of form, theory and Practice. Many People BUT Studied for many years did not have a graps of what taiji

was. Because of this, Mr. Hong Combined the theory and routines together for the Benefit of Students in the Future. This Way the form is exactly the Same as Application. THUS Creating Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method. In His His Article "Three Stories of my learning "Said he," Upon approval by my master, I put the applications he Taught Me into the Yilu routine. "He Also made on the Topics of Scientific Explanations Silk reeling Energy, center of Gravity, Double heavy, Movement and tranquility in" Complete Works of Hong Junsheng Chen Style Taijiquan ". This book is a landmark in taiji history and has long term ramifications for future generations. This book is a furtherment to Chen Xin's" Illustrated Book of Chen Family Taijiquan ". Chen Xin's book is abstract without many training details. It is rather useless to beginner students. We all know that even with the master showing the student hand in hand, it is very difficult to achieve any taiji skills. Abstract writings are unapproachable for new students.Of course late comers like me have no business commenting on the masters. In his "Critique of Chen Xin's Illustrated Book of Chen Family Taijiquan" Grandmaster Hong Junseng gave this his full treatment. It is fair to say that no masters in the past have ever devoted their entire lives to taiji in scientific research, true to all the facts, with details and dared to publish

all findings in public. His selflessness is something that deserves respect of all.TwoMr. Hong adopted Grandmaster Chen Fake's teaching style: strict and detailed; precide and careful; no reservations Those who have attended Chen Zhonghua's lecture will remember these words:. "This form is next to impossible to learn even when the teacher tries very hard. If the teacher wants to keep some secrets, the students will be misguided and the lineage will be corrupt. "These are Mr. Hong Junsheng's words. Because Hong was like this himself, most of his students also teach truthfully. In the taiji world in China, this is regarded as

a fact.Mr. Chen Zhonghua is one of the best as the International Standard Bearer for Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method. When he went to Canada in the 1980s, he became a professional educator. With his education and knowledge gained, he also accumulated a lot of teaching experience. On the one hand he inherited the teachings of Grandmaster Hong Junsheng, on the other hand, he used his own teaching experience in his promotion of the art, making it much easier for students to learn. For example, he systematically organized the teaching of Yilu . A specific Example That is the first Move "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar" is Separated into 7 Moves. This BECOMES Easier Way to Learn and Remember.Mr. Chen Repeatedly talked about the Importance of know the learning stages. He Said That Yilu is the learning of the Choreography so one MUST Practice dilligently and recieve as many corrections as Possible. The Energy Alignment, direction and Angles MUST be precise so as to be applicable later on in

PUSH Hands. The Next Stage Hands is PUSH. Like Chinese Calligraphy, Yilu is Printing style (regular script), each stroke must be done correctly. Push hands is like handwriting (Fame), only with solid printing foundation can one writing freely and fast without violating any rules. The third stage is Cut Hand (San Shou), and its real fighting applications. At this stage it is likened to be free cursive writing. At this point, one is totally devoted to writing contents. Writing as a tool is forgotten. This is the stage we call Bod and the Mind has become one. There is no method but nothing is outside of the fixed rules. This is

"all methods are one."On the subject of "Gong and Fa" (Skill and Method), Mr. Chen Zhonghua Said, "There is a Method BUT it is not a fixed Method. There are a miriad of Variations BUT there is a Universal theoryBehind every Move. "This theory Behind Everything is Called "one" (All Methods are the Same) It is only skill When it BECOMES Called Part of you In Real Fighting Situations, WE CAN Interpret the relationship betwen Gong and Fa as:.. Gong is like a Missle large, no Matter What the guerrila Warfare techiques in the local Area, the Bomb Everything Will destroy. devote all WE Focus on the Importance of Yilu .One of the common pitfall in learning is impatience. An impatient teacher will misguide the students. An impatient student will harm his own learning. He will also develop mistrust for his teacher. Taijiquan is not a simple martial art. It is a part of the Chinese culture. It is a school of learning. Both the teachers and students must treat it as such and in a scientific manner. Especially on the part of the teacher. He must not talk about "intent and qi" lightly. He must not

pretend to be mysterious. He must therefore not misguide students.Master Chen Zhonghua always uses mechanical terms and examples in his teaching no matter it is on routine choreography or on applications. Even when sometimes he has to use concepts such as yin and yang, he would do so with concrete examples so that students can readily understand what he refers to. This is unlike most Grandmasters who fill their teachings with meridians, intent and qi. These terms entice students into believing they know something but in reality they are led into a belief system instead of a real learning situation.We have no means of ascertaining why those masters do such a thing. For example, one master in his "Detailed Explanations of Chen Style Taijiquan" almost copied "the Book of Changes" word for word into his taiji book in an attempt to explain what yin and yang are. It took the author a lot of effort and caused a lot of confusion among the students.A master Chen Zhonghua Royal Brand new Approach. Yin and Yang theory has no Significance in the Pursuit of taijiquan unless WE first of All "have Yin and Yang." To have Yin and Yang, ACCORDING to HIM, WE MUST then look at Whatever is in front of us and "split" it. Why split it? Everything in the universe has yin and yang, or is made up of yin and yang. Yin and yang have a relationship because there is a demarcation between them. Because of this demarcation , yin and yang are split and united and can change from one to another. In our physical world, this demarcation exists but is not visible to our perception. In taijiquan practice our job is to find this demarcation, fixed and use it as an axis . This Will create Forces in Two directions, one is to the Opponent Transmitted through the Upper body and the other to the Lower Ground through the body. The one is Also Called That goes down the source, or the root . In MOST Cases, Dantian is the natural demarcation line. But it is not restricted to Dantian. This demarcation can be anywhere on the body. Therefore any point of the body can be the "point" and can split yin and yang. When he talked about the relationship between

movement and tranquility, it was quite a feat to hear.

Let's take a look at the formation of the yin yang picture The yin yang picture we normally see is made up of two parts:.. A large circle indicating wuji, and a yin yang fish The yin yang fish is put inside the large circle of wuji to form the standard yin yang picture. We have mentioned earlier that yin yang indicates a split of forces in taijiquan. It encompasses aspects such as movement and tranquility and empty and solid. Once force is split on the demarcation line (dot), it travels in a spiral inside the body. The relationship between force and the physical body is similar to that of the wheels of a car and transmission box. A prerequisite for producing power is that the gearbox in the transmission is fixed. In practicing taijiquan, it is the same: the inside rotates but the outside does not move The movement inside causes the outside to travel (like a car) The movement inside the body is like the yin yang fish:.. moving and changing roles all the times without stopping or delay. Our Outer body and the Choreography of Yilu and Cannon Fist Wuji are like the Circle on the Outside.Many books have MENTIONED, "the Force does not break out of the body."; "The Force does not Go out of the Limits,"; "no Resistence, nor Retreat." Mr. Chen Drew graph while the US teaching this theory . Mr. Chen's seminars are always like that. He explains, demonstrate and then allows students to test it on him.On the topic of fighting, we inevitably will touch upon the questions of speed. Mr. Chen's approach totally changed my habitual logic. Mr. Chen said, "We do not talk about speed in

fighting because speed itself has no effect in fighting. What we need is acceleration. Acceleration contains the occupation of position and speed. "He demonstrated to us how acceleration is achieved in fighting. Then he related to a story. There was a person in Vancouver who claimed to be a junior martial brother of Bruce Lee. He talked about how fast how was and demonstrated his speed to Master Chen Zhonghua. He then invited Master Chen to punch him in a manner that he required in his style. Master Chen followed his advise and blew him out with one punch. He He was taken aback by the speed. He had claimed that he had never ran into anyone faster than himself.

This is the result of Acceleration.  Mr. Chen HAD Taught in the West for over 20 years. He HAD the Opportunity to Meet with All kinds of Challenges from many Styles. During class with Grandmasters Hong Youyi, Master Hong Sen, and many Hong Qijian students, I asked Master Chen, "Could you tell us some of your taiji stories in the West?" Master Chen answered with a smile, "I can not give you any details as they reveal names of many famous masters. Since the Hong family members are all here, let me just simply say that I have been challenged by masters and students from any schools and styles including 7th, 8th and even 9th dan black belt masters and I have never let Grandmaster Hong Junsheng down. "All of a sudden, this reminds me of an unrelated story I heard from Mr. Chen during his class. In his teaching, he was always careful not to scare students. Once a student is shocked, he will never learn the real skill in his lifetime. We have seen

nowadays in our society that many masters use their students to show off all the time. He apply hitting, qinna, and issuing on their students without any concern for them. They proud themselves in hurting their students. This has become a method of recruitment. But once fear is installed in the students, they will never be able to fight the teacher fairly psychologically. This is poor martial ethics on the part of the teacher. I recorded this conversation because I am grateful to Mr. Chen for not hurting us the last few years on Daqingshan. When learning from him, he would allow us daily to feel him to touch him and try to fight him so as to encourage us to fight more. In the recent years on Daqingshan, it was normal occurance for us to see him mindlessly issue visitors out far without hurting them. Sometimes the visitor / challenger was issued out without feeling anything. This is a good lesson for those who came in search of real taiji. It is very difficult for anyone to develop such high level skill without strict ethical

adherence.Whether Chen proposed 'yin and yang', or 'acceleration', is his long-term accumulation in the teaching and practice, summed up the experience of the essence, is what the sages are not disclosed, Mr. Chen's innovative ideas, so refreshing, greatly enriched the connotation and theory test functional and practical boxing, tai chi and various martial arts for guidance and practical exercises are of great significance. Mr. Hung was born and Mr. Chen Zhonghua intergenerational mentoring, supplementary and rich practical boxing theory and practice, would inevitably lead to consensus insight, especially some specific experience in public practice methods and theories, that is always the legend Many 'guru' magical secret shown does not pass, the big benefit of tai chi after school love, in

this sense, from the heritage and development of Tai Chi, the two gentlemen: work best thing.three,The Great Castle Taiji training, so I moved a lot of things: Mr. Chen Zhonghua of professionalism (? Could this be due to Chen twenty years in a foreign country); when Hun Sen brothers teach boxing meticulous, Insider ; hard working fellow students, the pursuit of spiritual progress; the whole team solidarity, enjoyable atmosphere, and so on different terms. Here to talk about so I am particularly touched by the two old man.One is my fellow, Mr. Feng from Beijing to Linyi

The old man of sixty-seven, for the static stance YiQuan deep experience in our very local reputation, excellent character, a young man serving in Beijing and even the guards, great boxing. I was introduced to Wu Shaozhi brother, continuously participated in the two of the 'big Castle Taiji training'. And Chen hit it off, modestly said: "love boxing more than forty years, the end can not have secret martial art of listening to Mr. Chen taught today, sweeping away perplexed, really Sudden Impact," a lot of emotion to his words. Mr. Young students come to class and not only as serious lectures every day, carefully taking notes, but also often carefully summarize, the positive questions to ask Chen, the study of the state, it is sensible. I'm sharing a room with him, every after-school back room, the teacher will be excited, said:. "Come forward, come forward, and this way, the solution of perplexed me for years, my years of middle age solution ah" joy love, the true nature of the state of innocence and loneliness, we can see, the old man's. More

impressive is to participate in the big mountains tai chi training, he is with his students to come, to recognize their own deficiencies in front of their students, how, on the rivers and lakes, a few people did come? To the teacher worked with me teaching: "For the domestic home boxing, fascinated for some time now, become attached to Chen today, I wish the end, the solution was known to its reputation also perplexed me, is enough.." And modestly said: "I am old , although boxing can not grasp this, but can not delay the progress of students, to try to provide a good thing for them to learn the conditions. How many people in the community to teach boxing, for their own interests, can not teach something, but also wasted valuable time students We can not do such a sinner. "Cheng Cheng words,

Lingrenganpei.  I talked to the teacher worked with the words: 'Sergeant news channel, and learning of ground; sergeant news channel, if the deposit if the dead; corporal news channel, the big smile. 'The ancients had the foresight to put his people to see to understand. I said, "the more the sergeant, 'hear the Tao, Xi die without regret' person." The teacher described to the sergeant. Mr. Chen Zhonghua also extremely moved, often with the exchange, every reference to the total in 'to the teachers' commensurate with respect to each other, intersect quite well. Behind Chen Shih and me teaching: "Only with a realistic attitude to the academic, there is a real skill, really longing for, do not act self-interest, not vanity, is not confined to individual prejudices are solid in order to do so." Zhuangzi said: names were, in fact, the Philippines also, happiness is Bin Down? To teacher: I respect you.Another of my uncles, Mr. Sun ZhonghuaMr. Sun Zhonghua, sixty-eight years old. A retired minister of the International Department China Disabled Persons'

Federation, who the department Permanent Representative at the United Nations three times was named the best diplomat informed. For decades engrossed in study and research of Taijiquan, as Mr. Feng Zhijiang apprentice, won the true mass BI. Hung was born after the elderly pass away, but thanks to Mr. Feng Zhiqiang Chen Zhonghua sects, with the same door, like-minded, become a fellow and friend. Mr. Chen Zhonghua seen because of the academic Taijiquan Pushing Hands insightful, not to avoid pre-school, do not avoid age, do not

avoid the martial art, its exchange. Mr. Sun Zhonghua is a true scholar, good painting, calligraphy, fine paper, poetry. Has studied all forms of various sports. The spirit of good, good talk. Often associated with Mr. Chen Zhonghua talk to midnight, I'd listen on its side, benefited. Sun during the Great Castle, diligent notes, good at summing up, not only helped me correct mistakes Quan, the offenders are usually taught me a man of truth, feeling admiration as trees rooted in the ground. Thank you, Sun uncles. I jotted down a poem Sun, [felt] apprenticeship old eye mask sleep shade far way, so step moss rain late without Ling top as a teenager, Mid-cloud tree also poetry. Mr. Sun Zhonghua motto is: inch into the hi. More good attitude, so the elderly are respected. Sun: I respect you.IV.In two of the 'big Castle Taiji training' period, in fact, benefited the most are those of us students. These students, some from all over the country, some from all over the world, relying on the Chinese Tai Chi culture of love for the common ideals and goals, to come together and

gathered.  These foreign students to learn tai chi big mountains, only a closer understanding of tai chi, but also a better understanding of China and Chinese humanities. At the same time they are harder, study hard, practice hard learning attitude, but also we set a good example. Students from across the country, because there is no language barrier, but also because of a common interest, it soon became good friends. In class learning together, they communicate with each other after school. Learn boxing experience, understanding of tai chi, learn boxing saw and heard for many years, a lot of emotion, talk about anything. Their true feelings memorable. Let my deepest feelings, but also let me the most moving, is Chen's teaching attitude, the attitude of the gentlemen of traditional Chinese culture, I see the Chinese civilization, trees have roots from them, passing a road. As long as they are, we have the confidence and hope to learn it. And to promote it to contribute to fulfill. I believe, Mr. Chen established 'big Castle International Taijiquan training base', not only Taijiquan holy in my heart, and soon in the near future, with the gentlemen of character, cultivation, and tai chi school cultivation, with their tai chi learn responsibility and enthusiasm to flourish, will become the country, and even around the world tai chi tai chi enthusiasts shrine. Hard, Mr. Chen Zhonghua, I respect you. September 21, 2011 Zhu Dongsheng written in Linyi Shinsaibashi

“WHAT IS IN A NAME”by XAVIER SANTIAGO  on 2012/02/13

The following article was once originally part of Master Chen’s former webpage www.chenzhonghua.org. It gives us Grandmaster Hong Junsheng’s first-hand account of what

actually happened in the talked about encounter in a martial arts tournament in Beijing between Great Grandmaster Chen Fake and Wu Tunan. I thought it would benefit everyone interested in Taijiquan history to read this article and learn of Grandmaster Hong’s first-hand knowledge of this encounter. I want to thank Shifu Chen Zhonghua for allowing me to re-publish this article in Practicalmethod.com.WHAT IS IN A NAME:

At one of the first government sponsored traditional martial art competitions in Beijing, in 1952, Chen Fake was invited to attend, as one of the judges.

The famed Wu Tunan (also known as the Northern Star of Taijiquan) was in charge. A discussion came up, with regards to categorization of styles,leading to a great deal of controversy as to where Chen Style Taijiquan belonged. Some suggested that it belonged to the External Division. At the time, the slow and gentle nature of Yang style Taijiquan was considered the standard of Taijiquan. What Chen Fake practiced certainly did not fall fall into this category.

Others countered that it is, after all, called Chen Style Taijiquan, so it should be included as part of the Internal Division. Master Wu Tunan did not concur. He felt that Chen Style should be treated as an external style, similar to Shaolin. Someone turned to Chen Fake, Master Chen, you are the standard bearer of the Chen Family, is it external or internal?

Chen Fake answered, If the revered master Wu thinks it is external, then it is external! We did not have this distinction at home. (Later on, in a remarkable reversal of logic, this statement was actually quoted by some as proof that Chen Style Taijiquan is not the original source of Taijiquan, since family member Chen Fake did not even acknowledge it as an internal style.)

Hong Junsheng, a disciple of Chen Fake, was understandably upset about this treatment of Chen Style. He began his Taiji studies with Wu style, and later switched to Chen Style. For

him, Chen and Wu were both authentic Taijiquan styles, and both were internal.

He begged his teacher for an explanation. Master Chen’s answer had nothing to do with either Chen or Wu styles: My ancestors invented it. My great grandfather practiced it [translator’s note: This refers to Chen Changxing, who taught Yang Luchan, the creator of Yang Style]. My father practiced it. I practice it now. We do not call it Taiji. We do not have a name for it. You can call it anything you want, I will still practice it the same way I was taught. I don’t care what they put in the name!

Chen Fake was certainly not a philosopher. However one might appreciate the profound depth of his perspective. He saw the name as nothing more than a shallow symbol of the object. What Chen Fake learned and taught was Chen Style Taijiquan. The change of the name by others or the views of others will never affect what it is.

Is Chen Style Taijiquan the original source of Taijiquan? Is Chen Style internal? State whatever opinion you have and present all your research papers. You might even patent the name, and forbid the Chen Village masters and direct lineage holders from using the name. But can you change the fact that it is their art and what they do is the right way? You will never change its essential nature. It is what it is.

From the archives of www.chenzhonghua.org, the article