Shock is a result of your own resistance to an
external force. When you allow this force to come into you and spin around
with you, you can have fun with it. This is an example of
being vulnerable, of not being afraid to be flexible, and open to receive.
(Chungliang Al Huang)
Internal approaches
The three main internal martial arts have different attitudes concerning the centre:
Hsing i firms your centre and attacks the opponents centre
Bagwa moves your centre and circles the opponents centre
Tai chi empties your centre and destabilises the opponents centre
This is quite a simplistic summary but serves to
illustrate a broad difference in approach.
A tai chi person must make their own centre intangible, whilst
simultaneously disrupting their opponents centre.
This is not as easy as it sounds.
Central equilibrium
Central equilibrium asks you to
maintain your centre but this does not mean
that you should be tense or in any way resistant.
Tai chi is all about
yielding, and sometimes the best way to
maintain your centre is to give it up.
This may sound paradoxical or contradictory...
6 balanced pairs
Emptying your centre is not the same as losing balance or falling
over.
You must initially move past the notion that your centre is solid, like a
tree trunk.
Your
vertical centre is not contingent upon the
torso being solid and your body immovable.
To maintain your vertical centre you just have to keep your shoulders above
your hips.
This is part of
6 balanced pairs and is a basic requirement
in tai chi.
So, providing the hips and shoulders remain in harmony, you are free to flex
your spine and skeleton to whatever degree seems appropriate.
Yielding
Beginners loathe the idea of
yielding. It has a
connotation of
failure and
submissiveness.
These
perceptions are a serious hindrance to the
tai chi student, because yielding is what the art is all about.
Water yields without exception and is always powerful.
Tai chi takes its
lessons from
water.
Letting go
When somebody exerts
force upon you, do not allow more than 4
ounces of
pressure to be applied.
Soften your body and allow it to fold and move.
By drawing deeper into your centre, you will take your opponent further out
of theirs.
Being in the centre of the circle is powerful. Being on the circumference is
weak.
Consider the form
If you look at the first few postures of the form - right up to brush
knee and twist step - how much stepping is there?
Not much really.
That whole sequence involves almost no movement in terms of physical space.
These few postures are repeated throughout the Yang Cheng Fu form.
Why?
Because the principles are significant and worth practicing.
The segment of the form in question requires you to generate
power within the postures themselves.
This entails movement between the feet, within the kwa, the spine, and the
various joints.
Your body must
undulate and flow in order to produce each
unique
kinetic wave.
Where are you finding the power?
You create space by emptying the centre, by opening and closing, by
reeling silk.
Empty vessel
In taoist and zen literature there is a common motif: the empty
vessel.
Only when a vessel has been emptied can it be used for something.
Being empty means that it has potential.
It has function and purpose.
When the vessel has been filled, the potential is gone. The vessel has
served its purpose.
It cannot be used again until you empty it.
Sung
If you practice tai chi with stiff legs, fixed joints and an unyielding
torso, you may well feel
strong but you are doing it wrong.
What you are
feeling is your own tension. Nothing more.
Tense muscles are weak
muscles.
If your body is toned and relaxed, you will feel the
movement itself rather than your body producing the movement.
This is part of sung.
Page created 9 June 1999