Ways of looking at the development of Tai Ji practice:
1. getting the posture right
2. getting the form right
3. getting the muscles right
4. developing opening and closing
5. breathing.
Or:
1. "quan" - literally the fist, but indicating the physical part, body movement
2. "gong" - a degree of mastery
3. "yongli" - physical strength
4. "qi" - inner energy
5. "shen" - spirit.
Posture can be worked on throughout, but pay attention to it especially at the beginning, before starting:
1. root yourself in the ground; feel your whole foot on the floor, and imagine your toes, then your ankles, then your knees, gripping the floor
2. open your arch
3. relax your hips; let them move out to the side, corresponding to a bending of the knees, and let the lower spine drop downwards
4. head up, shoulders down
5. feel your body from top to toe to be loose, very loose
6. watch your breathing a little to calm your mind.
Breathing: because Tai Ji is not a rigid, 1-2-3, system, the arms and legs do not always move uniformly, though they should move in harmony. Miss Li suggested harmonising the breathing with the legs, as you transfer weight backwards and forwards.
Work on the smoothness of the rhythm: imagine your hands always connected by a thread; be aware of shifting your weight from leg to leg.
Points in the form I haven't got quite right yet.
Coming up from Low Stretch, have your rear hand palm down to get more of a stretch in your arms.
In Backward Brush Knees, the torso should begin by moving somewhat round to the side and backwards towards the rear knee; then off a bit to the other side at the front; which gives a stronger and less rigid feeling to the movement.
Saturday, 16 December 2017
Saturday, 25 November 2017
January 1986
On Tai Ji Literature:
Miss Li said that to her knowledge there are not yet very many good books in English; though maybe it is a lack of understanding on her part in reading English, and maybe some better ones are now appearing, especially in America.
Nor are there actually many very good books in Chinese. Because under the Empire, you had to be very educated to write properly and the mandarin classes showed no serious interest in the internal martial arts - they adopted a snobbish attitude towards them. Then under the People’s Republic, Tai Ji started to be taken seriously by the governing classes and some authentic practitioners were drawn into writing some basic instructional literature. But the government’s basic emphasis was very external: Tai Ji simply as a form of exercise, without any of the emphasis on technique, breathing, mental attitude, etc. There was one interesting exception in the late Empire when Chen Weiming, who was something like the Imperial Archivist and was very scholarly and responsible for trying to preserve and organise records of Chinese history, became very interested in the internal martial arts. He went and studied with Sun Lu Tang in fact, and then studied the Yang Tai Ji and wrote a number of books about this, which are authentic, scholarly, and well-written.
On the whole, in Chinese books you get only very vague indications of the actual technique and a lot of philosophy, which is good as philosophy, but unhelpful for practice: it was expected that you would learn personally from a teacher. So Miss Li said her own emphasis and interest lies in pointers towards effective practice.
Our Tai Ji can be regarded as ‘authentic Yang’ with important additions from the Chen tradition.
Miss Li said that to her knowledge there are not yet very many good books in English; though maybe it is a lack of understanding on her part in reading English, and maybe some better ones are now appearing, especially in America.
Nor are there actually many very good books in Chinese. Because under the Empire, you had to be very educated to write properly and the mandarin classes showed no serious interest in the internal martial arts - they adopted a snobbish attitude towards them. Then under the People’s Republic, Tai Ji started to be taken seriously by the governing classes and some authentic practitioners were drawn into writing some basic instructional literature. But the government’s basic emphasis was very external: Tai Ji simply as a form of exercise, without any of the emphasis on technique, breathing, mental attitude, etc. There was one interesting exception in the late Empire when Chen Weiming, who was something like the Imperial Archivist and was very scholarly and responsible for trying to preserve and organise records of Chinese history, became very interested in the internal martial arts. He went and studied with Sun Lu Tang in fact, and then studied the Yang Tai Ji and wrote a number of books about this, which are authentic, scholarly, and well-written.
On the whole, in Chinese books you get only very vague indications of the actual technique and a lot of philosophy, which is good as philosophy, but unhelpful for practice: it was expected that you would learn personally from a teacher. So Miss Li said her own emphasis and interest lies in pointers towards effective practice.
Our Tai Ji can be regarded as ‘authentic Yang’ with important additions from the Chen tradition.
January 1986
Assuming that you have learned the basic movements, enjoy practising, and your form is correct ... there is still a great deal more of value in Tai Ji to be dug out. After all, it is a system of movement developed by many minds over several centuries. And this is why you should not think of teaching it yet: because for a long time you will be very one-sided.
The first major theme to realise is that the movement of the limbs (arms and legs) is geared primarily towards its effect on the muscles of the torso, the muscles within the ‘Tai Ji Square’. At the core of this effect is the continuous ‘open’and ‘closed’ cycle of movements. You may say ‘why then such an elaborate form? Why not just repeat a basic open/closed simple exercise?’ And the answer is: the importance of a wide range of muscular movements and postures. In our ordinary life of walking, running, eating, sitting at desks, the range of movements is very limited. So Tai Ji offers us the chance to bring our muscles to life, especially in the case of the muscles of the torso. By thoroughly exercising these we stimulate the breathing and the blood flow and have beneficial effects on all the major organs (intestines, heart, etc). In our life there are three main aspects, the head, the heart and the lower dan tian, and Tai Ji aims to keep them all in a healthy state: by exercising the body, stimulating qi, relaxing the mind and calming the heart.
Under this general heading of the effects of the limbs on the muscles of the torso and the general movement of open/closed Miss Li mentioned three particular aspects of technique to keep an eye on. Use these pointers to check up on your own Tai Ji, trying to absorb them and master them one at a time, maybe working on one each week.
1. Stretch in Full:
‘Stretch’, that is, move as if you were pulling silk, as if your hands were always connected by silk, by something both fine and strong. This requires both strength and smoothness/continuity.
‘In full’, means until there is no other place to go, assuming the torso remains upright and in the correct position.
In moving, you should also be aware not so much of the muscles of the arms as of the muscles of the chest and back.
Also Miss Li emphasised that the Chinese phrase about the silk cocoon should be ‘silk cocoon chin’ i.e. muscles, not ‘silk cocoon qi’ i.e. breath. The latter is usually interpreted to mean intense concentration and almost no breath, whereas the former prescribes the technique of arm movement.
2. Open and Close the Limbs:
The arms sometimes both near the body, sometimes both away from the body, sometimes alternating one and then the other as in Brush Knees.
And the legs too, or rather the arch between the legs. This has to ‘close’ to allow movement and then open again when the new form is reached.
3. Move the Arms from the Shoulders:
Sometimes the arms are bending at the elbows and changing shape, but very often (more and more as you practise more) the arms will actually be quite still and will moved completely from the shoulder.
This gives a sort of corkscrew motion to the hands; moving round between palm up and palm down positions.
The first major theme to realise is that the movement of the limbs (arms and legs) is geared primarily towards its effect on the muscles of the torso, the muscles within the ‘Tai Ji Square’. At the core of this effect is the continuous ‘open’and ‘closed’ cycle of movements. You may say ‘why then such an elaborate form? Why not just repeat a basic open/closed simple exercise?’ And the answer is: the importance of a wide range of muscular movements and postures. In our ordinary life of walking, running, eating, sitting at desks, the range of movements is very limited. So Tai Ji offers us the chance to bring our muscles to life, especially in the case of the muscles of the torso. By thoroughly exercising these we stimulate the breathing and the blood flow and have beneficial effects on all the major organs (intestines, heart, etc). In our life there are three main aspects, the head, the heart and the lower dan tian, and Tai Ji aims to keep them all in a healthy state: by exercising the body, stimulating qi, relaxing the mind and calming the heart.
Under this general heading of the effects of the limbs on the muscles of the torso and the general movement of open/closed Miss Li mentioned three particular aspects of technique to keep an eye on. Use these pointers to check up on your own Tai Ji, trying to absorb them and master them one at a time, maybe working on one each week.
1. Stretch in Full:
‘Stretch’, that is, move as if you were pulling silk, as if your hands were always connected by silk, by something both fine and strong. This requires both strength and smoothness/continuity.
‘In full’, means until there is no other place to go, assuming the torso remains upright and in the correct position.
In moving, you should also be aware not so much of the muscles of the arms as of the muscles of the chest and back.
Also Miss Li emphasised that the Chinese phrase about the silk cocoon should be ‘silk cocoon chin’ i.e. muscles, not ‘silk cocoon qi’ i.e. breath. The latter is usually interpreted to mean intense concentration and almost no breath, whereas the former prescribes the technique of arm movement.
2. Open and Close the Limbs:
The arms sometimes both near the body, sometimes both away from the body, sometimes alternating one and then the other as in Brush Knees.
And the legs too, or rather the arch between the legs. This has to ‘close’ to allow movement and then open again when the new form is reached.
3. Move the Arms from the Shoulders:
Sometimes the arms are bending at the elbows and changing shape, but very often (more and more as you practise more) the arms will actually be quite still and will moved completely from the shoulder.
This gives a sort of corkscrew motion to the hands; moving round between palm up and palm down positions.
Sunday, 29 October 2017
August 1983
Three pointers:
1. Pay closer attention to the kai/he, open and closed: by thinking of brushing your body with the closed arm ... it really is as close as that ... and also by thinking of always moving from the centre.
2. Pay close attention at the same time to the elbow of the open arm: it should always point downwards not outwards, in order to prevent the armpit being too chronically open.
3. Pay close attention to the legs: though you start learning with an exaggerated arch, this is only rarely held in such a way in more advanced practice, when the feet should be more closely parallel with the hips and the torso pointing straight forward. The legs should not be twisted or touching, but not excessively arched either. As long as the muscles are relaxed enough, it should still be possible to be loose in the lower back in this posture.
It is said that at a higher level Tai Ji, Ba Gua and Xing Yi become one: they are only different paths to the same goal, or different emphases.
1. Pay closer attention to the kai/he, open and closed: by thinking of brushing your body with the closed arm ... it really is as close as that ... and also by thinking of always moving from the centre.
2. Pay close attention at the same time to the elbow of the open arm: it should always point downwards not outwards, in order to prevent the armpit being too chronically open.
3. Pay close attention to the legs: though you start learning with an exaggerated arch, this is only rarely held in such a way in more advanced practice, when the feet should be more closely parallel with the hips and the torso pointing straight forward. The legs should not be twisted or touching, but not excessively arched either. As long as the muscles are relaxed enough, it should still be possible to be loose in the lower back in this posture.
It is said that at a higher level Tai Ji, Ba Gua and Xing Yi become one: they are only different paths to the same goal, or different emphases.
Saturday, 30 September 2017
February 1983
We define our Tai Ji according to four criteria - like the four sides of a square:
1. The Rhythm of Silence ... that is, the quality of movement which is specific to each person. This would be lost by an authoritarian or regimented style of teaching, but it is fostered by a looser, slower approach: so that everybody's unique way off moving is left intact and not suppressed, even though in the beginning it may lead to more inaccuracies.
2. The Picture in Space ... that is, the quality of continuous movement and the sense of the total form which is greater than the component parts: to do with a fully developed skill in connecting the different forms.
3. The Stillness of Movement ... that is, though moving we appear to be still: non-doing.
4. The Softness of Strength ... that is, all the strength should be coming up from the legs and lower back, and not be connected with rigidity in the arms: the arms should be soft and relaxed, gaining their strength from the condition of the body as a whole.
1. The Rhythm of Silence ... that is, the quality of movement which is specific to each person. This would be lost by an authoritarian or regimented style of teaching, but it is fostered by a looser, slower approach: so that everybody's unique way off moving is left intact and not suppressed, even though in the beginning it may lead to more inaccuracies.
2. The Picture in Space ... that is, the quality of continuous movement and the sense of the total form which is greater than the component parts: to do with a fully developed skill in connecting the different forms.
3. The Stillness of Movement ... that is, though moving we appear to be still: non-doing.
4. The Softness of Strength ... that is, all the strength should be coming up from the legs and lower back, and not be connected with rigidity in the arms: the arms should be soft and relaxed, gaining their strength from the condition of the body as a whole.
Thursday, 31 August 2017
December 1982
Miss Li said she had taught us in a 'democratic' way. She contrasted the freedom we have here in the West with the totalitarianism and repression in China: there her relatives have plenty of savings but cannot buy commodities without special tickets. Here in the West people may abuse their freedom by becoming criminals: in China it is impossible to organise criminal groups.
So in our Tai Ji she has not dictated all the specific movements we should make, rather she has left it to us to gradually discover it for ourselves; and at the the more advanced levels individuals should get more and more similar. This is a slower route, and a more difficult one, but possibly more rewarding. 'Our Tai Ji is not too bad; at least it is interesting to many people'.
1. The feet should be accurate to allow the correct positioning of the torso. Thus in Brush Knee Corner Direction, beginners sometimes cannot get their left foot round far enough: so instead of facing towards the right-hand corner they face forwards. Though ultimately we should face the right-hand corner, this is only possible if we can get our left foot round far enough to allow the torso to turn without disturbing the left foot and knee. So Brush Knees should be with the feet at 45 degreees, the knees and toes aligned with each other, and the body facing directly over the front foot. When moving the feet through small adjustments with the heel remaining on the ground, we should still lift the rest of the foot, rather than just sliding it across the ground.
2. There should be life in the arms, moving down from the shoulder to the elbow to the fingers, so that it feels as if our fingers are pushing against something. Thus in moving the hands round through 180 degrees in the Weaver, the arms should not just be still. Although the torso does impart most of the movement to the arms, they should not just be inert but alive. 'Though we are quiet, we are not dead.' Miss Li also remarked that women's arms tend to come alive sooner than men's: because where we are strong, we are normally also tense ... in Tai Ji, though, we talk of 'softness' rather than 'weakness'.
So in our Tai Ji she has not dictated all the specific movements we should make, rather she has left it to us to gradually discover it for ourselves; and at the the more advanced levels individuals should get more and more similar. This is a slower route, and a more difficult one, but possibly more rewarding. 'Our Tai Ji is not too bad; at least it is interesting to many people'.
1. The feet should be accurate to allow the correct positioning of the torso. Thus in Brush Knee Corner Direction, beginners sometimes cannot get their left foot round far enough: so instead of facing towards the right-hand corner they face forwards. Though ultimately we should face the right-hand corner, this is only possible if we can get our left foot round far enough to allow the torso to turn without disturbing the left foot and knee. So Brush Knees should be with the feet at 45 degreees, the knees and toes aligned with each other, and the body facing directly over the front foot. When moving the feet through small adjustments with the heel remaining on the ground, we should still lift the rest of the foot, rather than just sliding it across the ground.
2. There should be life in the arms, moving down from the shoulder to the elbow to the fingers, so that it feels as if our fingers are pushing against something. Thus in moving the hands round through 180 degrees in the Weaver, the arms should not just be still. Although the torso does impart most of the movement to the arms, they should not just be inert but alive. 'Though we are quiet, we are not dead.' Miss Li also remarked that women's arms tend to come alive sooner than men's: because where we are strong, we are normally also tense ... in Tai Ji, though, we talk of 'softness' rather than 'weakness'.
Monday, 31 July 2017
November 1982
To strengthen the base, the firmness of the legs:
1. Think of the angle between the two feet as being usually 45 degrees: most of us in the class currently have it wider than that. Thus, for example, in Single Whip the right foot should point directly forwards rather than being angled out to the side. Bringing the foot further in will realign the knees too, and strengthen the base.
2. Think of sinking lower as an expansion of the thighs and knees in both directions. We currently have a tendency to lean more towards one side and stretch the knee out over that foot, slightly straightening the other leg and angling the torso. This is encouraged in some other martial arts, but not in Tai Ji, as it distorts the whole form.
Also Miss Li said that as one comes up to stretching in full at the end of each form one should be slowing down, then beginning the next form by speeding up slightly, rather than vice versa, or a constant speed throughout. This gives greater force and definition to the form.
One often notices that those who have difficulties and problems to work on in Tai Ji move very much deeper in their practice all of a sudden once the difficulty is overcome. Perhaps this is because they have had to work harder. The same is true in life: the great saints had to overcome great temptations; the great masters had to confront great obstacles.
1. Think of the angle between the two feet as being usually 45 degrees: most of us in the class currently have it wider than that. Thus, for example, in Single Whip the right foot should point directly forwards rather than being angled out to the side. Bringing the foot further in will realign the knees too, and strengthen the base.
2. Think of sinking lower as an expansion of the thighs and knees in both directions. We currently have a tendency to lean more towards one side and stretch the knee out over that foot, slightly straightening the other leg and angling the torso. This is encouraged in some other martial arts, but not in Tai Ji, as it distorts the whole form.
Also Miss Li said that as one comes up to stretching in full at the end of each form one should be slowing down, then beginning the next form by speeding up slightly, rather than vice versa, or a constant speed throughout. This gives greater force and definition to the form.
One often notices that those who have difficulties and problems to work on in Tai Ji move very much deeper in their practice all of a sudden once the difficulty is overcome. Perhaps this is because they have had to work harder. The same is true in life: the great saints had to overcome great temptations; the great masters had to confront great obstacles.
Friday, 30 June 2017
October 1982
'There are no endings, only beginnings' ... so don't think of the extreme of the forms as the end of the previous movement, so much as the beginning of the next movement.
'Of course if you are always thinking about your breathing, you will have difficulty with it' ... rather focus on the physical form, especially shoulders down, and the breathing will fall into place.
Shooting Tiger is a 5-point stretch: the elbows, the two knees, the head up.
'Of course if you are always thinking about your breathing, you will have difficulty with it' ... rather focus on the physical form, especially shoulders down, and the breathing will fall into place.
Shooting Tiger is a 5-point stretch: the elbows, the two knees, the head up.
Sunday, 28 May 2017
June 1982
Tai Ji is like a person, it can be any type of character: good Tai Ji makes people who are balanced, sensitive, practical but with high ideals. Other types of Tai Ji can be 'crippled', usually because of an overemphasis on one point. For example, if you are forced to begin by holding too deep a horse stance for too long, you will have to compensate for the strain on your back by leaning forward, leading to a non-erect spine.
But by now the stance should be getting lower: remember to make an arch and be as if sitting on a low stool. After practice, even at this stage, you should feel your thighs a bit tired, but not your knees. As you transfer your weight from one foot to another there will be a moment of closing of the arch and perhaps coming up slightly, preparatory to taking all the weight by sinking down a bit more.
Putting this into practice, it felt like the next stage in the process of strengthening the form, complementing the points about not having a straight back leg and not leaning forward.
But by now the stance should be getting lower: remember to make an arch and be as if sitting on a low stool. After practice, even at this stage, you should feel your thighs a bit tired, but not your knees. As you transfer your weight from one foot to another there will be a moment of closing of the arch and perhaps coming up slightly, preparatory to taking all the weight by sinking down a bit more.
Putting this into practice, it felt like the next stage in the process of strengthening the form, complementing the points about not having a straight back leg and not leaning forward.
June 1982
A point for me. Watch out for straightening the back leg too much: it should always be bent, and you should always be sitting down into it somewhat even when the weight is on the front foot. This is connected to making the form more vigorous by having all the limbs stretching out from the centre in the stretching. Stretching out in all directions: so when pushing forward one is also stretching backward.
This is like a second point connected with last week's correction of my torso. On keeping the torso more erect in the centre, I became much more aware of the connection to the back foot: that pushing forward came from behind rather than from leaning onto the opponent as it were. The two faults of torso and back leg are very much connected, leaning forward being an uprooting, a breaking of the connection between the arms and that leg. When carrying out the two corrections I also had more of a sense of the 'central spine', the spine always being somehow in the centre even when the weight is forward.
Any jerkiness of movement of the empty leg can easily be corrected by taking more time to transfer the weight fully onto the full leg. The jerkiness is coming from the tension of weight-bearing still left in the leg from which one is transferring the weight.
Forward Low Fist: the fist is not only pushing down, but it and the whole lower arm are pushing forward towards the front foot.
Pushing the Big Ball forward should be a rising push: the hands coming up as well as forward, before curving over the top for Single Whip.
Miss Li made some more comments on the 'abstractess' by telling two stories about being in America and her visits to an art gallery and to a concert. They were both modern abstract art forms which she couldn't understand! So the abstractness in Tai Ji is different from that.
This is like a second point connected with last week's correction of my torso. On keeping the torso more erect in the centre, I became much more aware of the connection to the back foot: that pushing forward came from behind rather than from leaning onto the opponent as it were. The two faults of torso and back leg are very much connected, leaning forward being an uprooting, a breaking of the connection between the arms and that leg. When carrying out the two corrections I also had more of a sense of the 'central spine', the spine always being somehow in the centre even when the weight is forward.
Any jerkiness of movement of the empty leg can easily be corrected by taking more time to transfer the weight fully onto the full leg. The jerkiness is coming from the tension of weight-bearing still left in the leg from which one is transferring the weight.
Forward Low Fist: the fist is not only pushing down, but it and the whole lower arm are pushing forward towards the front foot.
Pushing the Big Ball forward should be a rising push: the hands coming up as well as forward, before curving over the top for Single Whip.
Miss Li made some more comments on the 'abstractess' by telling two stories about being in America and her visits to an art gallery and to a concert. They were both modern abstract art forms which she couldn't understand! So the abstractness in Tai Ji is different from that.
Sunday, 30 April 2017
May 1982
A point for me in particular.
My torso tends to bend forward in such movements as pushing the large ball forward, and sideways in such movements as sideways spreading wings. It shouldn't: the torso should be always upright and in the middle.
Practising it this way made me aware of a difference in the stretch achieved and a very different, and much more powerful, relationship between the arms/hands and the legs/feet. Thus I had also misunderstood an earlier point: to get more qi moving in the forward push on the big ball, the finger tips curl over and down, but the torso sinks down an extra bit, not forward.
Practising it this way made me aware of a difference in the stretch achieved and a very different, and much more powerful, relationship between the arms/hands and the legs/feet. Thus I had also misunderstood an earlier point: to get more qi moving in the forward push on the big ball, the finger tips curl over and down, but the torso sinks down an extra bit, not forward.
This forward/sideways leaning of the torso is a characteristic of the Wu style. Though in fact in Beijing they didn't talk of the styles by family names but by their characteristics. Thus the Yang style was referred to as the one which emphasised large circling movements, the Wu as the one in which the torso leaned off-centre, and the Sun style as the one which was discontinuous and jerky like Xing-I.
The Yang style is the oldest and most inclusive (most 'Catholic' in the Christian sense Miss Li said, in reference to the Pope's current visit). That is, the one which maintains all elements of the practice rather than focusing on just one aspect. It is the Yang style she teaches, in effect, though she wouldn't want to call it that. What has happened with the other styles is that in practising authentic/catholic Tai Ji there have arisen 'mannerisms', which are not outright faults, and these have been harmoniously integrated with the form. They are not wrong, but they are more recent and less all-inclusive.
More on the hands.
It used to be said that the back showed one's strength, the eyes showed one's spirit, and the hands showed one's intelligence. Thus again on the issue of the movement of the hands: Tai Ji is not a temple dance with each movement standing for a particular meaning, but it is expressive. In fact in a way it is more expressive than ritualised symbolic movements. Just as making a stage smile is purely external and expresses nothing of the internal state, so the apparent expressiveness of much dancing is in fact not related to current internal states. The abstract nature of Tai Ji paradoxically makes it more expressive: internal states actually appear on the surface in the way the abstract movement is performed. Thus from the back you can see the person's strength, from the eyes the quality of their spirit, from the hands their intelligence. The hands and fingers should feel shapes/solidity in the air. And when they do feel this resistance it will be obvious to the observer.
This made a lot of sense to me, as in the class I had experienced very much the way in which awareness of, and control of, the precise movements of the hands generated a pleasure of 'intelligent' action.
A specific form: the Weaver.
The rear hand should be just in front of the forehead, protecting it, not stretched back behind or to the side of the head. And the front hand should be lower, at about chest height rather than face height, as a direct forward extension of power flowing up from the strong rear leg.
Sunday, 19 March 2017
April 1982
When you stand quietly at the beginning, check that you are not standing on your heels but on both feet, on the centre of your feet.
Put more vigour into the practice of the form.
Someone once said: "all Tai Ji is, is opening and closing" They were right, but to reach this a whole art had to be created. The opening/closing and "kai/he" are what stimulate the movement of qi. As you practice "kai/he" with awareness you will notice the muscles in your torso moving. In "he" (closed) you should be aware of the fullness of your belly.
Put more vigour into the practice of the form.
Someone once said: "all Tai Ji is, is opening and closing" They were right, but to reach this a whole art had to be created. The opening/closing and "kai/he" are what stimulate the movement of qi. As you practice "kai/he" with awareness you will notice the muscles in your torso moving. In "he" (closed) you should be aware of the fullness of your belly.
April 1982
On hands.
Tai Ji is a "science" as well as an "art": there are quite precise things to be done, as well as a general enjoyment or grace of movement. This is especially the case with the hands, which should not be either "dumb" or "noisy". They should be expressive without being showy. They should be intelligent. You can see if somebody is intelligent even if you don't actually talk to each other: so the hands should be intelligent without saying anything. They should show the outward signs of an inward sensitivity, aware of their movement through the air as if it was resisting them, and as if it was rounded. Miss Li commented that the class as a whole is beginning to move from "dumbness" to "intelligence", and that was something I was very much aware of in my own form today.
On Yin and Yang, the combination of opposites.
The reason that Tai Ji is said to embody this quality is because of alternations. The hands don't always move together: they may be one up/one down, one forward/one back. The "kai" and "he" is the armpits, or more accurately the elbows: sometimes armpits closed and elbows close to the torso, sometime open. Often simply alternating between the two states, but sometimes one closed and one open.
Another alternation is in the "dong" or arch between the legs. Because we say it should always be maintained, there can be some confusion. The point is it should be maintained when both feet are on the ground, but in moving a leg/foot you close it, so that the next movement comes from the centre. Thus there is also an open/closed alternation of the legs.
Then also "shen" and "suo", the extension and contraction of the arms. Again, this is sometimes also a simple alternation between the two states: both out/both in, but sometimes one out and one in.
Miss Li said again something she often mentions, which is that in Tai Ji it is said: "when you are moving, you are resting; when you are still, you are active". This is partly just a paradox to express balance, but it also has a quite specific meaning which she indicated and which I now understood from experience. That is, that the internal quality of parts of the form is often the opposite of the external appearance. Thus when you are moving, you are actually relaxed and allowing a flowing to take place. Whereas, when you get to the full extent of a given form and appear to be still for a moment, you are actually stretching forcefully and also the awareness is highly focused.
Tai Ji is a "science" as well as an "art": there are quite precise things to be done, as well as a general enjoyment or grace of movement. This is especially the case with the hands, which should not be either "dumb" or "noisy". They should be expressive without being showy. They should be intelligent. You can see if somebody is intelligent even if you don't actually talk to each other: so the hands should be intelligent without saying anything. They should show the outward signs of an inward sensitivity, aware of their movement through the air as if it was resisting them, and as if it was rounded. Miss Li commented that the class as a whole is beginning to move from "dumbness" to "intelligence", and that was something I was very much aware of in my own form today.
On Yin and Yang, the combination of opposites.
The reason that Tai Ji is said to embody this quality is because of alternations. The hands don't always move together: they may be one up/one down, one forward/one back. The "kai" and "he" is the armpits, or more accurately the elbows: sometimes armpits closed and elbows close to the torso, sometime open. Often simply alternating between the two states, but sometimes one closed and one open.
Another alternation is in the "dong" or arch between the legs. Because we say it should always be maintained, there can be some confusion. The point is it should be maintained when both feet are on the ground, but in moving a leg/foot you close it, so that the next movement comes from the centre. Thus there is also an open/closed alternation of the legs.
Then also "shen" and "suo", the extension and contraction of the arms. Again, this is sometimes also a simple alternation between the two states: both out/both in, but sometimes one out and one in.
Miss Li said again something she often mentions, which is that in Tai Ji it is said: "when you are moving, you are resting; when you are still, you are active". This is partly just a paradox to express balance, but it also has a quite specific meaning which she indicated and which I now understood from experience. That is, that the internal quality of parts of the form is often the opposite of the external appearance. Thus when you are moving, you are actually relaxed and allowing a flowing to take place. Whereas, when you get to the full extent of a given form and appear to be still for a moment, you are actually stretching forcefully and also the awareness is highly focused.
Sunday, 26 February 2017
March 1982
Before the class Miss Li was talking to someone who was looking after a very ill person and said several interesting things. One was that when somebody else is in pain they are not likely to be able to take in much that you say, even if it is appropriate. The best thing is to be silent - the other person will already be getting the benefit of talking, or writing, to you without you having to give them any advice. She referred this to religion - both to Lao Zi and to the idea of prayer in Christianity - prayer as the only real way to help the other person.
Also, she said that another aspect of this is that the individual has to sort themselves out, to come through their own pain and suffering. And each one is different - so advice is hard to give. Referring to a Chinese saying, she remarked that each person is a unique text very difficult to read!
She herself had been through many ups and downs in her life, but she saw herself as being mentally slow and insensitive: so things did not pain her so much at the time. Looking back, she would think: how did I get over that? But at the time she found she could put things out of her mind and live day by day without too much suffering or worry.
After the class she remarked that in China in the old days you did not pay your martial arts teacher as we do in the West now (indeed her own teacher ended up giving her family financial support!). Consequently, he was not obliged to teach you so quickly ... he might wait many years before giving out all his knowledge. And there is no point in saying certain things before the student's practice has brought them to the point where they mean something.
On Tai Ji: let us focus more on the arms and hands.
The fist should indeed be a loose one, not a real fist at all, except at the moment of first making each one you should clench it as a form of stretching, and then relax it.
The movement of the arms should be less loose and abstract (i.e. unthoughtful, undirected). It should be a movement in which you are conscious of the relationship between the joints: pressing down from the shoulder to the elbow; then down from the elbow to the hand, which in each form has a correct position and is not just loose.
In doing the preliminary movements, for example when I withdraw and then push forward on the big ball, my hands are too wide apart ... "this may feel comfortable, but let us keep to the form." Also, when coming round for single whip, at the moment of turning to the front the fingers of the right hand should be closed and above the left hand, which should be palm up, as if dropping a spot of water onto the palm.
These sorts of details can now be attended to, as they will not draw our attention too far out to externals, now that we have established enough of a rhythm and relaxation.
Also, she said that another aspect of this is that the individual has to sort themselves out, to come through their own pain and suffering. And each one is different - so advice is hard to give. Referring to a Chinese saying, she remarked that each person is a unique text very difficult to read!
She herself had been through many ups and downs in her life, but she saw herself as being mentally slow and insensitive: so things did not pain her so much at the time. Looking back, she would think: how did I get over that? But at the time she found she could put things out of her mind and live day by day without too much suffering or worry.
After the class she remarked that in China in the old days you did not pay your martial arts teacher as we do in the West now (indeed her own teacher ended up giving her family financial support!). Consequently, he was not obliged to teach you so quickly ... he might wait many years before giving out all his knowledge. And there is no point in saying certain things before the student's practice has brought them to the point where they mean something.
On Tai Ji: let us focus more on the arms and hands.
The fist should indeed be a loose one, not a real fist at all, except at the moment of first making each one you should clench it as a form of stretching, and then relax it.
The movement of the arms should be less loose and abstract (i.e. unthoughtful, undirected). It should be a movement in which you are conscious of the relationship between the joints: pressing down from the shoulder to the elbow; then down from the elbow to the hand, which in each form has a correct position and is not just loose.
In doing the preliminary movements, for example when I withdraw and then push forward on the big ball, my hands are too wide apart ... "this may feel comfortable, but let us keep to the form." Also, when coming round for single whip, at the moment of turning to the front the fingers of the right hand should be closed and above the left hand, which should be palm up, as if dropping a spot of water onto the palm.
These sorts of details can now be attended to, as they will not draw our attention too far out to externals, now that we have established enough of a rhythm and relaxation.
Sunday, 15 January 2017
February 1982
Miss Li said she was going to begin by being bold: she was very pleased to have so many students who were creative professionals: an engineer, a medical doctor, an artist, a PhD scholar, and felt sure she was passing on genuine, pure Tai Ji. Not that she would claim to be the only one in the West who was doing that.
She sees her role as a teacher as being like the star in the Nativity story. That is, it is necessary to guide the Wise Men so far, but the closer they get to their goal the more they have to use their own judgement. The star can point them in the right direction, but they have to find the Baby Jesus themselves. Or, to take another example, she is providing the technology and, if she is a good teacher, she will make sure it is well-oiled and maintained, but how that technology is used is up to us. We have to "fill in" the basic structure ourselves, and we have to "practise in sincerity and truth". If we begin to be sloppy and think we know it all, then the form will degenerate and mannerisms will creep in. This is what happened in China itself, and why there grew up so many distinct and competing forms when in reality there is probably only one underlying pure form.
The Tai Ji Classics were often written in verse so as to be more easily remembered, but the same thing can happen with words as with the form: over time people began to lose the original sense, to get sloppy, to mistake meanings and pursue the wrong images, so that a lot of rubbish was spoken and written. The other job of a good teacher is to sort out what is valuable from all this heritage, for it would be equally wrong to say it is all rubbish as to say it is all true.
Then she talked for a while about the qi that she is most concerned with in Tai Ji, what she said they used to call a "secret" in the Chinese way of teaching. This was one of the things her teacher had passed on to her. It is now known that the earth is not flat but, even if untrue in the big universe, we are still a universe in ourselves and it is still the case that in the movements of the body it makes sense to think of combining "a flat earth and a round sky". The "round sky" is the way all the hand/arm movements are circular, the "flat earth" is the floor we move on as our feet land flat on the ground. To make this "flat earth" stronger in our practice: after pressing the foot down heel first, press down from the shoulder to the hip, press down from the hip to the knee, press down from the knee to the centre of the foot, and then remember that you have ten fingers and ten toes, not by thinking but by sensing. Young people should have very stable legs, with no shaking: the stability comes from the qi in the legs, but if you are tired or tense, or not living well you will naturally wobble more and have less qi.
Another of her teacher's sayings was that you stand "loose but strong". That is, the strength in the legs is not from tension: the legs are loose, but the shoulders/back/torso are strong. We do not say "relaxed" because relaxation implies tension, just as if you say you want peace, that very concept in itself implies war. So the body is neither tense nor relaxed, but loose and yet strong. This was one saying of his that she did not at the time understand; she remembered it but only later, after much practice, could she find a meaning for it.
A similar story is the one about seeing an old man practising in the park suddenly stop in the middle of the form. On asking why he had stopped, she was told that he was too hot in the belly! At the time she didn't believe it, but more recently has begun to experience this herself, particularly when practising on an empty stomach; practising when the stomach is full doesn't seem to produce so much heat.
Often you may feel that something is emerging and then it disappears again. Trying to find it and keep it will not help: just go on practising and let it emerge in time. Like religion/Daoism, scrabbling around frantically will only make things more obscure.
She sees her role as a teacher as being like the star in the Nativity story. That is, it is necessary to guide the Wise Men so far, but the closer they get to their goal the more they have to use their own judgement. The star can point them in the right direction, but they have to find the Baby Jesus themselves. Or, to take another example, she is providing the technology and, if she is a good teacher, she will make sure it is well-oiled and maintained, but how that technology is used is up to us. We have to "fill in" the basic structure ourselves, and we have to "practise in sincerity and truth". If we begin to be sloppy and think we know it all, then the form will degenerate and mannerisms will creep in. This is what happened in China itself, and why there grew up so many distinct and competing forms when in reality there is probably only one underlying pure form.
The Tai Ji Classics were often written in verse so as to be more easily remembered, but the same thing can happen with words as with the form: over time people began to lose the original sense, to get sloppy, to mistake meanings and pursue the wrong images, so that a lot of rubbish was spoken and written. The other job of a good teacher is to sort out what is valuable from all this heritage, for it would be equally wrong to say it is all rubbish as to say it is all true.
Then she talked for a while about the qi that she is most concerned with in Tai Ji, what she said they used to call a "secret" in the Chinese way of teaching. This was one of the things her teacher had passed on to her. It is now known that the earth is not flat but, even if untrue in the big universe, we are still a universe in ourselves and it is still the case that in the movements of the body it makes sense to think of combining "a flat earth and a round sky". The "round sky" is the way all the hand/arm movements are circular, the "flat earth" is the floor we move on as our feet land flat on the ground. To make this "flat earth" stronger in our practice: after pressing the foot down heel first, press down from the shoulder to the hip, press down from the hip to the knee, press down from the knee to the centre of the foot, and then remember that you have ten fingers and ten toes, not by thinking but by sensing. Young people should have very stable legs, with no shaking: the stability comes from the qi in the legs, but if you are tired or tense, or not living well you will naturally wobble more and have less qi.
Another of her teacher's sayings was that you stand "loose but strong". That is, the strength in the legs is not from tension: the legs are loose, but the shoulders/back/torso are strong. We do not say "relaxed" because relaxation implies tension, just as if you say you want peace, that very concept in itself implies war. So the body is neither tense nor relaxed, but loose and yet strong. This was one saying of his that she did not at the time understand; she remembered it but only later, after much practice, could she find a meaning for it.
A similar story is the one about seeing an old man practising in the park suddenly stop in the middle of the form. On asking why he had stopped, she was told that he was too hot in the belly! At the time she didn't believe it, but more recently has begun to experience this herself, particularly when practising on an empty stomach; practising when the stomach is full doesn't seem to produce so much heat.
Often you may feel that something is emerging and then it disappears again. Trying to find it and keep it will not help: just go on practising and let it emerge in time. Like religion/Daoism, scrabbling around frantically will only make things more obscure.
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