Master Chen Zhonghua’s online lesson on 2020.10.13. This lesson is on foundations. Master Chen taught how to focus on the kua while doing the positive circle. Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 63 min. In: English Year: 2020 Difficulty:1/5 At:Edmonton Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy 埃德蒙顿陈中华太极馆
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NOTES FROM ONLINE FOUNDSTIONS CLASS October 13, 2020
The thing that stayed with me the most following online lesson was both Kelvin’s and Master Chen’s explanation and demonstration of “switching”. Using the positive circle to demonstrate, Shifu explained that there are two ways of completing the circle (that is, the third count following 1. In with elbow, 2. Out with waist).
The first is to rotate the shoulder round a fixed point in space…so that the shoulder doesn’t pop up.
The second is to hold the arm in a fixed position, and drop away from the shoulder by hollowing the chest and sinking down into the rear foot.
“Switching” is, for me at least, difficult to understand, but I believe I finally have a real sense, both intellectually and experientially, of what this means.
It became clearer to me after Master Chen asked us to imagine someone has you in a bear hug, and you sort of slither out of it by sinking down (to quote Shifu from one of the Toronto workshops “…like a child becoming limp on the inside so that it can slither out of it’s parent’s arms”).
I would encourage other students who want to get both their heads and bodies round this difficult subject, to purchase the video of this class.