Keep ribcage upright. Don’t lean, keep kua open, don’t indent kua. Bicycle chain analogy (metal stretching, tightening the chain). To keep kua open it is almost like leaning back.
Emitting from front kua -> make kua bigger (more open/stretched).
With a wrestler, their energy goes around an opponent. (CZH made a wrestler’s grab movement emphasizing how the wrestler was completely empty inside with all the force dissipated onto the top and outside of a sphere moving toward his opponent.)
In TaiJi, move the front kua forward to penetrate an opponent. Front kua as close to opponent as possible.
“Don’t move the arm, move the body” -> when we move the arm, the opponent can borrow that power.
Towel / Dan Tian exercise, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, heel to connect, then power will emit spontaneously.
Right or Wrong is almost irrelevant – the ability to learn is paramount. CZH: “You will never be right, and you will get stuck on that if you think you are right.”
Static positions/training can be harmful – excessive focus on an ideal. For example, too much time spent on drills or on moving step push hands. Discussions regarding TaiJi players who have excellent form and skill within the forms, but no ability to apply the forms. This is due to an excessive aherence to the forms and an insistence on ignoring the chaos of a real encounter.
Triangle is structure, Circle is form.
“Don’t let the jing (essence) leak.” -> jing means structure in our discussions.
Speed can be increased by adding dimensions (5?). Each dimension is a body part.
Kua stretch – get full circle movement of Dan Tian while restricting the front shoulder and knee (as a first goal). Move from no restriction to full restriction.
Positive circle important points on mechanics:
a. elbow in
b. cut slack
c. turn towards opposite nipple
d. important: make full by pulling straight in.
CZH: Never do “on and off”, like boxing or other athletic movements. These movements are not consistent and are therefore not peng.
“Getting Water” exercise – front knee locks, shoulder pulls against knee as far as possible.
General Mechanics:
Top never points down, bottom never points up.
Advanced TaiJi is Pulling + Rotation:
– Pulling erases gaps (pull is downward)
– Pushing creates gaps (push is upward)
When total loss of balance occurs, don’t let go.
Science has to have two levels: 1. Scientific System and 2. Scientific Content (Story of carriage going north to state of Qi)
