One of my corrections from Sifu during a private lesson in 2015 was on separation of hand from my head. For instance, when out with hand in Single Whip, as I placed emphasis on the stretches when my hand went out, my head would follow…this would occur at varying degrees, yet that isn’t relevant because any deviation of the head changes everything as I will get to soon.
Today at morning practice I was working on the issue I just described. In the winter months I spend a significant portion of my practice in front of the mirror. When I went out with my hand, my head slightly followed. I could see it…and I also felt it, which I tend to ignore because the physical feeling is often not a reliable source of feedback. I repeated the hand going out several more times in attempt to identify the differences I felt between my head following the hand and the head being independent or separate from the hand.
I had an “ahh ha” moment! Before my hand went out, I had a central vertical line stretching from my bai hui to the hui yin point. When my head followed my hand, the vertical line was released and everything went horizontal, becoming one piece in one dimension. I then focused on maintaining the vertical line as my hand went out, in front of the mirror, and I saw very little to no deviation in my head as my hand stretched out…which could be a figment of my imagination or it could be real…that is not for me to say…yet it is there for me to practice.
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Thanks John, I think it’s something we all struggle with. One effective method is to use the eyes as a ‘ measuring ‘ device. Meaning lock the eyes onto a point in the room , on the wall, whatever ( in lieu of mirror ) and use the eye lock to make your head doesn’t move.