This is an Answer by Chen Zhonghua to Spencer Jones’ question on synchronization and de-synchronization.
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 3 min. In: English Year: 2020 Difficulty:4/5 At:Edmonton Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy
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Spencer Jones:
In the past I’ve heard you talk about the top half and lower half being two different rhythms. I was aimlessly trying to incorporate that into this move. This explanation is very clear. Now i just have to watch your movements in slow motion a few hundred times. Thanks again.
Chen Zhonghua:
Best way is to look at how the car moves. Wheels rotate and the body of the car moves forward. We normally assume that the car body movement and wheel movement are the same, are synchronized or are directly related. They are not. They are very indirectly related! If they are directly related, the car jerks!
Spencer Jones:
That is helpful. Thanks. I’ll send you a video of my progress once I’ve worked on it some.
Chen Zhonghua:
Another aspect of this de-synchronization can be observed in an old bicycle. In the old no gear bicycle, you pedal to power the bicycle. You pedal hard and fast to make it move faster. But you have the choice of stop pedaling and let the bicycle coast on its own. This means that there is a clutching and de-clutching process involved. Without it, you will have to pedal all the time and when the bicycle is going fast downhill, you might break your legs because you can not follow the speed of the pedals rotation!
The clutching and de-clutching, in our taiji terms, the synchronization and de-synchronization, is the yin yang union and yin yang separation.
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In this brief video Shifu explains a very important but fundamental principle of moving without movement, which is our constant challenge in PM practice. Thank you!