Master Chen Foundations Class 2 November 2020
If the hand cannot move, the body must move vertically
Hand cannot move, head cannot move, feet cannot move – only the inside can move
‘Elbow is left behind’ – elbow must lead, kua must lead
The wrists are locked, passive – the tip (corner) presses down
‘Intention’ – ‘lead’
Two materials in tai chi body: stick and rope (hard and soft)
Always there – with tension, stick. Without tension, rope
What you think you see is fake – the real cannot be seen
The elbow is placed at the bottom, but the movement is upwards
(exception: if arm is oriented upside down)
Elbow must move toward the A-C line
6 sealing/4 closing: elbow and kua must move up
‘Wedged power’ – when you move the middle
The 2 ends never move, we only move the middle.
Have someone hold hand and shoulder – only elbow can drive toward the line
Use a stick – or a bar in the park
The hand cannot drop – it must stay on the same line
‘To understand’ – it means you can follow instructions from the teacher
The kua and knee drops, but the hand stays on that line
The arm cannot move up and down – you cannot fight
Finally, the waist is turning – but the arm must stay on the same line
Don’t let torso rise – it can stretch down to counter
‘Clear’ movement – with isolation, create power. Muddy movements don’t have power.
Keep wrist straight, always
Don’t move your shoulder – the power is dissipated.
Power – yang energy – if your body moves down, it locks against leaking the power. If your body goes sideways, power leaks.
Every joint as at least 2 parts – but in PM we only move 1 part of the joint. The other part(s) cannot move. Shoulder – the part joining the torso cannot move.
The stretch – extension – is not movement.
The power from the elbow should all go to the hand.
The forearm only appears to move – the real movement is all from the elbow.
The shoulder has the intention of moving backwards – but don’t let it. It is against a wall.
In this exercise, keep hand on the shoulder line throughout
