ChiDragon

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Posts posted by ChiDragon

  1. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    15 hours ago, forestofclarity said:

    A lot of people talk about neidan and dan tian but it is not clear to me by what people mean by dan, 丹. 

    內丹：Neidan is a Taoist method practiced by meditation for good health to prolong life.

    丹田: dantian is a location for the abdomen.

    丹: dan is red color; a powder substance as in medicine.

    丹的本义指朱砂，古时常用朱砂作绘画颜料，也可入药。

    The original meaning of Dan is Cinnabon. In the ancient, people used it for painting. It was also used for medical purposes.

    • Like 2

  2. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    2 hours ago, Sahaja said:

    My understanding of waigong (external skill)is using the bodies muscle contractive force and hinge joints together to create energy and movement. It is how we normally interact with the environment though it can be trained to be quite strong. My understanding of Neigong (internal skill)  is learning to generate and transmit energy and movement through the soft tissues of the body generally using release rather than contraction. 

    Are these concepts you had learned by the word of mouth?

    Okay, I know where are these concepts come from. They are from the traditional Taoist and TCM concepts. At the time,  they have no scientific knowledge of biology but only physiology. People still take those traditional ideas for granted. Since I am scientifically oriented, I must deal with modern science to have more positive explanations. I don’t want to be living in a confusing world and accept things as I told.

     

    If I don't know anything about muscle contraction, I would go read something about it to be more positive.

  14. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    13 minutes ago, Taoist Texts said:

    i do but unless you post a video by anyone showing what you mean by internal force i dont know if we talk about a same thing. so is there  a concrete video?


    Yes! Internal force was understood as an immense force(勁) exerted by any part of the body. The maximum power was exerted in the most effective way.
     

     

  15. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    It would be interesting to see how does each style train to have internal power. When someone says I practice Neigong, what does it mean? What are they really practicing? Does one select a style of martial arts to practice or just go into something for the training?  Do you think Neigong training is to strengthen the muscles? If not, then, what do you think that all your internal strength come from?

    How are these different styles xingyiquan(形意拳), yiquan(意拳), bajiquan(八極拳), liuhebafa(六合八法 ), baguazhang(八卦掌), wing chun(詠春) and Taiji(太極) trained to develop the internal power. Is there anyone who practice one of these styles would like to tell us about how internal force was developed? Thanks!

  16. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    54 minutes ago, doc benway said:

     

    I guess you are not very familiar with xingyiquan. Each technique has a name and an association with one of the five elements or twelve animals…

    I knew you will going to come up with that. The five elements are the names given for the basic moves of xingyiquan. Taji has given a name to each basic move too. The Fajin moves are incorporated in the basic moves. However, special names were given to each technique of Fajin for distinction. The taiji Fajin moves may be the same as the basic moves but each with a unique name.

    These are the eight unique names for Taiji Fajin 掤、捋、挤、按、采、挒、肘、靠. They may be correspond to the some basic moves with other names.

    We have talked about what Fajin is. Now is about time to talk how to Fajin. I think all the system do Fajin the same way. Would you like to going into that?

  18. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

     

    This means it is not unique  to taijiquan.. at least that is how I use the word unique. 

    Fajin, in the Taijiquan, is unique is because the practitioner do not punch the opponent with the hands. They push the opponent away only. All the others use fajin with their fist to hurt someone by punching. Hence, that is why Taiji is unique.

  19. Posted

    7 hours ago, doc benway said:

    nothing that can't be explained by physics and careful observation.


    Have you seen the book written by Cheng Man Ching, 鄭曼青. He explained with many colorful geometry diagrams to illustrate how Taiji works with physics. It was written in English. I saw that in a store with a glance at it. I regret now that I didn't buy it at the time.

  20. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon


    Most people misunderstood that there are eight types of Fajin. However, there are eight ways to Fajin rather than eight types. At the beginning of the video, it specified that 力(Li) is the fundamental of martial arts(武術). Without Li, then, there is no way that one can make a strike. It was understood that Li, in Taiji, is tremendous strength, immense power, or explosive power(aka Jin). The are eight basic ways to Fajin.

    Note: Please note that how the practitioners keeping their balance. They are always standing with a bow stance with the upper torso straight along with the center-line.

  21. Posted

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    So we agree, fajin is not unique to taijiquan. B)

     

    3 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

    I do not agree with the former that fajin is not unique to Taijjquan. I believe that Fajin was greatly emphasized in Taijiquan as oppose to the other arts you had mentioned

     

  22. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    2 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

    Doc benway said:

    In my opinion and experience, there is nothing magical about jin, nothing that can't be explained by physics and careful observation.

     

    @doc benway

    Hmmm...

    Without trying,

    don't you think this might be a hasty assumption!

     

    PS

    People acquired Jin from practice don't need to understand how it was acquired or explain it.

  23. Posted

    35 minutes ago, johndoe2012 said:

    In a zen dojo they focused on ming men not LDT when in meditation. 

     

    I wondered about it but it worked out fine. 


    It will work anyway regardless how were you focused on!

  24. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    One thing worth mentioning is that fajin is not unique to taijiquan.

    It is a core technique in xingyiquan, yiquan, bajiquan, liuhebafa, baguazhang, and even wing chun. 

    Slow motion forms are primarily found in taijiquan.


    I do not agree with the former that fajin is not unique to Taijjquan. I believe that Fajin was greatly emphasized in Taijiquan as oppose to the other arts you had mentioned. However, I do agree the others do Fajin. By definition, Fajin is to exert the maximum force that the body can be generated. That was developed by different forms of exercise from slow to moderate speed. These forms, xingyiquan, yiquan, bajiquan, liuhebafa, baguazhang are done at moderate speed which have the same effect to develop Jin in the body. In fact, Bruce Lee, gave up Taiji and went into Wing Chun. He developed his strength by external practice (Waigong, 外功) . He used weights to train his muscles and used electrical current to stimulate his muscle. All his movements are at fast speed which consumes a lot of his body energy. To avoid wasting his energy, so, he invented his own style called 截拳道 (Jeet Kune Do) which implies with the notion of: anticipate the attack before the opponent initiate the strike. We can see that Bruce Lee always so relax by doing the cha cha moves by jumping back and forth. When he saw the opponent is about to initiate a strike, he moved so swiftly to knock out the opponent. Thu the opponent didn't even know where the strike was coming from or what hit him. The reason I said him is no offense to the ladies. It is because Bruce Lee never hit a woman.:wub:
     

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    On the other hand, each of these arts places emphasis, to varying degrees, on standing meditation of one sort or another.

    I haven't studied all of the above arts but I have trained in taiji, xingyi, bagua, and wing chun. 


    I only see that Wing Chun does not develop Jin in the group of training.
     

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    In my own experience, standing is one of the most important ingredients in developing fajin, as well as other jin, eg. coiling, pushing, folding, hidden, wave, revolving, and so on. It seems this is because standing cultivates song, a strong yet flexible and responsive structure along with mind-body integration.


    Standing gives the leverage for the body to Fajin rather than developing Fajin. BTW Fajin is an execution to exert an immense fore.
    FYI Coiling, pushing, folding, hidden, wave, revolving, sticking-hand and so on are the techniques developed from push-hand that was  practiced by Taiji practitioners.
     

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    In my experience, the power of fajin comes from the proper development of the body, listening and sensing skills, timing, whole body coordination through the waist and kua, rooting skill, and perhaps most of all, awareness, which underlies all of the above.


    Yes, exactly same as above. Those skills are from the practice of push-hand.
     

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    Of course breathing is important but once one develops proper breathing habits, the breath should be forgotten, eg. allowed to breath itself.


    Yes, breathing and movements are become natural instinct that give the fast reflex of the body to move swiftly. The practitioner didn't even have to think about the next move.
     

    1 hour ago, doc benway said:

    As important as breathing is, too much attention to it can be limiting or a distraction. In my opinion and experience, there is nothing magical about jin, nothing that can't be explained by physics and careful observation.

     

    Yes, I agree. Beginners, especially, should not pay too much attention to it can be limiting or a distraction. The breathing will become natural for someone who is mastered of the art.

  25. Posted

    52 minutes ago, Taoist Texts said:

    Sun Lu Tang decided to travel around the country to seek further knowledge in Martial arts and Taoism philosophy, especially in the inner alchemy method

    https://www.itqf.com/taiji-styles/sun


    The coordination of movements and breathing was mentioned the same way by all Taiji practitioners.

    1. 3. Movements should be in harmony. No matter which internal martial art discipline, for it is common to all, that your movements should be natural and relaxed. In Sun Style Taijiquan practise, it is especially stressed that one's movements need to be well co-ordinated and smoothly connected like a flow of water. Crucial to the proper performance of the Taijiquan form is correct breathing. Correct breathing is abdominal breathing. Breathe naturally and deeply through the nose into the abdomen, neither holding your breath nor forcing the breath. Allow the pace of your breath to slow down. The mouth should be gently closed and your tongue should be lightly touching the upper palate inside the mouth.