ChiDragon

Basically, the fundamental principles are the same in martial arts. One just have to know the nuance between them. It is an art to know the uniqueness of each. Then one will have a better understanding of the other types by comparison. PS..... I am too critical and may offend too many people. I better stay out. Thanks for the welcome.....

"The hot one opens the pores, the cold closes them." I was told that was a fallacy in my high school health class.

Here is the Generative Cycle of the Five Elements: Metal engenders Water Water engenders Wood Wood engenders Fire Fire engenders Soil Soil engenders Metal "So If Mtiger takes a cold shower anyway then what happens his pilot light goes out ?" What will happen will happen internally. Nothing is effective externally unless one has a cut.

Probably not....!!!

Is there any tension in the mind.....???

"Song to me is letting go of any tension / holding patterns in my body" "song(鬆, 松): relax or loosen the muscles." Is there a difference.....???

For my understanding. By the linguistic meaning, it has nothing to do with martial arts. song(鬆, 松): relax or loosen the muscles. Jin(勁): is the body energy or strength, anyone who uses the body strength requires muscle contraction. song(鬆, 松) is just relaxing the muscle; it doesn't require any special skill to develop it but Jin does.

Rooting is like a building having a good foundation. The key in balancing oneself is to have the centroid of the body maintaining in the center with the vertical. In order for the body to have a good foundation or rooting, the legs must be able to lock into the ground or floor. That was done by exerting the inner strength to the legs as all the martial artists would have done. Rooting was done by having the feet anchored to the ground by imaging that with the left and right foot squeeze toward each other while the Fa Jin in the lower legs. To keep the balance was by shifting the centroid of the body according to action of the opponent. If the opponent moves toward the chest, then the practitioner should guide the opponent away from the centroid to maintain balance. At the same time, try to shift the centroid of the opponent off the vertical or move him around to get him off balance. If a normal person was standing on the ground, it is very easy to push the body upward then back to get him off balance. Thus the upward push will cause the opponent to loosen the feet lock off the ground; while pushing back will cause the centroid to shift off toward the rear. Finally, a big thrust with a full amount of Fa Jin with both arms will send the opponent flying off to the wall. At higher level of understanding Tai Ji, these kind of the subtleties ought to be grokked by the intuition of the practitioners.

In order to Fa Jin, the body of the practitioner must be able to be standing still against any external influential force. This is where the rooting comes into play. Traditionally, in martial arts, rooting was accomplished from Zhan Zhuang (站庄). In Tai Ji, Zhan Zhuang was not required to do it separately. It is because good 'rooting' was obtained from the fundamental movements, spontaneously, by bending the knees and sometimes standing on one bent leg for few seconds at a time. During Fa Jin, to balance and stabilize the body, the muscles of one or both legs were contracted depend on the circumstances for solid rooting. BTW Rooting was not done continuously, it was only applied at the time when necessary to counteract any sudden lunge by an opponent. Another words, the body was most powerful is when all the muscles are at the Fa Jin mode.

"With the combination of the Yi, inner strength and Xing all putted together, it is the most effective way to Fa Jin." I would like to put a little emphasis on Fa Jin(發勁). One does not born with Jin(勁). Jin has to be developed in the muscles by the prolong practice during the first year. The muscles have to be completely relaxed while performing the slow movements; so, the normal strength does not interfere with the Jin development. Thus this is the secret to NeiKung(內功, internal practice). However, as soon one exert a force in the muscles, that will become the external practice which will defeat the principle of Yin-yang in Tai Ji. The Yin is before Yang which implies that the muscles were soft to begin with then hard after the first year of practice. The reason was because the result of the muscle tone was developed. At the same time, Jin was developed and distributed evenly in the muscles. So, the Yi can issue a signal to any muscle of the body to exert Jin at any time and position. Fa Jin can be done by each muscle in any part of the body. Partial Fa Jin was done to reserve the body energy. The idea to issue Jin partially was only to focus in the area that was interested. Let's look at Fa Jin in the right hand. A Tai Ji practitioner can exert Jin in any part of the hand. It can be done in this sequence under different conditions. 1. If one wants to just hold the opponent in place, then more Jin was exerted at the fingers than the lower arm. This sequence was to hold the hand of the opponent, the lower arm was to lock the hand in place with a slight pull back to resist the force of being pulled by the opponent. However, as soon as the opponent cease the resisting force, the practitioner will relax all the muscles to reserve energy for the next counter interaction. As soon a sense was felt that the opponent become aggressive again, the practitioner will immediately exert the Jin again in the same manner. 2. If the Yi of the practitioner has been determined at a condition that the opponent can be pushed away, then also Yi will automatically calculated how much Jin to be exerted and how far to send the opponent away. For example, the practitioner can just send the opponent away or all the way against the wall. All the calculations were taken place in a matter of a split second by the Yi of the practitioner. As soon the body strength of the opponent was felt by the practitioner, at that instance, the Yi will react spontaneously without hesitation for the counteract. BTW It corresponds to the old Tai Ji saying "You don't move, I don't move. If you move, I'll move first".

Guess what...??? Watermelon would be in the Water attribute.....

If you believe in the Five Elements, here is how they react with each other. You can follow the Opposing Cycle of the Five Elements. Metal opposes Wood Wood opposes Soil Soil opposes Water Water opposes Fire Fire opposes Metal. Based in the Opposing Cycle in the TCM theory, since Water is against Fire, you should find something that is in the Water attribute.

The initial body strength of a beginner is the normal strength. The normal strength was scattered in the muscles which is hard to be controlled. In order for the normal strength to be effective, one has to punch with the arm all the way out straight to have a maximum impact. With the continuous practice of the Tai Ji movements, the normal strength will be incremented progressively to become the inner strength. The inner strength is distributed evenly throughout the muscles which can be easily controlled by the Yi. The Yi can control the amount of the inner strength to be exerted by any muscle at any position and any time. With the combination of the Yi, inner strength and Xing all putted together, it is the most effective way to Fa Jin. PS.... This is all based by my intuition in lieu with the Fa Jin and Jin principles written by Cheng Man Ching for the Yang Style Tai Ji Chuan.

It depends how broad their knowledge and minds are.They don't know it but it doesn't mean that you don't know....

Yi(意) is the intend of the mind. At the first level, Xing was to learn the fundamental movements. The Xing of the beginners are very awkward and not smooth at all because the Yi(意) was not there. When the Yi was not there, the practitioner doesn't know what the next move is going to be. In order to have the Xing to look smoothly, the movements must be registered in the mind of the practitioner. Indeed, that has to be accomplished from the practice. While the arms and legs are moving slowly and repeatedly, all the moves are registered in the mind. Thus next time the Xing will be taken over by the Yi. The Yi will direct the body what to do exactly, so all the moves can be done smoothly.The practitioner will get to a point as soon each move was triggered by the Yi, the Xing will show each move exactly what was in the mind. That was why it is so important to practice the moves diligently. Now, let's talk about the body strength by distinguishing the nuance between the normal and inner strength by defining them. For the sake of discussion, let's say that the normal strength is for a non Tai Ji practitioner and the inner strength is the body strength of a Tai Ji practitioner or may be referred as Jin(勁).

Xing(形) is the form of each movement. The Xing will display all the aspects of each form such as the correctness, the amount of softness within the hardness, the smoothness within the motion of each move. In later stage, the inner strength will be displayed also. The Xing will reveal the skillfulness of the practitioner. A skillful practitioner will demonstrate the movements very smoothly and accurately. After a long time practice, the Jin will be eventually showed a little strength in the moves. The arms and legs will be moving in an orderly fashion by having each move continuously flowing non stop one after another. For a novice, the muscles in the arms and legs of the practitioner are very tight and stiff. Hence, it was recommended to loosen up all the muscles and joints while performing the movements. Loosen up the muscles is very important in Tai Ji as a form of NeiKung(internal practice). If the muscles weren't relaxed, then it would be considered external practice such as in any martial arts. While learning the forms and have the muscles to be relaxed was the hardest thing to do for a beginner. However, the Xing of the moves will not be showing very smoothly then. A final word for Xing, actually, it is the gesture of the whole body including the movements. It would be very pleasant to watch a skillful practitioner to perform all the Tai Ji moves smoothly.

The main characters are known as 氣功. It doesn't matter. They are all phonetics in other languages anyway.

Tai Ji Chuan is a very unique form of NeiKung. At the beginning, Tai Ji is a form QiGong then it becomes a martial arts. QiGong is an internal art and martial arts is external. However, Tai Ji won't become QiGong until it becomes perfected by the practitioner after a long period of cultivation. If one thinks that Tai Ji is a form of martial arts to begin with and practice it as a MA, then one will just practice it as MA and may never learn Tai Ji as Tai Ji. If one thinks Tai Ji is an internal art, then one will practice it as an internal art and will learn Tai Ji as Tai JI. The first year of Tai Ji practice is most significant for how it turns out to be. First, it was to learn the forms of the movements. That was the initial mental training by remembering the moves. During the course of the practice, there are some subtle things happening to the practitioner without being noticed by the practitioner. There are three basic elements called xing(形), yi(意) and shen(神) which taken place simultaneously. Xing(形) is the form of each movement. Yi(意) is the intend of the mind. Shen(神) is the spirit of the body which indicated by the body language. These three elements are to be the goal of achievements for practicing Tai Ji. All these three criteria will show the progression level of the Tai Ji practitioner. In addition, these three criteria will also indicate how strong the inner strength of the practitioner is. Another words, the inner strength is the amount of Jin(勁) which the practitioner can be exerted. Jin is the most unique feature about Tai Ji. Jin can only be developed by the diligent practice of Ti Ji Chaun day after day. Indeed, this part may be considered to be the internal art because it was taken place inside the body; it was also known as NeiGong . Most people preferred as "cultivation of internal power" or by other similar nomenclatures in the west. It was also called QiGong because the effectiveness of breathing was also enhanced spontaneously during Tai Ji practice. PS... I will elaborate on the three criteria of Xing(形), Yi(意) and Shen(神) in the near future. Of course, this is all my personal understanding and intuition.

There is something good about Tai Ji Chuan. One just need to learn the basic movements at the beginning without any basic knowledge. One by practicing these movements diligently will have significant results. Even with a good teacher explaining the theory, one without the experience from their practice still would not understand it all. The teacher can only guide one through the practice. One can only learn 50% from the teacher, 25% was from the practice and the rest was from the wisdom of the practitioner. It is because the teacher can only tell one so much. However, how much one can absorb or digest is a different story. Some do have the wisdom to go on one's own by the enlightenment of one's intuition, while the others may not have the wisdom but just have to be relied on the teachers for further instructions at all times. There are many ways that one can tell have progress taken place or not from a long time practice. One can tell by the physical changes like the muscle tone with the increase in body strength and the increase in the speed of one's reaction. The most significant difference was in breathing. After years of practice, the breathing is much deeper than the first day of the practice. The basic movements of Tai Ji will help the body to increase the coordination of the arms and legs and to loosen the joints. The coordination is very important for enabling the body to move freely at any position at any instance without jeopardize the twitching muscles from over stress. In Tai Ji Chuan, the inner strength of the body was developed from long time practice was called Jin(勁). In QiGong, the Jin was referred as Chi or energy. I need the emphasize that this 'Chi' is the body energy but not the cosmic energy going through the body as one might think it would be. Of cause, anybody can think of it anyway as one pleases. Physically, I would personally consider that the inner strength is 'Jin' which developed from the long time practice of Tai Ji and I have many native documents to substantiate that. Whatever people want to call the inner strength is. It is either Chi or Jin, but to me it is still the inner strength was developed from practicing. There was a term, in Tai Ji, to exert the inner strength is called Fa Jin. To Fa Jin, one must has the Jin(勁) in order to Fa Jin(發勁). Fa Jin falls into the Neikung(內功, internal practice) category. From the term "inner strength" itself, it was self explanatory as internal practice.

This parable teaches us many lessons. The first lesson was not to think that you own the whole world only acquired with a little knowledge. Secondly, the story of the shaman was warning us not to view only one side of the story without knowing exactly what was going on. At the end, it was just ended up no where but running away from it all. Thirdly, life is too complicated; it is better off to live in a simplest way. Finally, as it was pertaining to the title of this chapter, the parable was suggesting that the rulers not to use shamanism to rule a country.

Chapter 7 Section F In the State of Zheng, there was a divine shaman. His name was called Ji-xian(季咸). He can predict when the people are going to die or stay alive, what will happen in the future and how long one will live. He can predict the time of death with an accuracy to the year, month or even date. He seems like a deity. When the people of Zheng saw him coming, they turned around to stay away far from him. They were afraid that they did not leave soon enough. Lie-zi saw him was admired and indulged by his witchcraft. When Lai-zi returned to home, he told his teacher, Hu-zi(壶子), the situation. Then said: "At the beginning I thought teacher's Taoism was profound, most prepare and complete. Now, I have found someone is even more profound." Hu-zi(壶子) said: "What I had taught you about Tao was only superficial; it has not even reach its core yet. However, you thought that you have understood Tao for a long time? Even though there are lots of females without a male, how can one obtain an fertilized egg? How dare you showing off the egg in your hand by claiming a principle of using an egg to produce a chicken. Letting people know that the egg has been fertilized. This is equal to letting someone know your own background. Then have someone to give you a divination. Let's try to bring him with you and have him try it on me." The second day, Lei-zi(列 子) brought Ji-xian(季咸) to see his teacher Hu-zi(壶子) again. After Ji-xian(季咸) had a glance, then he stepped out the door and told Lei-zi(列子): "Alas! your teacher will die soon, he will not live! He only has ten days left for his life. I saw his face has changed form, and also his facial appearance was cold as burnt ash; that was the sign of the end of life." Lei-zi(列子) went inside the house while crying and told Hu-zi(壶子). Hu-zi(壶子) said: "I was just placed myself in a Yin-state as an earth. I was appeared to him that I was weak and look deformed and askew. I am afraid that he was judged by my sign of lack of vitality? Let's try again and bring him over. The next day, Lei-zi(列子) brought Ji-xian(季咸) to see Hu-zi(壶子) again. Then stepped out the door and told Lei-zi(列 子): " How lucky! Your teacher saw me and his illness is going to recover. Right now looks like he is full of life. I saw that his deterrence of life has gone and his vital soul is coming back into livelihood." Lei-zi(列子) went inside and told Hu-zi(壶子). Then Hu-zi(壶子) said: "I was just place myself in a Yang-state as heaven. Thus the sign of pretense or actuality cannot enter the body which left a sign of vitality from head to toe. I am afraid that his result was judged by my vital sign. Let's try again and bring him over. Another day has gone by, Lei-zi(列子) brought in Ji-xian(季咸) again.Then stepped out the door and told Lei-zi(列 子) : "The sign of vitality on your teacher is very unstable. It is impossible for me to come out with a result. Let wait until he is more stable then I'll take another look." Lei-zi(列子) went inside and told Hu-zi(壶子). Then Hu-zi(壶子) said: "I was just placed myself in a Yin-yang-state which was in the two complementary states. The revelation showed that neither state can be defeated each other. I am afraid that his words were spoken by seeing my skill of balancing the the chi of yin and yang. The place that the whales do not enter was called abyss. The deep pool of stillness was also called abyss. The deep pool where water can move was also called abyss. There are nine kinds of abysses. It was just like 'Tao'. I had only said three kinds. Let him come again. Another day, Lei-zi(列子) brought in Ji-xian(季咸) again. Ji-xian(季咸) saw Hu-zi(壶子) and took off right away before he could become standing still. It seems like he was really out of control in running for his life. Hu-zi(壶子) screamed: "Go after him." Lei-zi(列子) did not catch him, came back and told Hu-zi(壶子): "he was out of sign and got away. I did not catch him." Hu-zi(壶子) said: "I was place myself in my original primitive state like my ancienter. I was entangled together with the Great Void, who can tell who is who. It was because once I was like a pile of mud, then again once I was like water flowing. He cannot distinguish my true self, thus that's why he ran away." Finally, Lei-zi(列 子) reckon that he had not learned anything but returned home. He have not gone travel for many years, he helped his wife to set fire for cooking. He paid much attention to raise pigs with extreme care. He prepared foods for the pigs as careful as he would have prepared for a human. He treated all things with equality. He was intended to live an austere way of life. It would be like an emotionless sculpture just standing there. He pays no attention to the quarrels of others. He lived in such way until he dies.

Welcome...!!! You are very wise.... You had given me the impression that you are a highly cultivated person and a wise one living in seclusion. Thank you for opening the gate to all wonders. PS..... As I always say to all the wise ones, you are a gentleman and a scholar.

It is just a descriptive term used by TCM for something that was too potent which has to be slowed down or eliminated. For example, if you are having a high sexual drive, it was said to be that your "yang fire(陽火)" is too strong.

Is this a threat..........??????