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* BMJ Group, Wednesday 25 March 2009
The traditional Chinese exercise Tai Chi may help people who’ve had strokes regain their ability to balance. In a study, people were better able to balance after a 12-week course of Tai Chi than after a course of general exercise and stroke education.
What do we know already?
Having a stroke can damage the parts of the brain that help you keep your balance. Not everyone gets this problem, but some people find it hard to learn to walk again. Problems with balance can mean people are more likely to fall and injure themselves.
Tai Chi is a form of exercise where people learn to move slowly and deliberately through a sequence of standing poses. It’s usually done in smooth, flowing movements and requires a lot of concentration. It’s very popular in China, especially with older people, who often take part in outdoor classes in parks.
What does the new study say?
The study compared two groups of people who’d had strokes more than six months previously. One group had regular sessions of exercise therapy and the other did sessions of Tai Chi. Both groups had 12, weekly, hour-long sessions, and were encouraged to spend another three hours a week practising at home.
At the end of the study, and again four weeks later, the Tai Chi group performed better in tests of how good their balance was when they were standing. They were better able to shift their weight and lean forwards and backwards, and from one side to another. They were also better able to balance on a moving surface, with and without their eyes closed. The general exercise group didn’t show much improvement in these tests.
Neither group improved much in a test looking at speed of mobility, which measured how quickly people could get up from a chair, walk, turn around and sit back down.
How reliable are the findings?
The study only looked at 136 people, but seems to have been carried out well. The people allocated to practice Tai Chi were slightly younger, but the researchers adjusted their results to account for this. Both groups had similar test results at the start of the study.
The results are likely to be fairly reliable, but only looked at the short-term benefits of Tai Chi. It would be useful to know whether the benefits lasted, or whether doing Tai Chi could stop people falling and injuring themselves.
Where does the study come from?
The study was carried out by researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China. It was published in the medical journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, owned by the American Society of Neurorehabilitation. It was funded by the S.K. Yee Medical Foundation and by a grant from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
What does this mean for me?
If you’ve had a stroke and have problems with balance, this is an interesting study. But we don’t know whether the improved balance necessarily translates into fewer falls. Also, although the improvement lasted during the four weeks from the end of the study to the final test, we don’t know whether it would last longer than that. It might depend on whether people continued to practise.
What should I do now?
You could look to see whether there are any Tai Chi classes in your area. However, the study used an adapted form of Tai Chi that had been developed for people with arthritis. You should speak to an instructor to ask whether the type of Tai Chi they teach is suitable for people who’ve had a stroke. You may need extra help or support to make sure you don’t fall while taking part.
From: The Guardian web site, Health: best treatments
Au-Yeung SSY, Hui-Chan CWY, Tang JCS. Short-form Tai Chi improves standing balance of people with chronic stroke. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. Published online January 2009.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited (“BMJ Group”) 2009
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For information on Tai Chi forms go to the following links:
People With Severe Osteoarthritis Got Relief From Practicing Tai Chi, Study Shows
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Oct. 25, 2008 — A new study shows the ancient Chinese movement art of tai chi can help ease knee pain in people who have severe osteoarthritis.
Researchers, led by Chenchen Wang, MD, MSc, from Tufts Medical Center in Boston, got together 40 people with severe knee osteoarthritis who reported knee pain on most days of the previous month.
The average age of the study participants was 65. All had osteoarthritis for an average of 10 years and were considered overweight, with an average body mass index of 30.
One group practiced an hour of tai chi (adapted from the classical yang style) twice a week for 12 weeks. The comparison group received the same amount of time stretching and boning up on wellness education.
Researchers wanted to see how scores on pain, physical function, health-related quality of life, and mood changed at the end of 12 weeks. They found that the tai chi group improved more than the other group in scores of pain, physical function, depression, and physical quality of life.
Researchers repeated the assessments at 24 weeks and 48 weeks and found that the group that continued to practice tai chi had less pain and longer-lasting function benefits.
A recent CDC study found that the lifetime risk of having symptomatic knee osteoarthritis was nearly 45%, with increased risk for people with history of a knee injury.
Tai chi, sometimes called a “soft martial art,” uses flowing, gentle movements and balancing postures. It also employs a meditative quality, as the mind focuses on the body movements.
The results are being released Oct. 25 at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting in San Francisco.
The research was partially funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
Post by John Crewdson
How are carrots, eggs, coffee, and tai chi related? First a story I got via email from my friend Melanie Hirsch.
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee…You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’
‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling
water, they had changed the water.
‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
May we all be COFFEE!!!
Tai chi has helped me become soft when I need to be and hard for brief moments when necessary, so I could learn to change my surroundings. Tai chi’s spiritual nature allows you to blend with the water of daily life, be it a rushing torrent or a boiling pot. It would take too many words to explain it better than this simple and elegant story, if I even could. It’s better to experience it. Visit me at www.beginningtaichi.net.
My friend Mel is also talented at teaching people how to effectively deal with stress. Download her free 5 minute relaxation session from www.quick2calm.com.
Posted by John Crewdson – www.beginningtaichi.net
Experience Bursts of Tai Chi(TM) click here – http://tinyurl.com/3n9zj8
John is a formally accepted protege (disciple) of the 5th generation Yang Master, Cui Zhongsan of Beijing, China. John trains and teaches at The Mei Zhong Yang Style Taijiquan Association, USA in Decatur, Georgia, as well as teaching via the internet. He trains with his master whenever he travels to Beijing and whenever Master Cui visits the United States. In keeping with tradition, and just plain old good form, John also likes to acknowledge Miriam Holland who is the founder of Mei Zhong, John’s senior training sister, and a fellow disciple of Master Cui (visit www.mz108.com).
Anyone may copy this article and use it however they see fit, as long as it is copied in its entirety with all links, the author’s information, and this statement. You may also email me at John@beginningtaich.net.
Dr. Oz, MD has been on Oprah recently discussing the health benefits of the mangosteen fruit. Below is a short summary about the mangosteen which may be helpful to you when explaining its merits to others.
All the best in health,
Jamee, Boston Healing Tao Instructor
Dr. Oz mentioned a fruit called the mangosteen in the same segment as the purslane and his green drink, as well as the goji, etc. Mangosteen is a fruit most people in the US are unfamiliar with. This post is intended to provide information about the fruit and to enure that those who are interested in the mangosteen do not fall into any of the marketing traps and hype that are out there. So, here’s the heads up…
1) What can be factually said about the mangosteen from scientific research is this: it appears the phytonutrients in the fruit help maintain intestinal health, neutralize existing free radicals (anti-oxidant), maintain a healthy immune system, support cartilage and joint function, maintain a healthy seasonal respiratory system and relieve minor muscle pain after exercise. In addition, a recent double blind human study shows mangosteen used as a mouthwash is effective in treating halitosis (bad breath), plaque and gingivitis (gum disease).
2) Mangosteen has been used medicinally in traditional healing for over a thousand years. There are 138 documented medicinal uses for the mangosteen in Eastern Medicine. The most common uses have been as an anti-inflammatory, an anti-microbial, an analgesic, an anti-diarrheal, a gastrointestinal aid, a treatment for skin ailments and, as Dr. Oz mentioned, a sexual aid.
3) The principal biologically active phytonutrients in mangosteen are catechins, polysaccarides, proanthocyanadins, anti-oxidants, sterols and a class of compounds known as “Xanthones” which account for most of the medicinal properties of the fruit. There are 200+ known Xanthones that occur in nature, typically in lichens, mosses and tree bark — not things you probably want to eat. The family of plants related to St. John’s Wart, of which mangosteen is a member, also contain Xanthones. Of the 200 or so known Xanthones, mangosteen contains over 40.
4) If you are scientifically minded, go to PubMed (you con find that in Google since I can’t link it here) and look up the keyword “mangosteen” — you’ll get a long list of scientific studies that have been done on the fruit. You can do a general internet search for “mangosteen” though you’re going to get a plethora of listings that are only selling juice and may or may not have useful and accurate information. To be sure, all of the leading brands of mangosteen juice are sold by direct distributors and they can make some pretty outrageous and misleading claims in their enthusiasm to make a sale.
5) You cannot buy fresh mangosteen fruit in the US and most of Europe because it doesn’t keep well. Mangosteen is called “The Queen of Fruits” because Queen Elizabeth offered knighthood to anyone who could bring her the fresh fruit… no one ever did. Even if you did buy the whole fruit, the health benefits of the fruit are in the rind, not the fruit, and the rind tastes horrid. So you wouldn’t eat that and thus would miss out on the benefits of the fruit.
6) Not all mangosteen juices are created equal. As I just pointed out, the benefits of the fruit are in its rind, not the pulp, so unless the juice is a whole fruit puree you won’t get the full benefit. Just squeezing the fruit and throwing the juice in bottle will let you market it as a mangosteen juice, but that does not mean that it offers any of the benefits Dr Oz referred to or that have been the subject of the mangosteen’s uses in traditional medicine he indicated.
7) Also beware of juices that use extracts and concentrates — as already mentioned, there are over 40 known Xanthones in the mangosteen’s pericarp and fruit concentrates or extracts usually miss most, if not all, of them. Some products claim to be extra rich in Xanthones because they extract and concentrate a small subset of the Xanthones that are available in the fruit and thus undermine the synergy of the entire fruit. They often focus on the Alpha Mangostin Xanthone which is an anti-oxidant and miss all of the other Xanthones that are anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, etc. Also look for warning signs like added sugars, preservatives, added water, etc. Be very aware of what you are buying. To the best of my knowledge, there are no store bought brands that are whole fruit, not watered down, and without concentrates, extracts or additives.
The whole fruit tastes nasty without help. Try different brands to find the one that tastes best to you. There are brands out that there that are the whole fruit and tastes delicious. If you try a brand and it tastes bad, keep experimenting with other brands. If it doesn’t taste good, you won’t keep drinking it over time. Taste is a huge barrier to consumption and if you want to use the mangsoteen over the long term as a health aid, then you need to find one you enjoy drinking or you WILL quit even though it is good for you.
9) The first company to bring mangosteen juice was XanGo. You cannot buy XanGo in a store nor do I believe you can buy any unadulterated whole fruit puree mangosteen juice in a store. At least, I haven’t found one yet. Most are sold only through direct distributors. XanGo is an international business and they drop ship directly to your door, as do most all direct sales brands.
For more info about Xango please go here
by Naomi Shragai
In our culture today the connection between physical and emotional problems is gaining currency. Surprisingly, the best answer to coping with the stresses of life is by using a hands-on approach that straightens the body. This technique can help in balancing moods, changing behavioural patterns and managing life’s challenges.
To most people the Alexander Technique is a method of improving posture or relieving backache. However, the emotional and psychological benefits have convinced many to continue lessons long after their aches and pains have disappeared. Hilary, a 38-year-old barrister from North London, gained enormous psychological benefits from having lessons in the technique.
Her psychiatrist had referred her to me after a two-week admission at The Priory Hospital for a psychotic, manic episode. Therapy and medication had had minimal impact on her subsequent depression, and both she and her psychiatrist were willing to try anything that might help. When I first met Hilary, who is married with a four-year-old son, her depression was so severe that she could not even engage in a 50-minute therapy session. Instead, I suggested three Alexander Technique lessons a week until her mood stabilised.
Hilary says she was suffering extreme depression at the time. “I was completely non-functional,” she recalls. “My son, Peter, was three months old and I had to leave him with a full-time nanny to look after him. I wasn’t doing anything except trying not to kill myself.”
The effects of the technique in balancing her mood and helping her to think rationally were powerful. “Before, I had ten years of antidepressants and therapy to some effect, bringing some stability. Using the Alexander Technique helped me to achieve a degree of healing that wasn’t possible with just talk therapy and pills. For me, the technique became a lifeline. I felt calmer from the first lesson.”
The Alexander technique is a way of re-educating the body towards balance and alignment. In individual lessons, a qualified teacher helps the student to recognise faulty muscular use and poor posture through gentle touch and guidance (see panel, facing page). There is an emphasis on lengthening and widening the back, and freeing the spine to achieve a more co-ordinated movement.
With the aid of the teacher’s hands, the student learns to release and lengthen muscles that have been shortened over time because of stress and misuse. But how can stopping unnecessary muscular tension heal emotional wounds? Unconscious experiences, such as unhealed traumas, unexpressed feelings and painful memories can be pushed into the body where they are not free to be dealt with in the mind. These tensions might turn into physical symptoms and ailments, but can also lead to mental illness, such as depression and anxiety.
Frederick Alexander, the founder of the technique, taught that how we use our bodies has an extraordinary effect on our ability to accurately perceive the world around us, as well as our emotional and physical health.
“I had been holding fear in my muscles” Hilary says the technique helped her to cope with emotional scars from her childhood. “One experience I had is that I would just let the fear out of my body. I would lie on the treatment table and I would just let it flow out. I had been holding it in my muscles. So, with lessons over time, the world seemed like a less scary place. I had less fear. I look back now and realise that this fear made me perceive anything anyone did to me as a threat. As a result, I was basically confrontational all the time, with everyone.
“Of course, at the time I couldn’t see it. As my balance improved, my perceptions softened and with less fear came less confrontation. I was better able to connect with reality.”
“With balance in your body, you feel less vulnerable, more able to cope. A good example of that is my son’s crying. When I started Alexander lessons, Peter’s crying was the sound of m failure as a mother. It was heartbreaking to me. Obviously, a child’s crying is not that, but I had made it all about me, using it to condemn myself. With the Alexander Technique I was able to reassess the situation – it’s just the sound of a baby’s crying. It didn’t pierce my heart. A feeling of stability replaced the fear and self-loathing.”
For Hilary, the physical space gained in lessons in lengthening and widening the body translates to a mental space available for thinking and reflecting.
Another Alexander Technique student, Sally, a 50-year-old mother of two and a theatrical agent from Central London, initially came to see me for psychotherapy for family problems. Further into the therapy we agreed that it might be beneficial to use the technique. Sally says: “Whatever is thrown at me now, my spine supports me. I feel that I can hold myself physically and emotionally. I no longer see my brain in my head, I see my mind and body completely co-ordinated. I’m much more balanced, more selective in what I say.
“I used to rescue everybody. That was my role in life. That was the norm. I’d get up in the morning and I’d rescue people. The armour was on and I went into battle because that was the only thing I knew. It’s very different now. I’m looking after myself, I think I’ve come out of it much more selfish. What I didn’t know was that if you look after yourself, you’re going to be so much better with other people.”
Anne, 39, a single woman from North London, had attended psychotherapy sessions for nearly seven years for depression. Although the insight she gained was essential for her to make sense of her life, she felt frustrated when her depression recurred at stressful times.
“For me, the Alexander Technique was more helpful for depression than therapy,” she says. “With good posture and balance you are more able to withstand the physical and emotional knocks that life throws at you. A feeling of a lightness and ease in standing and sitting replaces the sense of being held together by tension and fragmented body parts. With lessons, my body started to feel less fragmented, more cohesive, and with that cohesion came a new clarity of thought.”
These three women had psychotherapy sessions alongside the technique, but all benefited from their improved body use. It helped them to translate the insights gained in psychotherapy into changed behaviour.
Another student, Tim, 52, a single professional man from South London, who also suffered depression, says the technique even helped him to contain suicidal thoughts. He describes how lessons left him with a heightened sensitivity to feelings, as well as a greater capacity to hold and think about these rather than being overwhelmed by them. He says: “You feel yourself getting into gear, but you don’t actually end up driving.” Making the neurological connection Missy Vineyard, who runs a training course for Alexander Technique teachers in Massachusetts and is the author of the book How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live, describes the lessons as learning how to consciously stop unwanted behaviour at a neurological level. She believes that the technique teaches conscious inhibition by activating the pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for impulse control.
Lucy Brown is a professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and a student of the Alexander Technique. She is committed to understanding the technique’s neurological and psychological links.
According to Professor Brown, studies suggest that the technique activates those parts of the brain involved with cognition, learning and emotions. She says: “It is reasonable to speculate that areas of the pre-frontal cortex would be activated under the circumstances of a lesson and long-term learning from the technique.” While further research is needed to establish exactly how the technique produces these benefits, people’s experiences speak for themselves.
Students of the Alexander Technique will confirm that the mind is not just located in the brain, but in the muscles, cells and organs throughout the body. The writer and novelist Aldous Huxley, a student of Frederick Alexander’s, knew these truths all too well. In writing about Alexander’s work, he said: “If you teach an individual first to be aware of his physical organism and then to use it as it was meant to be used, you can often change his entire attitude to life and cure his neurotic tendencies.”
(The names of the students have been changed.)
THE LOWDOWN
What is it? The Alexander Technique was developed by the actor Frederick Mathias Alexander around 1900. He believed that correct alignment of the head, neck and spine would alleviate back pain, breathing disorders and stress-related conditions. He claimed the technique frees the neck of muscular tension. It also allows the head to move forward so that it balances lightly at the top of the spine, which encourages the back to lengthen and widen, giving the body freer movement.
Suitable for Treating neck and back pain, poor posture, migraines and arthritis. It is increasingly accepted as useful for treating chronic problems such as arthritis, Parkinson’s disease. What little good-quality research there is suggests that there could be some merit for these claims.
Cost £30-£40 for a 45-minute session. Contact The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (0845 2307828; stat.org.uk ) to find a teacher near you.
Naomi Shragai is a psychotherapist and teacher of the Alexander Technique in North London. She is a member of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the Association of Family Therapy and the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique
* Have your say
“At last , an article which says so eloquently what I experienced as some lifesaving benefits of the Alexander Technique. When I nearly died following an ectopic pregnancy and was told that I was likely infertile, I nearly cracked with grief. A therapist sent me to Alexander lessons, saying, “You need to learn to look after yourself rather than become dependent on me.” Lessons gave me back my old confidence, taught me to pause, or inhibit, long enough to use verbals instructions to “free my neck” and “allow my back to lengthen and widen” which quietened my anxieties. I went on to give birth to three miraculous children using my Alexander orders/directions and “whispered ah” breathing. Alexander also kept me and my ITN C4 news crew safe when we were in danger of being kidnapped in Peru in 1990. It took away the panic by connecting me with my common sense. Alexander is deeply scientific, not “alternative”, and your article helped to put the Technique where it belongs. Thank you.”
- Anita Bennett, Bristol, Bristol
“I came to the Alexander Technique a year ago with severe M.E. It was a struggle at first to get from the taxi into the clinic and today I walked home 20mins uphill! I can also relate well to the huge improvement in my mental wellbeing as I had a plethera of emotional troubles for a large part of my life resulting in copious prescriptions,none of which did anything to quell my extreme anxiety and depression. When I collapsed with M.E a few years ago I feared my life was finished but now with the simple beauty, yet fascinating complexity of the A.T lessons I know I have a new and exciting life ahead of me.”
- Sheralyn Rennert, Surrey, U.K
“I also came to the Technique because of a “physical” issue and came away with more “mental” well-being. Of course the Technique itself emphasizes that physical and mental are 2 sides of the same coin. A good place to learn more about the Technique is their wonderful site at http://alexandertechnique.com.”
- Jack Martin, Dublin, Ireland
To find an Alexander Technique Teacher near you go to Alexander Technique International, (ATI).
For those who may not have read this before, here’s a nice article
from the Qi Journal by Yang Chengfu’s senior student, Li YaXuan
From a speech in 1956
“… So subtle; so subtle; as if there is no sound.
Immortal, immortal; as if there is no shape…”
Prior to producing momentum, the body gesture should be stable and
the balance completely centered. The mind and body should be relaxed.
There should be no hesitation, no rigidity. Remove all distracting
thoughts from the mind and allow the return of the body gesture to
that state of being natural. With this, you can start to move.
When moving, use your heart/intention and qi to do the moving, to do
the operation. Use your spine and waist as an axis in producing the
boxing sequence. Your moving momentum should be like that of a moving
cloud, like running water, like pulling a thread, and like a hanging
thread. Usually twenty minutes to a half hour is about right to
complete the frame. After practice your mind and spirit should feel
uplifted; your mind and perception, clear. This will show that your
practice is on the right track. Once you reach this level, you should
quietly reach awareness. Reaching this level is really not difficult.
Avoid rigidity and hardness in the body. Avoid moving the four limbs
independently, by themselves. Use your intention and qi to carry the
movement. The whole body should be relaxed. Sinking your qi and
momentum to the lower place is taiji’s correct rule. I (Teacher Li)
have often seen taiji practicioners allowing their four limbs to move
completely by themselves and to move without guidance. This may look
fancy but it is a mistake.
Master Li Ya Xuan
After practicing awhile you should feel your palm and the inside of
your fingers, i.e., the belly of the fingers, should feel the
fullness of qi and intention. This proves that qi and blood have
already reached the tip, the recesses, of your body. Based on this
achievement, if you continue to practice your skill, you will
eventually, spontaneously reach the level of awareness and
connection. If you practice for a lengthy time without being able to
feel this sensation, that means that your qi and intention and skill
frame are incorrect. In that case, you should immediately seek a good
teacher to guide you further, otherwise, if you continue to practice
incorrectly too long, it will not be possible to ever make the
corrections needed.
Use your mind to operate your qi. Use your qi to operate your body.
Use your eyes to look inside, to sense how the body and the mind are
connected; to see how your spirit and qi are relaxed. After awhile,
you will automatically reach the level of unity of inside with
outside; unity of upper with lower. If you pay attention only to the
external skill movement, you are focusing only on external skills.
Your spirit and intention should stay inside to facilitate, to
reserve the quiet energy. When you use energy, the correct method is
to have a harvest before you start. Remember, every movement should
be clean and relaxed. With this your perspicacity, alacrity, and
flexibility can grow. Avoid becoming angry and displaying combative
signs such as clenching teeth and staring angrily with your eyes.
Those intentions and mannerisms are harmful; avoid them.
Some may ask, “If you do not have intention during the practice, when
you need it during combat, how can you then use it?” Actually,
practice is the time for building and accumulating your qi and
spirit. If you consolidate your qi and spirit, when you need them,
they will easily come out. If during practice you become extremely
angry and show such energy and qi externally, you will exhaust your
qi and spirit. In this case, since your qi then cannot accumulate,
when needed you will not have a sufficient supply to be able to make
a truly surprising movement.
Your upper body should have an empty and flexible spirit. Your middle
body should have the energy of the waist and spine. Your lower part
should have the qi of the dantien. These three parts are combined.
The external and internal are connected. With these your movement
will be appropriate. Everything should be natural. Do not pay
attention to any single, particular part of your body. If you think
only of sinking your qi then your qi will hesitate. If you think only
of making your spirit higher, of lifting up your spirit, your spirit
will be restricted. That is not a Taoist natural quality.
What do we mean by empty, flexible, top of head energy? This means
when your body gesture is comfortable and straight, settled, your
empty, flexible qi will automatically reach the top. This is not
something you can simply, intentionally cause by thinking a force to
the top. If you intentionally use force to reach your top, you will
have the characteristic of being straight and hard but without the
empty and flexible. Intentionally, trying to force a quality is
something that must be avoided in acquiring tai qi skill.
To practice taiji skill, you should first rely on a good teacher to
show the use of these skills. Secondly, you should understand the
theory of the great Teacher Chang San Feng and Wang T’sungYueh. You
should have no distraction during the practice, otherwise, you will
go the wrong way. In addition, when you do taijiquan you should not
practice external skill boxing, otherwise, your effort will be
without achievement.
This skill is called “relaxed and flexible energy”. Therefore, when
you use this energy there is no sound. When a person is hit,
externally there is no sign but internally, the penetration has
already been made. The external skill is a so-called tense and hard
energy. When this is used, you hear a “thump”, “tung”, “whap” sound.
When a person is hit, externally they show a red welt, or a red and
blue wound but internally there may be no penetration. Some say that
the taijiquan skill must be combined with other skills in order to be
useful. This really shows their lack of true teaching, of true
learning of taijiquan. This person does not understand taijiquan
theory and really is showing ignorance.
When people first learning the boxing frame, within a few days they
will feel muscle pain in their legs. After a month, they may feel
knee pain. After that they may feel some shoulder soreness. Learners
should not be surprised with this. This is a natural process. This
also is how a good teacher gives correct guidance. Continue the
practice and the soreness and pain will heal. Later, your skill will
be much improved. If people fear soreness and pain and then stop
practicing, only to re-start after the pain goes away, thus are only
doing a sporadic, start and stop practice, they are really wasting
their time. If you learn taiji boxing but never feel any leg pain,
knee pain, or shoulder soreness, then the teacher is not giving
correct guidance. You must select another teacher, a good teacher.
When you relax, first relax your mind. This is most important because
the mind is the host of the entire body. After the mind is relaxed,
the whole body then also is relaxed. If you use your mind to
influence the body after awhile you will automatically achieve real
relaxation. This will allow production of your internal energy.
The whole body, the qi, and momentum should be relaxed and open. With
this the empty and flexible can reach the top. Every movement is like
that of a river and the sea. Every step is like that of a cat. The
lower and upper should follow each other. Inside and outside should
cooperate completely with one another. With this, internal energy
will be produced.
When doing the skill, do not just move your four limbs. Rather, use
your mind to move them; use your qi to carry them; use your waist to
guide them; use your intention to induce. With this the upper, the
lower, the internal, and the external can become connected by one qi;
this is needed.
If you make even just a single gesture, not only must your four limbs
open but also your mind, your intention, your chest, should be closed
first; then all open together. All movement always starts from inside
and goes towards the outside. This is why tai qi is called an
internal skill, an internal kung.
Internally you should use your mind and intention as the host, the
head. Externally you should use the waist and the spine as the axis;
be completely centered. Internal/ external, upper and lower parts all
become one. With this there is something whose wonder is beyond
understanding.
Seek coordination of the upper and lower. This is the beginning step
of practice. Next, try to sense gingerly, look for something very
light, flexible, like cotton – soft. This is the middle level skill.
Finally, seek the empty and nothing in there. This is the last
research focus. When your body is light and flexible, there is still
something there. If you reach the level of empty and nothing, then
actually everything will follow your intention. This really is
reaching the most wonderful, mysterious level.
When Teacher Chengfu pushed hands and used his launching energy, his
eyes would give a certain extremely stern and dark look that caused
fright. The opponent then would feel stunning surprise and deep fear
of loss of life or eminent death. This shows how the spirit and body
can become one within a moment; how the whole body force can be
mobilized, concentrated, focused and produced within an extremely
short period of time. Because this happens within the briefest of
moments with the quickness of a thought, so suddenly, the opponent is
not able to make a defense. Besides that, there is no way to defend
against this.
Everyday, when we practice, we practice slowly. This slow practice
helps accumulate the spirit, qi, and intention. This is how the
internal and external cooperate to show such wonder. If you practice
too fast, not only will you not accumulate spirit and qi but,
internally and externally, the parts can not cooperate to the
appropriate degree needed. Therefore, even if you do the launching
energy, it will not be full. In addition, neither will your force be
capable of surprise.
When the whole body relaxes, the upper and lower parts must be
completely relaxed. This is one of the necessary conditions of
taijiquan. If your movement is not complete, or is complete but not
relaxed; or if you only relax your shoulder but your waist, kua,
belly, and back do not know what is relaxed; or after practice, your
palm does not feel inflated, then this shows you did not have the
right teacher. I have often seen practicioners shake their body and
make lots of sounds. Their heads are like those of sale-pitching
people; swollen, manicured, proper, everything in place, and with a
look of arrogance and a condenscending attitude. They think taiji
only “talks” about being soft and does not “speak” of force.
Actually, these types of arrogant, over-confident people do not know
that taijiquan has it’s own theory and can only be learned from a
teacher. It is not something you can learn by mere observation.
Taijiquan is not something you can just figure out by yourself at
home.
In the practice, you should feel the whole body relax and also feel
the movements being clean. If the whole body is stable and sunk then
the whole body will be comfortable and connected. In every movement
you should quietly think of how to use your intention, of how to send
your intention to the other’s body, and of how to enter inside the
other’s body. With this method, after a long period of practice, you
will see progress.
When your spirit and qi return inside and are reserved in your bones,
the whole body will be full of empty and flexible qi. If you then
want to be light, you will be light; if you want to be heavy, you
will be heavy. For skilled people who feel light – it is as if there
is nothing there. For skilled people who feel heavy – it is as if the
weight would break a mountain.
This is how you should practice your essence and transform your qi;
this is how you then practice your qi to transform your spirit. Upon
reaching the spiritual, you can reach the level of emptiness. To
reach the level of empty and flexible, you must start with being
solid. If you want to be light and quick, you must start with being
heavy and stable. After you practice the skill for quite a long time,
you can then reach the level of extremely light, extremely quick,
empty, and flexible.
In the very beginning, if you try too soon to acquire the empty and
flexible, light and quick, then your whole body movement will be full
of confusion. If at the very beginning, you talk too much of empty
and flexibility you will then acquire floating and be of no use. In
taiji these types of people are the so-called “those who do not go
out of their house for ten days.” Actually, if you do not have a true
teacher, a truly good teacher, ten years, or even after all your life
you will not be able to “go out of your house” with the skill.
Taijiquan is a skill of reaching a maximum result via a minimum
movement. When they move the hand, there is no comparison. They are
empty and wonderful. All phenomena are incorporated therein.
Regardless of how the other attacks, I rely on my empty and flexible
qi.
I can change according to any opportunity presented. I can follow the
momentum and respond accordingly, appropriately. Each and every
response is just right. People should not focus merely on just one
gesture, just one hand. If they do that they will miss the larger
picture. If you use the great Dao (Tao) to connect every movement, to
learn just one thing really, really well then everything will be
okay. If you only think of using one gesture, one momentum, one qi,
then the 10,000 changes are always possible. The intelligent person
will do that.
SIDEBAR
Li YaXuan
Teacher Li YaXuan was senior, early disciple of the profound master
Yang Chengfu. Teacher Li later taught government and military
officials frankly and was highly respected by all for his unselfish
attitude, high martial ethic, and high level skills. When reading the
late Teacher Li’s descriptions, his excellent martial ethic, a
critical key to receiving profound knowledge, soon becomes crystal
clear. In fact, in one descriptive story to be shared later, his
ethic and morality is both emotionally touching and nearly beyond
normal comprehension.
Within the following explanation Teacher Li discusses the highest
levels of achievement in taijiquan, namely, acquiring levels of
awareness, achieving the light and flexible skills, and finally,
acquiring the empty and flexible qi. In earlier times, taiji at these
levels was also called “qi boxing” or “spirit or immortal boxing”. Li
YaXuan was born in 1894 and died in 1976. He was an ardent, devoted
student of Yang Chengfu and, although much lesser known in the west,
he was actually senior in all aspects to better-known non-family
students established in the USA after ‘liberation’. Teacher Li also
knew and taught in association with Yang ShaoHao and was associated
with and taught at the highest level of martial art in China.
Special gratitude is due and given Teacher Chen LongXiang and Teacher
Li MinDi, son-in-law and daughter of Master Li, for their wonderful
gift, on a recent visit, of Teacher Li’s explanations and his
stories, of which the following is merely a small part. Mr. Chen and
Ms. Li, husband and wife, carry on Teacher Li YaXuan’s excellent
tradition of martial ethic and unselfish, noncommercial devotion to
the original tradition of taijiquan.
There are five taboos of practice in the acquisition of this skill:
1. Those not selecting the right teacher, enter the wrong school and
the external skill tops and is dominate. Once acquired, this habit,
even if the learner later meets a truly skilled person, will be
ingrained and not be correctable for internal use.
2. Those not believing their teacher strongly, completely enough.
They do not completely follow the teacher’s theory of practice. These
people pretend they are smarter and think east, think west, and
attempt to use other theories in combination with this skill. Their
minds and spirits become a mess. All sorts of problems manifest.
These problems are extremely difficult to correct.
3. Those who indulge in bad habits like smoking, gambling, and
prostitution. These exhaust energy, qi, and spirit. They confuse
minds. These people will never understand and can never reach a good
level of awareness.
4. The over-practice of external family skills, hard skills, like
breathing qi, making strong, exertion and effort, and the clinching
of teeth. Intense staring with the eyes, making the belly full and
then striking the belly. The use of an instrument to hit the body or
the use of a hammer to hit the head. These hard, external practices
and abuses severely harm and deaden our most valuable nervous system.
This causes parts of the nervous system to become numb, deadened, and
to be without awareness. People who have done this type of training
cannot reach good levels of taijiquan practice.
5. Those people who only learn a little bit of taiji then leave their
teacher and go out and show off in front of other people in an
attempt to falsely gain respect. These types of people are often
induced into learning other types of skills. Their’s is a show of
mere ego, not skill. After they start on the wrong path, they can
never be corrected.
The above five types of people are those who cannot reach the
awareness level of taji. The true skill, the main skill, is to make
your mind clear, and to focus your mind. But in order to clear your
mind and to concentrate, to focus, you should first become very
stable and very quiet. Only after becoming quiet can you become
clear. At that point you can focus, meditate. This is the way to
reach awareness. After achieving beginning awareness, you can reach
an even higher level of awareness. You can then reach understanding.
Later, you can reach the level of precise understanding. So, if you
want to clear your mind, before settling your mind, you must have the
intention of restoring your mind to the state of being without
thought; your body without action; to feeling no body, no mind. Once
reaching this state of “no action” your mind is able to become
enlightened.
After reaching enlightment, any awareness, any sensation, any
perception of conscious is that claimed by the scholars of
Confucious. That consciousness does not come from continual thinking.
If you use your mind to think of penetrating a wall without a door,
you just visualize going through the wall; if you think of working in
poison ivy, you visualize just passing through as if there is no
road – if you practice in this manner, the more you practice this
way, the farther you will be from taijiquan. A true teacher is needed.
In practicing taijiquan, you need to be quietly contemplative while
practicing the operation. If not, you will not be able to understand
what is correct. If you do not practice, then your arm, your whole
body, will not be able to follow the mind to move. Therefore, the two
aspects must be done together. This means you cultivate both your
mind and your body. If you just spend time vigorously, physically
practicing, working the body, even if you make your tendons, your
bones, your skin, and your flesh suffer, your mind and spirit will
only be confused and, although you may sweat profusely, you will be
wasting your energy, your qi, and your spirit. You will only harm
your attempt to acquire the internal skill. You will receive little
real benefit.
Cultivating the empty and flexible produces a high spirit, alertness,
readiness, eagerness, perspicacity, high energy, and profound
judgment. This keen judgment then used to acquire awareness of
internal boxing’s method. If you use these methods to defend
yourself, you will have an excellent self-defense and you will also
be able to handle any bully. If you use this skill in business, you
will understand the business very clearly, with perspicacity, and
will always succeed. If you use this method to cultivate your body,
you will achieve longevity beyond that normal.
This skill is made up of three aspects: your spirit, qi, and body.
The main emphasis is on enhancing your spirit. Afterwards comes the
practice of qi. Last in importance is the practice of your physical
body.
What is the meaning of spirit? Spirit here refers to something in
addition to our whole body, it is empty, it is flexible, there is
momentum, a function of mind, controller of intention. The movement
cannot be predicted, thus, in addition to the flexible, there is
quickness and the concept of changing. Spirit is really not involved
with clenching of teeth, intensely staring, or the use of physical
effort to produce qi.
What is the meaning of qi? qi may refer to breathing. It is that that
sinks downward when you acquire stability. It is not something seen
in muscle or use of effort to breathe. The body is stable and
comfortable. Movement should be flexible and light. Merely taking a
standing position to strike sand bags, beating the body, or striking
objects with the hands will enhance neither spirit nor qi. Those
people who practice the spirit cannot be without qi and the body -
they have all three. Rather, there is merely an emphasis on spirit
development. For those people who merely practice qi, they may have
some qi, they may have some body, but their spirit is lacking. Those
who only practice the body aspect also have some spirit and some qi,
however, they can not completely know the wonder of the spirit.
In the practice, if your intention does not completely reach the
breadth of your mind, your body gesture cannot be relaxed. Without
proper relaxation, the upper and lower will not follow or be
coordinated. Thus, your internal and external cannot match. Then your
breathing may not be comfortable. At this point, with these problems,
you should seek a good teacher for guidance otherwise, you will harm
and worsen your practice.
If the mind thinks of relaxing after awhile the body gesture will
also relax. Every movement should be followed by heart and qi. Then
your four limbs will follow nature and the internal/external will
become fit. With this your boxing intention can reach your hand.
Stillness and contemplation will allow you to reach the level of your
mind controlling everything. Everything should follow slowness, being
stable, being quiet, and reaching stillness. If the mind is not clear
and the qi floats, the more you practice with these illnesses, the
farther you will go from boxing’s intention. In this case, even if
you practice like this for your whole life, you qi will not reach
your hand. Learners should persevere, should have talent, and should
have a true teacher in order to achieve success. Even with these
qualities, in addition, the teacher and theory must be respected.
With all these present, perhaps in one or two years you may reach
some success. However, if you leave the teacher too early, you may
have some problems and attain no awareness. One way to avoid this is
to be open, to sense how the body and mind are connected. Quietly
think about what the teacher advised you about the practice. Also,
think of and visualize how the teacher practiced the gesture. With
this your problem may not become too deeply rooted. Otherwise, if you
make just a small mistake early there will be no end. It is like a
horse without a rein, it cannot be guided.
People’s practice problems may be visible or invisible. The visible
problem is easily corrected, however, those invisible are very
difficult to rectify. For example, some of these types of problems
may be the hand and the feet being high or low, or not in balance, or
not matching, or the direction is not correct, or the waist or kua
are not straight, not horizontal, or the spine is not relaxed. These
are visible problems. They are easily corrected. But, if your mind
and intention are in the wrong way and, thus, your movement and
spirit do not follow one another and your mind and body,
internally/externally, do not match; these are invisible diseases.
These diseases sometimes appear, sometimes do not appear. You can
sense it but it is difficult for you to describe or pin down. It is
very difficult to correct and eliminate these problems.
For people internally ill, regardless of how they spend their
practice, the gesture and momentum will always show ugliness. That is
because they do not listen to the teacher’s words of how to practice.
Again, they spend too much time thinking of east, thinking of west.
That is how they go down the wrong path. Learners, in particular,
should be aware of these problems.
I have often seen people who already have practiced for many years
but still cannot produce internal energy. They cannot respond
appropriately. Their hand is confused; their feet do not know what to
do; they are unable to sense. Their eyes show hesitation or hastiness
and they just fight without preparation. These are further examples
of the internal diseases. They are very difficult to cure.
Every movement should follow the breathing. Use breathing to
facilitate opening and closing. This is the so-called “using the qi
to move the body”. Every movement should have “quan” (martial)
intention. For example, when the fist comes out, carry the fist with
intention. When pulling the fist back, use intention to take it back.
Practice with the saber, sword, or spear should also follow this
advice. You cannot throw away your intention and simply allow your
four limbs to move independently. Internal movement is a combination
of mind controlling the body and the body controlling the hand. Every
hand and leg movement starts with your mind. From first the internal
the external is reached. This is the so-called “internal skill”.
Once expertness is reached then a mere thought, i.e., the mind just
thinking in one direction is able to cause just single movement that
starts and instantaneously encompasses the whole body. With this, the
whole body force will be permeated completely throughout the body.
Yet, without a good teacher people cannot reach this level. External
skill only heeds external gesture; it is external movement. Their
gesture and frame often may be very big and often may look very
quick. In reality, however, it may not be so quick.
Internal skill emphasizes awareness based upon understanding energy.
Understanding energy internally makes awareness go inside. Although
movement may appear slow, actually, it may not be slow. In addition,
in combat we decide how big the energy is, the appropriate time, the
movement–low and quick, and the target. Since everything, including
direction, is calculated, this calculation is based on hearing
energy. This hearing energy comes from relaxed, soft, sinking,
stillness, and slow practice daily. Boxing skill is an individual,
bare-handed strategy. The mind and head represent the headquarters.
The waist and chest are main but smaller fighting groups. The hands
and feet are the smallest and lowest level of the fighting groups.
The skin may be comparable to guards. The nervous system may be
considered the system of communications.
Once you have contact with the enemy, the nervous system will pass
the news to the head and heart. The head and heart make a decision,
according to the situation, to guide the waist and body; to guide the
four limbs and head and legs. If the nervous system cannot transfer
this information, it is impossible to know from which direction the
enemy is coming from or his magnitude. An appropriate response will
then be impossible. Even if you have great force, if you do not use
it appropriately you will be defeated. Use your hands and feet to
protect your heart and body. If you cannot use your gesture
appropriately you will not be able to reach your goal. The waist and
spine are the axis for the use of the hands and legs. If transitions
are not done flexibly a good result is not possible. The head and
heart are the headquarters of the whole body. Therefore, awareness
must be very clear and flexible, otherwise, a good command cannot be
made.
During combat, if you need to be quick, you must be quick; if you
need to be slow, be slow. In this art not even a single mistake is
allowed. Move forward, move backward, left, right, you can not have
even one hesitation, otherwise, all may be lost. So we can see the
importance of the nervous system being clear. Therefore, taiji skill
mainly emphasizes making your mind quiet and your temper concentrated
and focused. This keeps the nervous system clear. Some do not
understand this and place strong emphasis on the exercise of their
muscles. Actually, this also damages the most valuable nervous
system. This is a tragedy.
Those who like large muscles and strength probably have only two
chances in combat. First, during an attack, regardless whether moving
back or forth, they must be very quick. They will want their muscles
to respond very quickly. The question is whether or not their muscles
are very sensitive; yet even if they are quick, they cannot attack at
the correct time. This may only create confusion.
Crouching Tiger…
Crouching tiger, hidden dragon is not merely the title of the recent
blockbuster movie. This expression actually is borrowed from the
Chinese language. In Chinese it refers to coming across a heretofore,
unknown, ‘hidden’ individual of high skill; hidden, crouching, ready
to pounce on the over-confident, innocent. In one sense, the late Li
YaXuan could be considered to be a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in
the west. This is because he is so unknown here. In China, however,
Teacher Li’s work and words are far from hidden. In fact, he was well
known and widely respected in China prior to his death in 1976. His
story and advice merit careful reading. The Yang’s divided their
teaching into three basic phases: learning the external, learning the
internal, and finally training the mind. Teacher Li hits all three in
his discussions and even touches very briefly on the last, the most
advanced training methodology.
Crouching tiger, hidden dragon is not merely the title of the recent
blockbuster movie. This expression actually is borrowed from the
Chinese language. In Chinese it refers to coming across a heretofore,
unknown, ‘hidden’ individual of high skill; hidden, crouching, ready
to pounce on the over-confident, innocent. In one sense, the late Li
YaXuan could be considered to be a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in
the west. This is because he is so unknown here. In China, however,
Teacher Li’s work and words are far from hidden. In fact, he was well
known and widely respected in China prior to his death in 1976. His
story and advice merit careful reading. The Yang’s divided their
teaching into three basic phases: learning the external, learning the
internal, and finally training the mind. Teacher Li hits all three in
his discussions and even touches very briefly on the last, the most
advanced training methodology.
Crouching tiger, hidden dragon is not merely the title of the recent
blockbuster movie. This expression actually is borrowed from the
Chinese language. In Chinese it refers to coming across a heretofore,
unknown, ‘hidden’ individual of high skill; hidden, crouching, ready
to pounce on the over-confident, innocent. In one sense, the late Li
YaXuan could be considered to be a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in
the west. This is because he is so unknown here. In China, however,
Teacher Li’s work and words are far from hidden. In fact, he was well
known and widely respected in China prior to his death in 1976. His
story and advice merit careful reading. The Yang’s divided their
teaching into three basic phases: learning the external, learning the
internal, and finally training the mind. Teacher Li hits all three in
his discussions and even touches very briefly on the last, the most
advanced training methodology.
Original taiji learners at the source often use the term “frame” for
what most westerners call the “form” or “set”. Considering
construction, be it a house or building a skill, the term is both
more precise and descriptive, therefore, this use is most
appropriate. This term is used frequently.
Secondly, when these people hit others, they obviously hope the other
feels great pain. In addition, these people often want their muscles
large enough and strong enough to absorb the pain of being hit by
others. The question here is during the attack, if the timing is not
correct, they will use a lot of strength but will hit empty space. If
you make a defensive gesture at the incorrect time, this only shows
weakness to others. This results in much more harm. So then, what is
the use of having large, strong muscles? Further, when you are
attacked, you must be very quick. You must move with suddenness. In
combat there is not enough time to think of producing strength in
your muscles. Finally, when others attack the most vulnerable parts
of your body, strong muscles are of no use for defense or to respond.
Taijiquan is a skill with shape and without shape. Although it has
shape when an opponent attacks you, your whole body must be very
reserved and display nearly nothing in there. This will make the
opponent catch an empty shadow so to speak and, thus, not harm you.
If the enemy thinks you are empty and, on the other hand, if you show
your emptiness but can suddenly attack like thunder, thunder so quick
and strong that people must duck and cover their ears, so as to make
them totally scared, scared for their life, then this is enticing
into emptiness. Taijiquan is a skill based on unpredictable
opportunity. If the other thinks you cannot attack, you should just
move your mind suddenly to attack. If others think you will come then
you should transform as if you have nothing to attack. This is the so-
called “being suddenly visible; suddenly invisible”.
The practice frame was designed to cultivate your mind and qi. Push-
hands is done to acquire listening energy. Scatter-hands is practiced
to acquire skill of hand, eyes, body, and the step method. So, this
boxing practices heart, physical essence, qi, and spirit. When you
practice the skill, your qi must be sinking. Do not intentionally
sink it, that is, do not think of sinking the qi. Rather, use true,
fundamental intention to infuse the qi during your breathing.
Emptiness is so empty it’s as if it is solid. Being solid is so solid
it’s as if it is empty. There is something there but it’s as if there
is nothing there. Relax, let go, softness–use these to produce the
empty and flexible qi. This will enhance your perspicacity. Place
your mind and body in the right place to establish the fundamental
source. With this you can show gesture and seriousness. If your body
and mind are not correct, your gesture will show shallowness and be
overly light, floating. These qualities too easily tempt bullies.
Emptiness and flexibility are the first key to the skill. Understand
this theory like a genius then in one or two years full awareness may
be reached. An unintelligent person may spend their whole life in
practice and study but will still not be able to reach this level.
Thus, a person’s achievement, deep or shallow, is also a function of
a person’s innate talent and intelligence. Not everyone can be placed
in the same category. Practice the skill in the early morning or in
the quiet of the night without disturbance from others practicing. Do
not show off in front of other people. A poem entitled, “Poem of
Movement” explains, “The Great Dao (Tao) cannot be removed from even
the smallest, lowliest piece of ground.”
Do not have intention. Do not have the mind. Do not rely on your
chest to move the energy and qi. Your mind should completely relax
and follow nature. Allow all parts of the body to naturally rely on
one-another. Once you are without intention, once you are without
mind, the true mind is then in the place where there is no mind. Once
you do not have mind in the middle, you will not have a shape. At
that time, emptiness will produce the true empty and flexible. Feel
the connection with the universe. Everything comes from nature.
In a discussion on boxing, while there are many different schools, it
is noteworthy that they also have many similarities. Externally they
practice the hard and quick and use force; they attempt to make qi
strong, leave the spirit and talk about severity. For those people,
however, who place emphasis on the quick, hard, their mind can hardly
be still, can hardly be quiet. For those who use qi to try to inflate
their qi, their breathing cannot be comfortable. For those who
emphasize severity, they cannot cultivate a harmonious qi. These
methods really will harm the tendon, harm the flesh, and will exhaust
the spirit and qi. These practices will harm the empty and flexible
skills and prevent their acquisition. That kind of boxing cannot
cultivate longevity.
When practicing be stable and quiet, comfortable and relaxed, in
order to cultivate the empty and flexible qi. Thus, when you use this
qi, it is cold, it jumps, it is sudden, it is quick, as if you spit
out the energy from your dantien. Always sense the empty and flexible
qi and momentum. Then, during combat you can be fully aware of the
other’s force. With this, the road to victory is already half
traveled. Without the empty and flexible qi and momentum, if someone
attacks, you will have no awareness of his situation. In this case,
in the confrontation your movement will create confusion and you will
attempt to hit the other without any plan. This is not taiji skill.
If you have the empty and flexible qi, momentum; if your waist and
legs are light and wonderful; if you have spirit and qi, if they are
full; then externally you will be able to show the qi gesture. Then,
if your movement is also cold and quick; then, if you then use this
qi to cultivate the body, you will have longevity. If, on the other
hand, you use these internal skills to defend yourself, you will be
able to do so. With this awareness and these high skills, challenges
in both your personal life and business life may be handled easily.
———————————————————-
Li YaXuan, From a speech on February 6, 1956. Translated by Key Sun,
Ph.D., private student of Master Yang SongQuan born and raised in
Chen Village. Edited by LeRoy Clark, private student of Master Fu
ShengYuan.
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