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These tips cover a wide range of aspects of Tai Chi, from combat to artisitry, to childbirth!

 

 

They are not exclusively for Tai Chi practitioners but may also be invaluable to other martial artists and mums-to-be!

 

 

 

 

In Tai Chi, as you know, everything works in circles, from the fluid continuous spirals of the form to the angular momentum of many of the attacks, but it is easy to get so caught up in the spiralling grace that we neglect the structure: postures, stances, rooting etc. (explained in detail in our previous tips of the week) so the whole thing becomes floaty and waffly and loses its power and effectiveness as a fighting art.

 

On the other hand, if all the attention is focussed on the square, we may have a very technically correct, well-structured form but it looks stiff and jerky, like a wooden wheel with corners on it, and our Tai Chi becomes almost robotic.

 

The trick is to find the balance between the square and the circle, flowing seamlessly from one well-structured posture to the next so no one can see the join, like the yin and yang "fishes" in the circle. That's where the skill comes in and also where the joy is to be found. And that's what makes it Tai Chi.

 

 

How do you remember your forms, sequences or kata? Having asked students this question, the answers have included all kinds of methods from memorising a written list to always following someone else and therefore never actually learning it at all.

 

We heard of a couple who spent a hefty chunk of their life savings on a trip to China in order to learn Tai Chi so that they could come back and teach it. After many months of daily study with a master, they came back and were horrified to discover that they didn't remember any of it because they had always copied the teacher and never practiced on their own. Having a go by yourself is an essential stage of learning.

 

So how do we remember forms?

 

In my case, it's a bit like a three-dimensional hologram spread out in space, quite vague and fuzzy, more of a feeling than a visual image, no fine detail but the overall shape and dimensions of the whole form are kind of there around me before I start and the detail opens up as I get to it, like the fine twists and turns of a path travelled many times.

 

I am always surprised when students stand near a wall that runs right through their ground map so that they either run out of space half way through and have to take a few steps backwards or end up with very narrow stances because the wall prevents them from stepping out to shoulder width.

One way to prevent this is to imagine doing your Tai Chi on a beach. What pattern would your footprints leave in the sand? How big an area would the pattern cover and where would it be, with respect to your starting position? If you had limited space, such as your own lounge, would you have enough room? If so, where would you need to stand?

 

Once you have the overall shape and size of the footmap in mind, you can mentally lay it down wherever you go.

 

The map is related to the position of your own body, not to the room. We have known students who can only do their Tai Chi in a particular room, aligning themselves with a radiator that is in a certain place, and are floored if they have to do it outside, facing in a different direction or even standing in a different position among a group of their fellow students. When the form is in you rather than in the room, it is there whenever you want it. You can practice it wherever you go in the world, for the rest of your life.

 

 

If you straighten your back leg and lock out the knee in your forward stances, you can no longer turn the waist freely or roll the dantien and therefore you lose access to most of the internal power in your attacks. It also has the effect of making you lean forward, stick out your bottom and over-commit to the move so that you are unable to move backwards if the need arises. You lose the springy quality of the whole body and also close off the kwa, making you less stable and unable to generate power. You would never see a sprinter or boxer with straight legs.

 

Ultimately Tai Chi should train high level body mechanics. Keeping the back knee bent allows you to root effectively while having full use of your whole-body power

 

 

 

A simple and obvious one this week but it's amazing how many people worldwide either leave their back foot sticking out at right angles when they change direction, putting a strain on all the leg joints, or let the heel slip backwards, which does align the foot properly but loses all the power in the movement.

 

When the waist tuns the body into a forward stance facing the opponent, the back heel stays on the floor and the toes turn in a little (roughly 45 degrees with respect to the front foot, or a bit more or less depending on the individual) so the foot and joints are comfortable. From the laws of physics, we know that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As you push, strike or lift an opponent, the force generated from the dantien goes two ways: forwards and upwards through your arm(s) into your opponent and downwards and backwards into the floor via your back heel, which can also "bounce" it back up again when you issue certain types of jing. If the heel is busy sliding backwards at the time, you not only have no power but you may end up falling on your nose!

 

Having said this, you may wonder why the heel-sliding thing is so often seen in high level competitions and in so many clips on YouTube. Well, it has only two advantages. One is that some people find it easier, particularly older people, though it is not something we would encourage as it produces a less stable root. Tai Chi is noted for improving balance and reducing the number of falls experienced by older people but sliding the heel out would not be expected to contribute to that.

 

The second is that it can lengthen and lower the stance so it looks impressive to a crowd, or to competition judges awarding points on gymnastic ability and aeshtetic appeal rather than martial capabilities. These low stances usually also involve locking out the back leg, arching the back, leaning forward and sticking the bottom out, all of which would have the old masters shaking their heads in despair!

 

As it says in the classics:" If there is a problem with the stance, look to the root". Sometimes the most basic things are the most important.

 

 

 

To be fair, most of you probably do this already from time to time, but if you normally just do it for the exercise and relaxation, it can be interesting, once in a while, to visualise using every move to defend yourself as you go through the form.

 

The imagination is a powerful thing. Not only are you likely to learn the form better if you know what the movements are for, but you are also training unconscious reflexes that could be useful if you ever had a dodgy situation to deal with. Whether or not you are interested in the self-protection aspects, it's worth bearing in mind that most of the people we know who have had to use their Tai Chi to defend themselves in real life have been elderly ladies fighting off muggers!

 

 

Whatever martial art you happen to be practicing, try watching yourself as you move... just there, in that moment. Then ask yourself: what is doing the watching.......?

 

 

 

Do you have a preferred speed for doing your Tai Chi form? Left to your own devices without the need to keep up with, or slow down to, the pace of a group, do you rattle through it like a steam train or slow it down so much that you barely seem to be moving? Or do you have a fair-to-middling rhythmic pace that you always like to go at and you feel uncomfortable if you have to change for any reason?

 

Maybe there's a particular piece of music that you always like to do it to and you go with the tempo of that. Maybe there are times when you get impatient with the teacher or the rest of the class because they are going "too slow", or they leave you behind while you do your own thing with your eyes closed and let them wait for you at the end.

 

No? That's OK. Yes? That's OK too. Maybe your inner nature likes to expresses itself at a particular speed. Maybe that's just what you feel most comfortable with. And of course there's also the possibility that, if you were to try it a little quicker sometimes, or a little slower at other times, you might discover some new things that could be very interesting.

 

For example, when you are going very, very slowly, you can take your time to notice the precision and timing of the movements... and the way that the breathing... naturally... slows down too; the way each movement transforms so effortlessly into the next, like a quiet river on a calm day with barely a ripple on the surface yet so smooth and so...so deep.....

 

And when you speed it right up until the movements flow instinctively with no time for thought yet still so precise and so powerful, like a dragon breaking free from the mud at the bottom of a lake, surging through the water and bursting upwards into the sky, alert and alive and ready for whatever presents itself in that moment...

 

Ahhhhh....

 

Fascinating isn't it? And of course, as always, the real freedom is in the choice.

 

 

 

If you have a large enough safe space with a flat floor (nothing to trip over or bump into etc.) you might like to try doing a bit of your Tai Chi form with your eyes closed or partly closed. If it all works well and you enjoy the experience, fine. However, if you find yourself struggling to keep your balance, this is useful feedback. Loss of balance is usually due to one or more of the following:

 

1. Not sinking your weight down into your legs. If your knees are locked out straight it's very difficult to keep your balance, even when your eyes are open.

2. Narrow stances. If one foot is directly in front of the other it's like walking on a tightrope. We don't know many people who could do that with their eyes closed!

3. Incorrect foot positions which put a strain on the leg joints and cause leaning or wobbling (such as leaving the rear foot at right angles to the front foot instead of turning the toes in to a comfortable angle).

4. Incorrect timing, such as trying to turn a foot while your weight is still on it.

 

Any one of the above is likely to cause one or more of the others, eg. leaving the foot out tends to cause straight legs and narrow stances and may also mess up your timing.

When you have tried doing Tai Chi with your eyes closed, all of this becomes self-evident. Instead of just following your teacher's instructions in order to keep them happy, you will find yourself sinking down, stepping out at shoulder width, remembering to turn your foot in and transfering your weight at the right time in order to avoid falling over!

 

In effect, by listening to your own body, you become your own master.

This is one of the reasons why Tai Chi is known as an internal martial art.

Having said all that, we don't advise that you do Tai Chi with your eyes closed in class, unless you're only there for company. We do come across students who never seem to improve because they always have their eyes closed and never look at the teacher to check to whether or not they are doing it properly! Well, as long as they are happy...

 

 

 

The body is in three sections: hips, waist and chest/shoulders. Hips and shoulders move together and the waist moves on its own. The waist moves first and the hips and shoulders follow, as if they are being pulled along behind. By "waist" we mean the midriff area from the belt channel to the sternum, all the way around the body. The main muscles involved in turning this region of the body are latisimus dorsi in the back and the transverse abdominals in the sides.

 

Why is this important?

 

1. When changing direction, when the waist turns first, the rest of the body can follow comfortably, with good balance and stability. If the feet turn without the waist, this can lead to loss of balance and twisted joints. Turning from the hips also tends to twist the knees.

2. When moving an opponent, power from the arms is a poor substitute when compared with power from the lats and abs which are huge sheets of muscle.

3. The movement of the waist in a horizontal "figure of eight", like an infinity symbol wrapped around the lower ribs, gives rise to the fluid, powerful, continuous motion that is the essence of Tai Chi.

 

Two common misconceptions about "separating the waist" are:

 

a) to imagine the body in two sections and allow the shoulders and hips to go in different directions with a twist in the middle, and

b) to translate the Chinese word for "waist" as if it refers to the entire torso and keep the whole thing static, leading to stiff, awkward movements, postural problems and a greater risk of injury.

 

As we've mentioned in previous tips, to allow the waist to move freely, it's important to drop the weight into the legs as if you are sitting down, then everything should flow naturally.

 

 

 

The weight trasfers into the front leg as you strike. If the hand arrives first, the movement is weak because the power of the body does not accompany it. If the hand delays, the momentum of the body is lost and only the strength of the arm remains.

 

Whether the heel goes down first, as in Tai Chi, or the toe goes down first, as in western boxing, the principle remains the same: the weight transference accompanies the fist or palm.

 

 

 

In a fight, guarding your head with your hands close to your face, as is often seen in western boxing, is all very well but if an opponent's fist gets past the guard, you get hit in the face, and sometimes when they hit your hands you actually end up hitting yourself in the face!

 

If you watch MMA fights closely, you may notice that the fighters with the longest guards often fare better than those with their hands closer in.

 

A longer guard allows you to parry, to ward off, to drill and to intercept, all of which are Chinese Internal Martial Arts fighting principles that most people seem to have forgotten.

 

This principle was discussed by Yang Ban Hou in his "Five Character Classic", written in the nineteenth century.

 

 

 

Many of you will have already done this experiment in class but if not, have a go now. Hold your arm out in front of you with your hand outstretched, palm down and very relaxed, as if it's resting on a cushion. As it really relaxes, watch how your thumb sinks down into the imaginary cushion.

 

Now lift your thumb so it's level with the rest of your hand. Does it still feel as relaxed as it did a moment ago? If not, where are you feeling the tension? In your hand? In your arm? In your shoulder? In your back? In your legs? Now let the thumb drop and feel everything relax again.

 

It's amazing how the position of your thumbs can alter the experience and appearance of a whole Tai Chi form. Some people deliberately try to keep their thumb level with the hand throughout, and their forms become stiff and awkward as a result. The logic is that it protects the thumb from being bent back during a strike, but actually, if you hit them right, the position of a relaxed thumb won't be a problem and the extra power generated from a relaxed body will make it less likely that you'll have to hit them again. (This only applies to thumbs. Little pinkies are another matter entirely and it's best not to leave them waving around to get broken).

 

As to the rest of your fingers, relaxed doesn't mean limp and floppy and strong doesn't mean hard and stiff as a shovel There's a third state that is neither floppy nor tense, a kind of elasticity which allows power to be expressed without sacrificing sensitivity and connectedness. Water is soft, but when it surges through a flexible pressure hose it can do a pretty good job of cleaning your drive and there are probably few people who would choose to stand in its way!

 

 

 

This applies equally well to Bagua and Hsing Yi and to many other martial arts. We learn set forms, sequences or kata in order to train our bodies to move naturally in certain ways and to understand the principles underlying these movements. Once we have mastered the forms, there comes a point where we are able to begin to go beyond them and move according to the same principles but without following a set routine. Spontaneity in your chosen discipline allows creativity and shortens your response time in a conflict situation.

 

If you already know at least one form well and feel that you are moving according to the correct principles, you might like to try this exercise, if you haven't already:

Take any two movements that do not normally follow each other in the sequence and find a way to join them together. When you've done that, add another movement and then another until you can flow, without any mental planning, in any direction you choose and still be moving according to the principles of your martial art.

 

When we do this exercise in class, it's like opening the door of a cage and allowing the birds to fly!

 

 

Whatever style of Tai Chi you practice, learning a sequence is only the beginning. Just like building a computer, once you've done it, it's up to you what you use it for. If you always spend the whole time thinking about what comes next and worrying about whether or not you're "doing it" properly or keeping up with everyone else, you can miss a lot of what's available.

The logical brain keeps us sidetracked with its concerns. When we manage to shut it up for a while and just be present as our bodies travel through the movements of the form, we can simply experience and direct the flow and perhaps express our inner nature through those movements. We can explore the power, the sensitivity, the dynamic fluidity. We can sense the space around us and feel our connection with the universe. Then the form becomes a work of art rather than just an exercise routine. If you have a computer, you can use it to write a shopping list or you can use it to create a masterpiece. The choice is yours.

 

 

 

This week's tip arises from an enquiry received recently from someone who had been advised to meditate while sucking in the abdomen on the in-breath and pushing it out on the out-breath in order to "concentrate the chi". After some diligent practice, the person had become concerned by pains in the bladder and umbilicus. This illustrates the inherent dangers in the common misunderstanding that reverse breathing is just the opposite of abdominal breathing.

 

As in the previous advice we have given about fa jing safety, we would like to stress the importance of NOT pushing out the whole abdomen on the out-breath. Instead, focus on rolling an imaginary ball filling the lower abdomen (down and under at the back and up and in at the front,) while gentlly contracting the pelvic floor muscles, thereby protecting the bladder, bowel, umbilicus and uterus (if you have one).

 

If you are doing this while meditating, keep it gentle. The purpose of meditation is to calm down, still the mind and gain the freedom to choose what goes on in your own head. Focussing on the breathing helps to calm the mind and in the case of proper, safe, reverse breathing it also has the added advantage of helping to train reflexes that are useful in martial arts, but it's important not to overdo it and to avoid any kind of dodgy practice that could injure you (such as the one described above or anything involving holding the breath or otherwise interfering with it unduly).

 

We hope we haven't made fa jing and reverse breathing sound frought with untold hazard. Most of it is just common sense. We have taken the time to go into it in such detail because there is so much misinformation around and the (minority of) people who really know what they are doing are often less than eager to share their knowledge or will charge you an arm and a leg for it. Actually, in our experience, those who don't know what they are doing tend to charge more!

 

 

 

by opening your mouth on the out breath as you issue explosive power. The sound of the breath is "hwa" which encourages the correct use of the dantien. Although it is possible to fa jing with the mouth closed, it can potentially cause problems with the membranes of the nasal cavity due to the sudden build up of pressure.

 

 

 

As you issue explosive shaking jing, the pressure in the lower abdomen is directed forwards by dropping the tailbone and tucking under slightly as the dantien rolls like a football. There is a slight squeezing of the pelvic floor muscles as the force passes above it towards the lower abdomen, thereby "closing the chi gates" and protecting the organs and muscles in this region from the slight risk of prolapse. As the "football" rolls, there is also a pulling in under the midriff, if you are breathing properly, which generates a lot of power and also avoids the risk of umbilical hernia, which can occur when people get the breathing wrong and expand the whole abdomen on the out-breath rather than just the region below the navel.

 

 

Fa jing safety tip number 2. - Protect your brain.

 

Brains are not keen on being shaken about inside the skull like a jelly in a tin (which can result in concussion) so when you are using shaking jing, keep the upper body relaxed, your head still and your weight sunk down and feel the waves of force travelling from your centreline outwards along your limbs to the extremities in order to keep vibration inside the head to a minimum. Even then, since you are working with the whole body, there may still be some vibration in the head so, to avoid dizziness and headaches, don't overdo it.

 

 

Fa jing safety tip number 1 - Don't overdo it,

 

either by practicing it too often or by putting too much effort into it. Releasing explosive power too often can cause problems over a period of time. It's enough to know that you can do it and that you can use it if needed, with occasional practice to check your skills and understanding. Too much muscular effort leads to tension which interferes with the ability to do fa jing at all. The body needs to be relaxed and springy in order to issue any real power.

 

 

 

If your teacher has told you that you are leaning forward, looking down or hunching your shoulders, and suggests that you keep your head up, it's natural just to leave your body as it is and try to lift your chin. Unfortunately, this leaves you with the same stooping posture but jutting your chin out like a turtle. Instead, just sit down a bit more, which straightens and lengthens your spine, so that you can push your crown point up towards the ceiling, relax your shoulders and settle your spine into a vertical alignment, with your chin in a neutral position and your eyes looking straight forward rather than down. This not only looks better, it 's also better for your back, allows you to move more freely and helps you to let go of any tension you might have been carrying around with you.

 

 

 

In forward stances, if you generally aim all the toes of your front foot forward, it's easy to end up with chicken leg as you sink your weight into the front leg. Try this experiment: Stand in a forward, shoulder- width stance on floorboards running the way you are facing. If you line up the outside edge of your front foot with the floorboards you will probably find your knee bowing inwards as you sink into that leg.

 

To avoid this, line up the inside edge of your front foot with the floorboards. Now you can sink into the leg with your knee where it's supposed to be, in the same direction as your foot, making you more balanced, comfortable and stable and avoiding injury to your knee.

 

 

 

In Tai Chi, if the waist doesn't move, nothing moves. For more waist flexibility, sink down a bit lower. When you sink, imagine sitting on an office chair and then lowering the seat position. This keeps the knees soft and natural and the posture erect and comfortable, (unlike making a conscious effort to bend the knees, which can result in tension, discomfort and poor posture).

 

Just relax downwards and feel the freedom to turn your waist and rotate your dantien. If your back still feels a bit stiff, try adjusting the position of your chin slightly and relaxing down again, allowing your taibone to drop towards the floor.

 

Tiny variations in the position of your head, such as looking down or lifting your chin a centimetre too high, can have a big effect on the position of the spine. When you look straight forward, as if the crown point is suspended from above, the spine finds its natural alignment and allows the vertebrae to move more freely.

 

 

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