Liked on YouTube: Pair Tai Chi - Left-Right Hand Player in Mirroring Position

Pair Tai Chi - Left-Right Hand Player in Mirroring Position
Left-Right hand, small circle tai chi are played from a mirroring position.
via YouTube https://youtu.be/sRf1zsdJUaU

Movements require 2 complementary parts of the body

When an infant simply moves an arm the whole body reacts and starts to move...this kind of uninhibited movement is of no help in Tai Chi, yet millions of students do it. Master Wu Chien Chuan's words are simple, unremarkable and yet fall prey time and again to "run of the mill" reasoning found in much modern Tai Chi. This is called "if one part moves, everything moves" ..."everything goes" faulty logic. In fact, without logical reasoning, it never occurs to students that holding "one part still" (inhibiting neural activity)is actually more of a skill than simply moving the other part which even an infant does constantly without inhibition. "As discussed before in "Uncovering the Treasure", Stephen Hwa, Ph.D., to achieve internal movements, the yin and yang must be paired to form a junction at the right place in the torso. If there is any movement in the yin, the junction will be altered and result in an entirely different kind of move. The Classical Tai Chi Square form provides a drill to tune the neuromuscular control of the student. Most beginners cannot keep their neural signals focused on a narrow segment of their body. The diffusion of the signal creates unintended movements. This is called sloppy movements. The correct Square Form movement should look crisp and robotic. To be able to keep part of the body still, by itself, is also important training to eliminate unwanted habitual movement. A good example on the importance of stillness (yin) is the sweeping leg move in which one stands on one leg and sweeps the other leg outward to kick the opponent's feet out from under him. During this move, if the body moves slightly with the sweeping foot, the power of the sweep will diminish. In addition, the knee of the standing foot will feel pain. Since that foot is firmly planted on the ground with the entire body weight on it, so any turn of the body above will result in torque in that knee joint causing pain or injuries (see Picture). In other words, the yin part of the body's alignment has to be instinctively maintained.

Get a crease while sitting back

Get a crease while sitting back

Sitting back see video at 30 seconds with a prominent "crease" in the clothing comes from sitting back correctly. It is very easy to get rusty with push hands and crimping (bending) your own arm at 60 seconds in if there is no opponent to practice with. Reasoning logically, however, shows that is a "red herring" since "sitting back" correctly comprises half of the movements in the Tai Chi form...quite an implication. I practice it while waiting for water to boil, the dog doing business, in line at the supermarket, etc. It is logical to think that we all have a subconscious fear of losing balance. Good to lightly touch something which relieves subconscious fear of losing balance and frees up the mind to check your structure so see the picture of Master Hwa's at the post which shows legs even with one another. He tells me Wu Chien Chuan told Young Wabu to constantly check this point during sitting back by examining the upper part of both legs to see if they were even with each other. I quote: "Sitting back and turning is an important move to neutralize and ward off an incoming thrust and destabilize the opponent. If the body is not facing the opponent squarely, one will not be able to turn the upper body on the weak side sufficiently to be effective."

Keep good structure while lower body moves

Internal Discipline and good structure

Sifu Jason Bulger is demonstrating a practice I devised for the internal movement in the core that takes place right before you take any step in Classical Tai Chi whether "walking", "Form", etc. Note he turns the foot to several angles, has toe down when lifting, toes up when "stepping". But actually, he could be kicking at any angle. Also, a signature sign that internal movement is taking place in any movement is the "crimping" movement that one's clothing in the torso makes before a limb moves and that can be seen by even the uninitiated. There is a definite "crimp" and not just slight movement. This is why Master Hwa has on repeated occasion, urged me to wear close-fitting shirts in order for students to not only see the movement but to see that internal precedes external. In other words, in the case of Classical Tai Chi walking the core movement precedes/leads the lift and lower of the leg, arm, etc.

In Uncovering the Treasure p. 16 by Stephen Hwa Ph.D., re. health benefits of Classical Tai Chi: "We often see the elderly walking with a shuffle -- the walking movement no longer extends into the torso...one may assert that the onset of internal rigor mortis actually precedes death!"

Additionally, not only is the "internal rigor mortis" he speaks of an issue, but being challenged by balance problems with everyday walking is an issue as well. When we consider that putting one foot in front of the other requires balance, when we consider that day to day walking requires us to balance on first one foot then the other...aren't we always doing this with the risk of losing our balance?

"Preparation Posture 太極起式" Martial Application

 Preparation posture

See "how to do it" in the link You are invited to learn this and more at absolutely free Classical Tai Chi classes Buffalo State College. Sunday, 10 A.M - 11 A.M. Rockwell Hall, Room 302. Cold weather we are inside at BSC but during warm weather also across Elmwood Avenue and outside at Marcy Casino. Free parking either location. Please register: info@classicaltaichiofbuffalo.com and/or 716-241-1845, Information: https://classicaltaichiofbuffalo.com

The teachers are Sifu Jim Roach with Sifu Tom Kostusiak and Sifu Jason Bulger. Master Stephen Hwa Ph.D. is doing much more in online instruction at https://classical-tai-chi.teachable.com.

 The preparation Form 太極起式 Posture 1 – The Preparation Form although called "preparation" really feels and looks like 2. Raise Hands 提手上勢, using relatively the same "internal discipline" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uo9lQ6azVA&t=25s, engaging the core where the difference can be seen and felt in the angles of the arm. Of course, the "form" is done slowly as seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GyzH6W15Ykand not done by using such a burst of energy as in martial application. We are using this as a martial application to "ward off" an opponent and illustrate the "form". Here the bending of wrists being used first "forward" "Z" axis then on a vertical or "Y" axis, then forward on a "Z" axis is beneficial as opposed to what we spoke about in the previous Facebook discussion of Master Hwa's "Fundamentals of Push Hands" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NORbRqOPxPs&t=19s. Without the inward contraction of the abdomen and stretching down of tailbone to raise the arms using other Tai Chi one is relegated to an "external" motion of the body even actually tilting forward and back to move the opponent.