Correct Body structure of Classical Tai Chi

The Correct Body Structure of Classical Tai Chi

I recall my early days of study, particularly those in which I had teachers who were long on enthusiasm and short on experience...some with only 1 year more than me.  In retrospect I recall them telling me to "sitback, sitback, sitback..." with no accompanying instructions on HOW to sitback correctly or WHY I was doing it wrong.  Obviously, I was doing it incorrectly, I thought, otherwise why would they keep repeating "sitback, sitback, sitback..." in a stacatto fashion?  Master Stephen Hwa addresses "sitback position", HOW, WHY, WHEN,  "forward position" and more in a 12 minute segment taken from a 2011 workshop.  The segment is more appropriately named "The correct body structure of Classical Tai Chi". You can go to the Youtube video of the segment by clicking on this link:

THE CORRECT BODY STRUCTURE OF CLASSICAL TAI CHI

Master Stephen Hwa: 

I went to Shanghai and a relative of mine told me his Uncle is a big guy in Yang Style Tai Chi in Shanghai.  He is also a Catholic Bishop  there and so they use the church to practice Yang Style Tai Chi. They are like this.  And then when they are older, in their “60’s”, the whole group, everyone has bone spurs in their lower back. Because the compression, the stress on the lower back caused bone spurs. You know this stress sometimes causes bone spurs, right? That unusual stress on the joints causes bone spurs. Every one of them has bone spurs in the lower back.

Student:  Master Hwa, you talk about the sensations occurring in the back, do you talk about the sensations occurring in the front as well?

Master Hwa: Some, but mostly in the back. Also, remember when he spoke?  He just raised an excellent point.  Remember, we said, going forward, all the weight has to be on the front foot? Now, the whole back is not entirely relaxed because there is a stretch in the lower back, down to the heel, try to maintain the touch of the heel on the ground.  Now, do you feel that stretch? Now you don’t have weight on it, but you should feel that stretch. You work to maintain the heel touch the ground. So the leg is kind of straight, not with bent knee.  Not with bent knee.  So you want to maintain some force on the leg to maintain the stretch. Not bending the knee.

Student: Do you sense that stretch continually when you are transferring weight back?

Master Hwa: Yes, when you are pulling back, there is more in the front now. When you are pulling back, and again using your abdomen.  Pulling your body back like this, again pulling with your back foot. There is more sensation comes more in the front. The sensation comes more in the front.  This sitting position actually is a very awkward position. But again, when we do push hands, when we do the push hands, you will realize this is such a very important position. One of the most important positions, but it is a very awkward position. A lot of people do not know how to do that correctly, a so called sitting motion. 

Okay, any other questions on this segment?

Student: Can I ask you a question about sitting back?  When you are sitting back are you tucking the buttocks and sitting at the same time?

Master Hwa: Yes, tucking and sitting back at the same time.  When you are sitting back, it depends how you do it.  You can sit deeper and deeper, the deeper you can sit the better.  With the sitting back, you still should be able to turn your body.  Because that is the purpose of your sitting back.  You sit back, you turn and the guy falls.

Student: Master Hwa, when you are sitting back are you shortening the length of the abdomen?

Master Hwa: Not too much.  If your shoulder is too much (hunched over), your turning is limited, you cannot turn very well. You still need that length of body, so you can turn.  When I sit back, it is not just sitting back, I have to turn, to redirect. If you are too (hunched over) it is harder to turn. If you keep your body stretched (lengthened) then you can turn better.

Student: It is a pelvic tilt?

Master Hwa: Yes, the crease is not abdominal, it is creased in the pelvis.

Student: The farther you are down, the more your back stretches up?

Master Hwa: Yes, right, you find your back is kind of pulled up.  Certainly, if your step is big, your sitback is naturally quite low, OK? Now, we don’t teach the large frame.  The large frame, the step is big and it does teach you how to sit low. Now if you don’t sit low correctly, you are not sitting, your body weight is more toward the front. When you sit back correctly, the thighs have to be even (parallel).  Now my body is facing forward, if I am not sitting back, my body is facing to an angle.  On such an angle, I have a strong side and a weak side.  So when I sit with thighs parallel, my teacher checked it.  The reason he says this is “you are facing the opponent squarely and not crooked”.  If you face an angle, then you face opponent at an angle, so he is using the “thigh” guage. Most other martial arts are facing the opponent really at an angle with the body.  We are facing the opponent squarely and you will be able to redirect the opponent to either direction. If I face him at an angle, I can redirect to one side only but cannot redirect to the other very well. So you are giving a signal to an opponent that you have a strong side. So if you do push hands with “outside” practitioners.  So how can you handle him to take advantage of his weak side.  Then not falling into his trap of succumbing to being pulled by his strong side.

Student:  When I sit back like this should my thigh feel tight?

Master Hwa:  Yes, really tight

Student: When I sit back this leg muscle is very tight. I have a weak right knee so I notice this.

Master Hwa:  Then you need to take a smaller step. If one has knee problems you always keep your step small. 

Student: Could you address the importance of tucking the chin?

Master Hwa: Right, when your chin is not tucked, and people push you hard enough, you head may snap back.  If your head snaps back like this you are very weak. We constantly stretch our head up using the neck muscle to support the head rather than using the cervical vertebrae part of the spine to support the weight of the head.  In doing so, you also develop the neck muscle.  The neck muscle is important in preventing whiplash.  When you sit back you have to feel the tuck of the chin, the stretch of neck muscle and that is why you feel the back is pulled up.

 

Don't "lean" on the Tai Chi Classics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7QHPErjhs8

DON’T ”LEAN” TOO MUCH ON TAI CHI CLASSICS

Tai Chi Walk

Michael wrote that he has some questions about what he refers to as an understanding of leaning the body in Classical Tai Chi, weight distribution, Tai Chi Classics, and Yin and Yang:

"As I watched Master Hwa's video more intently, I was drawn to the movement of the lower limbs, i.e., from the hips down. Can I assume that master Hwa advocates the separation of ying-yang footing, i.e., 100% weight on one leg and the other 0%, in all postures (except the end of the single whip)? While I understand the weight shifting from one stance to another - I'm interested to know the weight distribution, e.g., brush knee twist step at the end. Is it 100% in the front leg, and the back leg is insubstantial? I'm studying the classics by zhang sang Feng, and it was mentioned that one should not lean on any side. I would interpret this as leaning forward, backward, or at the sides - but if there is 100% weight on one leg, I assume that there is a leaning force involved? "

Hi Michael, I know that Master Hwa has addressed your questions on a previous occasion. As a teacher, I would like to contribute something for discussion on Facebook if possible. In Classical Tai Chi, my teacher, Master Stephen Hwa, explains the principles of movement (the how and why) in terms of Yin and Yang. He also explains the principles in terms of "body weight distribution ."When one moves, they do not let their weight "distribute" itself in an out-of-control manner. Losing control of weight distribution is a grievous error and can have health and martial consequences. This type of error is discussed in detail in the: DVD series, Yahoo Email Group, Classical Tai Chi Forum, Classical Tai Chi Website (Table of Contents for DVD), and in the online course Classical Tai Chi at Teachable.com.

What I discuss is illustrated in the Forward Lean as seen in this video link and several other video links about ”Tai Chi Walk” on Youtube. When one takes a step forward in Classical Tai Chi, the weight stays 100% on the back foot until the front foot is flat on the ground at 0%. The practitioner will pull the body forward till the body weight 100% is on the front foot, with the back foot becoming 0%. The body weight distribution is dynamic, fluid, and continuous through all postures, with no exception.

The words lean, leaning, leaned, etc. are certainly fine in English are they not? However, I think an understanding of "leaning" in Classical Tai Chi should encompass the thought that one should take the Tai Chi Classics with the proverbial "grain of salt." The Classics are, as Master Hwa has said, "attributed to various authors." Regardless of who wrote them, we did not hear of them until Wu Yu Xiang "found them in a Salt Shop." The Classics, for one, do not specify what they mean by "lean." Did the mythical Zhang Sanfeng mean don't lean at all, don't lean too much, etc.? Then there is the definition: 倾斜 This is defined as "incline, tip, bias, slope, etc. I cannot find "lean" defined as "incline" in Chinese. Lean in Chinese is more like "thin" as in a lean piece of meat. I like "incline" better than "lean" for Tai Chi terms, etc. and in pinyin, one says "Qingxie."

The term "incline" is used in the Wu Family Gold Book as elucidated by Grandmaster Wu Kung Cho. He means you do not "incline" by breaking at the waist. You see a lot of "breaking at the waist" in some styles of Tai Chi; it is painful to watch. Master Hwa does use the term "lean." In his explanation, he makes it work in English where "incline" would not. He does not caution against it, as does Zhang Sanfeng; on the contrary, he tells us how and why we need to do it. It is discussed in detail on page 56 of his treatise in the book "Uncovering the Treasure." I think there is a crucial point about not "breaking at the waist" when he says: "The head, the body, and the back leg form a straight line in the lean forward." With that in mind, one can readily see that breaking at the waist would break the straight line and any energy flow.

To sum it up, I think the Classics, while having some key insights, are often filled with "contrariness" and can be very cryptic. I would not conflate basic principles of Classical Tai Chi to the often contrary statements in the Tai Chi Classics; hence "take it with a grain of salt."

An award for Classical Tai Chi of Buffalo

 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Classical Tai Chi of Buffalo Receives 2022 Buffalo Award

Buffalo Award Program Honors the Achievement

BUFFALO December 6, 2022 -- Classical Tai Chi of Buffalo has been selected for the 2022 Buffalo Award in the Martial Arts Activities category by the Buffalo Award Program.

Each year, the Buffalo Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Buffalo area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2022 Buffalo Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Buffalo Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Buffalo Award Program

The Buffalo Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Buffalo area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Buffalo Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community's contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Buffalo Award Program

CONTACT:
Buffalo Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@citiesaccolade.com
URL: http://www.citiesaccolade.com

We are happy to announce that Classical Tai Chi of Buffalo has been selected as the Winner for the 2022 Buffalo Awards in the category of Martial Arts Activities. Notice to other winners in Buffalo is happening over the next few weeks. The entire list of winners will be posted on our website after all recipients have been contacted.

Fajin(s)

 

Ken L. asked: hi, i have a question for master Hwa, is fa jing the same as internal movement?

if not, can you explain more about fa jing and how to do it?

Master Hwa replies:

The term “fa jin(jing)” may be explained as ‘thrust of power”. It could be a “sudden burst” but it could also be extended over a period of time.

Yes, practice of internal movement is the practice of fa jin in a deliberate and systematic manner so that one could perfect the technique of fa jin. In addition, the practice of Tai Chi Form is also important to fa jin by building up your internal energy as well as providing a proper body structure base where you can launch fa jin effectively. One example is the topic of “heel on the ground” discussed in Forum 3. Another example is the body posture. Remember in the video, certain movements resulted in the posture of the body leaning forward forming a straight line with the back leg. This is ideal posture for “forward fa jin”. When you sit back with weight all on the back leg, a defensive posture, this is ideal for “side-way fa jin” with turning motion, such as ward-off or neutralization. If one try to “forward fa jin” while sitting on the back leg, with the body perpendicular to the ground, there is not much support to counter act the reaction force from “forward fa jin” and his body will likely tilt backwards losing much of the forward force. In the Form you are practicing, when ever your hand is moving forward, the forward arm is always at the same side of the body as the back leg, forward right hand with right leg at the back, and vice versa. This alignment provides better structural integrity of supporting the fa jin than that of forward right hand with left leg at the back.

                  *************************************

Keep the hand guarding face!

This link below shows a student’s dropped hand. It's repeated and corrected repeatedly in “watch whole video”. 1:16, Master Hwa repeats “…hands up…” several times. 😳There is a golden rule I learned in Freestyle push hands, Tai Chi and Karate sparring. And that is “Drop hand from guarding face and lose Face”! 👀 Teacher:  “Keep you hand up”, Student:  “I know that”, Teacher: “Ouch, that must have hurt, are you ok?KEEP HAND UP VIDEO CLIP

Stay the Course

 

There is a saying, "learning postures is easy; changing them is hard." Or, as Master Hwa says, "...sometimes it is more difficult teaching a student not to move than how to move..." This difficulty expresses the "stubbornness" of the mind and body in relying on preconceived notions in thought and habit. 

Just as some students will find the following statements uncomfortable, most students will not endure the discomfort of proper training without consciously or subconsciously seeking relief. Constant vigilance on the part of the teacher is required to keep the student on the correct path.

However, in "staying the course," we can become aware of sensations and, thus, the effects of the errors of muscle actions. I speak of  Yin and Yang:  "…to achieve internal movements, the Yin and Yang are a pair to form a junction at the right place in the torso. If there is any movement in the Yin, the junction will be altered, resulting in an entirely different kind of move…." However, are you cognizant? Are you sensing when there is movement in the Yin?

An instance of this not perceived in muscle action is a medical checkup. You are familiar with the Doctor putting a stethoscope on your chest and asking that you breathe in. In doing so, the chest heaves up, and the body becomes top-heavy. While the body is in physical balance, our belly gets hollowed.  

This hollowing of the abdomen weakens our waist as a support column, thus weakening the support of balance in body structure. Not that the Dr. would do it, but I think the body would fall easily with a gentle nudge. I confess I have been breathing from the abdomen for decades. When the Dr. tells me to take a "deep breath," I never "heave up" the chest, and the Doctor never says otherwise. 

The body can learn from the top heaviness as an effect of the yin-yang imbalance of muscle actions. Do we know, do we notice, and if we see, do we care? In routine activity, we make internal imbalances in the body structure,  such as when we raise a hand excitedly to attract attention. Honestly, can you say you use quarter-body movement all the time? 

Many combinations of muscle actions underlying a body's posture and motion exist. The differences in support do not matter much for everyday activities, but in sports, they determine the performance outcome. Master Hwa has elucidated this in many YouTube videos. I notice that some people do not agree with this, but chances are none are proficient at Tennis, Football, Baseball, etc., much less Taijiquan. 

Liked on YouTube: Ji Squeeze mpg

Ji Squeeze mpg
Ji is fajin with a longer power delivery than either Peng or Tsai. Why Tai Chi uses “follow the opponent” and how this is done with the proper footwork is explained. This video link, like several others, is on my private Youtube studio. channel. Its intent is not to compete with Master Hwa but to share my thoughts and experiences with his videos. It will not compete since it is private and is shown in this private group. I observe that Master Hwa is "following the opponent" by allowing his arm to be stretched. By doing that, he engages his core muscles and the source of his internal strength. In addition, Tom has his arm "crimped" against his side. This makes the issuance of "long-duration fajin" fairly straightforward, with little to no resistance from Tom. It behooves you to sit back and turn from the core when practicing push hands. Or else, thus losing the capability to neutralize "Ji." If one cannot neutralize in cooperative push hands, there is little skill to bring to "Ji" as an application. I suggest for everyone to practice pulling forward and sitting back, "pushing hands" with imaginary opponents as a separate exercise, and do it dozens of times in a row.
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-He8VVVBZqQ

“Crunch Time”

Crunch video

 The silk reeling exercise "turning + crunch" is very energizing internally. You will feel the intense energy circulation in the dantien. The “folding the body along the spine move” was discussed extensively in Forum 14. Several variations of “folding move” were tried in my class. The one shown in this Youtube video appears to be the most effective in training this move and also has great relevance to form practice. The movement gives strong stretching and contraction sensations at both the front and the back of the torso. Since it is carried out in square form, it is not a silk reeling exercise. There is not much continuous energy circulation. Because the folding movements exercise the muscle and tendon along the spine and stimulates blood flow in that region, it is a good way to keep the spine healthy.

Glasses on Foreheads

 Are you fooling yourself?

Master Hwa is right,"…not everyone wants to be a proficient practitioner…." However, I meet many people who" talk a good game." about learning Classical Tai Chi. Years ago, I visited a hard-style Kung Fu master. He was very friendly and said he admired Tai Chi, although he did not do it. He was famous on the cover of" Inside Kung Fu" Magazine. He had perfected the art of drilling his index finger into a brick. I don't remember his exact words but his words were something like this as he did not specifically talk about how to" drill." "Do you want to learn "iron finger"? Go home for one hundred days and practice punching a bag with the finger for two hours each morning and night." How many people are willing to do that and that is quite a point he made.  I question the value of using all that energy to perfect such an overly specialized art/skill. I would say that the so-called" secret" is sheer persistence.

I would say that type of "sheer persistence "is somewhat cliche. But, for the sake of argument, let's say you do that. You have what one might call" self-realization" from your persistence. But after 100 days, how have you changed? From my point of view, I have not "changed" over 40 years, particularly the last 20 with Master Hwa.

On the contrary, I have become a "changing" person. I have met many students over the years, and there seems to be what one might call a "hunger" for Tai Chi as "exercise." Down deep, what they don't say is "self-improvement." What many don't see is they are initially fooling themselves. 

As a long-time proficient practitioner said recently, many do not see the difficulty facing themselves in starting Classical Tai Chi. Like the guy who stormed out of the Tai Chi, muttering," I already know how to walk." To paraphrase what the "…know how to walk…" student said in his estimation, he is personally knowledgeable of how his body works. So how should" walking" come from" inside" of himself? As the proficient practitioner wrote to me recently. I love their analogy regarding "inner experience." "We can end up looking for our glasses when we already have them on." Yes, not everyone who starts wants to be a proficient practitioner. Many fail to realize whether they wish to continue or not is still there. One could go around for a lifetime with "glasses on the forehead," blaming Tai Chi. It will always remain for the "long haul" as a sustainable way of life, as a long haul discipline.

In other words, I don't know how people feel that Classical Tai Chi merely supplies a sophisticated justification for personal and social inertia. What makes them think it dispenses happily with organized activity and serious effort? 

Taking a walk? It is “ordinary force”!

Taking a walk is “ordinary” force

It occurs to me that "Ordinary Force" is also built into our everyday leg movement, all 7 billion of us. A familiar "Ordinary Force" example to explain Newton's third law of motion is the walking of a person on the ground. I say “explain” because Newton’s Laws are not intuitive and if they were, then excuse my wishful thinking, but so many more people might well have “internal discipline”.   When a person walks on the ground, then the person exerts a force in the backward direction. However, as you see in the video by Master Stephen Hwa, there is a "backward" direction from an ordinary force arm push. This force applied is known as action. 

In walking, kicking, etc., as a result of this force applied, an equal and opposite force is used by the ground to the other foot, and this force helps to move, kick, etc., in the forward direction. This force is called the reaction force. When you walk and are not using internal discipline, it is an ordinary force. When you do a Karate kick above the waist, your Wing Chun kick to the shin, etc., it is a force. 

I did Tae Kwon do for years, and take my word for it seemed like 99% kicking. A typical incident was seeing novices kick a heavy bag with an above-the-waist kick and then are knocked backward. Of course, students in any art get better, but it is nowhere near the martial, internal skill, and "core" dexterity of a proficient student of Classical Tai Chi.

 

Get a kick out of Tai Chi walk

 I will paraphrase Master Hwa from his book "Uncovering the Treasure" p. 110. "Many of the movements in the Form are designed this way. In other words, one limb practices a move for one purpose,  while the others practice for some other purposes." He uses the example, "The hand movements  in the pictures practice the Cai (Tsai sometimes spelled, pull, yank, etc.) move while the foot  movements practice the kicking routine

Here's what I'm after and from the book. Hwa talks about "purposes," so in the case of the "walk" shown here, I'll take a little poetic and martial art license and delve into multipurpose. The "walk" is a Kick in disguise. "The forward foot with its heel firmly planted on the ground serves many purposes. It is useful for the balance and stability of the body. It is ready to kick the opponent, pull the body forward, or take a step back."

Now, besides the potential for "sweeps," the heel can stomp the opponent's foot, the toe can kick straight ahead to the shin, the heel can step back and stamp, and the foot can turn and kick with the edge of the foot or heel. I can take any kick I learned in 4 years Tae Kwon Do except the "skyscraper high ."My point is moving the foot not only with "walk" intent, but thinking Martial Intent when you practice walking or even in Form. Imagine an opponent in front, back, side, and angle and this step as your "kicking" all-purpose and foot itself as a "swiss army knife" capability tool.

You know all about Tai Chi because…?

Teaching these 45+ (I forgot how many actually) years. What I hear however for the most part is: “I know all about Tai Chi because I’ve heard a bunch of stories about it”; “because of those stories I know everything I need to know”; “so if someone asks me something about it I could tell them everything they need to know and it would all be true”.

That’s “tip of the ice berg” in illogical thinking,however. For instance,”know everything” yet turning their bodies or hips, not turning their feet, and leaving the foot behind? I say, "...that's not Tai Chi..."

Studying Classical Tai Chi is very scientific, so how can I make apologies or diplomacy for Newton's 3rd law, for instance? If you bang your head against that wall, it will bounce back. It works the same for logic about what we do in Classical Tai Chi, particularly how and why we learn. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Students don't like "how long it takes." "How long it takes" is faulty reasoning, and one might say, "throwing the baby out the window with the bath water." Whoever said scientific rationale has to be pretty and fit a student's "wishful thinking"? There has been too much belittling of Tai Chi, and I explain that below. To the best of my ability, as I do here, I also teach students to check their reasoning in Tai Chi.

It is great to study with someone who teaches you and, in the process of learning, also fine-tune your "bullshit detector." My teacher does not pussyfoot with me either; he calls me on it when my reasoning is wobbly or way off. We both have also explained in videos such as DVDs and in great detail in writing for many years why there is great reasoning behind video learning over classroom learning. I have also written about my own experiences in learning from his videos.

There was a "golden age" of Tai Chi; well, I think this is a golden "golden age" because of technology and its ability to facilitate learning. Those "old masters" could only cover so much ground, even if there were electric cars. They were so much in demand, and every student wanted Wu Chien Chuan himself, so to speak. How does the myriad of details even get to a Tai Chi family when so many outside students clam for the Grandmaster? Of course, many students want it straight from Master Stephen Hwa, not his disciples, and I am happy about that and know he is glad he can make videos and online courses. As many videos as he has made, however, he will be the first to not misdirect you but simply say each one of the 50+ only covers one (1) detail of a myriad of details connected with learning. Do you recall the saying "the devil is in the details"?

I invited Master Hwa in from Rochester to teach my class in Buffalo. The picture is from about 20 years ago, and if people don't know how to walk, how can they do Classical Tai Chi "Form"? When you read my blog and Facebook in-depth, I think you'll find the purpose of Classical Tai Chi is not stress and inner peace. Many things call themselves Tai Chi but are merely dance, exercise, or "wine and cheese" excuses to socialize...they are not Tai Chi. In my experience, those so-called Tai Chi's all cut corners in the learning. I have students who make no bones about telling me what some other martial art teacher is doing and how that should affect Classical Tai Chi. That's B.S.! Some Tai Chi adds moves, principles, and techniques from other martial arts. Add movements here, take out movements here, take out moves there, and pretty soon, it does not resemble its original purpose. You do all that cutting of corners, and the logical structure collapses.

An account of Young Wabu

 Grandmaster Young Wabu

I hope I do justice to this account of Grandmaster Young Wabu. In "About my Father," his daughter Lin Yi, reports on how much he cared for his family and how busy he was as a businessman, later studying then practicing Osteopathy, teaching many Tai Chi students, and running a healing practice. The bottom line is that he was super faithful to the Tai Chi he learned from Wu Jianquan. Master Hwa also said his teacher felt every student's "duty" to pass on the art.

From "Uncovering the Treasure, Introduction":

"We can only celebrate what is transmitted from Wu Chien Chuan and the good fortune that the turmoil of war brought Wu to Hong Kong. Wu appreciated Young's natural ability and dedication by discarding the external martial arts for which Young was known. Wu was willing to stay at Young's home to teach him. They worked night and day with very little distraction. This is reflected in the rigorous and in-depth material that is passed on. If Young had sought Wu as a teacher at Wu's home base in Shanghai, he would not have had such dedicated attention since Wu was a much sought-after teacher with many students. For this, we should be thankful for what fate brought about."

I also have some information from the Qi Journal account of the Taiji vs. White Crane fight in 1951. I also put in some of my own accounts of what my teacher, Master Stephen Hwa, has stated. I should also say in addition to Master Hwa's account, that qi Journal reports Master Young was told to give up previous training to learn Taiji. I concur with that because I was told to do the same thing when I learned from the Wu Family in Toronto and became a disciple/teacher. History is beautiful but seemingly fickle if events are not recorded accurately and passed on intact. Please bear with me as I make this account.

From the Qi Journal August 2002: Grandmaster Young Wabu was one of the well-known students of Wu Jianquan. He started in Monkey Boxing. There Young was so good that his teacher, the Gatekeeper of Monkey Boxing, had him on the top of the shortlist for "Master" status. In " Uncovering the Treasure, Master Stephen Hwa reports in "Uncovering the Treasure" that Master Young was versed in several external arts that he gave up learning from Wu. However, Grandmaster Young liked Taijiquan and sought to learn it. It is reputed that the Monkey Boxing teacher asked him who he planned to learn from and stated so many were of poor skill. The story goes the Master had tears in his eyes and sighed when he heard Wu Jianquan. Apparently, the response was also like, "Okay, let me introduce you to Wu Jianquan."

The story also states the Gatekeeper was a teenage friend of Wu's, and they "fought together" in Beijing streets. So Young switched to Taijiquan Now, the stipulation from Wu was that Young had to completely give up all the skills and methods he had learned in the other system. He had to do that before even starting to learn Tai Chi.

Master Stephen Hwa has reported that Wu lived in Young's home in Hong Kong during the Japanese invasions. He reports that the intensity of the training was incredible and went on night and day. One story reported in qi Journal is Young was made to practice single movements hundreds of times before being taught a new one. Grandmaster Young was this way a very senior family student. When Jianquan returned to Shanghai, Master Young was teaching students in the Wu family classes. Those were where his daughter Sonia, then a young girl, was learning and sparring with the men. One story from Qi Journal also reports that Master Young felt junior students were too leisurely in their practice. I think Master Hwa has said his teacher could not understand why students were "so feckless" about Tai Chi. The Journal reported that as a senior student, Master Young debated hotly with Wu Gong Yi about taking the Hong Kong challenge fight with Chan Hak Fu.

A scientific explanation of Yin and Yang

 Science of Yin and Yang video

Looking at the video from 4:00 forward: Here is the scientific explanation of why "turning the hip," turning the hip in a small frame, small circle Tai Chi is strictly verboten and goes contrary to science.

"Moving forward and backward this motion does not affect the upper body to any movement because the two forces are orthogonal. But if the pelvis also has some turning motion, then there will be an effect on the upper body turning force. If the pelvis turns now, we have two turning springs in action one is the internal waist turning spring the other is a leg crossing turning spring which is a very weak spring. Therefore hip should not have turning movement. "

Very thought-provoking! The closed captions instead of default are quite thoughtful. I think this will be the “gold standard” for Tai Chi, particularly in Scientific thought. The analysis and subsequent redesign to accurately reflect the science I think Master Hwa learned from his teacher is quite an accomplishment. Not only that, but as shown in the content and presentation, it seems to reach all levels for the uplift of others and is quite impressive.

Einstein said "Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one"

Sometimes what you see in Tai Chi   a video link with an explanation

I read somewhere that Einstein said, "Reality is an illusion, albeit very persistent." In retrospect, and with tongue in cheek, Einstein was particularly correct regarding how students hold to what they perceive even with a cursory examination.

"...I watched the video of Master Hwa at home; you are wrong, Mr. Roach.." I explained that bobbing up and down, straightening the leg, and standing up is not the same as lifting the leg with the core. Upon correction for "bobbing up and down," the student told me, "...I watched the video, and when Master Hwa lifts the pelvis with the core, he straightens his leg and stands up..." I asked the student how many times they watched the video, and the answer was "...once...". That is what I mean by "cursory."

Master Stephen Hwa "It would help if you remembered that sometimes the appearance of reality is an illusion. My students in class often told me that they thought I was moving a certain way and tried to do the same. Later they found out that their observation was not correct. That was why I incorporated different views in my video so you could see my moves at different angles to lessen the chance of a wrong impression. Using a fresh eye to review the lesson video could uncover any misinterpretation of my movements. The other thing to remember is that you perceive that you are moving a certain way, but you are not moving that way. I met one student who had finished the lessons from the video. One problem I observed was that his movements initiated from the chest area when he tried to internalize his move away from the arm and shoulder. He would

scrunch his chest to start an upper body movement. When one of the students in my class makes the turning movement, she does stabilize the pelvic area, but the turning motion initiates from the upper abdomen area. In both of these cases, the concentration on the internal position is too high. It has to be in the navel and below. When done right, you will feel the tight connection to the lower body through the buttock. My 12-year-old student in class made a brief comment: "one thinks that he is not doing external, so it must be internal." It is not an either-or situation. There is an intermediate region, which is neither external nor very internal"

The curve and the straight of it

 

Of the numerous Tai Chi styles, there is really only one that has a "round" form and a truly "square" (fang) form. With all its derivatives, the Classical Tai Chi Wu Style often surprises people with the opposite requirement between Square and Round. This is not unique, however:

Just think about how one learns the art of calligraphy. My experience taught me how to write in print form (brush and ink, of course). My own teacher echoes this in the video link. Then one learns the cursive form. The differences between these two writing forms are very much analogous to the differences between those two Tai Chi Forms.

Square Form is analogous to the block printing of (pinyin) Kai Style or "Kai Shu." The round form is analogous to Tsao Style, "Tsao Shu/Cao Shu," or the cursive script.

In Square form, as in calligraphy, movements take place in relatively straight lines between points (start and end points of inflection). The Round form with its curves has the curves going through those points…the Square is like a template for the round.

Like the Calculus of mathematics, however, I would like to point out that the round form is like calculus which integrates a tiny segment of a curved motion as a straight line to form the curved motion. Square form is like taking one of the important tiny straight lines and expanding it into a linear movement. I guess the way of the universe is based on similar principles for everything which appears to be unrelated.

I think it is in Jou Tsung Hwa's book: Tao of Tai Chi where he makes a statement about movement being like individual frames in a movie film. Taken separately or even 2 or 3, it makes no sense, and one sees no motion. We only have the illusion of motion when one puts all the frames together.

Regarding square form and perhaps to the critics: Although the principal purpose is to teach students to delineate yin and yang, there are many, many individual "points," "stops," "pauses," etc. As it was said, "changes of direction occur at those points." That, the more "points" are present in something such as a square form, the more capacity there is for those points to join and produce a round form. It would seem then that much like the individual frames in a film being many but making a fine product that gives us the illusion of motion.

If I only have 2 or 3 points, it would be hard to see the round if I join them with straight lines. If I put 10 points in that same situation and join them, one begins to see the round very clearly. As in the 8 straight lines joining and changing direction in the I Ching diagram, one can draw the circle around those 8 points. It would also seem that lines joining like this form angles at the joints. Ideally, an excellent place to mount an attack would be at an angle or "tangent."

The points where one changes direction are referred to as "Dingdian" or fixed points, actually inflection points. Those starting and ending points define the curved movement in the round form. Of course, nothing ever starts or ends in Tai Chi, like ocean waves and breathing; each has its own peak and trough…sine waves come to mind. This considers the concept of "reversal, " which is a mainstay in the I Ching.

When I was learning calligraphy, I appreciated the stop and go of the strokes in Kai Shu. It allowed me to reflect on the stroke I just did and prepare for the next movement. The square form of Tai Chi allows us to gather energy, align the joints, and gather strength at the "points." I can prepare for the next move by gathering energy for the coming action. This is why the moves in the Square are resolute and appear abrupt.

Based on this, I would say that Tai Chi is not only very analogous to calligraphy but also very scientific…in light of the Calculus, one can appreciate mathematics.

Thanks

James Roach

p.s. Read the biography of the Chows at this link. They were both outstanding artists, calligraphers, and Tai Chi teachers. They both learned from Wabu Young, who was my own teacher's teacher.

http://www.enlighteners.com/history.html#transcript

Both end “al” but Centrifugal is not Internal

 

ENDS  “AL” BUT CENTRIFUGAL IS NOT INTERNAL

We are always saying that Classical Tai Chi is underpinned as Science. As a kind of Lab Experiment, at this juncture, show me a completely “internal” 4 minute Form if you disagree with anything  as follows. 

The objective is to play Tai Chi both fast and slow. Did you know that Small Frame, Small Circle is meant to do just that? In our 60’s Master Hwa and I were doing the Form in the 3-minute range. He did it faster than me; better continuity of Internal energy. Now that is faster than the "Fast Form" touted by Ma Yueh Liang. Interestingly, one never sees his Form but sees his wife (Wu's daughter) doing an excellent form. When one learns the Form and is good at it, it varies playing speed from fast to slow. Fast has "Fast" difficulty, and Slow has "Slow" difficulties. 

The crux of this is whether Fast or Slow; one cannot change the Form. Remember Wu told Young it cannot be changed?  Yes, there are various perturbations when it comes to “change”. If one goes very fast sans “Internal”, the Form inevitably changes because of centrifugal force. The postures begin to change because the internal energy flow is not maintained. The centrifuge effect takes the internal out of the equation. Limbs spin out of control, centrifugal force is changing everything about the postures. It's not like just learning a so-called "Fast Form" first. One first builds up Internal Energy; then, one can go fast. 

Slow playing builds up Internal Energy; one can then go faster and faster at a future time. Faster at this junction is called the "tight compact" Form. Yes, the postures get smaller, tighter. The steps for instance would have feet taking tinier steps, half size.  I figured out that Master Hwa went faster than me because he goes tighter and that because I am taller.  It is difficult for me at 6’3” to take tinier steps as it really begins to affect my balance.  We talked, and both laughed, about the size disparity recently and my balance problems because of height.

One inch punch time delay

 ONE INCH PUNCH TIME DELAY.. Link to Classical Tai Chi one inch punch

When not moving to California I like to visit Hwa Laoshi. I was visiting Master Stephen Hwa at his home in Florida and staying in the 2nd apartment. He knocked on the door of the apartment and said, "have you eaten yet"? He then came in, sat down with me, and talked about Fajin. To my pleasant surprise he began talking about the one-inch punch, "...all materials have a "time constant" in their elasticity ." I thought, “…who else does this but a Chemical Engineer who is a Tai Chi Master…”?

A time constant is the time that represents the speed with which a particular system can respond to change. It is typically equal to the time taken for a specified parameter to vary by a specific factor. In the DVD "Tao of Martial applications," he hit  Tom Kostusiak with a one-inch punch. It hit with so much force, so much speed it created a "time delay "..." (irrespective of the "time constant"). The fist penetrated Toms core, he had no time to react and was propelled back. 

With such a "hollow-fist punch," the reasoning is the same as why Master Hwa maintained a relaxed arm. In videos of Long Beach California, Bruce Lee’s fist, however,  is clenched tightly, and the arm extends almost entirely. With such a clenched fist, the arm cannot maintain relaxation. Try this yourself, clench the fist very tightly, and notice its effect on your arm and body. The use of muscular power is evident in Bruce's punch. 

With such preliminary muscle tension, it is "external" power. It is what Master Hwa called a precursor to "ordinary force ."When the punch is delivered, one can see Bruce Lee pushing from the back foot. Force generated from external limbs such as arms and legs has a much longer duration, no “time delay” is possible and Fajin cannot be compacted into such a burst as possible with a "hollow fist" and relaxed arm.