Enough Pain to Quit

 

                                                     

Square Form

an instruction video

 

Welcome!

 

Subject: 

 Why the Square Form Practice is the Ultimate Shield Against Knee Pain (Chondromalacia Patellae, which is what I suffered and was diagnosed with after doing “other tai chi” for only 1 1/2 years, in, ahem, 19_ _.)

Hi everyone,

Ever wonder why Classical Tai Chi Square Form is so meticulous, distinct, and block-like? It isn't just an educational blueprint—it is a highly scientific shield for your joints, specifically designed to prevent chondromalacia of the patella (runner's knee).

Chondromalacia of the patella, as a Sports Medicine M.D. told me, is caused by the kneecap tracking out of alignment, grinding against the cartilage, softening it, and creating pain. Pain enough to want to quit all Tai Chi. This usually happens due to two errors: knee buckling (inward twisting) and over-extension.

Quite honestly, Master Stephen Hwa is the only teacher out of 5 over the “other tai chi” first 25 years to now in the second 23 to give empathy and explicit attention to how, why, and what my stance is doing. Sadly informative, but he visited me and visited the “other”.  In a conversation, he confirmed what I had painfully learned. No one corrected beginners when it was obvious their derrières were sticking out all over the place. A setup for knee injury!

Here is exactly how the Square Form fixes this:

No Simultaneous Twisting and Loading:

In the Square Form, we never turn the hips while transitioning weight across a bent knee. Weight shifts and rotations are strictly separated. The knee stays safely locked in its "hinge" plane.

Flawless Tracking:

Because every step has a clear beginning, middle, and end, we can consciously verify that the kneecap's center is pointing precisely toward the toes. This balanced tracking stops cartilage wear dead in its tracks.

Offloading Joint Pressure to the Core:

By cultivating internal discipline and using quarter-body mechanics, we learn to move from our core and hips rather than relying on our knees as brakes or levers.

Let's keep paying close attention to the stillness, that “pause” between  transitions this week. It is exactly where your knees are being protected and rebuilt!

Happy training,

Jim

Internal Discipline "Folding Movement"

Excerpted  and some editing from "Uncovering the Treasure, Classical Tai Chi's Path to Health & Energy" by Stephen Hwa:

Please go to this link:
Internal Discipline Folding Movement Video Link

The folding move involves only one side of the body; but in this case it is not the entire side (includes legs which is shown in the photo above) which would be known as "hand follows foot , elbow follows knee", so please do not confuse this with that movement

This is just the upper quadrant of the body moving/folding as a unit. It is a QUARTER-BODY move.  In the case shown in the video, the right side of the body is folding or unfolding by keeping the left side of the body stationary.  The stationary part provides support, some of the power for the move but the lower 2 quadrants (legs) provide grounding.  The Right side of the body is yang, the left side of the body is yin.  The Yin-Yang junction is at the spine. One can visualize that the spine is a hinge, so each side of the torso, down through the buttocks is like a door which folds or unfolds using that hinge.  If the leg was involved in the movement, it would be a HALF-BODY move.

Even though only a quarter of the body is moving it is still an important example of how to make a move but still keep a portion (in this case 3/4 of the body) still.  It is also of importance as an example of how to make a move but keep a significant portion of the body alignment intact.  Whether half body or quarter body, whether the leg moves with it or not it can only be achieved when the turning power comes from the waist and the entire back's muscles.

If this is done correctly , one will achieve a continuous energy flow in the body.  It is a "neigong" exercise. It is tailor made to be a "silk reeling exercise" which might be defined as a continuous symmetrical simple internal movement or movements.  Doing this, one will be able to learn gradually how to move with internal discipline and enjoy the sensation of internal energy circulation. This exercise emphasizes the stimulation of muscles, tendons and blood flow along the spine and the back.  Those who practice this regularly experience a sense of rejuvenation and improved well being.  If one has spare moments during the day, particularly if the exercise can be carried out in a casual and relaxed mood, there will be more chance for the subconscious to play a part.  The ultimate objective is to learn internal movements like this in more or less a piecemeal fashion then integrate them into the Form play.

Correct Stepping in Cloud Hands

Correct Stepping in Cloud Hands and "Yin-Yang Pairs"

(video link)

"The way leads from the sacrum upward in a backward-flowing way to the summit of the Creative and on through the house of the Creative; then it sinks through the  two stories in a direct downward-flowing way into the solar plexus and warms it. Therefore it is said: "Wandering in heaven one eats the spirit-energy of the receptive".  

Excerpted from : "The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life", Richard Wilhelm, Translator, Translated from German, Cary F. Baynes,  C.G. Jung, Commentary, see p. 61 for the passage.  Richard Wilhelm, C.G. Jung and Cary F. Baynes also being collaborators on the Wilhelm/Baynes edition of the I Ching or Book of Changes.

In the context of "secrets", I see that there is no shortage of books being published that tout learning "...the secrets of Tai Chi..." in some cases they claim that the "secrets of the masters" are to be found in the "Tai Chi Classics".  Certainly we know that there have been high level masters of Tai Chi in the early days but as Master Stephen Hwa states: "These Classics started becoming known in the 1930-40s when books about Tai Chi first started to be published in China. These writings reported in those books are a collection of short works attributed to different authors from Chang San-Feng to anonymous authors. Even though their authorship cannot be verified, they are considered to be the holy writ on Tai Chi. They do contain some insights and principles of Tai Chi; but also some glaring mistakes."

We know now however, that regardless of any supposed or real literary accomplishments, the early masters structured the Tai Chi form to serve two purposes:  It was designed to be useful for martial applications and also to be good for health purposes.  One has to admire the thinking behind such structure and I think it can be safely said that it was designed by people with sound reasoning skills.  Reasoning however that was no doubt based in whole but certainly in major part of their own martial art experience.  Thus we have the 2 major components of the "logical structure" of Tai Chi but they built it with an understanding that it need be composed of many facets or building blocks for the structure. An example of only one building block  but a major one is how "...every move in Tai Chi needs a moving part and a stationary part (yang and yin)..."  Those "parts" come together at junctions in the body, some can be in the torso, some can be outside of the torso.  These junctions can be said to be the repositories of the two parts or what are "yin-yang pairs" but regardless of what they are called, their location whether inside or outside of the torso is what is of major importance.

When inside or "internal" to the torso the yin-yang pairs will have the most profound effect on the "two purposes", when outside the torso, it is simply an "external" movement and cannot provide such enhancement to the internal system of the body. There are so many movements in the Tai Chi form however, can there be one that provides an examplary illustration of what we say here?  I think if there is to be any outstanding example it must be the "Cloud Hands" movement of the Tai Chi form. I have included this video link which specifically shows Master Hwa not only demonstrating the movement but discussing how to do it correctly:  

"Correct Stepping in Cloud Hands with application"

"Correct Stepping in Cloud Hands showing pullback"

I will let Master Hwa do the rest because I can certainly explain it no better but will conclude by saying IMHO that the movement you see in his back is the characteristic "ripple effect".  In this video you see the force, an "intense muscle undulating motion" .  This is a premier example of the saying about Tai Chi that it is "outside cotton but inside steel" . In my humble opinion or at least conjecture,  I see parallels in the up and down motion of his back or "undulating motion" and how this is described in so many writings about Taoist meditation (see the Golden Flower comment). Or parallels as to how the "chi" is "tapped" along the spine, travels to the extremeties, then moves back to the body core for further use. 

 On the other hand, although I think the Secret of the Golden Flower is written in such an ethereal style (it has been long associated with "hippy-dippy, flower style Tai Chi of the 60's in the U.S.") that it is almost unintelligible to me in English, there is nothing ethereal about what we see demonstrated by Master Hwa, After all, and as we correct our stepping in cloud hands, it is  as Master Hwa says in Uncovering the Treasure: "...a bad posture will stop internal energy generation and qi flow. No mental state or wishful thinking, (etheric or otherwise) can overcome that".

"Six Harmonies" start with the core in Classical Tai Chi

The Youtube Video link. On behalf of Edward Hunter regarding his comment on Youtube:

"In Wu Tai Chi the movement starts with the hand. Elbow 

follows hand. Shoulder follows elbow. Hip follows shoulder. 

Foot follows hip. That is the way of natural movement. Chen 

is wrong. Yang is wrong. Wu Tai Chi teached with hands 

following the feet is also wrong."

Sifu JR said, Hi E.H. You hit a bell with a rather large stone, so my response is appropriately significant, thank you:

Thank you for the comment. I see that you are a student/teacher in a "branch" of the Wu Tai Chi style; I am as well. I was also a student in another "branch" for many years. That branch "turned the hip" as opposed to "turning the waist"; they "started the movement with the hand" as opposed to "mobilizing the extremities from the waist." One "branch" within the Wu Style raises their arms very high above their heads; Classical Wu Tai Chi does not do this. I will not argue the point from the perspective that one is right while the other is wrong; I would have my work cut out for me in doing so.

However, you imply that if something is natural, e.g., "natural movement," then it is somehow good, thus suggesting that what is unnatural, e.g., "unnatural movement," is terrible. This characterization of "natural" presents many problems. I am sure that even if we agree some things are natural and some are not, what follows from this? Nothing. In other words, I do not see facts presented to support that what is "natural" movement is good (right) and what is, by implication, "unnatural" is bad (wrong).

Do you state that "movement starting with the hand" is valid to the extent that all other schools are wrong? You say some schools, even within the same style (Wu in this case), will start the "six harmonies" ( 1)hand follows 2) foot, 3) elbow follows 4) knee, 5) shoulder follows 6) hip by using the hand first. In this case, I see you are from the "Wu" school. I also see that you do not mention the use of the core, the "hands" connection to the core, the feet, the elbows, etc.

Stating about the "six harmonies" being "wrong" as presented herein Classical Wu Style is not sound. Simply stating the premise that "movement" is "wrong" because it is not "natural" does not make or present facts to make it "wrong."

There are, however, certain observable things that one can take note of: Here, in Classical Wu Tai Chi, the movement does not start with the hand; it begins with the waist. In using the hand to begin first, one uses an extremity of the body. Whether in Classical Tai Chi or any Tai Chi, it is initially reducing or draining off some of the power of the movement, as the action is not connected to the core.

Tennis players, baseball players, golfers, etc., use an external action first with the arms/hands, then it is connected to the core, presumably for power, once the arc of the swing reaches the proximity of the core. However, using the hands/arms first does not mobilize the core of the body before the fact effectively, for it is the core itself that should be used to mobilize the hands, arms, and legs. After all, we are talking about Tai Chi for health and martial purposes and not baseball.

Hand and arm movements in and of themselves are abstract; when not connected to the core of the body, they lack strength and cannot move in a relaxed manner. Excessive hand and arm movements in Tai Chi make hand and arm movements merely extraneous.

By using the hand first and thus allowing the arms to move independently of the core, you compromise the movement and diffuse the neuromuscular signals for the body's core even to respond.

Using the hand first, you place the junction for the delineation of yin and yang (what is moving/ what is not moving) somewhere in the area of the elbows or shoulder.

Using the hand first creates a disconnect right where the shoulder meets the core.

Using the hand first you are short-circuiting and disrupting the flow of "qi," placing the disruption somewhere in the hand/elbow/shoulder…there is no circuit completion of qi flow through the core to the arm…It only begins in the core when the hand leads the arm, which engages and stretches the shoulder, which is connected to the core. In other words, it stops and then begins at the shoulder. Qi is also going where yi goes. After a move from the core, however, the qi should flow to the arms and hands, the majority of internal energy should continue to circulate in the torso until needed.

Using the hands first in Tai Chi almost sounds like the same way typists, and piano players use their hands. As we said, this disrupts the flow of qi between the body and fingers. Using the core first ensures that the localized nerve activity of the hands/arms remains dormant and lets the qi from the body take over. This is a good reason to learn the square form of Tai Chi so that a practitioner can get used to movements with steady arms and hands without localized nerve impulses.

Wu Chien Chuan himself told Yeung Wabu: "Every movement in Tai Chi Form has to have two complementary parts of the body, a moving (yang) part and a stationary part (yin). When the Yin-Yang junction is located in the torso of the body, it is an internal move. When it is outside the torso, it is an external move. This is the key to a methodology that enables Tai Chi practitioners to mobilize the body's core for Tai Chi movements to generate internal energy and internal energy circulation. I have done Tai Chi from both sides of the coin, hand first, waist first, and the latter is the most powerful. Try doing this yourself using the waist first and keeping the hand still, and you will see the difference in generation of power.s

A Golden Rule with many facets..."do not hurt yourself"

Click here:  "Hand follows the foot..."

The Youtube Video along with a transcript under the video (the small square icon looks like stacked paper), the  photo above,  and the following is excerpted from Master Stephen Hwa's comments in a 2011 workshop.  The subject had to do with internal discipline but also delves deeply into body structure and the benefits of practicing.  You will have to link from here to the Youtube video on the subject and can either follow along with what is written here or from the "Description" at the Youtube video itself.  

One of the things that occurred to me as I was editing the video for publication was a new perspective on something I had read in "Uncovering the Treasure".  A golden rule that Master Young gave to Master Hwa was that the knee does not extend over the toe.  It occurred to me that the knee can (incorrectly and harmfully) extend over the toe in more than just the forward direction, it can extend over from a "torque" that Master Hwa speaks of in the video and here.  In other words, it can extend over the side of the toes as well as the front, can it not?  All of that resulting from a thoughtless rotational action on what should really be a simple understandable concept for a healthy stable knee joint.

Sifu James Roach

Workshop 2011, Buffalo State College:

"If you stick to this Classical Tai Chi program there will be a big improvement to the back. This is an important component about the back.  The back will respond to stretching  if you give consistent opportunity to stretch and the lower back will improve.  If you tuck your chin in correctly, you will also stretch your cervical spine as well. So the parts of this stretch are equally important. This may very well work to correct cervical spine problems or such things as a “knot” in the back of the neck.

So as relating to body posture, that is one of the central themes.  In this regard you will be able to have the energy transfer from the neck down to the heel. The energy can flow this circuit without outflowing to the middle of the body, like the lower spine for example.  This will transmit all the force to the ground in one uninterrupted  flow,  it will not be transmitted to just the lower back where it can cause problems.

The other important body posture is referred to in Tai Chi  as “Hand follows the foot, elbow follows the knee and shoulder follows the hip”. In other words we do not turn by only using  half of the upper body and neglecting to turn the lower.  The turning power has to come from the waist and the entire muscles of the back.  There is a vast majority of Tai Chi schools that do not follow this rule.

There is a question which has been raised in the past about this rule.  Where do we apply this rule?  Because we also have turning moves as well.  This is relatively easy to see in the form but when you are doing applications with other people, or as in “free form”, when is the rule applied?

I searched the entire form and found there is consistency and explanation actually. It is easy to explain and there are many different levels of explanation for this:  Any movement that you where you are going to cause a torque (a twisting force that tends to cause rotation) (the danger of which comes from “shear force” a stress which is applied parallel or tangential to a face of something  as in this case a knee or ankle) in the knee or ankle, then you use the rule.   In other words, any time you have the potential for a twisting force that tends to cause rotation, key words twisting force which causes rotation to a knee or ankle. 

This is surprisingly such a simple concept but people are not following it. One of the best examples of this I can use is a golf swing.  Do you see the torque in my knee and ankle?  This why golfers have ankle problems, lots of people have knee problems.  I am not a golfer so I cannot say but certainly if you “hand follow…” the foot out you will not have that problem.  Whether you can do that as a golfer or not, I do not know.   However, if you look at our form and in every case, every  instance, it is always following the rule to the letter.  Now if you examine the “half body” turning movement, there is no torque down at the knees or ankles.  So this type of turn is allowed because you see I do not have to turn my foot with it.

Now this is certainly for health viewpoint.  For martial art viewpoint, it is this way and you have much more power.  More power than the leg lagging behind, in which you are fighting yourself.  The torque force pulls your body backward while you are attempting to turn forward.  

On another level, remember at one time we came back to considerable argument regarding “turning at the waist vs. turning at the hip”.  People have said that “turning at the hip has more power than turning at the waist”.   Well, you see, again that turning at the hip is torqueing your knee and ankle.  WELL, YOU MAY SAY YOU ARE GETTING YOUR OPPONENT ON THE GROUND BUT EVENTUALLY YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF, YOU ARE ALREADY HURTING YOURSELF.

After all, when you learn martial arts, the first principle is that you do not want to hurt yourself.   Otherwise, your opponent can wait just a few years for the damage to set in (laughter).  Somehow not hurting yourself and delivering the power really coincide with each other.   If you don’t hurt yourself, you can deliver more power.   Now there are people, who argued with someone here in the past, now they are very strict…STUDENTS HAVE GOT TO TURN THEIR HIP.

If you are a young person, you can get away with all kinds of movements for awhile.   You see this in golfers when they are young but when they get older they are really hurting themselves.  Sooner or later this will take its toll."

Master Stephen Hwa