Yang's Ten Important Points (part 2)

Here's is Part 2 of Yang's Ten Important Points in practicing Tai Chi...with short commentary by Chen Wei-ming. These ten points can also be applied to Sanchin Kata of Okinawan Karate...it may not be obvious at first, but practice Sanchin with Tai Chi principles and it is amazing what comes out. Unorthodox...yes...but that's me!

6.  Use Mind and not Force. (The Tai Chi Chuan Classics say  "all of this means use mind and not force." In practicing Tai Chi Chuan the whole body relaxes. Don't let one ounce of force remain in the blood vessels, bones and ligaments to tie yourself up. Then you can be agile and able to change. You will be able to turn freely and easily. Doubting this (not using force), how can you increase in power?)

7.  Upper and lower mutually follow. (The Tai Chi Chuan Classics say "the motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the legs, controlled by the waist and manisfested through the fingers." Everything is the same. When the hand, waist and foot move together, the eyes follow. If one part doesn't follow, the whole body is disordered.)

8.  Inside and outside coordinate. (In the practice of Tai Chi Chuan the main thing is spirit. Therefore it is said, "the spirit is the commander and the body is the subordinate." If you can raise the spirit, then the movements will be naturally agile.)

9.  It is mutually joined and unbroken. (As to the external schools, their chi is the Latter Heaven brute chi. Therefore it is finite. There are connections and breaks.During the breaks the old force is exhausted and the new force has not yet been born. At these moments it is very easy for other to take advantage. Tai Chi Chuan uses mind, not force. From beginning to end it is not broken. It is circular and is again resumes. It revolves and has no limits.)

10.  Seek stillness in movement. ( The external schools assume jumping about is good and they use all their energy. That is why after practice everyone pants. Tai Chi Chuan uses stillness to control movement. Although one moves, there is also stillness.Therefore in practicing the form, slower is better. If is it slow, the inhalation and exhalation are long and deep and the chi sinks to the tantien.)

Hope this expands your mind on how to look at Sanchin Kata...and practice it. I am an artist and love to play with my colors...when you play you create wonderful works of art. Sanchin is endless in its expression.

Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen

Yang's Ten Important Points (part 1)

From the Essence of Tai Chi Chuan:

Yang's Ten Important Points with commentary by Chen Wei-ming

1.  The head should be upright so the spirit can reach the headtop. (Don't use strength or the neck will be stiff and the chi and blood cannot flow through. It is necessary to have a natural and lively feeling. If the spirit cannot reach the headtop, it cannot raise.)

2.  Sink the chest and pluck up the back. (The chest is naturally depressed inward so the chi can sink to the tan tien. Don't project your chest: the chi gets stuck there and the body becomes top-heavy. The heel will be too light and can be uprooted. Pluck up the back and the chi sticks to the back; depress the chest and you can pluck up the back. Then you can discharge force through the spine. You will be a peerless boxer.)

3.  Relax the waist. (The waist is the commander of the whole body. If you can relax the waist, then the two legs will have power and lower part will be firm and stable...It is said, 'the source of the postures lies in the waist. If you cannot get power, seek the defect in the legs and waist.")

4.  Differentiate insubstantial and substantial. (This is the first thing of all in Tai Chi Chuan. If the weight of the body is resting on the right leg, then the right leg is substantial and the left leg is unsubstantial and vice versa. When you can separate substantial and insubstantial, you can turn lightly without using strength. If you cannot separate them, the step is heavy and slow. The stance is not firm and can be easily thrown off balance.)

5. Sink the shoulders and elbows. (The shoulders will be completely relaxed and open. If you cannot relax and sink, the two shoulders will be 'uptight.' The chi will follow them up and the whole body cannot get power. 'Sink the elbows' means the elbows go down and relax. If the elbows raise, the shoulders are not able to sink and you cannot discharge people far. The discharge is close to the broken force of the external schools.)

Observe these principles of Tai Chi Chuan when performing your Sanchin. Feel how accurate these teachings are. I will finish this in some upcoming posts.

Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen

Tai Chi & Sanchin

Many years ago I picked up a tattered and torn copy of "The Essence of Tai Chi Ch'uan" by Lo, Inn, Amacker and Foe. As I was reading through this classic, it appeared to me that the advice they are giving to the Tai Chi practitioner also applies to those of us who practice Sanchin Kata.

Looking at Tai Chi and Sanchin from the outside they definitely look different. Most styles of Tai Chi are soft flowing movements, with perhaps a few sharp ones thrown in, whereas Sanchin is done with intensity and at times a seemingly maniacal manner. They are different in outer form, until you can see how they are the same internally. Once you can capture their inner essence, then you can see how their outer forms aren't all that different.

In this post and those that follow I will provide excerpts from the above-mentioned book. For my Sanchin friends, as you read, see how this Tai Chi advice is similar to what you have learned in Sanchin. Now, not all Sanchin practitioners will get this advice from their teachers, but find it later through practice.

So here is Yang's ten important points in practicing Tai Chi. I will provide Chen Wei-ming's commentary in later posts.

1. The head should be upright so the shen (spirit) can reach the headtop.
2. Sink the chest and pluck up the back.
3. Relax the waist.
4. Differentiate substantial and insubstantial.
5. Sink the shoulders and the elbows.
6. Use mind and not force.
7. Upper and lower mutually follow.
8. Inside and outside coordinate
9.  It (qi) is mutually joined and unbroken.
10. Seek stillness in movement.

Ten very important points in the practice of Tai Chi and Sanchin.
Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen

Tai Chi helped my Sanchin

One great thing about being in the martial arts is the diversity. From one art foreign to you, you can learn more about your own art. For instance, one of my students back in Lincoln, Nebraska is a Tai Chi instructor (Yang family).  As I learned more about tai chi and began practicing I fell in love with the movement, 'grasping sparrow's tail'.

Grasping sparrow's tail contains the essence of tai chi in terms of its movement. In it we have four movements, called ward off, roll back, press and push.  These correlate a bit to the four 'winds', as I call them, of Sanchin. These are spit, swallow, sink and float. These winds when combined create a spiral of energy that is very powerful.

Well, practicing Grasping Sparrow's Tail, I could feel an internal movement of energy that moved and undulated. It taught me how to use me feet, hips, etc in a continuous movement for self-defense. Then when practicing Sanchin, I could feel the same energy and could use it within the more seemingly rigid structure.

It is difficult to explain this movement, but it is where Chinkuchi, or Fa-Jing, is generated. I am writing more about this in my next book on Sanchin and might play with it here for your reading feedback.

Well, basically, practice some Tai Chi and it will help your Karate. It feels good and can help any stiff Karate-ka break free and flow better.

Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen