- Sit exercises: it’s not easy to gain strength if feet hung in the air. Try to inspect strength from sit exercises, which could be helpful for stability of body movement, foot movement, and to be flexible as well. So sit exercises also a major part of combat-ready exercises shouldn’t be ignored.
- Mr. Qian Jiantang once present the Teacher the poet said: ‘Even though the wall of the teacher (means Master Guo Yunshen, the great Xingyi master) was the highest, you was able to not only enter the house but also get in the hall’.
- Arms expand outwards, screwing while embracing at the same time; elbows purpose to point outwards; external side of elbows embracing inwards; twists screw slightly, with thumbs outwards while little finger inwards.
Dec
05
Master Yao Zongxun’s Notes #2
Dec
03
Master Yao Zongxun’s Notes #1
These notes were any kind pieces of papers master Yao Zongxun wrote at home, collected by master Bo Jiachong after his passing away. This post is a translation roughly to give some ideas for YiQuan learners.
- Essentially, any movement, even the finest, should make sense, deserved, nothing should be aimless, just as the Teacher (great master Wang) said, ‘it all about the leadership of mind, command of sprit’.
- Move naturally, fitting the purpose.
- The term ‘Heart Mind Ba’ (Shao Lin Temple’s essential martial art, quite close to Xing Yi and YiQuan), in my opinion it means handling the heart and mind.
- Human’s body from internal mental, spirit, to outside physical body, should be consistent, mind should be consist with movement.
- While moving, whatever how beautiful or how ugly your action is, simple or complicated, not that important; the only thing to measure should be: the large number of joints in your body able to linked between upside and downside, between front and back, and your mind and spirit handling well, blood running smoothly, breathe well balanced, or measured by your spring strength when practicing Fa Li (thrust strength). Basically, the most important thing is comfortable, and gain strengths.
- Spirit should be handled, strength should be flexible. Spirit and strength both not only ‘not too far, not too high’, but also ‘go far and jump high’. Spirit should handle entirely, while strength focus on creating balance and destroying balance.
- ‘Triangle Strength’ means before Fa Li, a number of joints in the body should be obtuse angle (mainly twists, elbows, keens), when strength thrusts, the upper arms fasten like screws, called ‘Screw Strength’.
Mar
19
Zhan Zhuang the Poem
“Zhan Zhuang the Poem” is a chapter of “Experience of Zhan Zhuang”, by Great Master Wang Xiangzhai in 1950. It should be a must read to understand the principles of Zhan Zhuang exercises.
- George, March 19, 2006.
Copy rights reserved, no contents maybe transmitted in any form.
Be patient, find a comfortable place, fresh air with trees, sunshine the better.
Then standing still and peaceful, body should be straight, feet apart width the same as your shoulder.
All arthroses curve a little bit, empty inside clear outside of your body.
Easily lift your hands up, slowly, no higher than eyebrow, no lower than bellybutton.
Arm half round, armpit half empty.
Your left hand no move to right side of your nose, right hand no move to left side of your nose.
Hands when embracing no touch your breast, when pushing outside no more than one-third meter.
Nobody cares your poses, no simplicity or complexity, and no order.
Observe your body inside and outside, to see somewhere smooth or not.
Keeping in common way no curious, extraordinary always come from simple and normal.
Research never cares whatever today or ancientry, China or western.
The exercie is some what a wonder, ’cause people never know, do not have to think hard, do not have to work hard, do not have to waste good days, do it whatever running standing sitting lying.
There’re many and many gold and jade, and lots and lots of fairyland.
Study it funny comes, who knows it could capture the universal strength, happiness comes even could not be expressed, let wind comes and goes, spirits get fulled and would not be tired.
You know the center of your head lift up as if string lifting, your whole body relex and still, your muscles the same as soft earth.
Crazy? Drunken? Fantastic? You watching ocean so wide sky so clear, nothing you have to care.
Whatever so ever sun or moon changes their route, you keep on standing, comfort comes even you could not imagine, you know it was the secret predecessors never teaching outside.