ShinNa Tai-Chi Blog

[Path to Mastery 3/31/10 – Wk29 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: Of course we covered ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ when we were covering the Alignment principles for the lower body. The idea is that if you put your weight, more on one leg then the other, you create mobility.  Also, if you only engage one leg at a time, you create a clear unified direction for the body, which creates power.  Mobility and power are important aspects in martial arts, or life in general.  Mobility creates adaptability and power creates the ability to change things. ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ also is a movement principle.  It is also used to describe the shifting between Yin and Yang.  For instance, when one arm goes down, then the other goes up to act as a balance.  When the muscles engage, it is Yang, when it is not it is Yin.  When something is Yang, it must become Yin or it has no power. ...

[Path to Mastery 3/30/10 – Wk29 D2 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: Top Bottom Mutually Follow One of the most common interpretations for ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is that the hands and the feet match.  They are also called top bottom harmony.  It means that your hands and your feet move together.  Now let’s test how good your memory is.  ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ was covered once before.  Do you remember which principle it was that was related to ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is?  If you can’t, here is a challenge!  See whether you can find it between the principles already covered.  If you got, ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, you got the right one.  I recommend that you go back can cover that principle again.  The rest of the article will not be as concrete without you clearly remembering the ‘Squat Crotch’ portion of the ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’ principle.  ‘Top Bottom Mutually Follow’ is simple...

[Path to Mastery 3/29/10 – Wk29 D1 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey : Mutual Connection Without Interruption. This principle has 2 layers to it.  On one level, it is talking about how one move is flowing to the other without interruption.  On a deeper level, it is talking about how the body is uninterrupted and flowing.  When the second one happens, the first one happens naturally, so I will dive into the second definition. To explain ‘Mutual Connection Without Interruption’, it is best to explain ‘Stringing the 9 Pearls’.  Stringing the 9 Pearls refers to getting the 9 major joints through which most of your force goes, aligned with each other.  Starting with your arch (some refer to the first point as your ankle) (1), your knees (2), your hips (3), your Gate of Life (lower back) (4), between your shoulder blades (5),  base of your skull (Some believe this point to be the major protruding vertebra that connects your neck to y...

[Path to Mastery 3/26/10 – Wk28 D5 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Sang’s World: Training is an interesting experience. Of course, when we train in our school we believe every moment is training, and we take time to work on our connection and our alignment, movement, breathing, relaxation in everything we do, while not working at it.  The idea is to feel all that while not thinking about it.  To just be.  This is when you are the most natural, most powerful.  In case you want to try this, you have to aim to ‘feel’, not think.  If you are typing, and you are thinking about relaxing your forearms, and breathing through your fingers, you will have trouble in life.  You have to not think about it and just feel your way through it.  Have fun doing it! And then there is of course focused training where you are working on developing specific qualities.  By either practicing the form, or conditioning or pushing hands, you can limit some of the other var...

[Path to Mastery 3/25/10 – Wk28 D4 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: Seeking Stillness in Movement… isn’t that contradictory to seeking life?  Yesterday we talked about Movement being Life.  So, if you seek Stillness in Movement, isn’t that the same as seeking death within life?  Seeking Stillness in Movement is seeking quietness within movement.  It is seeking a continuous steady flow.  We recognize a continuous steady flow as grace.  In Tai-Chi there is a concept and a training method that is called silk reeling.  There are Tai-Chi styles where there are separate exercises that are called silk reeling and then again there are styles where they use the form to practice silk reeling.  The concept of silk reeling came first before the exercises were developed, so you may practice silk reeling either way.  The important thing is what it means so you may seek it in your practice. When you reel silk from a cocoon, i...

 [Path to Mastery 3/24/10 – Wk28 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: So, we close one chapter and open a new chapter in the realm of principles.  We finished the alignment principles, and how we will go into the movement principles. When you are true to one principle, all the other principles are working.  If you find only one principle working in your body at a time, that means that your understanding of that principle and all the other principles is lacking.  All principles are one and the same.  This is the beginning of understanding.  There are 5 movement principles we will be covering: 1.Seek movement in stillness 2.Seek stillness in movement 3.Mutual connect without interruption 4.Top bottom ‘each other’ follow 5.Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly   Seek movement in stillness is a very simple principle, but it is one of those things that gives you more juice the more you chew on it.  At a fundamenta...

 [Path to Mastery 3/23/10 – Wk28 D2 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: In the last 2 weeks we have completed the Alignment principles concerning the Upper Body, and the Lower Body, five principles each.  Now there is one principle left for the whole body:  Body Body Centered Upright.    Body Body?  Well, if I translated it instead of transliterating it, it would simply be Body.  The Chinese word for Body is Shen-Ti.  Both words mean body. The first word, Shen, describes the bulk or the mass of a body.  The second word, Ti, describes the form or the type of the body.  Both words put together describe the human body.   So, the principle means that the body is centered and upright.  Boring right?  I mean this is so obvious.  This is what we learned from our 4th grade elementary teacher but promptly decided to ignore.  It just didn’t seem that important and besid...

[Path to Mastery 3/22/10 – Wk28 D1 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: ‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’. Straight forward. This principle means that you have to feel as if the Sole of your feet is stuck to the ground as if it is a suction cup. I had to look up the dictionary to be sure but ‘Sole’ apparently indicates the part of the foot between the balls of your feet and the heel. This is interesting because in Chinese, the word sole that they use means whole bottom of foot. But interestingly enough, the Tai-Chi Classics say that your bubbling well should be stuck to the floor. The bubbling well is the place of the foot that goes in when you try to make a fist with your foot. When you imagine that you are standing on your bubbling well, you will feel as if your sole is a suction cup. So for our purpose, sole works not only fine, but might even work better. Here are some key things to know about ‘Foot Sole Stick Earth’. It’s not about the foot, but your knee...

[Path to Mastery 3/19/10 – Wk27 D5 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly means that your weight is either on one foot or the other. Pretty boring right? Why would they even have such a lame principle after all those deep mysterious and powerful principles? Nothing beats simplicity. What is simple once has dept year later. The principle Yi-Chi-Li, when I first learned it was the blandest principle ever. I mean seriously, I thought to myself, who doesn’t know that already? How can that be a secret? Now I know it is a secret, and now I understand it is the best kept secret. ‘Insubstantial Substantial Distinguish Clearly’ is the same. For now, use it as feedback to let you know whether you are getting the other principles correctly or not. When you shift from one foot to the other, when you are done with the move, if you are well centered, you should be able to pick up the other foot without moving your upper b...

[Path to Mastery 3/17/10 – Wk27 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: One of my student and good friend told me that I only get away with some of the things I say because of my Asian accent.  I think these Crotch subjects definitely qualify for those subjects that I can talk about naturally because I have an Asian accent.  So listen to these words with an accent.  It will sound more authentic! So, we are on a roll with Crotch principles.  Yesterday I covered ‘Relax Waist Squat Crotch’, today we will be covering ‘Round Crotch and Bend Knee’.  So far we have been covering the principles from simple straight forward visualization principles that allow you to lead your chi.  As we covered in the very first day of the principles series, all the principles are covered by one, and only one principle. Which one is it?  You thought ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’ didn’t you?  Go back and check the blog on 3/5, principles principl...

[Path to Mastery 3/17/10 – Wk27 D3 (Str 9.12.09)(Ph2 11.15.09)] Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: I hope you got a kick out of today’s title ‘Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’.  So, yesterday I covered the nature of Chi, and the existence of the Dan-Tien.  And then we reviewed how ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ is related to the rest of the principles that have been introduced so far. If you thought I covered all the secrets of ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’, you are mistaken.  Yesterday, I only covered the visual aspect of the principle.  I couldn’t tell you all the secrets even if I wanted to because I don’t remember all the details unless they are triggered by some stimulus.  I am a natural walking secret! ;)   Moral of the story?  Ask lots of question until it’s been all covered.  So, here is how the rest of the secret of the ‘Chi Sink to Dan-Tien’ was triggered.  As I was contemplating how to teach ‘Relax Waist and Squat Crotch’ in relation to ‘Chi S...

Continuing our Tai-Chi Journey: Starting today we will be covering the Alignment principles concerning the lower body.  Today’s principle will be ‘Chi Sinks to Dan-Tien’.   Let have a quick review.  There are 4 areas that need to be trained to enhance and cultivate your energy.  We call these 4 cultivation areas the BARS:  Breathing, Alignment, Relaxation, Slow/Synchronous Movement.  Currently we are covering the Alignment principles.  Within the Alignment principles, we have covered the principles of the Upper Body:    1) ‘Empty Spirit Summit Strong’  (Covered on 3/8)    2) ‘Tailbone centered and upright’ (Covered on 3/9)    3) ‘Contain chest Raise Back’ (Covered 3/10)    4) ‘Settle Shoulder Drop Elbow’ (Covered 3/11)    5) ‘Squat Wrist Open Fingers’ (Covered 3/15) We also discovered that all these principles are just one principle, each describing different aspects of the same principle. ...