Episode 42 - Where does our power come from?

Photo taken by Chiu Yin






Occupying the Centre (Part VI)

This picture was taken in front of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Can you see a windsurfer sculpture in the middle of the photo?

Windsurfing appears to be a good illlustration of what it is meant by borrowing an opponent's power to our advantage in Taiji martial art. A windsurfer takes advantage of the wind to drive his surf board forward. Likewise, instead of countering an opponent's positive force with positive force, a proficient taiji practitioner makes use of the force of the opponent to increase his momentum.

The increased momentum serves to increase the power of the taiji practitioner It also serves to break the opponent's balance and take all his power out - in their extreme forms, the Yin force will transform into the Yang force and the Yang force will transform into the Yin force.

The positive force generated as a result of the increased momentum will be directed back to the helpless opponent, who has been deprived of his power, and destroy him,



(Links to Part I, Part II , Part III , Part IV , Part V and Part VII)

Episode 41 - Lock Horns

Photo taken by Gogo Tsang







Occupying the Center (Part V)

This is one of the Mid-Autumn Festival Lanterns exhibited at the Wong Tai Sin Temple.

The lock horns position is a typical example of positive force versus positive force. He who is stronger will win the contest (the "Strong Man Principle"). However, no matter how strong you are, your body condition will decline as time goes by and you will meet people stronger than you.

The Taiji Classic said, if the stronger person will always win, what's the point of learning an art (of martial)? Most martial art schools have their own specific application techniques to overcome the Strong Man Principle.

In Taiji, the Yin Yang Conversion Principle is the answer. Applying the Yin Yang Conversion Principle, a weak party makes use of the strength of the strong party to defeat the latter. It does not mean that a strong body is useless - you still need a strong physical body to support your skill. It's just that muscle strength no longer plays a decisive role here. The weak party and the strong party have equal chances. He who has the higher skill and can apply the yin /yang principle creatively has a higher chance to win.

As a starting point, a taiji practitioner should first go through the "Know Your Own Self" stage to recreate the coordinated body condition. This is the foundation of the art. Up to this point the practitioner has only acquired a balanced body (or a natural body) - no matter how powerful he has become, he is still a slave of the "Strong Man Principle". A buffalo is strong. We appreciate the strength of a buffalo, but we do not want to act like a buffalo. With the suitable skill, a small boy can control a buffalo by knotting a string to the buffalo's nose. That's where the application techniques come into the picture.

Taiji lays importance on the Yin Yang Conversion Principle. It is inappropriate to talk about "Taiji Powers" in their pure forms. All "Taiji Powers" involve Yin and Yang. That's why the art is called "Taiji".

A Taiji practitioner will not be able to skillfully apply the Yin Yang Conversion Principle in the absence of a natural body. With a natural body, a Taiji practitioner is qualified to enter the "Know Others" stage and start learning the Taiji skill.


(Links to Part I, Part II , Part III , Part IV , Part VI and Part VII)

Episode 40 - Lotus in town

I took this photo yesterday at the Chi Lin Nunnery.

The Chi Lin Nunnery is situated near to the Diamond Hill MTR Station. Its Tang Dynasty style wood structure building (see photos taken by Gogo and me below) is unique in Hong Kong, and contrast quite dramtically with the concrete forest nearby.









Photo taken by Gogo Tsang




















The nunnery is quiet, clean and tidy. I did not see people burning incense (which is common in other temples in Hong Kong) during my visit. As a visitor, my impression was that that it has got quite an intellectual feel to it.

The nunnery also runs an elder's home and a school nearby.

[See Episode 57 for more on Chi Lin)

Episode 39 - Taiji: martial art or morning exercise?

Semiotic Diagram
by
Gogo Tsang




"Is Taiji a martial art?"

"The movements of taijiquan are too slow. How can I use it to defend myself?"

"I know that taiji is powerful, but why can't I make use of its techniques in self-defence after practising it for so many years? Should I go to the gym to train up my muscles? Should I try hitting sand bag?"


These are questions frequently asked by the "taiji beginners".

Taijiquan practitioners are all familiar with the stories of Yang Lu Chen learning Taijiquan in the Chen Village and how he became the teacher of the princes and generals in the Royal Palace. It was said that Yang Lu Chen and his two sons (and his grandsons) were great taijiquan fighters and no one could defeat them at their time.

Nowadays, many people practise the taijiquan form(s) but most of them do not know how to apply the form(s) in action.

We have to understand that the taijiquan form is only one of the essential elements in the taiji martial art system. In order to become a real taiji martial artist, one has to undergo a series of hard training so that his body condition is fit enough to learn and apply the techniques. This is a really difficult task and it requires a practitioner to invest significant time and effort. Further, the teacher's effort is required to loosen up the joints - your body condition is the end product of your teacher's effort!

There should be no secret in this.


Bad art drives out the good

This is a strange world:

I did actually see a "taiji teacher" telling his students that they can utilise the taiji power and techniques by only practising the taijiquan form everyday.

"You will gradually know how to apply the techniques by doing the form day after day. You will be able to fight rightly in the taiji way instinctively, " said the "taiji teacher"..............

I have also seen people investing their money, time and effort to learn the "true" and "rare" taijiquan form(s), dreaming that they will become a grand master some day - probably they will take part in some taijiquan form competitions, win a couple of gold medals, and start a new school of taiji.

Perhaps this phenomenon is another exemplification of the economic theory of "Bad money drives out the good".


Purposes of doing the form

What then are the purposes of doing the taijiquan form(s)?

Here are some of them:

1. For body and mind coordination: The form was designed to enable movement of the human body in a coordinated and efficient manner. When you move your hands in a taijiquan action, your legs and your spine are usually moving correspondingly in support as well. You mind is trained to move many parts of your body in one go.

The guiding principle behind the first aspect is the maximisation of the efficiency of the human body:

(a) If you can do a task by using one ounce of strength, you should use one ounce only, nothing more and nothing less - save your energy. A correct and balanced body structure will assist you to best utilise your strength.

(b) A group of weak mucles working together could be more powerful than the force produced by an individual piece of strong muscle.

2. For recovery from injuries and illness (internal and external): the slow and coordinated movements of taijiquan enhance the self-recovery mechanism within a human body. If a practitioner gets hurt in a contentious practice, the teacher will encourage him to do the taijiquan form to enhance the recovery process. The slow motion form is a form of "chi" exercise which enhance your intrinsic power. With suitable breathing rhythm, the external movements activate the movements of the internal organs, fostering recovery from diseases caused by mental stress, over drinking, over smoking or lack of exercises.

3. To enable the students to remember the application techniques: There are various styles of taijiquan and each style has its own small circle and big circle forms. Each form embodies a separate genre of fighting techniques. Some on joint locks, some on throwing, some on striking. These techniques make good use of leverage, take advantage of centripetal and centrifugal, and most importantly apply the yin / yang conversion principle. The forces utlised in Taiji Martial Art are completely different from the power acquired through sand bag hitting or weight lifting. The techniques are jealously guarded and seldomly taught (you are not able to study them through any published material). Many of them are impracticable without the support of the required body condition. These techniques are exercised beautifully but the damage done on an opponent could be horrible. They are the results of profound researches on the human bodies. In action, a taiji martial artist's movement is very fast.


Morning Exercise and Health

For those who wish to obtain good health by practising the taijiquan form(s), the first and the second aspects are very useful.

The first aspect trains a practitioner to keep a good control of his body and learn how to maintain his balance (reducing the chance of falling down due to lose of balance on slippery floor). While the muscles power of a practitioner is not strong, he can still be active if muscles in different parts of his body can work together in carrying out a task.

The usefulness of the second aspect is self-explanatory. It has been proved by many researches that the taijiquan form helps to speed up the recovery processes of patients, in particular from resporatory or gastial diseases.

For health purposes, a good understanding of the first 2 aspects should be sufficient. However, one should note that training of the form in these two aspects alone is not qualified or adequate to be regarded as martial art training - Up to this point, the form can only be regarded as a kind of "morning exercises". One has to note that, without going through the training in the "Know Your Own Self Stage", the level of body and mind coordination acquired through doing the form alone is low. Such level of coordination is sufficient for normal daily activities but inadequate for martial art applications.

How about learning the third aspect?


Appreciation of the Art

For health purpose alone, a morning exerciser need not learn the application techniques. As mentioned earlier, it is very difficult to put the techniques into practise without the support of the required body condition. Having said that, I would say that it is a pleasure to have a good understanding of the application techniques embodied in the taiji form.

Appreciating the applications is different from putting the applications into practice. It is similiar to the appreciation of artworks.

In order to appreciate the quality of a great painting, you need not be an artist or a painter yourself. Not every art museum visitor wants to become a painter. But in order to be able to truely appreciate the quality of a great painting, some basic understanding of the drawing techniques is essential.

With this in your heart, the taijiquan you practise in the morning will no longer be an "Empty Form".



Epilogue

Martial Art and health appear to be conflicting. Real Taiji involves destructive techniques and cannot be considered as a healthy activity - there are also chances of getting hurt during training, which is unavoidable if you want to acquire the skills. On the other hand, morning exercise is not qualified to be a martial art training. I have therefore brought in the element of Appreciation as a balance, in contrast to the "Taiji Teacher" I met previously.

So we have the following elements in the semiotic diagram above:

1. The Taiji Martial Art;
2. The Taiji Martial Art Appreciation;
3. The Taiji Morning Exercise; and
4. The "Taiji Teacher"





[Click on the links below to see previous discussions on:

1. Movement in Stillness;
2. Stillness in Movement;
3. Bamboo and Mercury; and
4. Occupying the centre.]


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Episode 38 - Sulphur Hill

This photo was taken at Iouzan (Sulphur Hill) of Hokkaido.

After visiting Lake Mashu, we followed the road sign and drove for about 15 minutes to reach this point of interest.

The weather was exceptionally good in the area. The temperature was however a little bit high due to the hot and active sulphur.
















As you can see from the picture below, local people make use of the hot sulphur to boil eggs and sell them to the visitors.















The site has carparking spaces for car travellers. There is also a railway station nearby (20 minutes' walk according to local guide book). A good place to visit.

Episode 37 - The Butterfly Orchid

The Phalaenopsis or "Butterfly Orchid" is popular here.

This variety of orchid may blossom twice in one flowering season. If you purchase a flowering Butterfly Orchid from the flower market in the Chinese New Year, the flowers will last for around 2 weeks. Don't dispose of the plant after the first round of flowers as you may be able to get another round of flowers in April. The following method appears to be useful in getting the second round of flowers:

1. Cut out 3/4 or more of the the flower stem after the first round of flowers;
2. Water and fertilze the orchid as usual;
3. move it outdoor for a short period everyday so that it can receive sufficient sunshine and fresh air;
4. A new flower shoot may grow out from the side of the old flower stem in one month or so.

You will not be able to get a new flower shoot if your orchid has already blossomed the second round of flowers.

The photo shows a Butterfly Orchid blossoming the second round of flowers. The flowers are smaller in size than those in the first round.

Episode 36 - Standard, Non-Standard

These ceramic figures represent some postures of the "Standard Form" Yang style taijiquan prescribed by the Wushu authorities in Mainland China.

This so called "Standard Form" has been set up for many years and it has been practising by millions of people in China and all over the world.

Recently, there is a video clip circulating on the web purporting to be a demonstration by the late Master Yang Shou Zong (the fourth generation gate-keeper, great grand son of Grand Master Yang Lu Chen, who stayed in Hong Kong after the 2nd World War), practising the taijiquan form on his 70th birthday. While following the same sequence, the form as demonstrated by late Master Yang (showing a 100% to 0% balance) is obviously different from the "Standard Form" in many respects.

The Yang taijiquan was originally passed down by the Yang family.

Who defined the standard, the Yang family gate-keeper or the Wushu authorities?

Different people may have different answers.

My view is that if you do not understand the fundamental principles of taijiquan and their relationship with the taijiquan form, a form is only a form. An empty form has very little value from a martial art perspective. However, if you only treat taijiquan as a morning exercise, and you do find that the form you are practising is beneficial to your health, why bother?

On the other hand, if you already have a good understanding of the fundamental principles, it should not bother you either. You should have no difficulties in identifying which form to practise.