Zhang Zhijun: "On the Preparation of Five Bows" The formation and function of the five bows of Taijiquan

Tai Chi requires us to "have five bows in one body".

Chen Xin, an ancient Chen-style Taijiquan theorist, has a poem: Hit the head and tail and move the spirit, hit the tail and the artery of the head, and the first and last strokes move, and the upper and lower sides are buckled like a bow. The upper and lower bows are called "body bows", and the bows on the four sides are "limb bows", which together are "five bows on the body". Only when the bow is pulled up can it have the strength of the shed, and it is the ability to support all sides and shoot in all directions. Therefore, it is very important to learn Tai Chi to understand the formation and function of the body's five bows.

1. Double-arm bow

The upper limb bow is the bow of both arms.

The bows of both arms are slightly wrist and shoulder, and the back of the bow is the elbow.

These two bows of the human body have their peculiarities: one end is free to move, that is, the hand, and the other end, which is connected to the torso, is relatively fixed, that is, the shoulder. The whole upper limb is called the hand is the tip joint, the elbow is the middle joint, and the shoulder is the root joint.

We should give full play to the dexterity and freedom of our hands, so we have established the principle of "leading strength with hands". The hand is the front-line soldier of our attack and defense, and if you need to get your hand to a designated place, you have to go straight to the point. If you still have to rely on the shoulder to drive, it is to abandon the basics. If the hand is stretched too far and the arm is straightened, the bowstring is broken, and if the hand is too close and the angle of the elbow is less than 90 degrees, the bow is broken. Both of these conditions can cause the brachial arch to lose its effect.

The other arch is slightly the shoulder joint.

It is necessary to loosen the shoulders and pull the shoulders, which is what we often call heavy shoulders. The shoulders should be pulled outwards and the armpits should be empty. Only when the armpit is empty can the shoulder joint be able to rise and fall flexibly and operate freely. The problem that should be noted here is that we can send our own force to our hands to attack the opponent through the back of the bow of both arms, and the opponent can also send his force to my shoulders through the bow back of my arms, so there is a saying that "the person is the first to control the shoulder".

In a technical confrontation, when my shoulders are forced, there are only three situations: one is that my big arms are inward, which is called slackening, the second is that my big arms are outward, which is called turning my shoulders, and the third is that my big arms are pulled back, which is called shrugging. The only correct way to exercise the shoulders is to sink the shoulders and loosen them, and only in this way can we ensure the integrity and perfection of the bows of the two arms.

The formation of the bow is focused on the back of the bow, which cannot be soft, floating, or folded, that is, it must be "taut". If you want to do this, the "elbow positioning" of the upper limbs is particularly important.

In Tai Chi's boxing and even technical combat, the elbow is always doing an outward stretching and expanding movement, doing a movement that lengthens the shoulder. The elbow is basically positioned on one side of the body to maintain a relative position, so as to ensure that the angle between the upper arm and the rib does not change significantly. The elbow plays the role of connecting the front and the back, transporting weapons and ammunition to the front hand, supporting the hand to move more flexibly, and also helping the back shoulder to lengthen, drop the elbow and sink the shoulder, and stabilize the balance. The elbow is the back of the bow of both arms, so be sure to keep the bow full and the bowstring taut at its best – i.e. "elbow positioning".

When the "elbow positioning" is broken, then the elbow will float, the shoulders will be framed, the hands will be lost, and the body will be scattered.

The human upper limbs are our main weapons in attack and defense. The formation of the double-armed bow gives us a reasonable defensive position in depth. In the face of incoming force, we can be more flexible not to be forced or reduce the force, and we can change the incoming force of the other party from centripetal force to centrifugal force, so as to induce it. Offense is increased by the two-arm bow, and the power of the whole body can be transmitted to the hand and any point of action on the opponent's body through the two-arm bow, not just the two hands fighting alone. Moreover, because of the formation of the double-arm bow, the scale of our striking force is orderly -- there is an elbow after a fight, a shoulder after a fight, and a hand after a blow.

2. Bow your legs

The lower limb arch is a two-legged arch.

The two arches of the double leg arch are slightly the ankle and hip joints, and the knee joint is the arch of the two leg arches. An invisible string is formed between the hip joint and the heel. Since the function of the lower limbs is not only to transmit the force of the foot push to the waist and hips, but also to bear the weight of the body itself, the amplitude of the leg (toes) is small (except when attacking with one leg).

So, what is the form of movement of the joint collar? That is the five-finger grip. Only with five fingers grasping the ground, can our legs bow and even our entire body can always be stable under the pressure of various forces. We need five fingers to grip the ground, but the body has to rotate left and right and pull in all directions during the movement, and the flexibility depends on whether our ankle joint is long enough, so this bow needs to be both firm and soft, both gripping and rotating.　　

The other bow of the two-legged bow is slightly crotch. The hip is the junction of the waist and legs, and its joints are also relatively fixed and can be rotated with restrictions. The main function of the leg arch is to support the torso and complete the movement in all directions. Under the premise of loosening the hips, the waist and abdomen can move freely like the central axis. The loose crotch is a key to enter the temple of Taijiquan. Without loosening the hips, the arches of the legs are disconnected from the body, without loosening the hips, the reaction force of the foot kicks cannot be sent to the waist for redistribution, and without the loosening of the hips, the rotation of the waist spine is stiff. Therefore, this bow is very important and very difficult to practice.

The knee is the arched back of the lower limbs. It is often said that the crotch of the knee is buckled, and the crotch of the knee can be closed. Only by buckling the knees can the feet take root, advance and retreat freely, and support all sides. To see whether a person's fist is correct, first of all, see whether his crotch is loose, whether his knees are buckled, and whether his crotch is round. If a punch doesn't look pleasing to the eye, the problem must be in the knee. In the exercise, the knees should be rolled outward and inward like rolling dumpling skins, not swinging outward, and the outward swing is floating; In this way, your leg bow can always be neither fluttering, nor shaking, full of bows, and looking forward to lightness.

The double-leg bow is also known as the lower plate, and if the lower plate is good, the center of gravity will sink and the body will be stable. With a two-legged bow, the movement of the center of gravity and the transformation of footwork in attack and defense will appear smooth and light. When attacking, it is conducive to strength and coordination, and when defending, it is easy to look forward to and adjust.

3. Waist arch

The waist bow is also known as the body bow.

Tai Chi requires us to: the chest should be held up, the waist should be sat down (collapsed), and the tail vertebrae should be wrapped inward. In this way, the thoracic and caudal vertebrae are wrapped inside, and we have the most important of the five bows, the body bow.

We know that people have seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae, five lumbar vertebrae, and five caudal vertebrae when they were children, which gradually calcify into one section with growth and development, also called the base vertebrae. The two arches of the body arch are slightly the first segment and the basal vertebrae of the thoracic vertebrae.　　

Thrust is a necessary condition for the formation of a bow.

First of all, we are required to adduct the lower palate, look at the eyes level, the Baihui acupoint is empty, the cervical spine is erected, and then the thoracic spine should have the feeling of being inwardly wrapped. In this way, it is called holding the chest instead of raising the chest, so that the back can be lengthened, the strength is smooth, and the back is elastic. At the same time as the chest is contained, the bottom vertebrae should be wrapped inward by collapsing the waist, so that the center of gravity can be sinking, and there will be a feeling of "pulling the back and forth". In the confrontation, it is most taboo to be heavy on the body and light on the bottom. If the chest is not contained, the lungs will be filled with air, or called horizontal qi to fill the chest, the center of gravity will rise, the top-heavy will be light and shallow, and the foothold will be unstable when encountering external forces. Pulling the back with the chest, and the body arch can make us sink into the dantian, heavy and light, like a tumbler.　　

The most common mistake for beginners is to turn the buttocks, as soon as the buttocks are turned, the body arch is gone, and the chain reaction is that the front of the spine is topped, the crotch root is filled, and the whole body is stiff. Only by deliberately removing the buttocks and collaring the hundred points can the body bow be formed. Once the body bow is formed, the coordination of the whole body can be guaranteed. Otherwise, the upper and lower four bows are at best some stragglers, and the whole body is scattered. We have said that the waist is a force distribution station, the reaction force generated by kicking the ground must pass through the distribution of the waist, sixty percent of the strength rises, forty percent of the strength falls, the body bow is not prepared, how can it be calmly distributed?

The relationship between the five bows is: With the leg bow and the waist bow, the arm bow can swing freely, send and receive calmly, deceive and deceive, and tremble, and can deduce a wonderful drama after scene; if the waist bow is not there, there will be no coordination of the whole body, and the arm bow and the leg bow will have empty ambitions, and it will be difficult to form a "group army", so it is impossible to make great achievements. The leg arch is the foundation. If the leg arch is not there, then the five bows are not there. The leg arch is here, even if the arm bow and waist bow are temporarily broken, they can still make a comeback.

Preparing for five bows is the overall requirement for the practice of internal boxing in actual combat. Every punch can be tested with this standard, which is, of course, a relatively high requirement. If we want to achieve these two goals, we need to start with the most basic requirements. This most basic requirement can be summed up in eight words: it is called "the tip of the knot is strong, and the two ends are curled". The knots are people's hands and feet, and they must be able to lead with both hands and grasp the ground with both feet at all times. The curl of the two ends is a necessary condition for the formation of the five bows: the heavy shoulders and elbows are the two ends of the bows of the arms, the knees and hips are the two ends of the bows of the legs, and the waist and hips are the two ends of the bow. Therefore, if you have five bows in one body, all parts of the body will basically meet the requirements of Tai Chi.

The following sentences can be used to summarize the essentials of being equipped with five bows.

Two slight joints are strong, two middle joints are positioned, and two joints are relaxed - the limbs are arched.

虚领顶劲，塌腰敛臀——身弓备矣。

Text: Zhang Zhijun