The essence of Chen's Taijiquan

On the basis of emphasizing the strength of winding silk, Chen-style Taijiquan has the upper limb movement of wrenching, pinching, pressing, picking, column, elbow, relying on the eight doors of strength and back strength, symmetrical strength, and the middle has "chest and waist transport", and the lower limbs have wrenching, squeezing, leaning, picking and advancing, retreating, Gu, Pan, and setting five steps and "crotch walking down the arc", which together produce the strength of "mixed yuan energy". In order to get out of the "mixed element energy" in the Taijiquan technical confrontation, there are the following requirements:

Every force must be broken, every time it must be entangled, every time it is entangled, every time it is entangled, every time it turns, it must sink.

These requirements are included in every action and are done simultaneously in an instant. Attentive readers can seriously ponder and experience the above 16 words of the sword. Let's explore the law of mixed motion from three aspects.

1. Circles in six directions

The trajectory of the limbs of Tai Chi exercise is either circular or arc. An arc is a part of a circle that can be discussed in a circle. Let's define first: a force with six directions is a "mixed elemental force", that is, a sufficient and necessary condition for a "mixed elemental force" is that it has six directions forward, backward, left, right, up and down, that is, a three-dimensional circle. Although some people also walk in circles and arcs, there are only four directions, and such a force cannot constitute a "mixed element force".

A pair of directional forces, such as front and back or left and right or up and down, the force generated by such a force is called straight force and does not pose a threat to the other party. Because it is straightforward, strictly speaking, it does not belong to the category of Tai Chi Jin. The forces in the four directions can form a circle and arc movement, but the opponent's brain can make judgments, and the instinctive reactions of the limbs can follow you, and there is not much threat to the other party. Only the six-direction circular movement, that is, the three-dimensional circular movement, can make the opponent unable to judge the direction of your movement, which is the subtlety of Taijiquan that distinguishes it from other types of boxing. You can strike at me first, and as soon as I take over, I will interfere with and change the direction of your movement, so that you are in a passive and aimless state, and then I will strike, which is the mystery of Taijiquan's "last strike, first come".

In this force with six directions, the front and back are instinctive, the left and right are skill, and the top and bottom are mysterious. "Before and after" is people's habit, "left and right" can be mastered after training, and "up and down" is not easy to master and easy to be ignored by people.

Whenever there is a top strength in the pushing hand and the loose hand, it must be missing two directions, either left and right or up and down.

Anyone who is overwhelmed by the other party must lack the strength of the left and right directions; when he does not turn left and right, he must lack the strength of the front and back directions; and if he is lifted or crushed by the other party, he must lack the strength of the up and down directions. Therefore, when we practice Tai Chi, we must pay attention to every movement, and each conversion style must have six directions, otherwise the fist style is incorrect, and it will not work in actual combat.

2. The revolution and rotation of the limbs

The form of motion of the earth revolving around the sun is revolution plus rotation. In Tai Chi exercise, the lumbar spine is the axis, and the movement of each joint of the body is also a synchronous cross movement of revolution and rotation. In general, the lower joint rotates for the upper joint, the upper joint rotates for the lower joint, the anterior joint rotates for the posterior joint, and the posterior joint rotates for the anterior joint. The amplitude of joint movement is larger when rotation is relative to revolution, and the amplitude of joint movement is smaller when revolution is relative to rotation -- here we are talking about the law of joint movement when walking silk winding.

Upper limb movement is relative to the lumbar spine, which is rotational and the arm is rotational. It is not correct to say that the lumbar spine has a greater transport amplitude than the arm, and the same is true of the relationship between the blow leg (the raised leg) and the lumbar spine. In general, the leg bears its own weight, which is relatively smaller than the range of motion of the hand, so although the foot is the front part of the knee joint, its rotation is not large, and the knee joint rotates more widely, which is a special case. Because the feet have to take root when they grasp the ground, they have to penetrate downwards and twist them, so it is impossible for the feet to turn in circles as large as the hands (except when attacking with the legs).

If the male transfer is the axis, the rotation is square and round, and the three sections are self-distinguishing.

Tai Chi exercises require us to have three sections - the tip section, the middle section, and the root section. The whole body is divided into three segments, such as: the hands are divided into three segments, the arms are divided into three segments, the chest and waist and the lower limbs are also divided into three segments. Without revolution and rotation, there would be no distinction between the three sections, and naturally there would be no "continuity" to talk about. Therefore, the theory of revolution and rotation is based on the principle of "division of families".

Understanding the law of revolution and rotation, we can take the lumbar spine as the axis, lead the strength with the hands, collapse the waist with the chest, bend the knees loosely, and grasp the ground with the five toes, integrate the strength of the whole body into one place, and apply it to the place we want to reach, which is called "section through the string", so the revolution and rotation are the external form of movement of "section through the string".

The common problem of people is to rely on the movement of the posterior joint instead of the movement of the anterior joint, so that it is impossible to have the effect of "separation". It is also wrong that the movement of the posterior joint is greater than that of the anterior joint, because there is a lack of consciousness here, and it is impossible to achieve the effects of "emptiness", "spirit", "liveness" and "brittleness".

In a confrontation, it is impossible to receive the opponent's force without rotation, and it is impossible to change the direction of the opponent's force and dissolve it. Without revolution, the rotation will lose the foundation of the axis, and the movement of the limbs will appear to be floating and weak.

Clarifying the relationship between the rotation and rotation of different parts of the body is mainly for the coordination of the whole body, avoiding vain movements, and avoiding contradictions in one's own strength. All actions that should not be moved, redundant, and unreasonable can be called vain, and only by avoiding vain can we achieve the whole family, can we produce "Hun Yuan Jin", and can we avoid making mistakes in practice of sloppy strength, too hard strength, and throwing and topping.

3. Diversified rotation of the body

The essence of Tai Chi exercise is the spiral winding exercise, which requires the whole body to be a family, coordinated and balanced, motionless and motionless, and static and static, which can also be called a diversified movement of the whole body with the waist as the axis. The law of rotation of the pluralistic movement of the body. In other words, in this kind of spiral winding movement with diversified rotation around the body, there must be forward and backward, opening and closing, retracting and folding.

One goes along and one goes backwards to the spiral, the opening and closing place is called the turn, the retraction and release of the Tai Chi Jin, and the folding reciprocating life Miaoxuan.

"Smooth and reverse" is a form of movement that spirals around the silk.

Silk winding is a major feature of Taijiquan, especially Chen-style Taijiquan. Since the joints of the human body have their own limits of movement, the winding strength of Tai Chi exercise is achieved by the continuous conversion of the joints of the body. So how to define Shun and Reverse Entanglement? There are many ways to define it in the contemporary Tai Chi world. Like what:

The palm is inward or outward as the basis for judgment - the palm is inward is winding, and the palm is outward is reversed;

The judgment is based on the clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the hand - the direction of movement of the hand is clockwise and backward.

But these are not very tight. Because the pain is based on the inward or outward of the palm of the hand, then in the Tai Chi moves, sometimes the two hands are neither inward nor outward?

If the clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the hand is used as the basis for judgment, often the hand completes a clockwise (or counterclockwise) arc movement, the first half of the palm may be outward, and the second half is the palm inward, these are two completely different forces, how can the same kind of winding force be defined?

If the movement of the hand is based on centripetal force or centrifugal force, often in Taijiquan, a movement of the hand, a winding force, the first half is centripetal force, and the second half is centrifugal force. So that's not exactly what it is.

So far, I think that Mr. Chen Zhaokui, a famous master of Chen-style Taijiquan in modern times, has a reasonable definition of Shun and Wei winding.

Upper extremities (from a segment):

The little finger leads the strength, and the other fingers are handed to keep up, the palm is empty, the tiger's mouth is round, and the big finger is closed, which is smooth.

The big finger leads the strength, and the other fingers follow one by one, the palm is empty, the tiger's mouth is round, and the little finger is closed, which is reversed.

Lower extremities (from the apical joints):

小趾领劲，膝外展，为顺缠。

The big toe collar strength, the knee buckle, is the reverse winding.

The middle thorax and waist part only does a spiral lifting movement.

"Opening and closing" is the form of spiral winding.

"Tai Chi, opening and closing boxing". The essence of Taijiquan can be summed up in two words, called "opening and closing", summed up in four words, called "virtual and real opening and closing", and summed up in eight words, called "opening and closing of virtual and real, ups and downs and rotations".

It can be seen that the word "opening and closing" expresses the essence of Taijiquan.

"Opening" is the outward form of limb movement. After opening, it is closed, after it is closed, it is opened, and it is opened and closed, and the Tao is natural. With the waist as the axis, the outer body is wrapped in the inner body, and the waist is the axis, and the strength radiates on all sides.

As far as the external form of waist body movement is concerned, there are double opening, double opening, left opening and right closing, right opening and left closing, upper opening and lower closing, lower opening and upper closing, etc.

"Opening" refers to the opening and closing of the joints, which is the internal form of limb movement. "The crotch is not open for three feet" refers to the opening and closing of the hip joint. "There must be an opening and closing at the turning point", which refers to the elongation of the joints. After continuous opening and closing training, it is possible for our joints to relax and stretch, and finally reach the softness of the whole body.

"Whoever can get together, who can win", the "he" here not only refers to the combination of the body and the joints, but also refers to the "joint through" to combine the forces of the whole body into one point and effectively control the other party.

"The introduction is out of the void", and the "combination" here refers to the issuance of force points and the blow.

For the upper limbs, the winding is closed, and the reverse winding is open. For the whole body, when the upper limbs are wound smoothly, the lower limbs are reversed, and when the upper limbs are reversed, the lower limbs are also reversed.

"Open in the middle of the combination, and open in the combination", it talks about the unique way of yin and yang and dialectical philosophy of Taijiquan. In terms of the body language of Taijiquan, each movement is open and closed, mutually inclusive, and mutually rooted. For example, in the "Six Seals and Four Closures", the hands are placed behind the ears, at this time, the hands are open, the upper and lower arms are closed, the front chest is open, the back is closed, the upper limbs are open, and the lower limbs are closed...... As far as the technical function of Taijiquan is concerned, opening is a blow, and combining is a guide, which is only a general aspect. In fact, opening may also be a trigger, and merging may also be a blow. It may be that the first half of an open action is induction, and the second half is a blow. It is also possible that the first half of a combined action is a blow, and the second half is a induction. Hitting is changing, and turning is fighting, which is the higher-level meaning of opening and closing in Taijiquan, which needs to be carefully figured out.

"Retraction" is the offensive and defensive form of spiral winding.

Each move and style of Taijiquan has its distinct technical meaning. The powerful Tai Chi requires a powerful source, a route, an integration, and a force point. Moreover, it is fast, explosive, and has the characteristics of elasticity, toughness, spiral, and penetration.

"Strength starts in the heels, walks in the legs, dominates the waist, and forms in the hands. This sentence specifically answers most of the questions above. So why is the waist dominant? The waist is the organ of integration and distribution, and the joints of each part of the human body have their own laws of rotation, but they must use the waist as the axis to make other parts run through. To achieve this, it is necessary to lead the knots, curl at both ends, and distribute sixty percent upward and four layers downward through the characteristic spiral winding movement. The downward distributed force returns to the foot and the five toes grip the ground, and the kick rebounds, which is the explosive force. The purpose of the finger collar is to close to the middle, the purpose of the chest collapse is to the middle, and the purpose of the foot grasp is also to the middle. You can only put it when you accept it. So what is the time difference between receiving? Receiving is receiving, and there is a gap in theory, but in practice there may not be. As soon as the waist is closed, it will be there, and the explosion and the collection will be almost at the same time. But it must be collected in order to be released, and the quality of the collection determines the effect of the release, just like the tighter the firecracker rolls, the louder it collapses, and the same is true of the fist style, the tighter the curl, the stronger the explosive force.

"Folding" is a high-level magic of spiral winding.

The most commonly used folds are the wrists and chest and waist. Fold in Tai Chi is to use an arc spiral motion to change the direction of the opponent's strength. The rule is: want to go up first, want left first right, want to go first. When the other party's strength arrives, a fold is to dissolve it, effortlessly. Because these movements in the opposite direction are easy to give people the illusion, especially with the mixed element force in the six directions, the opponent will not know where you are going, and he will not be able to respond to your direction, angle, speed and time.

The characteristics of the exercise of Chen-style Taijiquan hands are: starting, winding, running, and just landing. The running is soft, and the landing point is rigid. Just is the square, the square is the circle, and the circle will produce breaking strength. What should I do if I break it? I should fold it up. When running, it has to go in large circles and is slow. Take small circles when folding, and the speed is fast. It is precisely because of folding and strength that there is reciprocation, speed and slowness. In Chen-style Taijiquan, the strength and folding can set off the running more slowly, and the running can set off the strength and folding faster, with a sense of rhythm. Therefore, folding is the main form of expressing the Chen-style magnetic rod Taijiquan, which is fast and slow, light and heavy.

Adding speed when using folding is shocking energy, which can cause the opponent's brain to misjudge and a blank space in a short period of time, or artificially cause the opponent to be frightened and inhale. It is often the easiest to give a blow when the other party is frightened and inhales, and it is easy to break his joints, hurt his muscles and bones, and even damage his five organs. Folding is a more delicate technique, which can be turned into a beating, and most of the trembling strength is the magic of folding, which is the advanced use of spiral winding.