The body of Taijiquan is the carrier of its principles, methods, skills, techniques and arts. Talking about boxing without the correct body is "talking in vain"; practicing boxing without the correct body is blind training. Therefore, to learn boxing, we must pay attention to the upper body in order to walk the right way.
In fact, the body method of Taijiquan is not only the "body method" used when practicing Taijiquan, but the optimal matching form to promote and ensure physical health, so good Taijiquan practitioners can bring their body to life and life, which is the true recipe of Taijiquan "longevity and longevity". Next, Mr. Zhao Jifu will talk about some personal practice experiences for the reference of colleagues and practitioners.
1. The summary of the predecessors of the body
Yang Jiaquan appears as "standing in the middle of the body", or "the tail is in the middle of the spirit", "the void spirit is strong, and the qi is sinking into the dantian". This is a general description of the Tai Chi Body. Specific to all parts of the body, it also puts forward: the head is vertically crowned, the shoulders are heavy, the shoulders are dropped, the palms are stretched and the wrists are relaxed, the waist is loosened and the buttocks are loosened, the crotch is opened, and the spring is deeply rooted. How to practice the rules that are related to the whole body, you must know its "key points" and grasp its "key questions", otherwise you don't know where to start.
Second, the operation of the vertical and horizontal hyperbolic arch body method
1. Vertical operation: take the lifegate as the origin of power, absorb the navel and support it backwards, and its "force wave" gradually radiates upward and downward, and the upward force makes the "Baihui acupoint" on the top of the head slightly jack up, and the lower jaw is slightly retracted into a top-lifting shape. The downward force makes the tail lube "Changqiang Point" stretch down and adjust forward into a hanging crotch shape accordingly. This results in a "lifting crotch". The operation of the vertical and horizontal hyperbolic rear arch body method
2. Transverse operation: take the vertical line from the large vertebra to the spine as the middle line, extend the horizontal force to the left and right to the end of the two shoulders, apply the transverse opening force, and extend the horizontal opening force to the two feet of the bone;
At the same time as the upper and lower left and right shoulders, hips, rulers, and ankles are stretched horizontally, the two arms, the two thighs, the two palms, and the soles of the feet are closed forward, and the inner wrapping strength is applied to close the horizontal opening strength.
In this way, not only the longitudinal groove of the spine is filled, but the limbs are also firmly attached to the torso. It feels like the spine is truly a spine that bulges backwards, while the ends of the limbs are curled inward. It seems that the shoulders and waist and hips are stretched into several horizontal bows with the midline of the spine as the midpoint of the arched back, and they are stacked on the torso. The operation of the vertical and horizontal hyperbolic rear arch body method
3. Synthesis operation: The operation of the post-arch method is not carried out vertically and then horizontally, but vertically and horizontally at the same time. The method is to take the life gate as the origin of power, absorb the navel and support it backwards, and its "force wave" gradually radiates to the up, down, left and right, so that the vertical and horizontal double bows are full at the same time, staggered and fused.
3. The change of the shape of the human body by the arch of the body
The posterior arch body is based on the vertical spine of the working state. It alters the body's natural S-shaped physiological spine, resulting in some of the following morphological changes.
The first is to eliminate the natural concave and convex states such as the raised head, concave waist, protruding buttocks behind the torso and the chin lifting, chest straightening, shy belly and shoulder opening and hip shrinkage on the side, so that the body is smooth and straight, and the functional shape of "the tail is in the middle of the mind" appears.
The second is to change the natural state of the human body in front of the real (chest and abdomen) and back void (waist and back), so as to become the state of the real and the front of the void.
The third is to change the state of natural people who are solid (chest) and weak (abdomen), top-heavy and energy-dissipating, and have become a state of calm cultivation with real and low-top, down-to-earth.
Fourthly, this is the state of the upper body of the various body essentials mentioned by the predecessors. Such as the strength of the void spirit, the heavy shoulders and elbows, the chest and the back, the loose waist and hips, the crotch and the round crotch, the deep roots of the spring, etc., there is no place that is not in accordance with the rules.
Fifth, it should be noted here that the above is all about the "straightening" of the spine and the straightening of the torso, so why is it said to be a posterior arch type? Because a natural person who walks upright has been transformed by labor and exercise, the spine and trunk are arched forward, such as the lumbar spine bending forward, the chest and belly straightening, and the head tilting and pouting the buttocks. When the spine and torso move towards a functional uprightness, it feels like a posterior arch. If there is no back arch in this sense, it must still be a non-functional front arch, and it is not a Tai Chi style. Therefore, the post-arch method is actually a kind of post-arch feeling in the vertical state.
Fourth, one of the internal effects of the back arch body method should be to loosen the door of the body.
From the operation of the back arch method, it can be seen that the back support at the life gate leads the whole spine to produce a loose and upright gong effect, feeling that the bones behind the body to the side of the body are open and stretched, full of qi and blood, full and powerful, but in front of the body is empty, bottomless, endless, can absorb mountains and rivers, can accommodate everything. I feel like freshly baked bread, fluffy, lively, and elastic. With the true looseness of the torso, the whole body can be relaxed. This is the obvious true meaning, this is the truth of "the waist spine is loose around the body, the waist spine is not loose and the body is tight".
The second is the method of divine intent. We all know that if God does not contain, he will not be specialized, so the arch method emphasizes the adduction of the chin, and the jade pillow is raised, so that the head is straight, the hundred will be empty, and the eyes are flat and easy to look inward. God can be restrained, and the mind can be specialized. If you concentrate on boxing in your body, you can be quiet, peaceful, and stable. This is the entry ladder with no intentions.
The third is the method of returning to the basics. Lao Tzu said, "Single-mindedness is soft and can be like a baby." The arch is a complete reflection of the fetus and the baby's posture. The motherland's health preservation, whether it is Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, or medicine, all teach in this way.
The fourth is the method of gathering qi and nourishing qi. The form of a baby will be pure and innocent, which can cause people to calm their minds and concentrate on their bodies. After arching the diaphragm downward, the dantian is full, which can make the heart and qi keep together, and always go back and forth between the lower dantian and the life gate. Therefore, this is the best posture for gathering, nourishing, and strengthening qi.
The fifth is the method of relaxing the chest and relieving the heart. The normal chest, due to the anterior concave top of the lumbar vertebrae, the diaphragm moves upward, the chest cavity is narrow, and the chest is bound to be physiologically tight. The operation of the heart and lungs is affected to a certain extent, the air absorption and carbon emissions, and the nutrient delivery are hindered, and the metabolism is not smooth. Physiological tightness of the chest can easily lead to psychological tightness, which is manifested as irritability, anger, or depression and melancholy, which in turn aggravates the physiological tightness of the chest, forming a vicious circle. The chest is tight like a cancer, like a chronic suicide, like putting life in a leaky tank, and unconsciously shedding life in vain. The Tai Chi body method can completely liberate the chest and become relaxed and relaxed, which has become a special prescription for treating chest tightness.
The sixth is the method of loosening the waist. If you don't loosen your chest, you won't be useful. What waist is the axis, and the waist is the main one is completely empty talk. The predecessors talked about a lot of essentials, and put forward loose, sinking, straight, collapsing, bracing, pulling, expanding, plugging, and so on, in fact, it is the tail lube to close and the door to brace, so that the front concave waist bend is filled. This level produces an effect that is not well known to ordinary people, that is, the thoracic area becomes a "fatigue area", and the pelvic area becomes a "filling area". The fatigue zone can't be used if you want to exert force, so you can only move with the movement of the filling zone. This is the lumbar mechanism of the pelvic area driving the thoracic area.
The seventh is the method of internal energy accumulation. Tai Chi exercise always has a regular opening and closing, one accumulation and one hair to form an internal qi drum. At the same time, the internal qi will be sucked from the dantian and the four tips to gather the life, and it will be absorbed into the spine (called the qi sticking to the back), and when it is opened, the internal qi will be sent to the four tips and sink into the dantian (called the qi sinking dantian). The entry of Tai Chi boxing skills, so that the internal force is transmitted to the body, everywhere, called the internal strength of the accumulation.
The eighth is the method of dredging the pulse qi. The posterior arch method eliminates the physiological curvature of the spine, and opens up the three bayonets on the Du pulse (Tail Lu Pass, Spine Middle Pass and Jade Pillow Pass), so that Ren Du (Xiao Zhoutian) can communicate. This body method makes the tail lube in the middle, the Baihui void spirit, the top crotch is round, and the Yin Sea (perineum) and Yang Sea (Baihui) of the meridians are unhindered and unimpeded, and the Great Zhou Tian is unimpeded.
The ninth is the method of fist breathing. The post-arching method is easy to make ordinary people change from chest breathing to abdominal breathing, and those who enter the fist will change abdominal breathing into reverse abdominal breathing. When inhaling, the spirit qi is restrained, the limbs are closed, and the internal qi is gathered and stored on the back; when exhaling, the spirit qi is revealed, the limbs are open, and the internal qi is sent to the four ends and sinks into the dantian. This kind of form, spirit, and breath are synchronized and harmonious, and it is fist breathing.
The tenth is the method of benign massage. The posterior arching method is combined with fist breathing, internal qi agitation and internal energy accumulation, so that the spine can be rhythmically expanded and relaxed, and the diaphragm moves up and down, so that the nerve center and the internal organs between the chest and abdomen can be massaged in an orderly manner. In particular, the rhythmic posterior pull at the vital gate of the lumbar spine makes the two kidneys get a very rare benign massage. After practicing Tai Chi for several years, many visceral diseases and nerve diseases disappeared, which is one of the mechanisms.
Fifth, the upper body path of the Tai Chi body method
It is raised from life. In life, walking, standing, sitting, lying, working and resting, in a word, no matter what you do, you must maintain the backward arch posture. If you can persist in this, then you have reached the level of boxing training, that is, Taijiquan life. There is no shortage of such teachings in Chinese martial arts and health preservation, such as "the ring arch stands upright and stable as a pine", "sits like a clock, lies like a bow", "sits on the front and sits dangerously", etc., all of which are portrayals of the Taijiquan body.
It is changed from labor. Many labor-intensive workers and old farmers have found the most labor-saving and healthy working posture from long-term hard work. We carefully observe and experience, all of them are the use of Tai Chi body method. If we ourselves cannot use the Tai Chi body in our lives and work, then we cannot be called a true Tai Chi practitioner.