San-Ti

[TenTigers]

I would be interested in people's experiences of San-Ti, what they've discovered about themselves, their structure, how it has helped, or not. Also how long they stand in San-Ti.

[BAI HE]

I have not had the opportunity to study
Xingyi as of yet (this is to be rectified shortly).
But I enjoy reading up on it.

I notice that most of the pictures
of Masters from the past doing San-Ti
differ vastly, especially in the placemet
and structure of the arms and lead hand.

Any thoughts on that?

Sorry to answer a question with a question.

[HuangKaiVun]

I've tried San Ti.

One thing is sure: I can't do the long periods fo standing.

I'm a peppy hyperactive guy who's small and spunky. There's an internal motor always running inside me, which causes me to do everything about twice as fast as the normal person. That's why I play pro violin.

Because of that internal motor, I cannot hold the San Ti stance for more than about 1-2 minutes. Just as well - I'm most effective when I'm moving at maximal velocity. As a high energy guy, I always need to be in motion to be most comfortable.

In the sparring ring, I'm not a guy that stands in one place and lets guys come to him. With my lack of size, I'd get HAMMERED by bigger opponents who utilize their mobility. The only times I've been successful as a fighter is when I'm throwing a continual barrage of attacks and am acting as a continually moving target.

However, I do a lot of seated meditation. I also do a lot of standing in-motion meditation using various stances. This is sort of like Wang Xiancai's I Chuan power training method. Of all the things I do, the meditative stuff helps me the most with combat power.

Once I get rid of some of my extramartial affairs, I'll be able to spend more time practicing this way.

[BAI HE]

HKV - So much for sperm retention to convert to Chi!

[Wu-Xing]

BAI HI:
the reason it can look different is because there are different styles of xingyi. while they may differ on the outside they are the same internally(connections etc) and thats what matters, not what it looks like outside.

Ten tigers:
my experiences with san ti are that it is fundemental in power generation in xingyi. when i train i normally do 40 mins of san ti.what i have discoverd? im in a bit of a rush cuz i have to go to a wedding but the immediate things that come to mind are my center, just how much power is lost through bad alignment, how to get into ones own body and feel it more fully,calm the mind,expand.as for how it has helped, well it has given me those things i said above and probably a whole lot more that escape me at the moment.anyway i gotta split. hope that helped some.

[batesy]

I haven' been pratising Xing Yi too long so my experiences are limited. We are expected to hold the posture in class for around 20 minutes, what have I discovered? Pain! San ti has taught me a lot about the degrees of tension in my shoulders and I have had some interesting times playing with the mind and how it tries to eleviate pain. I have found san ti very helpful for building leg strength and for feeling the connection of arms to torso, although I'd be the first to admit that I have a long way to go here. One of the things I found strange about san ti was the narrowness of the stance, at first I felt very unstable but this has begun to pass. Hope some of this has been interesting.

[batesy]

and...
It has taught me just how flighty and un-focussed my mind can be, especially when the discomfort in the shoulders begins to scream at me. My teacher does recommend that when you hit the stage where you cannot focus anymore you would be advised to stop and rest.

[PaulLin]

Originally posted by batesy
I haven' been pratising Xing Yi too long so my experiences are limited. We are expected to hold the posture in class for around 20 minutes, what have I discovered? Pain! San ti has taught me a lot about the degrees of tension in my shoulders and I have had some interesting times playing with the mind and how it tries to eleviate pain. I have found san ti very helpful for building leg strength and for feeling the connection of arms to torso, although I'd be the first to admit that I have a long way to go here. One of the things I found strange about san ti was the narrowness of the stance, at first I felt very unstable but this has begun to pass. Hope some of this has been interesting.

Focus on the qi--flowing, pumping, tinggling, breathing--part of your posture, learn to let go of using the li. Then your pain will ease.

Also, attach your arms to the top of the hip instead of the bottom of your neck. Shoulder pain is a sign that your link between your arms and hips are weak, that part of meridiums are not open enough.

[batesy]

Paulin
Thanks for the relpy, when you talk about linking the arms to the hip, are we looking for a principally mental connection to begin with? I fully agree that the pain is undoubtedly a sign that my connections are weak in this position. Any idea why I can hold a basic bagua posture (san ti turned to the side slightly for all intents and purposes) for much longer without pain? Is it perhaps that connections are growing in that particular posture? Thanks again

[PaulLin]

Originally posted by batesy
Paulin
Thanks for the relpy, when you talk about linking the arms to the hip, are we looking for a principally mental connection to begin with? I fully agree that the pain is undoubtedly a sign that my connections are weak in this position. Any idea why I can hold a basic bagua posture (san ti turned to the side slightly for all intents and purposes) for much longer without pain? Is it perhaps that connections are growing in that particular posture? Thanks again

The linking are weak, then the points between the execution point and the center will stand out clearly. In training, you should try to hide all points that stood out between them. Untill you can stand for a long time and no points (like shoulder, elbow, or knees) stood out. And then you can train on adding pressure to the execution points and try to mantain the non-stood out points.

BaGua has the winging and tited up, just like how you do with the arm in XingYi TsanChuan(water element, 2nd ), in BaGua case, the whole body was applied in that winging and tited up (like a rope, winging in spirals to firm the link up). That is why you feel like that. But you should train on both square off and winging up linkings.

That is what I known.