Fu-Pow
07-17-2002, 10:00 AM
George Xu: The Chen style is a very complete system. So they are not only want muscle, they want be muscle, bone, ligament, tendon, internal energy, spiritually, they want all to be well trained. Complete. That's why they have a requirement of a minimum of 20 principles to be good quality. The first one, they want one move, everything move. Because this way, you can gather in your maximum physical power, to issue your power or redirect your enemy's power. Not just use a part of body to do it. It's just like a dog. when you see a dog fight, you never see a dog just use the front to protect the other dog's attack, The whole body. One move. Everything.
The second one is, if you want to be good at T'ai Chi, it has to be not use your hand and foot through the waist. You have to use the whole body through the waist. And that's the minimum requirement. And the whole body do the movement, plus in the future, is your spiritual movement; your body is just the form.
And the third one is the waist is the main power. The waist area - dan tien - waist area. And the spine. You need special training on the waist, and dan tien and the spine spiral. The waist turning, spine rotate. In Chen T'ai Chi, this is very emphasize.
Yes, this is very important.
George Xu: Number four is... nei Ch'i. Internal energy has to be full. A lot of people it's ... uh... weak, you know. It's like a tire. They only have five pounds pressure. So when the people attack you, you get hurt. See, the high-level T'ai Chi master, the internal energy is like 50 pound in 30 pound tire: you kick the tire, you fly out. So their internal energy is full. But once the internal energy is full, like a rubber man full of air: you cannot become separate. If you were not full of energy, you'd become flat, soft. If full of energy, it cannot be flattened.
The fifth, is T'ai Chi high-level. It must be each joint connect. And all the power come from Earth. You know, start from Earth, from the feet, and controlled by waist, and delivered to the fist. In between the alignment must be connect.
The sixth is to have a great range of motion. And... because a lot of people, they don't have... the joint don't have a great range of motion, so when they go low they cannot go any lower. They go to big stance, they cannot go any bigger. So it's like a tire that can only go to 30 mph or 20 mph... it is very short distance, never cover long distance. So you should be able to short, long. [ Repeats all of this in Chinese to Ma:. Then master Ma adds something which he translates...] Skin, bone, muscle, has to be loose. The shoulder has to be like a soy bean milk. Internal ch'i has to be... you know... moving.
Number seven is also the internal... the invisible power training. Because a lot of people can issue visible power, but at invisible power, short distance power, they are not very good. So the high level T'ai Chi master, the whole body is fixed, so anybody touch them, they can issue this invisible power. So this is the ligament power, most of it is not muscle power anymore, it is ligament power, and also internal breathing power. So that's two powers in this special training.
And number eight is a high-level one. They do the form, or they fight, they have strong "I", you know, the internal has the "I" (intention). Outside they have a animal shape. A lot of people, their form is like a human body, the "I" is calm and sleepy, so they never get the high level. So you want to be a good, you know, a great T'ai Chi boxer, it has to be. you know. you need to externally carry form, and internally carry "I". So the internal and external has to be powerful.
A specialty in T'ai Chi is whenever they have opening, they have inside somewhere close, whenever have close, inside somewhere open. So a lot of people they just, when they open, everything open, like a ballet dancer, when they close, everything close. So this way they are not creating opposing power. In this way make the whole body have Yin Yang balance. Otherwise you only have yang, no yin, or you only have yin, no yang. And that's no good. You not yin yang balance.
And number ten is opposing power. So whenever you have front power, you must. like when you push the cart, you hand push forward, you must have back power. Whenever you have up power -- you lift things - you have down power. So it's always opposing power inside your body. All the time.
And number eleven is T'ai Chi is mainly eight words. We call opening, close, empty, full, spiral, turn, and up, down. A lot of people they opening close, but not empty full at the same time, or up down, spiral turn at the same time. So when the Chen style. especially Chen style. they are very emphasize this: eight words at the same time, all the time, everywhere.
Number twelve is no center. A lot of people they either leaning forward, or back, you know. they never on the center. Looking for your own center, understanding your own center is a whole lifetime job. Because only when you have center, you have the best structure, you can have maximum power. So the center is very important. The one thing you need to understand your own power. Because you have center you can take care of eighty men, everywhere you have power. Instead of one-dimensional power.
Number thirteen is not all the movement all the way. A lot of people they do movement, they just open here (demonstrates), they not all the way, you know, they just punch to here, they never can reach anybody. Like Tiger, chase all the way, he never just half way. So when he close. Really close, not just close a little bit. All the way, so you get maximum exercise.
Number fourteen. is don't know what is a yin and a yang. A lot of people practice kung fu, they either too much yang, not enough yin. So they are push hands or fighting, they just want to use their own power. They don't care where your power. They don't understand how to borrow enemy's power or use enemy's power. When you want to use or borrow enemy's power, or to even create some power, make them give you more power, you must understand emptiness.
Another one is that most people have no Si, presence. Not alive enough. So they don't have. like water, just like a lake of water, very peaceful, very smooth, but not like a wave crashing of the surf. Si is the presence, or the potential energy, before they hit you. Like a rock on the top of mountain: stay there is no Si. One day rolling down the middle of your mountain, carry lot of dust and, you know, stone. That time this rock has Si, ok? So a lot of T'ai Chi, they don't have Si, because they don't practice single movements. Like this movement (demonstrates). But if you just do this, there's no Si. It's not alive enough.
Another one is. uh. the most of people not get meat. What mean is that. you know, when you unscrewdriver things. you want to take off the bolt, or you have to get that thing. if you slip, you don't get anything. So that mean you do the form, you must get to the jing. Like when you push the car, you get power, you get meat, so you know you can push. Otherwise, slippery ground, you don't get meat, you later cannot use any power. That mean you don't get anything. So when you do form, same thing. If the posture, you don't feel has power, you don't feel you get strength, that mean this movement too slippery. You have no meat, and then you don't develop any strength.
The highest level, I will say, he is suddenly fast, suddenly slow, suddenly soft, suddenly hard, suddenly disappear, suddenly appear. And that's what T'ai Chi is: soft like water, hard like ice, disappear like steam. So they have all these qualities. You say he is soft; he is softer than you. You say he hard, he is harder than you. You say he don't have soft, he have soft inside. You say he. he. he too hard, but he has soft inside. So. whenever he want soft, he can have soft, whenever he want hard, he can have the hard. And inside the soft they have the hard, inside the hard, they have soft. So all these things can be quick changed. Have great range of motion, in between the soft and hard. Not just soft or hard. This is the middle line of the soft and hard. Lot of people either go that way too far, or go that way too far. All in between very little short range. The high level is great range of soft and hard. So if he is harder than you, softer than you, you want hard, you can go that way. You want soft, you can go that way. And very natural and soft, natural smooth. But also is not like a peaceful water: you're always like an ocean wave, and. you know. look like you are very peaceful, some sometimes can be a very big wave, throw your boat down. So have great, threatening energy - Si. I think. mainly. of course more than this, but I don't want to talk more. That's enough (chuckles).
The second one is, if you want to be good at T'ai Chi, it has to be not use your hand and foot through the waist. You have to use the whole body through the waist. And that's the minimum requirement. And the whole body do the movement, plus in the future, is your spiritual movement; your body is just the form.
And the third one is the waist is the main power. The waist area - dan tien - waist area. And the spine. You need special training on the waist, and dan tien and the spine spiral. The waist turning, spine rotate. In Chen T'ai Chi, this is very emphasize.
Yes, this is very important.
George Xu: Number four is... nei Ch'i. Internal energy has to be full. A lot of people it's ... uh... weak, you know. It's like a tire. They only have five pounds pressure. So when the people attack you, you get hurt. See, the high-level T'ai Chi master, the internal energy is like 50 pound in 30 pound tire: you kick the tire, you fly out. So their internal energy is full. But once the internal energy is full, like a rubber man full of air: you cannot become separate. If you were not full of energy, you'd become flat, soft. If full of energy, it cannot be flattened.
The fifth, is T'ai Chi high-level. It must be each joint connect. And all the power come from Earth. You know, start from Earth, from the feet, and controlled by waist, and delivered to the fist. In between the alignment must be connect.
The sixth is to have a great range of motion. And... because a lot of people, they don't have... the joint don't have a great range of motion, so when they go low they cannot go any lower. They go to big stance, they cannot go any bigger. So it's like a tire that can only go to 30 mph or 20 mph... it is very short distance, never cover long distance. So you should be able to short, long. [ Repeats all of this in Chinese to Ma:. Then master Ma adds something which he translates...] Skin, bone, muscle, has to be loose. The shoulder has to be like a soy bean milk. Internal ch'i has to be... you know... moving.
Number seven is also the internal... the invisible power training. Because a lot of people can issue visible power, but at invisible power, short distance power, they are not very good. So the high level T'ai Chi master, the whole body is fixed, so anybody touch them, they can issue this invisible power. So this is the ligament power, most of it is not muscle power anymore, it is ligament power, and also internal breathing power. So that's two powers in this special training.
And number eight is a high-level one. They do the form, or they fight, they have strong "I", you know, the internal has the "I" (intention). Outside they have a animal shape. A lot of people, their form is like a human body, the "I" is calm and sleepy, so they never get the high level. So you want to be a good, you know, a great T'ai Chi boxer, it has to be. you know. you need to externally carry form, and internally carry "I". So the internal and external has to be powerful.
A specialty in T'ai Chi is whenever they have opening, they have inside somewhere close, whenever have close, inside somewhere open. So a lot of people they just, when they open, everything open, like a ballet dancer, when they close, everything close. So this way they are not creating opposing power. In this way make the whole body have Yin Yang balance. Otherwise you only have yang, no yin, or you only have yin, no yang. And that's no good. You not yin yang balance.
And number ten is opposing power. So whenever you have front power, you must. like when you push the cart, you hand push forward, you must have back power. Whenever you have up power -- you lift things - you have down power. So it's always opposing power inside your body. All the time.
And number eleven is T'ai Chi is mainly eight words. We call opening, close, empty, full, spiral, turn, and up, down. A lot of people they opening close, but not empty full at the same time, or up down, spiral turn at the same time. So when the Chen style. especially Chen style. they are very emphasize this: eight words at the same time, all the time, everywhere.
Number twelve is no center. A lot of people they either leaning forward, or back, you know. they never on the center. Looking for your own center, understanding your own center is a whole lifetime job. Because only when you have center, you have the best structure, you can have maximum power. So the center is very important. The one thing you need to understand your own power. Because you have center you can take care of eighty men, everywhere you have power. Instead of one-dimensional power.
Number thirteen is not all the movement all the way. A lot of people they do movement, they just open here (demonstrates), they not all the way, you know, they just punch to here, they never can reach anybody. Like Tiger, chase all the way, he never just half way. So when he close. Really close, not just close a little bit. All the way, so you get maximum exercise.
Number fourteen. is don't know what is a yin and a yang. A lot of people practice kung fu, they either too much yang, not enough yin. So they are push hands or fighting, they just want to use their own power. They don't care where your power. They don't understand how to borrow enemy's power or use enemy's power. When you want to use or borrow enemy's power, or to even create some power, make them give you more power, you must understand emptiness.
Another one is that most people have no Si, presence. Not alive enough. So they don't have. like water, just like a lake of water, very peaceful, very smooth, but not like a wave crashing of the surf. Si is the presence, or the potential energy, before they hit you. Like a rock on the top of mountain: stay there is no Si. One day rolling down the middle of your mountain, carry lot of dust and, you know, stone. That time this rock has Si, ok? So a lot of T'ai Chi, they don't have Si, because they don't practice single movements. Like this movement (demonstrates). But if you just do this, there's no Si. It's not alive enough.
Another one is. uh. the most of people not get meat. What mean is that. you know, when you unscrewdriver things. you want to take off the bolt, or you have to get that thing. if you slip, you don't get anything. So that mean you do the form, you must get to the jing. Like when you push the car, you get power, you get meat, so you know you can push. Otherwise, slippery ground, you don't get meat, you later cannot use any power. That mean you don't get anything. So when you do form, same thing. If the posture, you don't feel has power, you don't feel you get strength, that mean this movement too slippery. You have no meat, and then you don't develop any strength.
The highest level, I will say, he is suddenly fast, suddenly slow, suddenly soft, suddenly hard, suddenly disappear, suddenly appear. And that's what T'ai Chi is: soft like water, hard like ice, disappear like steam. So they have all these qualities. You say he is soft; he is softer than you. You say he hard, he is harder than you. You say he don't have soft, he have soft inside. You say he. he. he too hard, but he has soft inside. So. whenever he want soft, he can have soft, whenever he want hard, he can have the hard. And inside the soft they have the hard, inside the hard, they have soft. So all these things can be quick changed. Have great range of motion, in between the soft and hard. Not just soft or hard. This is the middle line of the soft and hard. Lot of people either go that way too far, or go that way too far. All in between very little short range. The high level is great range of soft and hard. So if he is harder than you, softer than you, you want hard, you can go that way. You want soft, you can go that way. And very natural and soft, natural smooth. But also is not like a peaceful water: you're always like an ocean wave, and. you know. look like you are very peaceful, some sometimes can be a very big wave, throw your boat down. So have great, threatening energy - Si. I think. mainly. of course more than this, but I don't want to talk more. That's enough (chuckles).