Thoughts on twining vs. opening/closing

[Fu-Pow]

Do you guys agree with this statement....(applies mostly to Taiji)?

Twining/spiraling happens continuously.

Open/closing (ie expanding/contracting) happen sequentially.

[SPJ]

This is a tough one.

Spiraling around the waist is the main revolution.

Spiraling around the shoulder, elbow and wrist are secondary revolutions.

Yes, it is continuous.

Opening and closing are continuous, too.

When hands are coming together, it is contracting and closing.

When hands are going separately in opposing directions, it is expanding and opening.

For example, one goes upward, and outward to the left, the other hand goes downward, outward and to the right.

I like to think of it as a balloon or a ball, your both hands are holding it.

So is the ball getting bigger or smaller?

You may do small circles, too. There can be small circles within big circles. Vertical circles, horizontal circles, and 3 -D balls.

When your hands come together, there should be a He Jin.

When your hands go outward, there should be a Peng Jin at the end.

It takes several books to explain it all.

Huh, I tried.





:cool:

[SPJ]

Opening and closing are also refering to the body posture.

Taj Ji theory is that there are 5 bows in the body.

The 2 arms, 2 legs and one back.

When you arch your arms, you have a Peng Jin, which is the highest tension the body may generate.

Which means the waist is the center of the ball, your arms and legs maintain the surface of the ball.

Even when you do circular kick (swing kick) or circular punch. It is still Peng Jin.

Every Tai Ji move "ends" with a Peng Jin.

That is the secret of Tai Ji attack.

When you are closing (Shi Jin), you prepare to open (Fa Jin).

When you are opened all the way, you are ready to close again.

On and on.

[Buddy]

No. But you've locked me out anyway. Also I'm not a Taiji guy but rather baguazhang. Still kai/he implies continuity. Perhaps your referring to tun/tu.

[twocircles]

Originally posted by Fu-Pow
Do you guys agree with this statement....(applies mostly to Taiji)?

Twining/spiraling happens continuously.

Open/closing (ie expanding/contracting) happen sequentially.

Hi,

I guess that's one way to look at it.

Spiraling should be happening continuously, although limitations in anatomy require us to frequently change direction and use other compensations that prevent us from doing true spirals.

Opening and closing are not the same thing as expanding and contracting.

Opening and closing happen simultaneously, not sequentially. Look at the chest and back. When the chest opens, the back closes. This is true for every joint in the body.

Expansion and contraction have more to do with direction of energy flow, generally, away or toward the center, respectively, but expansion or contraction around any designated point is possible. While theoretically it is possible to expand in all directions at once or contract from all directions, we usually expand in some directions while contracting in others.


Richard Johnson

[SPJ]

Good posts.

The theory of Tai Ji and Wu Ji are based on the philosophy.

When you are not moving or still. It is Wu Ji state or contracted.

When you start to move, you start the Tai Ji. You are expanding.

The opponent presents his Yang, you go to his Yin.

In terms of posture, manuever, Jin directions and amplitude, etc.

Yes, there is He in Kai. There is Kai in He. (Kai Zhong You He. He Zhong You Kai).

In short, contraction and expansion refer to everything in posture, hand and leg movements, Ting Jin, Dong Jin and borrow the opponent's Li and use it against him, etc

If the opponet does a right punch to your face, you may Peng with your right forearm. If he continues, you "expand" his punch and off he falls.

I am oversimplifying.





:)