Chi revisited

[Zeny]

According to a book written by Cheng Man Ching (13 chapters on taijiquan), we must sink chi deeply into the dan tian and day by day, the chi accumulates and after three years, we would have accumulated a considerable amount of chi. Cheng Man Ching also wrote that even though the mind can will the chi to move the body, we should not do this because it would result in stagnation. Instead, we should use the spirit or 'jing shen' to move our body and this spirit will automatically carry the chi with it.

According to my taijiquan teacher, he does not practise in sinking the chi into the dan tian because he believes that practising chi will result in stagnation or stiffness/tension. Instead, he advocates practising sung (relaxation) which will automatically grant the side benefit of chi. I have heard of another master who advocates this as well. However when i discussed the Cheng Man Ching writings with my teacher, he believes that even though he doesn't practise it, the method of sinking the chi to the dan tian must be true as otherwise Cheng Man Ching would not have wrote what he did.

My teacher is sung and can throw me around easily so i do not doubt the effectiveness of his idea. I'm simply curious as to which path i should follow in order to reap the most benefits.

What do you guys think?

 

[mograph]

This could be impossible to resolve using words, because the processes involved are so personal, subjective and difficult to describe.

What would be an example of a convincing argument for one path or the other? In other words, what kind of instructions or descriptions would it contain?

 

[Buka]

Based on my experience studying Tai-chi (two whole months now) I'd say listen to your teacher.

There is, of course, that other route, the "some guys on the internet said" alternative.

 

[Zeny]

I would love to hear from someone who has taken the sink chi into dan tian route and how it improves his or her taijiquan or jin (internal power).

 

[23rdwave]

I would love to hear from someone who has taken the sink chi into dan tian route and how it improves his or her taijiquan or jin (internal power).

You want to have opposing forces working inside of you, in all directions, but most importantly up and down. It's like dropping an ice cube in a glass of water. The ice falls and the water rises. Do some deep squats. Have active arms. The body goes down and the arms go up (and out, lead with the fingertips), the body goes up and the arms go down. Then keep slowing down the movement until you are not visibly moving but your mind is trying to keep the same movement going inside you. What does it feel like? Swishing water? A car in neutral? It's your body, your sensations. Feel it. Have someone feel you. Can they feel you moving when you don't look like you're moving? Don't focus on chi moving down to the dantien. You create a dantien but that kind of training is done with an external training methodology. The two are separate but can be used as one.

 

[Zeny]

Thanks for that. Can you elaborate further? What is the benefit of moving chi in opposite directions? I have done it before and it feels like swishing water initially, and later like slow rising steam.

 

[23rdwave]

You don't want the opponent to control you. When you bridge you want to unbalance him. If you are moving in six directions he can't find you even though he's made contact. The up/down feeling, like all cima, is easy to do but hard to wrap your head around. Like slowing down to go fast, it is counter intuitive.