Train Intelligently

The secret to my training in the martial arts, is to "train intelligently." That means understanding the "Rules of Quan." Every system of martial arts has its own rules and regulations concerning its training methods. Many martial arts teachers in the past have kept this a secret. Very few people, including myself, ever write about secrets in the martial arts—the secrets pertaining to the "methods" and "ways" of training. Without this knowledge, a practitioner cannot improve very quickly in martial arts skills.

Daily training requires that the practitioner wake up early in the morning with a positive attitude. He should go outside his house to take long, deep breaths of fresh air. Correct breathing will uplift his spirits and energy. Be sure to exhale completely and never neglect to take your essential vitamins and minerals at every meal. Remember, your most important practice is in the morning when the air is fresh. Take a few minutes to relax and slowly sip a small cup of warm water. This water combined with qi, along with your morning exercises, will help to detoxify your body properly. This promotes good health. Practitioners also should take the time to properly massage and loosen up their bodies in the morning. A proper warm-up will keep their muscle tension down to a minimum.

Finally, martial arts practicers must pay attention to their body alignment, keeping it vertical. Good results can be achieved by simply looking straight ahead, feeling as if the top of the head is floating. Practitioners will feel as if the crown of the head is pressing against the heavens and the bottom of their feet is rooted to the earth. This is my basic understanding of how every serious martial artist should practice.

The Taijiquan Principles Most Often Forgotten
The first principle to remember is to keep your spine straight. Try asking a great taiji master and he will reply something like, "your answer can be found where the spine originates, from the tip of one's head to one's ren mei (conception vessel)." I normally solve this problem by gently pulling upwards on a few strands of my student's hair. If this doesn't work, I use my fingertips to gently press either on the front sternum of his chest or on the back of his spine between the shoulder blades, depending on his problem. On the other hand, there are some people who simply have crooked backs, so I suggest they see a chiropractor.

The second principle to remember is to give up your hard power. Again, a great taiji master will answer something like this, "Keep no power in your hands." I normally solve this problem by gently grabbing the index and middle finger of my student's hand and give him an unexpected downwards tug. This generally aligns your arm pretty well. By doing so, you can give yourself a chance to develop your energy properly. The third and final principle to remember is to keep your movements smooth. Again, a great taiji master will answer something like, "open and close your movements."

I just remind people that there are two types of circles I want them to practice. The large circles and the small circles. So, I have my students circling their hands, making large and small circles in both clockwise and counter-clockwise motions. This will help to smooth the hand movements when practicing taijiquan. Of course, there is always a great taiji master amongst us who would ask, what does opening and closing have to do with smoothness. When performing an open movement, the circles will always be larger. When performing a closing movement, the circles will get smaller. This is not a mystery, it is a taiji principle which creates smoothness in one's movements. In conclusion, practice intelligently.

The Effect of Taiji Circular Movements
Whenever I instruct students in the art of Taijiquan, I make sure they spend the necessary time to "slowly" go through a series of circular warm-up exercises. They rotate their fingers, wrists, elbows and shoulders, neck, waist, ankles, and knees. The important point to remember is to take enough time, do not rush, and get a good warm-up.

The art of Taijiquan is made up of thirteen types of circular movements. The famous Taiji master Mr. Chen Pin San explained that Taijiquan is the method of practicing circular movements. He goes on to further explain about the divisions of these circular movements. In summary, there are the forward and backward circular movements, the left and right circular movements, the upward and downward circular movements, the inside and outside circular movements, the large and small circular movements, and the with and against circular movements. So, if you are dedicated and consistent in your practice of Taijiquan, you should follow his explanations on how to practice Taijiquan.

After long practice of Taijiquan, you will appear very soft from the outside. Inside of that softness, there is strength. When you are up against an opponent, use this softness and strength together. Through correct practice, you will begin to understand the Taiji method and the Taiji way, that is, the method and the way of overcoming hard power. The old Taiji masters often claim that they feel as if they are "a tiger going out to the mountain." Other masters claim that, "the longer you practice Taijiquan, the more active and the more powerful your hands become like an emperor grasping onto his scepter." In conclusion, through the correct practice of Taijiquan, your shoulder joints will become looser and more flexible. If you can grasp onto this concept, then you won't have to worry about overcoming an opponent with hard strength. In the end, you might acquire much more, even "a reputation of being very powerful."

The "Dantien" of Taijiquan
In the Daoist religion, the "dantien" doesn't have a fixed location. It depends on its particular location. In the classics, it is written that the "dantien" is found in three locations in the body. The first location is found under the belly button. It is called "lower dantien." The second is found under the heart, called "middle dantien." The third dantien is found at the point between your two eyebrows and it is called "upper dantien."

So where is the "dantien" of Taijiquan? Here I refer to my Taiji teacher, Mr. Pan Wing Chow, the founder of the Chen Style Taijiquan Association in Taiwan, R.O.C. Teacher Pan makes reference to the Chinese phrase "qi chun dantien," concluding that the "dantien" of Taijiquan is located in the abdominal area. When practicing Taijiquan, you must keep upright, allowing your breath to move slowly, reducing the tension in your heart, producing the feeling of a hot current going down to your abdomen. My students can attest to the fact that they can feel their qi, as if their heart sank down to their "dantien." This is the feeling of "qi chun dantien." This is how you produce your "jing," or your power. Therefore, through correct practice of the art of Taijiquan, you will know how to "qi chun dantien." It is not difficult. You can make your qi go down to your "dantien." And you later accumulate this qi into your bones, ultimately, promoting a happier, more powerful, and more intelligent individual. In conclusion, it is important to take a "deep" breath. As we breathe, we know that our breath goes to our chest. Only when you take a "deep" breath, can you experience the feeling of our "dantien." Only then are you practicing one of Taijiquan's "Golden Rules," the method and the way of "qi chun dantien."

Understanding the Power of Taijiquan
To understand the power of Taijiquan, you must do the opposite of what other people do. What Taijiquan teaches you is to be very soft and not to use physical strength. My Chen Taiji teacher Mr. Pan Wing Chow related a story to me about meeting a famous taiji master, Mr. Ma Yu Liang in the winter of 1945. Mr. Ma Yu Liang demonstrated the power of Taijiquan, the power of "dantien" kung-fu. He demonstrated the ability to neutralize his opponent's power.The key point here is to first understand your own power; then you can understand your opponent's power. Give up your resistance power and learn how to intelligently redirect your opponent's power.

My next Taiji teacher was Mr. Peter Tai, the nephew of Mr. Ma Yu Liang. Teacher Tai trained at the Shanghai Ching Wu Martial Arts Association where he learned from the famous taiji master, Mr. Wu Chien Ch'uan. Mr. Wu founded his own style of taiji boxing, namely "Wu Style Taijiquan." I asked Teacher Tai about the power of taijiquan. He explained that the "correct" practice of taijiquan was the secret of learning its power. That the qi stored in your "dantien" can be transferred to any place in your body. That the "correct" practice of Taijiquan will make your qi flow downwards to your "dantien." This is the secret of "qi chun dantien." This is the secret of Taiji power. Teacher Tai would always say, "To learn Chinese boxing is hard work. Learning must be slow and movements must be correct. It takes a longer time to undo a mistake, than to teach a movement. If you want to be perfect, you need a great teacher and an intelligent student."

Mahalo,
Professor Randy Choy
Founder of the Chinese Athletic Arts Academy
Advisor to the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
Chuk Kai Tai Chi Preying Mantis Organization-Hawaii

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