Good discussion. You have missed one important point about Song, though: If you are tense, according to Newton's law, if you hit someone the force will come back to you - ouch. But if you are Song, there is nothing for the force to come back to - much better.
Oh very good point! Thank you for adding to the discussion. I love how people can add to it like this and how helpful the comments and their discussions can be!
Greetings and thank you from down here in Australia. What can one say? Clear, scientific yet true to the depth of the art, engaging, educational, practical and applicable. Awesome mind, great spirit, fantastic guide! Lucky students! I am of the Wudang Swimming Dragon school but these lessons of yours are universal to all streams of Taiji. Thank you ☯️
Greetings! Thank you for the comment and compliments! It's very nice to know that people find the explanations helpful. I like how you call it "all the streams of Taiji." A nice symbolism there. Cheers! 😃
The link between emotion and fascia has not yet been scientifically established. But everyone who practices relaxation as well as qi gong and taichi) already knows that there is a relationship. Thank you Sifu for this demonstration
Very true! And anyone that has experienced a really great massage may have some experience about the relationship between emotion and fascia too. I love science and its ability to systematize understanding and explain what we experience in life. And beyond science, we have enjoyed the warmth of the rising sun everyday before science explained how, and likewise, we can continue to enjoy the relaxation and benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong, until science fully explains it. I'm sure it will be very exciting when that happens and until then, cheers!
Wow you are great you're posting new videos with new information that hasn't yet been posted on RUclips as far as I know in English for sure! Thank you for more details now I know even more still not enough to apply the technique but my knowledge is getting better! Thank you!
It a great teaching video. I am a long time Tai Chi practitioner and just realizing every thing you explain in this video a few years ago. 英雄所見略同，I am very happy to see someone is teaching the ‘true’ Taiji. Keep up the good work. Hope someday we could meet in person.😊
Thank you for the kind words! It's great fun to meet like minded 英雄 and friends on this journey. 😄 If you're ever in Southern California please do visit! And we will see what else we will realize and enjoy. 😄
Yes in a research on our body integrity, found that 30# of pressure can break the spine in nonliving tissue. But in a living person, we can support hundreds of pounds on our spine. Because our muscles and fascia create a network of pressure distribution that far exceeds what simple muscle pulleys and bone rigidity can accomplish. Our fascia doesn't perfectly form a perfectly sealed hydraulic system like in our machinery, or seen in insects. This is why insects have truly incredible power weight ratios letting grasshoppers jump so high and ants lift so much more than their body weight. But we can still access this hydraulic-like aspects of strength, which is classically called 整勁 (complete power, integrated power). Because what hydraulic systems do is utilize pumps to distribute pressure and convert force across liquids to create power and stability. And as you learn to integrate your body, which is 70% liquid, and coordinate the fascia and its pumps, you do begin to have this kind of benefit in your power generation! You can read too about Tensegrity to learn even more about biological pressure distribution systems. It's very fascinating how advanced, and capable, our body really is, when we truly access that potential we have inside, is it not? Thanks for watching and commenting! 😄
Another great, thought provoking video. It seems relaxing our body and releasing into our fascia which gets us to the state of song, allows us to drop our "personal confinement." 😊 I never thought of releasing into the fascia as part of song. That really helps to define it and helps me to visualize it. I also like the way you wove in hydraulics, tensegrity and then the psychoemotional outcome as well. Thank you!
Haha about personal confinement. And yes you're right to point out the benefit of using fascia as the relaxation target. Because I think many people are indeed relaxing for 'Song', and when they realize they can release even deeper into the fascia, they would discover a new level of comfort, strength, and Tai Chi joy!
Thank you for all your videos. You're one of the best sifus in explaining this stuff. I'm Erwin from Italy. I have a question for you. I learned the Yang family taiji long form (108) a few years ago in France. Then I moved back to Italy in 2018. Around where I live there aren't any really good taiji teachers, so I keep practicing on my own. But lately I'm rather back to the practice of Zhan Zhuang. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel that Zhan Zhuang is the best basic practice for Song and Jin. It allows you to find the correct "alignment" of all body structures. With taiji I always felt that we're too much involved in the dynamics of the form, like a distraction for the mind, which was hindering the real internal work. Many say that you start the form only when you have a proper and strong energy alignment, so that you're able to express the "force" in many ways while mooving. Now, another question arises, since that I'm only a beginner, although I'm a very fast learner, even when self-taught. How do you know you got a proper Song and Jin? I mean, what does it feel like? If you do a solo practice like in my case, how can you understand that you've got to a good level to be able to express your qi in the way you show in all your videos? Thanks in advance for your kind reply.
Thank you for your kind words! You are right that Zhan Zhuang standing is an effective way to work on Song and Jin. Because any tension and misalignment quickly becomes apparent. Beyond that, the form can also teach Song when you practice it with the right intention. And that intention is to be still and relaxed, with your awareness of relaxation spreading outward beyond your body, while having the intention of moving, and allowing a sense of movement to begin as your body automatically performs the move, as if you are sleep walking. In this way, you are following the classical teachings of the Spirit issues the Intent, the Intent leads the Qi, the Qi moves the body. And what it feels like is that your body seems to move automatically, as if you are surfing on a wave, effortlessly gliding forward. And the wave is the Qi led by your intent. This also leads to the Neijin, internal force, produced by the extra corporeal Lingqi, Spiritual Qi. That is a key distinction in Zhan Zhuang and Tai Chi form practice. Zhan Zhuang, like you say, tends to develop Jin, the connected force of the physical elements of the body, very powerful and very quick. Taichi's Neijin is more easily developed in movement, such as through its form or Neigong exercises. But only when practiced with the right intent, as you surely have seen many people practice it without this type of success. Luckily it is quite doable and successful with the right instruction. Many of my students have succeeded in this way and visitors to my class are often pleasantly surprised by this. 😄 Beyond form, and before form, we do a lot of small, short practices of Qigong and movement to develop the 5 stages that lead to this skill: Stage 1: Fascia Mastery - feel the fascia and use the fascia in a way that helps us to stop being unnecessarily forceful. This helps us get to Song. Stage 2: Song Mastery - learn to release Song and body weight to be powerful in all directions, with upper and lower body, to powerfully move people in a relaxed way. This opens up the capacity to feel the Qi within your body. Stage 3: Qi Mastery - Discover and learn to control the Yin and Yang of Qi inside your body, and how to enhance your movements with it. This opens you awareness of Qi in yourself and others and beyond. Stage 4: Neijin Mastery - Unlock the awareness of Qi beyond your body to produce Tai Chi's Peng Lu Ji An Cai Lie Zhou Kao. You become familiar with working with the unseen in form and in push hands in a way that further opens your awareness of Qi. Stage 5: Yi Mastery - Based on the expanded awareness from Neijin and Qi, you begin to become accustomed to the deepest Song that allows you to perceive Yi and use Yi at the highest level of Tai Chi. This is the most subtle skill but also the most immediate. Does this give you a sense of what Tai Chi practice that helps you develop more of this is like? The fascinating thing is that this is not necessarily a difficult and long journey. I had a talented student visit me from afar for a week of intensive practice and they learned to perceive and work all 5 stages in a week. They are admittedly talented but it shows what is possible! I've generally seen everyone who works at it succeed within 1-1.5 years. Thank you for reading my reply! You asked a really good question and I got absorbed into fully explaining it. Hope it helps and please ask if you have other questions! 😄🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi I really really appreciated your long generous reply. Thank you so much. This answers more than my few questions. I do actually have another one, maybe silly or maybe not. It's about expressing this internal firce. We always see it demontrated on human beings. What about animals and especially inanimate heavy objects? Can all this have an effect on the energy field of boulders or tree trunks or whatever? Like, for example, being able to lift a 200kg boulder as if it weighted only a few hundred grams. Have you ever seen a master doing this sort of stuff? As for animals, have ever tried it? It could be very interesting to make a viedo about these two subjects. Noone has ever posted such videos 😁😉 Anyway, if you ever happen to come to northern Italy for a workshop let me know 🙏 All the best again
I think so too! Song is one of the key concepts of Tai Chi and is responsible for a lot of Tai Chi's health benefits as well as a key to its inner strength. Thank you for commenting!
So it's all about mechanics or so it seems to me from this video. Does Qi, Yi, Shen play any role in creating force in Tai Chi or is it just the biomechanics you described so clearly in this video? Thank you for another great video and for sharing this information with us, so grateful!
Very good question and it shows you're on the right track! You noticed this video is all about biomechanics. Beyond that, you would be right to recognize that as you establish a foundation above the comfort and stability of physical 'Song', you can really relax and allow Qi to flow. And it is your Shen and Yi that organizes and causes your relaxed body to work the way you want it to. We focus on the physical elements because it is easier to establish. I can usually get new students to do this on their first day. Once they have that comfort and stability, it becomes easier to explore the more subtle elements of qi, shen, and Yi. In the advanced elements of Yang Tai Chi, it's quite focused on Yi. Just as you might say that when racing cars, it really comes down to the driver. But we definitely want to pair the driver with a well built car, with well inflated tires. That's where the physical 'Song' comes in. When the driver has a car that is a joy to drive, he will drive more and improve faster, will he not? In specific to creating force, your Yi generates a geometry that your Song supports, the force that is generated is indeed biomechanical. By that I mean you produce a physical force that is measurable with a scale or a dynamometer. There isn't some kind of invisible force field. However, your Yi and awareness of fascia interferes with your opponent's ability to generate their own force to resist. Your Qi and Shen creates a quality of experience that further disorganizes your opponent's capacity to resist. In this way, you can move 2000 kg with 4 ounce of force, or however that saying translates haha. And if you measure the force scientifically, it IS just 4 ounces. And when you have mastery of Yi, Qi, and Shen, you can do a lot with 4 ounces. Just as we see great skaters, skiers, dancers, by mastering their body, balance, and gravity, they can create amazing movement that seems so effortless and light. Thanks for the great question! I know you watched the explanation video on how Internal Power works ruclips.net/video/8bBJxTAcaZQ/видео.html So you have a sense of where this is building towards, from solid physical skills to subtle, less physical qualities. Enjoy your journey and keep asking questions! 🙌
Question about tension: Yang tcc uses bow stances a lot, like when you throw a punch moving forward. The front leg will contract and therefore getting tense. Could you please tell a bit how does one handle with the weighted leg tension?
Great question! The key isn't to have no tension, otherwise we would all be like slugs on the floor haha. The idea is to engage muscles only to the extent that it does not begin to deform your fascia. It's like when you wear your pants and belt too tight, you have a hard time breathing because your stomache is pulled in too much. Similarly if your muscles constrict too much your fascia becomes limited and the Tensegrity, the 3d structure of your fascia and connective tissue, deforms. So you can make now and arrow stance and go deeper to the extent that it does not tense up your muscles to the point that the fascia stiffens and deforms. And the more you can do that, the more powerful or more range of motion your Song can be and have. Does that answer your question? Thank you for asking! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi ty, it does answer. I thought it was something like that. your analogies were really easy to understand. I'm able to perform this stepping against a push on my chest, in bow stance, even in cat stance also, also to stay song and pull somebody resisting with all their strenght against my pull, and I know that if I contract certain parts of my body, I lose my balance instantly... . what amazes me is the fact that when I walk against a push, or even using palms, I can easily break partners balance, however when I try to extend my intention and create peng, no results so far... I feel I'm so close but can't figure out what I'm missing yet...
@@ChristianoStsThanks for sharing your success stories! Very excited for you! Song creates the physical conditions for Peng. Peng is the state of Yin and Yang energy flow that has an upward floating quality. Have you watched and tried our video about Song and the donut? ruclips.net/video/fuliU4FUw_E/видео.html And the short form highlighting float and sink? These are some crucial keys to Peng. ruclips.net/video/cEvSqHZIj8w/видео.html Let me know if these help you! 😃
@@phoenixmountaintaichi yes that donut idea I'm studying it, struggling with simultaneously expansion and sinking. Gonna watch the other one. Thanks a lot
WOW, JUST DISCOVERED YOUR CHANNEL. I RECENTLY GOT INTERESTED IN INTERNAL MARTIAL ARTS, BUT DID NOT UNDERSTAND FASCIA AND SONG AND HOW TO GENERATE POWER. GREAT EXPLAINATION, THE BALLOON COMPARISON AND THE LINKS. I'M MORE INTERESTED IN IT FOR HEALTH REASONS, BUT STILL WANT TO UNDERSTAND APPLICATION. MY QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU PUNCH WITHOUT TENSING THE FIST AT THE LAST SECOND WITHOUT BREAKING YOUR HAND (I UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT THE ONE IN PUNCH AND YOU ARE USING YOUR FASCIA TO HAVE THE WHOLE BODY WEIGHT BEHIND THE PUNCH)?DO YOU ONLY STRIKE THE BODY? BUT YOU COULD STILL HURT YOUR WRIST. GREAT CHANNEL.
Thank you for your comment! If your interest is in health then you're in the right place! Because it is the practice of 'Song' that provides a lot of the health benefits people get from Tai Chi practice. When it comes to application and punching like that, you're right to recognize that you can only receive and deliver a certain amount of force like that without injuring yourself. And that means when we punch like this we are delivering something aside from a ton of force. Like if I punch one of those punch power measuring machines that people play with at the arcade, I would not necessarily score very high. Beyond force, this relaxed state of Song let's you transmit something aside from kinetic energy, that allows you to affect their balance, coordination, and state of their body. On this channel I'm gradually sharing and building people's understanding of the inner practices of Tai Chi. Your intuition is good and asking about something that we'll be exploring soon! Welcome to the channel! 😀
Well found Sifu, there is an exact sequence, a precise order, to release the joints and the fascia (fan song) for example first shoulders then hips then knees and go on... before performing a movement, a pushing or pulling action , a fajing, or any application that is a chinna or a fist. Each internal school has its own sequence, following the same principles but placing awareness and internal proprioception in a different order. If so, which is the most functional?
Hi Manuel, very interesting question! When it comes to training to develop 'Song' everywhere, different styles, schools, movement, and even students, may have their own sequence. What is the best sequence to release to become familiar with Song? In my opinion, it is whatever sequence is easiest for each individual. Suppose my student has a shoulder injury and has a hard time releasing tension there. I would observe him to determine, or ask him where he feels most at ease. Suppose it's his legs. Then I would deepen his sense of 'Song' in his legs with drills and get him to become aware of what that feels like. And then have him expand that experience to his hips, back, chest, arms, and then finally to his shoulders. Because when everything else feels at ease it can become easier to bring ease to where he is not ease. And suppose a student is too tense in his fist when he punches, I would train them to have song in pushing with palms first until that's comfortable and stable, and then to ask them to push with a relaxed fist, by releasing tension from body into hand, and also by initiating with a relaxed hand in contact with the target, and connecting that to the rest of their relaxed body parts. Whichever is easier. Until they are ready to have it all be relaxed the whole time. Training order, while schools may have their official usual procedure, I think can be more effective sometimes when adapted to the individual. Conversely I suspect some of what we now take as doctrine, were specialized training for specific students to help them with their particular obstacles. Aside from the method of training, in usage, it is more straightforward. Because the most functional order is that 'Song' is maintained throughout the body everywhere, all at once, and all the time. If you do it in a sequence, a chain, for a particular movement, you are limited in what movements or applications can happen in the next moment. When you maintain 'song' throughout, you can initiate a variety of movements without preparation, without telegraphing. In this sense 'Song' is like a physical state of 'Wuji' that can give rise to Yin and Yang and all other possibilities. Thank you for asking a brilliant question! It's clear you are quite knowledgeable and a true practitioner of internal arts. Welcome and thank you!
A sequence? The true Taichi skill is when everything becomes one. Therefore, the sequence can be anything, and actually should be everything. We need to master all sequence combinations because in a real fight, we'll never be in an ideal situation, yet, we need to be able to issue power in any positions.
@@KelGhu" The true Taichi skill is when everything becomes one"-I agree with what you say, sometimes the structure of the body needs to be reorganized, you need to know how to master everything. Thank you.
Emphasize the relaxation, with just enough structure to not collapse. Slowly test with a partner and gradually speed up. Far beyond tensing force, let your body weight flow from back to forward, through your relaxed body and fist. There are some practices which help teach this flow of momentum: Pole shaking Spear training Cracking whips Throwing knives in no spin technique These all emphasize a relaxed quality of the body to transmit momentum. Does that help clarify the mechanism for you?
Haha good question. You should look at the students of the school: 1. Are they showing that they are acquiring the skills you want? 2. Are they the type of people you want to be around? To be like? 3. Does the teacher communicate in a way that will be effective for you? That can give you some good ideas about the school. An authentic school will still want your money... But they should also help you get what you want. 😄
Thank you for responding I saw the video few days ago but when i relax should i feel like I'm about too fall when i relax but keeping everything up? How to understand between release and collapse?@@phoenixmountaintaichi
@@mindfulness-3good questions! Yes Song is releasing downwards. To keep from falling, you only release to the extent that your fascia relaxes and your body expands. We don’t have to relax so far that we start to fall over or down. Does that help you? 😃🙏
Tai Chi us basically Therapy in Action! The emotional attachment hit the nail on the head.
Good discussion. You have missed one important point about Song, though: If you are tense, according to Newton's law, if you hit someone the force will come back to you - ouch. But if you are Song, there is nothing for the force to come back to - much better.
Oh very good point! Thank you for adding to the discussion. I love how people can add to it like this and how helpful the comments and their discussions can be!
Greetings and thank you from down here in Australia. What can one say? Clear, scientific yet true to the depth of the art, engaging, educational, practical and applicable. Awesome mind, great spirit, fantastic guide! Lucky students! I am of the Wudang Swimming Dragon school but these lessons of yours are universal to all streams of Taiji. Thank you ☯️
Greetings! Thank you for the comment and compliments! It's very nice to know that people find the explanations helpful. I like how you call it "all the streams of Taiji." A nice symbolism there. Cheers! 😃
The link between emotion and fascia has not yet been scientifically established. But everyone who practices relaxation as well as qi gong and taichi) already knows that there is a relationship. Thank you Sifu for this demonstration
Very true! And anyone that has experienced a really great massage may have some experience about the relationship between emotion and fascia too.
I love science and its ability to systematize understanding and explain what we experience in life. And beyond science, we have enjoyed the warmth of the rising sun everyday before science explained how, and likewise, we can continue to enjoy the relaxation and benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong, until science fully explains it. I'm sure it will be very exciting when that happens and until then, cheers!
Wow you are great you're posting new videos with new information that hasn't yet been posted on RUclips as far as I know in English for sure! Thank you for more details now I know even more still not enough to apply the technique but my knowledge is getting better! Thank you!
I'm very glad to hear you are understanding more! If you like, you can share your experience and we can help you reach that success.
It a great teaching video. I am a long time Tai Chi practitioner and just realizing every thing you explain in this video a few years ago. 英雄所見略同，I am very happy to see someone is teaching the ‘true’ Taiji. Keep up the good work. Hope someday we could meet in person.😊
Thank you for the kind words! It's great fun to meet like minded 英雄 and friends on this journey. 😄 If you're ever in Southern California please do visit! And we will see what else we will realize and enjoy. 😄
I never thought of the fascia system as a hydraulic system before, but it explains so much.
Yes in a research on our body integrity, found that 30# of pressure can break the spine in nonliving tissue. But in a living person, we can support hundreds of pounds on our spine. Because our muscles and fascia create a network of pressure distribution that far exceeds what simple muscle pulleys and bone rigidity can accomplish.
Our fascia doesn't perfectly form a perfectly sealed hydraulic system like in our machinery, or seen in insects. This is why insects have truly incredible power weight ratios letting grasshoppers jump so high and ants lift so much more than their body weight. But we can still access this hydraulic-like aspects of strength, which is classically called 整勁 (complete power, integrated power).
Because what hydraulic systems do is utilize pumps to distribute pressure and convert force across liquids to create power and stability. And as you learn to integrate your body, which is 70% liquid, and coordinate the fascia and its pumps, you do begin to have this kind of benefit in your power generation! You can read too about Tensegrity to learn even more about biological pressure distribution systems. It's very fascinating how advanced, and capable, our body really is, when we truly access that potential we have inside, is it not?
Thanks for watching and commenting! 😄
Internal martial arts are all about fascia. Learn how to feel the network and use it.
@@KelGhuwell said!
Another great, thought provoking video. It seems relaxing our body and releasing into our fascia which gets us to the state of song, allows us to drop our "personal confinement." 😊 I never thought of releasing into the fascia as part of song. That really helps to define it and helps me to visualize it. I also like the way you wove in hydraulics, tensegrity and then the psychoemotional outcome as well. Thank you!
Haha about personal confinement. And yes you're right to point out the benefit of using fascia as the relaxation target. Because I think many people are indeed relaxing for 'Song', and when they realize they can release even deeper into the fascia, they would discover a new level of comfort, strength, and Tai Chi joy!
I certainly have experienced more Tai Chi joy since learning from you. I'm very grateful. 🎉
Thank you for all your videos. You're one of the best sifus in explaining this stuff.
I'm Erwin from Italy. I have a question for you.
I learned the Yang family taiji long form (108) a few years ago in France. Then I moved back to Italy in 2018. Around where I live there aren't any really good taiji teachers, so I keep practicing on my own.
But lately I'm rather back to the practice of Zhan Zhuang.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel that Zhan Zhuang is the best basic practice for Song and Jin. It allows you to find the correct "alignment" of all body structures. With taiji I always felt that we're too much involved in the dynamics of the form, like a distraction for the mind, which was hindering the real internal work. Many say that you start the form only when you have a proper and strong energy alignment, so that you're able to express the "force" in many ways while mooving.
Now, another question arises, since that I'm only a beginner, although I'm a very fast learner, even when self-taught.
How do you know you got a proper Song and Jin? I mean, what does it feel like? If you do a solo practice like in my case, how can you understand that you've got to a good level to be able to express your qi in the way you show in all your videos?
Thanks in advance for your kind reply.
Thank you for your kind words! You are right that Zhan Zhuang standing is an effective way to work on Song and Jin. Because any tension and misalignment quickly becomes apparent. Beyond that, the form can also teach Song when you practice it with the right intention. And that intention is to be still and relaxed, with your awareness of relaxation spreading outward beyond your body, while having the intention of moving, and allowing a sense of movement to begin as your body automatically performs the move, as if you are sleep walking. In this way, you are following the classical teachings of the Spirit issues the Intent, the Intent leads the Qi, the Qi moves the body.
And what it feels like is that your body seems to move automatically, as if you are surfing on a wave, effortlessly gliding forward. And the wave is the Qi led by your intent. This also leads to the Neijin, internal force, produced by the extra corporeal Lingqi, Spiritual Qi.
That is a key distinction in Zhan Zhuang and Tai Chi form practice. Zhan Zhuang, like you say, tends to develop Jin, the connected force of the physical elements of the body, very powerful and very quick. Taichi's Neijin is more easily developed in movement, such as through its form or Neigong exercises. But only when practiced with the right intent, as you surely have seen many people practice it without this type of success. Luckily it is quite doable and successful with the right instruction. Many of my students have succeeded in this way and visitors to my class are often pleasantly surprised by this. 😄
Beyond form, and before form, we do a lot of small, short practices of Qigong and movement to develop the 5 stages that lead to this skill:
Stage 1: Fascia Mastery - feel the fascia and use the fascia in a way that helps us to stop being unnecessarily forceful. This helps us get to Song.
Stage 2: Song Mastery - learn to release Song and body weight to be powerful in all directions, with upper and lower body, to powerfully move people in a relaxed way. This opens up the capacity to feel the Qi within your body.
Stage 3: Qi Mastery - Discover and learn to control the Yin and Yang of Qi inside your body, and how to enhance your movements with it. This opens you awareness of Qi in yourself and others and beyond.
Stage 4: Neijin Mastery - Unlock the awareness of Qi beyond your body to produce Tai Chi's Peng Lu Ji An Cai Lie Zhou Kao. You become familiar with working with the unseen in form and in push hands in a way that further opens your awareness of Qi.
Stage 5: Yi Mastery - Based on the expanded awareness from Neijin and Qi, you begin to become accustomed to the deepest Song that allows you to perceive Yi and use Yi at the highest level of Tai Chi. This is the most subtle skill but also the most immediate.
Does this give you a sense of what Tai Chi practice that helps you develop more of this is like? The fascinating thing is that this is not necessarily a difficult and long journey. I had a talented student visit me from afar for a week of intensive practice and they learned to perceive and work all 5 stages in a week. They are admittedly talented but it shows what is possible! I've generally seen everyone who works at it succeed within 1-1.5 years.
Thank you for reading my reply! You asked a really good question and I got absorbed into fully explaining it. Hope it helps and please ask if you have other questions! 😄🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi I really really appreciated your long generous reply. Thank you so much.
This answers more than my few questions.
I do actually have another one, maybe silly or maybe not.
It's about expressing this internal firce. We always see it demontrated on human beings.
What about animals and especially inanimate heavy objects?
Can all this have an effect on the energy field of boulders or tree trunks or whatever? Like, for example, being able to lift a 200kg boulder as if it weighted only a few hundred grams.
Have you ever seen a master doing this sort of stuff?
As for animals, have ever tried it?
It could be very interesting to make a viedo about these two subjects. Noone has ever posted such videos 😁😉
Anyway, if you ever happen to come to northern Italy for a workshop let me know 🙏
All the best again
Fascianating!
I think so too! Song is one of the key concepts of Tai Chi and is responsible for a lot of Tai Chi's health benefits as well as a key to its inner strength. Thank you for commenting!
So it's all about mechanics or so it seems to me from this video. Does Qi, Yi, Shen play any role in creating force in Tai Chi or is it just the biomechanics you described so clearly in this video? Thank you for another great video and for sharing this information with us, so grateful!
Very good question and it shows you're on the right track! You noticed this video is all about biomechanics. Beyond that, you would be right to recognize that as you establish a foundation above the comfort and stability of physical 'Song', you can really relax and allow Qi to flow. And it is your Shen and Yi that organizes and causes your relaxed body to work the way you want it to.
We focus on the physical elements because it is easier to establish. I can usually get new students to do this on their first day. Once they have that comfort and stability, it becomes easier to explore the more subtle elements of qi, shen, and Yi.
In the advanced elements of Yang Tai Chi, it's quite focused on Yi. Just as you might say that when racing cars, it really comes down to the driver. But we definitely want to pair the driver with a well built car, with well inflated tires. That's where the physical 'Song' comes in. When the driver has a car that is a joy to drive, he will drive more and improve faster, will he not?
In specific to creating force, your Yi generates a geometry that your Song supports, the force that is generated is indeed biomechanical. By that I mean you produce a physical force that is measurable with a scale or a dynamometer. There isn't some kind of invisible force field. However, your Yi and awareness of fascia interferes with your opponent's ability to generate their own force to resist. Your Qi and Shen creates a quality of experience that further disorganizes your opponent's capacity to resist. In this way, you can move 2000 kg with 4 ounce of force, or however that saying translates haha.
And if you measure the force scientifically, it IS just 4 ounces. And when you have mastery of Yi, Qi, and Shen, you can do a lot with 4 ounces. Just as we see great skaters, skiers, dancers, by mastering their body, balance, and gravity, they can create amazing movement that seems so effortless and light.
Thanks for the great question! I know you watched the explanation video on how Internal Power works
ruclips.net/video/8bBJxTAcaZQ/видео.html
So you have a sense of where this is building towards, from solid physical skills to subtle, less physical qualities. Enjoy your journey and keep asking questions! 🙌
@@phoenixmountaintaichi yet again, so grateful for the time and effort you put into explaining all of this! Thank you!
So i maintain lightness in the body and try to release?
Question about tension: Yang tcc uses bow stances a lot, like when you throw a punch moving forward. The front leg will contract and therefore getting tense. Could you please tell a bit how does one handle with the weighted leg tension?
Great question! The key isn't to have no tension, otherwise we would all be like slugs on the floor haha. The idea is to engage muscles only to the extent that it does not begin to deform your fascia.
It's like when you wear your pants and belt too tight, you have a hard time breathing because your stomache is pulled in too much. Similarly if your muscles constrict too much your fascia becomes limited and the Tensegrity, the 3d structure of your fascia and connective tissue, deforms.
So you can make now and arrow stance and go deeper to the extent that it does not tense up your muscles to the point that the fascia stiffens and deforms. And the more you can do that, the more powerful or more range of motion your Song can be and have. Does that answer your question? Thank you for asking! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi ty, it does answer. I thought it was something like that. your analogies were really easy to understand. I'm able to perform this stepping against a push on my chest, in bow stance, even in cat stance also, also to stay song and pull somebody resisting with all their strenght against my pull, and I know that if I contract certain parts of my body, I lose my balance instantly... . what amazes me is the fact that when I walk against a push, or even using palms, I can easily break partners balance, however when I try to extend my intention and create peng, no results so far... I feel I'm so close but can't figure out what I'm missing yet...
@@ChristianoStsThanks for sharing your success stories! Very excited for you! Song creates the physical conditions for Peng. Peng is the state of Yin and Yang energy flow that has an upward floating quality. Have you watched and tried our video about Song and the donut?
ruclips.net/video/fuliU4FUw_E/видео.html
And the short form highlighting float and sink? These are some crucial keys to Peng.
ruclips.net/video/cEvSqHZIj8w/видео.html
Let me know if these help you! 😃
@@phoenixmountaintaichi yes that donut idea I'm studying it, struggling with simultaneously expansion and sinking. Gonna watch the other one. Thanks a lot
@@ChristianoSts Great! The other one will help refine and clarify the yin and yang of sink and float :)
WOW, JUST DISCOVERED YOUR CHANNEL. I RECENTLY GOT INTERESTED IN INTERNAL MARTIAL ARTS, BUT DID NOT UNDERSTAND FASCIA AND SONG AND HOW TO GENERATE POWER. GREAT EXPLAINATION, THE BALLOON COMPARISON AND THE LINKS.
I'M MORE INTERESTED IN IT FOR HEALTH REASONS, BUT STILL WANT TO UNDERSTAND APPLICATION.
MY QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU PUNCH WITHOUT TENSING THE FIST AT THE LAST SECOND WITHOUT BREAKING YOUR HAND (I UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT THE ONE IN PUNCH AND YOU ARE USING YOUR FASCIA TO HAVE THE WHOLE BODY WEIGHT BEHIND THE PUNCH)?DO YOU ONLY STRIKE THE BODY? BUT YOU COULD STILL HURT YOUR WRIST. GREAT CHANNEL.
Thank you for your comment! If your interest is in health then you're in the right place! Because it is the practice of 'Song' that provides a lot of the health benefits people get from Tai Chi practice.
When it comes to application and punching like that, you're right to recognize that you can only receive and deliver a certain amount of force like that without injuring yourself. And that means when we punch like this we are delivering something aside from a ton of force. Like if I punch one of those punch power measuring machines that people play with at the arcade, I would not necessarily score very high. Beyond force, this relaxed state of Song let's you transmit something aside from kinetic energy, that allows you to affect their balance, coordination, and state of their body.
On this channel I'm gradually sharing and building people's understanding of the inner practices of Tai Chi. Your intuition is good and asking about something that we'll be exploring soon! Welcome to the channel! 😀
Well found Sifu, there is an exact sequence, a precise order, to release the joints and the fascia (fan song) for example first shoulders then hips then knees and go on... before performing a movement, a pushing or pulling action , a fajing, or any application that is a chinna or a fist.
Each internal school has its own sequence, following the same principles but placing awareness and internal proprioception in a different order.
If so, which is the most functional?
Hi Manuel, very interesting question! When it comes to training to develop 'Song' everywhere, different styles, schools, movement, and even students, may have their own sequence. What is the best sequence to release to become familiar with Song? In my opinion, it is whatever sequence is easiest for each individual.
Suppose my student has a shoulder injury and has a hard time releasing tension there. I would observe him to determine, or ask him where he feels most at ease. Suppose it's his legs. Then I would deepen his sense of 'Song' in his legs with drills and get him to become aware of what that feels like. And then have him expand that experience to his hips, back, chest, arms, and then finally to his shoulders. Because when everything else feels at ease it can become easier to bring ease to where he is not ease.
And suppose a student is too tense in his fist when he punches, I would train them to have song in pushing with palms first until that's comfortable and stable, and then to ask them to push with a relaxed fist, by releasing tension from body into hand, and also by initiating with a relaxed hand in contact with the target, and connecting that to the rest of their relaxed body parts. Whichever is easier. Until they are ready to have it all be relaxed the whole time.
Training order, while schools may have their official usual procedure, I think can be more effective sometimes when adapted to the individual. Conversely I suspect some of what we now take as doctrine, were specialized training for specific students to help them with their particular obstacles.
Aside from the method of training, in usage, it is more straightforward. Because the most functional order is that 'Song' is maintained throughout the body everywhere, all at once, and all the time. If you do it in a sequence, a chain, for a particular movement, you are limited in what movements or applications can happen in the next moment. When you maintain 'song' throughout, you can initiate a variety of movements without preparation, without telegraphing. In this sense 'Song' is like a physical state of 'Wuji' that can give rise to Yin and Yang and all other possibilities.
Thank you for asking a brilliant question! It's clear you are quite knowledgeable and a true practitioner of internal arts. Welcome and thank you!
A sequence? The true Taichi skill is when everything becomes one. Therefore, the sequence can be anything, and actually should be everything. We need to master all sequence combinations because in a real fight, we'll never be in an ideal situation, yet, we need to be able to issue power in any positions.
@@KelGhu" The true Taichi skill is when everything becomes one"-I agree with what you say, sometimes the structure of the body needs to be reorganized, you need to know how to master everything.
Thank you.
how does one find the balance between
relaxation and tension to optimize
the force behind a punch?
Emphasize the relaxation, with just enough structure to not collapse. Slowly test with a partner and gradually speed up. Far beyond tensing force, let your body weight flow from back to forward, through your relaxed body and fist.
There are some practices which help teach this flow of momentum:
Pole shaking
Spear training
Cracking whips
Throwing knives in no spin technique
These all emphasize a relaxed quality of the body to transmit momentum.
Does that help clarify the mechanism for you?
Knife throwing...yay! That is so fun and somehow I missed that it helps with practicing relaxation to reach song. 😊
@@InternalTaiChi fun and cool are good enough reasons to do it too 😁
😁🔪
the second question
how do i figure out
which one of my area
Tai Chi school is authentic
from those that are
there to separate me
from my money.
Haha good question. You should look at the students of the school:
1. Are they showing that they are acquiring the skills you want?
2. Are they the type of people you want to be around? To be like?
3. Does the teacher communicate in a way that will be effective for you?
That can give you some good ideas about the school. An authentic school will still want your money... But they should also help you get what you want. 😄
👋 how to intend to relax?
My favorite exercise to relax into Song is in this video: ruclips.net/video/J0RRN0bDxf4/видео.html
Thank you for asking! 😃🙏
Thank you for responding I saw the video few days ago but when i relax should i feel like I'm about too fall when i relax but keeping everything up? How to understand between release and collapse?@@phoenixmountaintaichi
@@phoenixmountaintaichido I need the intention to release down continuously?
@@mindfulness-3good questions! Yes Song is releasing downwards. To keep from falling, you only release to the extent that your fascia relaxes and your body expands. We don’t have to relax so far that we start to fall over or down. Does that help you? 😃🙏
Yes thanks