Tai Chi im Prenzlauer Berg - Ma Tsun Kuen Tai Chi Chuan

Fernando Chédel, Febrero 2017 Transmision..

"Once the opponent’s heels lift and his body is no longer stable, I release energy along the direction he is leaning, and without the slightest effort he is made to stumble far away.
A Taiji Boxing essay [Understanding How to Practice] says: “Store power like drawing a bow. Issue power like loosing an arrow.”
When the opponent lifts, my energy is already stored.
I follow along with his direction, sinking and loosening completely, and send him away like loosing an arrow.
Sunzi said [Art of War, chapter 5]: “The power is like a loaded crossbow. The moment is like a flick of the trigger.”
This is exactly the idea."

- Answering Questions About Taiji, by Chen Weiming

Grandmaster Yang Chengfu orally provided the Ten Essential Principles for the practice of Tai Chi Chuan to his senior student, Chen Wei Ming, who recorded the instructions in writing. Chen Wei Ming helped his teacher write three books on Tai Chi Chuan. The ten principles are provided in the following material:

1. Empty, Lively, Pushing Up and Energetic
‘Pushing up and energetic’ means the posture of the head is upright and straight and the spirit is infused into its apex. You may not use strength. To use strength makes the back of the neck stiff, whereupon the chi and blood cannot circulate freely. You must have an intention which is empty, lively (or free) and natural. Without intention that is empty, lively, pushing up and energetic, you won’t be able to raise your spirit. [Note: This four-character phrase is probably the most difficult one in all of Tai Chi literature to translate. I have chosen to regard each of the four words as filling the function of a predicate or verb-phrase. Another fairly obvious approach would be to take the first two as adverbial and the last two as subject-predicate: “Empty and lively, the apex is energetic.” Many other interpretations are possible. J. Karin]

2. Hold in the Chest and Slightly Round The Back
The phrase ‘hold in the chest’ means the chest is slightly reserved inward, which causes the chi to sink to the dantian. The chest must not be puffed out; if you do so then the chi is blocked in the chest region. The upper body becomes heavy and the lower body light, and it will become easy for the heels to float upward. ‘Slightly round the back’ makes the chi stick to the back. If you are able to hold in the chest then you will naturally be able to slightly round the back. If you can slightly round the back, then you will be able to emit strength from the spine, which others cannot oppose.

3. Relax the Waist
The waist is the commander of the whole body. Only after you are able to relax the waist will the two legs have strength and the lower body is stable. The alternation of empty and full all derive from the turning of the waist. Hence the saying: ‘the wellspring of destiny lies in the tiny interstice of the waist. [In Chinese thought, the waist tends to be regarded as the lower back rather than a circle girdling the middle of the body. Whenever there is a lack of strength in your form, you must look for it in the waist and legs. J. Karin]

4. Separate Empty and Full
In the art of Tai Chi Chuan, separating full and empty is the number one rule. If the whole body sits on the right leg, then the right leg is deemed ‘full’ and the left leg ‘empty.’ If the whole body sits on the left leg, then the left leg is deemed ‘full’ and the right leg ‘empty.’ Only after you are able to distinguish full and empty will turning movements be light, nimble and almost without effort; if you can’t distinguish them, then your steps will be heavy and sluggish. You won’t be able to stand stably, and it will be easy for an opponent to control you.

5. Sink the Shoulders and Drop the Elbows
Sinking the shoulders means the shoulders relax, open, and hang downward. If you can’t relax them downward, the shoulders pop up and then the chi follows and goes upward, causing the whole body to lack strength. Dropping the elbows means the elbows are relaxed downward. If the elbows are elevated then the shoulders are unable to sink. When you use this to push someone they won’t go far. It’s like the cut-off energy of external martial arts. [External martial arts are thought to use energy from parts or sections of the body, as opposed to the ‘whole-body’ energy of Tai Chi.]

6. Use Intent Rather than Force
The Tai Chi Classics say, “this is completely a matter of using intent rather than force.” When you practice Tai Chi Chuan, let the entire body relax and extend. Don’t employ even the tiniest amount of coarse strength, which would cause musculoskeletal or circulatory blockage with the result that you restrain or inhibit yourself. Only then will you be able to lightly and nimbly change and transform, circling naturally. Some wonder: if I don’t use force, how can I generate force? The net of acupuncture meridians and channels throughout the body are like the waterways on top of the earth. If the waterways are not blocked, the water circulates; if the meridians are not impeded the chi circulates.

If you move the body about with stiff force, you swamp the meridians. Chi and blood are impeded, movements are not nimble; all someone has to do is begin to guide you and your whole body is moved. If you use intent rather than force, wherever the intent goes, so goes the chi. In this way, because the chi and blood are flowing and circulating every day throughout the entire body and never stagnating, you will get true internal strength after a lot of practice. That’s what the Tai Chi Classics mean by “Only by being extremely soft are you able to achieve extreme hardness.”

Somebody who is really adept at Tai Chi has arms, which seem like silk wrapped around iron, immensely heavy. Someone who practices external martial arts, when he is using his force, seems very strong. But when not using force, he is very light and floating. By this we can see that his force is actually external, or superficial strength. The force used by external martial artists is especially easy to lead or deflect; hence it is not of much value.

7. Synchronize Upper and Lower Body
In the Tai Chi Classics ‘‘synchronize upper and lower body” is expressed as: “With its root in the foot, emitting from the leg, governed by the waist, manifesting in the hands and fingers – from feet to legs to waist – complete everything in one impulse.” Literally “one chi.” This could also be rendered as “one breath.” When hands move, the waist moves and legs move, and the gaze moves along with them. Only then can we say the upper and the lower body are synchronized. If one part doesn’t move then it is not coordinated with the rest.

8. Match Up Inner and Outer
What we are practicing in Tai Chi depends on the spirit, hence the saying: “The spirit is the general, the body his troops.” If you can raise your spirit, your movements will naturally be light and nimble, the form nothing more than empty and full, open and closed. When we say ‘open,’ we don’t just mean open the arms or legs; the mental intent must open along with the limbs. When we say ‘close,’ we don’t just mean close the arms or legs; the mental intent must close along with the limbs. If you can combine inner and outer into a single impulse, then they become a seamless whole.

9. Practice Continuously and Without Interruption
Strength in external martial arts is a kind of acquired, brute force, so it has a beginning and an end, times when it continues and times when it is cut off, such that when the old force is used up and new force hasn’t yet arisen. There is a moment when it is extremely easy for the person to be constrained by an opponent. In Tai Chi, we use intent rather than force, and from beginning to end, smoothly and ceaselessly, complete a cycle and return to the beginning, circulating endlessly. That is what the Tai Chi Classics mean by “Like the Yangtze or Yellow River, endlessly flowing.” And again: “Moving strength is like unreeling silk threads.” These both refer to unifying into a single impulse.

10. Seek Quiescence within Movement
External martial artists prize leaping and stomping, and they do this until breath (chi) and strength are exhausted, so that after practicing they are all out of breath. In Tai Chi Chuan we use quiescence to overcome movement, and even in movement, still have quiescence. So when you practice the form, the slower the better! When you do it slowly your breath becomes deep and long, the chi sinks to the dantian, and naturally there is no harmful constriction or enlargement of the blood vessels. If the student tries carefully they may be able to comprehend the meaning behind these words.

Transmitted Orally by Grandmaster Yang Chengfu

Recorded by Chen Weiming

Yang Jianhou - The boxing song passed down by Xu Yusheng

🌀 Yang Style Tai Chi Song

Yang Luchan (1799-1872), the founder of Yang Style Tai Chi, learned Chen Style Old Frame Tai Chi from Chen Changxing (1771-1853) in Chenjiagou, Henan Province. To adapt to the needs of training, he gradually reformed the routine practice method. After several generations of processing and revision, difficult movements such as jumping, shaking feet, exerting force, and falling splits were changed into easier movements. Finally, the characteristics of no jumping, no shaking, no speed, no exertion, loose and soft, gentle, uniform speed, continuous, both hard and soft, and relaxed and generous postures were formed.

Yang Luchan's second son, Yang Banhou (1837-1892), initially adopted the small frame, while his third son, Yang Jianhou (1839-1917), initially adopted the medium frame. Yang Luchan passed the technique on to Quan You (1834-1902), who later became Yang Banhou's disciple and practiced both the large and small frames. Yang Banhou had few successors; Yang Jianhou passed it on to his third son, Yang Chengfu (1883-1936), who refined and formalized the Yang style's large frame. Yang Jianhou then passed it on to Xu Yusheng (1879-1945). Quan You passed it on to his son, Wu Jianquan (1870-1942), who refined and formalized it into Wu-style Tai Chi. Quan You then passed it on to Wang Maozhai and others. The Tai Chi routines taught by each branch gradually evolved.
The following is a list of boxing songs collected over the years.

🌀 Yang Jianhou - Song of the Boxing Manual Transmitted by Xu Yusheng

🍥 Tai Chi starts with Lan Que Wei, and then comes Danbian with Lifting Hands.

🍥 The White Crane Spreads Its Wings requires calmness and continuous knee-hugging step technique to defend.

🍥 Repeat the P**a style in a circular motion, and be careful not to lose your mind.

🍥 The white crane spreads its wings and steps on its knees, and the inner energy of the gods can last.

🍥 Then move forward and block the punch, like sealing and closing the cross hands.

🍥 He returns to the mountain with a tiger in his arms, his posture is slow and graceful, and he looks at the elbow and beats it with vigor.

🍥 The monkey in the inverted chariot continues to fly diagonally, and the lifting handle connects to the crane spreading its wings.

🍥 He hugged his knees and walked as far as the bottom of the sea, and punched the body from behind with a fan.

🍥 Not only use the forward step to block and punch, but also look at the forward step to embrace the sparrow tail.

🍥 It is important to distinguish between Single Whip and Cloud Hands, and Single Whip and High Scouting Horse He Wei.

🍥 He spread his legs to the left and right, turned around and kicked, then hugged his knees and hit Jun Mofei.

🍥 Turn over in the posture of white snake spitting out its tongue, step forward to block and kick.

🍥 The tiger follows him on both sides, and he turns around and kicks his feet so that the wind blows past his ears.

🍥 Turn around and kick as if to win glory, step forward, block, punch and spin.

🍥 Like a closed cross hand, holding the tiger and returning to the mountain with a single whip.

🍥 The wild horse spreads its mane and embraces the peacock's tail, while the jade girl shuttles around with her whole body in full posture.

🍥 Step forward and use the single whip to grab the quewei, and then use the cloud hand single whip to move downwards.

🍥 The golden rooster stands on one leg, with the left and right sides separated, and the monkey in the chariot is carrying a slanted flying wheel behind it.

🍥 Lift your hands and lift the crane to spread its wings, then bend your knees and walk like a needle in the sea.

🍥 Fan the opponent from behind and withdraw the body to punch, then step forward to block the punch and look for it in sequence.

🍥 Then he stepped forward to do the Lan Que Wei move, and the Single Whip Cloud Hand move had profound meaning.

🍥 The single whip moves high up and then the left and right cross kicks follow.

🍥 Step forward and block the Sparrow Tail move, and don't change your Single Whip posture.

🍥 The magpies fly across the branches with great spirit, and I step forward to catch the sparrows with great enthusiasm.

🍥 Don't hide when performing Single Whip. Don't use too much force when performing Seven Stars.

🍥 Step back and stride over the tiger to train your energy, then turn your feet and swing the lotus to achieve success.

🍥 The enemy is hard to stop when you draw your bow and shoot the tiger, and it is unpredictable when you step forward to block it.

🍥 The hands are like a seal or a close, and the final hall is closed with Tai Chi.

(To be continued in the next issue: The boxing song transmitted by the Yang Banhou system)