Hou Chunxiu’s Secret Body Training Method

Practicing the legs and hands also requires practicing the body. The method of practicing the body is inseparable from the hands and feet. The so-called forward and backward, looking left and right, and central stability are all completed by the cooperation of the hands and feet. Hold the chest, pull the back, open the spine and straighten the chest. If you don’t understand, your whole body will be empty. Looking around is stillness, advancing and retreating is movement, and central stability is change and transformation. Only by knowing it can you achieve the state of leaving no trace. Sticking, sticking, following, the body has sacrifices and gains. The waist and hips are the banners, and the hands and feet are the flags. They are connected from top to bottom. The spine is straight and the power is spontaneous. The qi sinks and the dan strength comes out. Crouching to store strength, standing up to attack, this is the innate ability. Turning the shoulders and sending the hips, leaning on the body to fight, is the acquired learning. Extremely flexible and then extremely strong, sinking the qi in the dantian and running it through the meridians, then the inside is extremely strong, and the outside is strong and strong. Who can compare with it? Moving sideways, twisting back, central stability, transformation, dodging and moving, this is the work of the waist and body, which shows the importance of the waist and body. Knowing the importance of waist and body, we must practice the method of body training.

The method of body training is divided into two parts: external training and internal training:

External training method:

1, Practice shoulder training.

Body training starts with shoulder training. When practicing shoulder training, stand in Tai Chi Kaili Zhan Zhuang. First, practice shoulder rotation (circling). Relax your shoulders. Take the cervical thoracic spine as the axis, rotate forward and backward, horizontally, up and down, etc. The circle can be large or small. When rotating, the crotch and hips follow the linkage, rotating clockwise and counterclockwise, and coordinating naturally. Then practice shoulder rotation (transfer), transfer forward and backward, up and down, and left and right. When practicing, it is important to relax the shoulders. Do not use force. Using force means not knowing. If you do not know, it is useless to practice. It is divided into single-person practice and double-person practice. Single-person practice rotation (circle rotation) and rotation (transfer rotation). The speed is slow at first, and then practice fast. When you can cooperate with the crotch, you can shake it. The shaking speed should be fast, and the main thing is to sink the qi. From the appearance, it looks like a landslide. When fighting with others, when the stalemate, a shake and turn will be unstoppable. Two people practice, one person puts both hands on the other person’s shoulders, pulls and pushes, from small force to big force, and then shakes the two hands, and the other person relaxes his shoulders and turns, and each turn must be accompanied by crotch strength. After practicing for a certain period of time, suddenly shake, so that the other person can feel a deep internal force coming out.

3, Practice sideways running.

When practicing, first practice the wild horse split mane style of marching, from slow to fast, just like the hands, legs, and body of the wild horse split mane frame, the center of gravity should be transferred quickly, and the footwork should be stable. Then practice the sideways running of the Bagua pile, and walk sideways in the Bagua wooden pile. If there is no wooden pile, use sandbags to place it. The body must not be tilted when running. Three people practice, one person is the main practitioner, and they run around the two people in the “8” shape, passing sideways, with light steps and fast backward steps. Two people run sideways, two people stand side by side, and the distance is only enough for one person to pass sideways. The practitioner relies on eyesight to practice without touching anyone and pass sideways.

3, Practice waist and hips.

First practice flat turning, Tai Chi opening standing method, with the waist and sacrum as the axis to turn big circles, small circles, spirals, from small to large. The center of gravity moves with the change of the left and right feet. When practicing, lead the rotation with the mind. Achieve a state of turning like not turning, not turning like turning. The circle can be round or flat, but there must be no edges and corners, which will give the opponent an opportunity to take advantage. Then practice standing rotation, still Tai Chi opening standing, can only be practiced on one side, when practicing, with the femoral head as the axis point, the crotch makes up and down front and back circles. When practicing, stand firmly, do not lift the toes and heels. Also lead the rotation with the mind, the hands, feet, and body are integrated, do not let them be stiff, but be flexible.

Internal training method:

Qi sinks into Dantian, and Qi circulates in the meridians, which is called Dan training. It is divided into two training methods: static and dynamic. Static training is the breathing training method. Dynamic training is the Qi circulation method.

1, Summary of Body Training

    Taijiquan not only requires practicing the posture, mastering the routines and various moves, but also mastering the power path and various changes; in addition to practicing the posture, you must also practice the hand and leg exercises. Here, I want to introduce my understanding of the Hou family’s secret body training method.

    What is the body training method? It is what the article “Practicing Body Training” says: “Practicing legs and hands requires practicing the body, and the method of practicing the body cannot be separated from the hands and feet. The so-called forward, backward, left, right, center, etc. body methods are all completed by the cooperation of hands and feet.” In the process of learning and practicing Taijiquan, not only must the posture be practiced correctly, but also time must be taken to practice the exercises, such as hand, leg, and body exercises. The so-called upper practice is to practice peng, lu, ji, an, cai, li, zhou, and kao; the middle practice is to practice advancing, retreating, rising, falling, leaping, flashing, round, and turning; the lower practice is to practice tangling, kneeling, picking, lifting, slashing, chopping, hanging, and kicking. The practice of the frame should be done on the body, so practicing the body skills is one of the important parts of Tai Chi. Why is Mr. Hou’s listening, transformation, grasping, and releasing, his power and force, so fast, so powerful, and exquisite? He practices various single-training skills every day, which are called auxiliary skills. In fact, they are very important methods to increase power and are also required courses for teachers. In the past, it was rare to hear that other teachers had such practice. It is a training of strength and skills, and also the role of body skills and techniques. When the teacher was teaching push hands and free fighting, although he was nearly 70 years old, in the changes of boxing skills, his steps shuttled back and forth, and his movements were as agile as arrows, flashing and disappearing. In a blink of an eye, the teacher was quietly behind me. That kind of body method and speed are hard to describe. Nowadays, few people who practice Tai Chi have this kind of training method. It is a training method for traditional Tai Chi skills.

    For the specific practice of physical training, the first thing to do is to stand upright, that is, to be empty and connected from head to toe, such as empty and energetic top strength, chest and back, shoulders and elbows, not leaning forward or backward, and keeping the center stable. These basic theoretical common sense are described in detail in many Tai Chi books and periodicals, so I will not repeat them here.

    We mainly talk about the body method, so-called: “What is the body method? The body moves forward and backward with the hands and feet, and turns back and moves forward; the body turns back and looks back, the latter is the front, looks left and right, vertical and horizontal, high and low, vertical and horizontal, vertical and horizontal according to the situation.

    Practice the body first to practice the shoulder, refer to the “shoulder practice method” in “Practice the Body” for details. The method of practicing the shoulder is actually to practice the release of strength, which can practice a kind of shock and rebound strength, and the release of this strength is very powerful, like a landslide, its momentum is like a bamboo, swift and shocking, and it is released according to the situation. Sometimes it is better to practice with two people, from slow to fast, until the vibration strength is released, which can make the opponent feel the heavy and shaking power. There is also a very important role. Teacher Hou’s shoulder is trained to be a flexible ball-like shoulder, like a universal joint. His adjustment and his direction are unbelievable. No matter what tricks you use on him, What direction, what action, even at the point of force being hit, it seems that one shot can knock him down, in this instant, the teacher’s shoulder turns or moves, that is, the point of force you want to hit has undergone a qualitative change, plus the teacher changes his crotch; that is, it is the position and time for you to be hit. In this technique, it is difficult to explain it clearly in words, which is the so-called “experts see the doorway”. There are only a few words for real technology, and the key point is clear. Teacher Hou said when learning boxing: “The key to martial arts is one or two words, and the source of the mind is not many. If you can get the key, you will end it with one word, and if you don’t get the key, you will be scattered forever.” The reason is also here.

    2, Sideways shuttle method

      For specific training methods, please refer to “Practice Sideways Method” in “Practice Body Exercises”.

      The Zhaobao Tai Chi method of advancing, with the wild horse splitting mane style, is a typical way to advance and open the way The typical body method for moving backward is to roll the arm backwards, which is the basic body method for moving forward and backward. Of course, this body method is not only used to defeat others, but it has a certain combat effect. Not only the hands should have the strength of the “peng”, but also the shoulders and back can use the strength of the “kang”. The hands, feet and body are all there. It is said that to move forward, the body should move forward, like a pioneer opening the way. It is also suitable for individual practice. As for the practice of Bagua and Jiugongzhuang, we have practiced them before. At first, there were certain rules, and then there were no fixed rules. The main thing we practiced was a kind of dragon-swimming body method, moving sideways and quickly, moving quickly, left and right, ups and downs, and shuttling back and forth. In the past, we used to use bamboo poles as marks, and we could only run sideways. Later, we practiced shuttling in dense woods, which was quite similar to the dragon-shaped swimming Baguazhang. Not only do we shuttle back and forth in the woods, but more importantly… We take the tree as a hypothetical enemy. While passing by sideways, we hit the set parts of the tree, such as the main acupuncture points of a person. After practicing, we can also practice with two people. When we touch the opponent, we use one hand to hit the opponent’s attacking hand, and at the same time, we quickly shuttle sideways and pass behind him in an instant. In the technique of Sanda, this is the key to determining victory or defeat. Without this skill of shuttle, you cannot fight with others. For example, when fighting with other boxers, or boxers, if you are hit by the opponent a few times, I think the power of this heavy punch is enough to make you fall to the ground. But between the time of being hit and not being hit, in a blink of an eye, you have already shuttled to the right side or the left side of the opponent, and then attacked the opponent, making the opponent confused and having to passively take the beating.

      When we practice sideways, our speed is as fast as thunder and our actions are as fast as shooting arrows. But in real fighting, we still wait for action in stillness. As the saying goes, quiet as an autumn moon, moving like a gust of wind. Quiet like a woman, seizing like a tiger. It is not a random move. You must judge the situation and be simple and practical. Hit the acupoints. This is quite detailed in Master Hou’s “Essentials of Taijiquan”. It’s just that some of the fighting methods have been lost or are not applicable in today’s society. But the key techniques are still very important. According to the body method we trained, the requirements are very strict. The body and the moves must be very precise, just like shooting an arrow at the bull’s eye, hitting the target every time without missing a single shot. Of course, you need to practice frequently, forward and backward, left and right, and shuttle forward and attack.

      3, Practice the waist and hips

        See “Practice the waist and hip rotation method” in “Physical Exercises”.

        Before practicing the waist and hips, the specific method of turning circles is to rotate the waist and hips while rotating and transferring the shoulders. It can be practiced separately or separately. When practicing the waist and hips to a certain extent, you can practice them together in the boxing frame, and cooperate with the left and right rotation of the waist and hips when two people push hands to neutralize the opponent’s strength. This is a secret technique of Zhaobao Taijiquan. The author was deeply inspired by Master Hou’s sliding shoulders and moving hips. Our teacher Li Zongyou also pointed out that the waist and hips are the hub of the entire Tai Chi movement. It is like the main axis of the gears of the body. Due to its start and its operation, the large and small gears drive the operation of all gears. Tai Chi is the same. Through the start of the crotch and hips, the movement of the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and lower limbs is driven. Regarding the role of the waist and hips, not only in the boxing stance, but also in pushing hands, they play an absolute advantage.