There are high and low postures when practicing Tai Chi. What kind of posture should be chosen when practicing? This is a question worth serious consideration. People who are new to Tai Chi often think that low posture means good kung fu, and high posture means no kung fu, and they are just standing to practice boxing. In fact, the level of kung fu and the level of posture when practicing boxing cannot be simply proportional or inversely proportional.
According to the older generation, the postures for practicing boxing are divided into low, medium and high postures, each with its own strengths and advantages. The goals of each stage of boxing practice are different, and the height of the posture is also different. Especially when practicing traditional Tai Chi, you must have a clear understanding of this so that you can practice boxing clearly.
The following is a description of the posture.
1, Low posture training
Practicing boxing with low posture has high training intensity and consumes a lot of physical energy. It is an intensive training of lower body kung fu. For example, the range of motion of the hip joint is increased; the support of the lower limbs is strengthened; it is conducive to exercising the flexibility of the waist and hips. When practicing boxing, the posture is low, which is conducive to moving the center of gravity downward and stabilizing the lower body. When practicing the lower body in the low-power stance, you should also pay attention to the specifications and standards of the boxing routines, the changes in the direction of boxing, and lay a solid foundation in body shape, footwork, and hand shape. This is the stage of learning rules and practicing kung fu. Practicing Tai Chi in the low-power stance is to stretch the muscles and bones, and to practice the muscles, bones, and appearance. When practicing in the low-power stance, it is taboo to have the boxing stance fluctuate. Except for the lower stance and independent movements, it is required to be completed at a horizontal height as much as possible.
Because the steps of the low-power stance are relatively large, the body is mostly supported by the body’s own strength when practicing boxing. After the front and back step distances and the left and right step widths are widened, the tailbone and the heels cannot be centered front and back, and the two hip roots cannot be closed, making it difficult to emit the whole body’s strength. Because the body movement is controlled by the body’s own strength, the changes in virtuality and reality are difficult to handle flexibly, and the center of gravity often moves unsmoothly, making it difficult to achieve continuous boxing. Practicing Tai Chi with a low-power stance puts too much pressure on the legs, especially on the knee joints, which can easily cause damage. It is also difficult for the hip and knee joints to loosen and the internal energy to sink.
When practicing Tai Chi with a low-power stance, the angle between the thigh and the calf is small when doing horse stance and bow stance, but the minimum should not be less than 90 degrees to avoid forming an M-shaped crotch. At this time, it should be noted that the front knee should not be bent too much when doing bow stance, and the outer edge of the back foot should not be lifted up; when sitting back, the buttocks should not protrude outwards, and the upper body should not lean forward.
Some people think that practicing a low-power stance “lowers the center of gravity of the human body and strengthens stability.” In fact, this is a one-sided understanding. While enhancing stability, flexibility is inevitably lost. Because practicing Tai Chi with a low-power stance “shows skill”, many people in the industry still use a low-power stance to practice Tai Chi.
2, Qi training with a medium-power stance
Practicing Tai Chi with a medium-power stance is a commonly used practice method in practicing Tai Chi. The middle-frame boxing posture is moderate in height, which is very beneficial for practicing the transformation of virtuality and reality in relaxation and sinking of qi and lightness. You can naturally develop the habit of abdominal reverse breathing in the process of practicing relaxation and sinking, so as to achieve the purpose of sinking qi into Dantian. The focus of practicing middle-frame boxing is on the whole body, seeking the unity of inside and outside, and the opening and closing of the mind drives the movement of the limbs. The change of virtuality and reality is no longer controlled by the original force, but the change of virtuality and reality produced by relaxation and lightness. At this time, you can feel the relaxation and liveliness everywhere when practicing boxing, such as loose waist and hips, loose knees and ankles, loose feet and hands, loose shoulders and elbows, loose head and neck, and loose chest and back. The change of virtuality and reality in moving forward and backward should be completed in the exchange process of relaxing and sinking the force and returning to the top. The movement of the center of gravity should be light and natural, with one point of reality and one point of virtuality, just right. Continuous and spontaneous.
The practice of Zhonggongjia focuses more on the fullness and flexibility of the fist, stretching the limbs, and letting the mind go far. It focuses on the three-dimensional operation of the fist, getting rid of the constraints of practicing boxing at a horizontal height, and focusing on the coordination of hand, eye, body, method and step.
Qi sinking into Dantian is the goal that must be achieved in Zhonggongjia boxing, but this is only the first step. It is also necessary to gradually complete the relaxation of strength to the soles of the feet, rooting into the ground, elasticity of the whole body, and integration of peng, luo, ji, an, cai, lie, elbow and lean. This is the stage of abiding by the rules and following the rules.
3, Practice nothingness in Gaogongjia
The practice of Gaojia is to practice lightness and flexibility. In the old saying, it is called Anlun. All the large and small joints in the body seem to have universal joints. They are flexible and free to operate. Every joint and every muscle in the body can be controlled by oneself. At this time, what is practiced is the inner things, the skills of Zhongding, and the skills of nothingness. That is, the so-called “big movement is not as good as small movement, small movement is not as good as no movement, and the movement of no movement is the endless movement”. It looks inconspicuous, and there is nothing to touch, but it is covered with hands, and it can beat people without hesitation. The speed of practicing high-power boxing is often very fast. In the park, you can often see some people practicing high-power boxing, which makes people feel unfathomable.