Today, people who learn Tai Chi start with the Thirteen Fist Styles (i.e. Tai Chi, commonly known as Panjiazi or Changquan), and often say they have mastered the art after practicing for 3 or 4 months. But don’t you know that the predecessors first practiced horse stance and Sichuan stance as basic skills for a long time before they started practicing the Thirteen Postures. Moreover, they started practicing one posture at a time, and after months of hard practice, they did not combine the individual movements into a complete set of Tai Chi after they were fully proficient in each posture and could apply it. During this period, there are often people who have practiced for several years but have not yet mastered a complete set of fist postures, not to mention pushing hands, big strokes, knives, swords, poles, free-hand fighting, etc., which are not skills that can be mastered in a short time.
As for the postures of Yang style Tai Chi, ordinary people only know one set (one type), but do not know that there are three types of (one type): high, flat and low. When you first learn, you should practice the high stance, then the flat stance (also known as the four-level stance, which means eyes level, hands level, feet level, and crotch level), and finally the low stance. The three stances are divided into large, medium, and small: The large stance seeks to expand the posture and is suitable for health preservation. It was taught by Yang Chengfu in the past. The medium stance seeks to make each posture in accordance with the doctrine of the mean, so that the internal strength will not be excessive, and it is continuous and consistent. It was taught by Yang Jianhou. The small stance seeks to make each posture compact, and the movements are agile and fast. It was taught by Yang Shaohou. Among the three, the small stance is the most difficult. Each posture uses inch strength, so the forward and backward steps are very small, and the hands and waist must be consistent.
It takes a long time to learn the above three stances, and it is definitely not something that can be achieved in a year or two. When you first learn, you can only learn one or two hands a day, and not too many. If you learn too many, the posture will not be accurate, and it is easy to fall into the path of slipperiness, which loses the true meaning of Tai Chi. In addition to avoiding the pursuit of quick success, you should also avoid using force. It is said that if you do not seek speed, you will hurt your qi, and if you do not have enough strength, you will hurt your blood. If both qi and blood are hurt, it will be dangerous! If you do not practice in the right way, even if you practice the whole set of postures several times a day, it will be ineffective. On the contrary, if you practice in the right way, you can get the benefits of each posture.
When practicing, you must press your tongue against the upper palate, close your lips and teeth, breathe through your nose, keep your body straight, hold your chest and back, sink your shoulders and elbows, keep your head straight and your tail hanging, and keep your tailbone in place, with the upper and lower parts in unison. When you step down, you must distinguish between the real and the fake, and seek perfection everywhere. Your whole body should be light and agile, your eyes should look in front of your hands, your breathing should be natural, your upper and lower parts should be connected, your yin and yang, your hardness and softness should be distinguished, your mind should be clear, and you should be free of thoughts and worries. You should also consider sinking your qi and relaxing your strength. Because sinking your qi will harmonize your breathing, and relaxing your strength will eliminate your clumsy strength. In each posture, you should strive to make the external shape smooth and the internal part comfortable, without any stiffness. In this way, your chest and diaphragm will be expanded, and your blood and qi will be harmonized, which will be of great benefit to your body and mind. Otherwise, the Qi will be separated from the chest and diaphragm, floating and unstable, which will not only fail to benefit you, but will also lead to illness. Therefore, a set of Tai Chi postures, regardless of the practitioner’s wisdom, must be learned for at least half a year. After half a year, the teacher must correct it several times in detail, which will take at least a year. Each time you practice the boxing posture (the posture), you must practice at least three times. Because the first practice is nothing more than stretching the muscles and bones, and only after more than two times can you improve your skills (those who want to maintain health can be more flexible and practice half a set each time).
The place where you practice Tai Chi should be a place with fresh air. When you first practice boxing, the boxing field should be large. If the place is small, it will be difficult to ensure that the boxing posture is continuous, and it is easy to make the posture defective and unable to maintain the correctness. However, when you have practiced for a long time, you can practice even in a place as big as four square bricks. You can even practice when you are sitting or lying down. At this time, what you practice is the intention, not the external form.
Practice at least twice a day, half an hour after getting up in the morning and one hour before going to bed. Each practice (practice) takes about 20 to 25 minutes. When practicing, from the first hand (posture) to the last hand (posture), you must seek to be even, not fast first and then slow, or slow first and then fast, and there must be no defects, bumps and discontinuities. The postures can be connected, the usage can be understood, the breathing can be natural, and the inside and outside can be unified. The important thing is to practice continuously without thinking. When you practice to complete proficiency, the spirit and energy can be revealed, and then you can change the whole set of postures to the left style (i.e. reverse style). If you can practice the whole set of left-style postures continuously, just like the right style, your kung fu will be further improved. Because both left and right can be used, there is no disadvantage of bias. This is something that those who want to achieve deep kung fu must know.
After you have mastered both the right and left styles, you can learn fixed-step push hands, moving-step push hands, big strokes, knives, swords, poles, free-hand fighting, etc., which also take several years or even longer to master. In short, you need to practice Tai Chi slowly to achieve success, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve true success.
At the beginning of practicing Tai Chi, the body will have discomfort, such as general weakness and sore hands and feet. This is a physiological reaction and does not hinder practice. Even after practicing for 3 or 4 months, this phenomenon may occur. This is the relationship between the body’s metabolism and is not a cause for concern. Just rest for 2 or 3 hours more every day, and this phenomenon will disappear after a few days, and you will have more energy than before. In addition, there are other phenomena, such as a big appetite, which is because practicing increases the consumption of the body and needs to make up for the past losses. But when the internal qi of the body is sufficient, the deficiencies have been made up, and the qi and blood are in harmony, and the above phenomenon will not occur. Their appetite will also return to the same as that of ordinary people, which is the so-called “full qi, no desire for food”.
Sleepiness is also one of the reactions to practicing. Beginners are more sleepy and need to sleep 8 or 9 hours a day. This is because the blood circulation is faster and the body is tired. A long rest is required to restore the whole body’s spirit. After practicing for a long time, this phenomenon will disappear by itself and return to normal. When you practice deeply, you don’t need to sleep for a long time. Only 4 or 5 hours of sleep each day is enough, which is the so-called “spirit is full and you don’t want to sleep”.
The same is true for sexual intercourse. When you practice to the point that your spirit is sufficient, you don’t miss sexual intercourse, or you are just slightly tempted, which is the so-called “spirit is sufficient and you don’t want to have sex”. Some people may ask, can Tai Chi practitioners have sexual intercourse? The answer is: It is not impossible. Because we are not pure in six senses, how can we not have it. It’s just that the middle-aged and strong should be restrained, and the old and weak should never do it. And the strong and strong should refrain from sexual intercourse when the body is overly tired after practicing. Sexual intercourse is also not allowed within 24 hours after practicing. On the contrary, you cannot practice martial arts within 2 days after sex, otherwise it will damage your qi and blood (most people who practice Shaolin boxing practice 3 before and 4 after).
Can you smoke and drink when practicing Tai Chi? Generally speaking, you can, but you should drink less alcohol and smoke less. You should avoid smoking and drinking half an hour before or after practicing boxing, otherwise your internal organs will be damaged due to breathing. Of course, smoking is harmful to the body, and excessive drinking is not good either, so it is more beneficial for boxers to avoid smoking and drinking for the cultivation of kung fu.In the first few months of practicing Tai Chi, if you feel swelling and numbness in your fingers, arms or legs after practicing the frame, don’t be afraid, this is caused by excessive strength. When you find this phenomenon, shake your arms and legs for 2 or 3 minutes to eliminate the swelling and numbness.
At the beginning, you should also pay special attention to breathing, and make sure it is natural and smooth (breathe through the nose), and don’t pay attention to the use of qi. If you concentrate on the internal qi, you will easily forget the external form. Therefore, when beginners start, do not rush, and do not sink the Qi to Dantian too much. Because sinking at the wrong time can easily cause illness. Regarding posture, if beginners feel uncomfortable in a posture, they should ask the teacher to correct it until the posture is comfortable. Before practicing Tai Chi, when practicing Shaolin, the author had four misconceptions about Tai Chi: 1. With such gentle movements, what is the force on the body and what is the benefit? 2. With such slow movements, how can you fight the enemy? 3. Holding the chest in will damage the development of the chest. 4. What is Dantian, Dantian is the large intestine?
After practicing Tai Chi, I suddenly realized what I thought before: 1. Practicing Tai Chi is not strenuous, which is correct for the internal Qi. As for the limbs of the body, the strenuousness is more than that of the fast-moving Shaolin. It is just because the posture is comfortable and the breathing is natural that I feel that the Qi and blood in the body are smooth and more beneficial. 2. The movement is gentle because you seek tranquility during practice, but you also need to seek speed when you use it, and you must combine hardness with softness, and speed with slowness. This is the characteristic of Tai Chi. The speed of Tai Chi is even faster than Shaolin boxing because it has the ability to listen to and understand the strength. Moreover, the key to controlling the movement of Tai Chi is all in the waist, not in the hands, feet and limbs. The movement of the limbs is sluggish and hurried, while the movement of the waist is smooth and long. For example, when the big axis turns, other small axes must turn several or dozens of times at the same time. The waist is like the big axis, and the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and other parts of the limbs are like small axes. You can imagine how fast the movement is. 3. If you do not sink your shoulders and drop your elbows, or hang your head and sink your breath while holding your chest and pulling your back, it will damage your lungs. But if you hold your chest and sink your shoulders, your breathing will be natural. Therefore, the movements of holding your chest and pulling your back, sinking your shoulders and dropping your elbows, etc. cannot be separated. 4. Is Dantian the large intestine? When the author first practiced Tai Chi, he also felt that the area below his navel was empty and he did not know what Dantian was. It was only after 3 years that he felt it. The so-called Dantian can store, emit and nourish qi, and is actually the main organ of qi in the human body. If the qi is sufficient, the Dantian is full and it will feel like a drum when pressed. The breathing of a skilled person uses the Dantian as the place to exchange air, which is completely different from the breathing of ordinary people. We can observe a child. When he lies on his back, we often see his abdomen breathing in and out, one high and one low. The older he is, the farther his breathing is from the Dantian. When he is old, his breathing is between the throat and chest. From this we can see that the relationship between the Dantian and life is extremely important. When practicing the Thirteen Postures Boxing (i.e. the Panjia) to perfection, distracting thoughts arise. This is because the mind is not calm. To avoid this problem, you only need to look in front of your hand, thinking that there is an enemy in front or behind you to fight with, or you have a sense in your heart. Once you have thoughts, you can wake up and calm your mind, without thoughts or worries, and benefit a lot. When you practice to a certain level, after the 4th and 5th postures, saliva will flow out from your mouth and tongue, which is called the water of the Huachi, the nectar of health preservation. After swallowing it into the stomach, you will feel very comfortable inside your body. This state requires that every posture can be comfortable and breathing is natural. Anyone can achieve this. The use of internal energy makes the whole body calm. This is the way to cultivate oneself in martial arts and self-cultivation, or mercury and lead, that is, to use yin to replenish yang, which is different from the evil way of replenishing yang with the acquired physical body of men and women.
For beginners of fixed-step push hands, most of the four hands of hitting, stroking, squeezing and pressing cannot be completed smoothly. This requires following the teacher or a skilled person to rotate in circles until they are proficient, and then the teacher will orally teach the four hands of hitting, stroking, squeezing and pressing. The four hands can be distinguished one by one, practiced continuously, the waist and legs can rotate freely, and sticking and melting can be done smoothly, and then you can learn to take strength and send strength. Here you should find an opponent as a target for your fists. First, practice one type of grasping or releasing force. Do not practice other types of force before you have mastered one type of force. Do not practice several types of force at the same time. You must know that if you can master one type of force, you can use any type of force. If you are not good at one type of force, the other types of force will not be good either. Before practicing grasping or releasing force, you should try to find a teacher or a skilled person as a target for your fists. Let him grasp and release force, and observe how he leads you, grasps you, and releases you. You should also practice the position of grasping and releasing force, the timing of grasping and releasing force, and the direction of grasping and releasing force. You should practice with your body. As a way to understand, you must not seek too fast, otherwise haste makes waste.
From the author’s experience, the basic skills of Tai Chi are all in fixed-step pushing hands. I hope that practitioners will not ignore it. After you have mastered pushing hands to a certain level, you should not practice with only one person. No matter who it is, whether they have hard or soft hands, strong or weak force, or shallow or deep skills, they should all practice pushing hands. Otherwise, those who are familiar with it can perform it, but those who are not familiar with it cannot. It seems that it is not popularized, and it is also sudden. In live push hands, the three parts of the hand, waist and leg should be coordinated, and the force of sticking should not be interrupted suddenly when moving forward and backward. The same applies to big pull, sticking pole and free-hand fighting. At least part of your hand or pole must stick to the opponent, otherwise the force of listening to it will be interrupted, and it is easy for the enemy to take advantage of the opportunity to attack. Whether you are bare-handed or with weapons, you should be experienced and accurate when you encounter the enemy. You should not hesitate or be fearful. Because of fear, your attack will be tender (weak force, lack of ruthlessness), or your moves will be inaccurate (insufficient attack position, poor timing), even if there is an opportunity to take advantage of, it will be ineffective. In particular, the yin and yang of the attack should be unpredictable to the opponent.
As for free-hand fighting, it must be practiced separately, otherwise it cannot be used at any time. In addition, special attention should be paid to the hand method, foot method and body method. When you make a move, the foot method should be forward or backward, the hand method should be high or low, and the body method should be straight or sideways. You must first make sure that your momentum is smooth and not against it. The hand should be in a circular shape when it is sent and received, and there should be folding when it is returned and returned. When you step forward or backward, straight or obliquely, you should make your body straight and have the intention of blocking the enemy’s body. And your own advance and retreat should have the momentum of rising and falling. In addition to the above three methods, you should also seek to have a correct posture, skillful techniques, clear distinction between yin and yang, emptiness and reality, and flexible internal strength, and be able to replenish and drain (replenish and drain strength). If you only seek to understand strength and focus on irregular push hands, you will still be weak and have no effect even after practicing for many years. This is because you do not understand the principle that it is easy to learn external forms, but difficult to practice internal strength.
In addition, you should also understand the changes in body weight and body shape after practicing Tai Chi. Generally, those who are thin can gain weight and become strong after one year, which is a change from emptiness to fullness. And obese people must first lose weight and lose weight, and after a period of time, they will become strong again, which is a change from puffiness to firmness. The effect of Tai Chi can actually improve the human body inside and out.
When practicing, you should also pay attention to hygiene habits. For example, you should not practice immediately after eating, and you should not eat immediately after practicing. You must wait for half an hour. You should not practice when you are exhausted, and you should not use your brain immediately after practicing, otherwise it is easy to hurt your mind. Avoid drinking too much after practicing, and avoid eating fruits and other raw and cold foods immediately. It is not advisable to undress in the wind or take a cold shower after practicing. If the clothes are wet with sweat, they need to be changed. Before the pulse has not returned to normal, do not sit or lie down immediately. You must walk a few circles, otherwise the blood flow will increase, and you will experience dizziness and other symptoms. You must also take care of recuperation. After practicing, you must have enough time to rest so that the consumed physical strength can be restored. It is best not to go to bed late and get up late. Going to bed late will result in insufficient rest and mental fatigue, and it is most likely to give up halfway. This is by no means groundless talk.
If a learner of Tai Chi wants to succeed in his practice, he should do the following:
- Perseverance
Because the basic point of practicing Tai Chi is perseverance, if you don’t have this indomitable spirit, you’d better not learn it, so as not to waste your energy and time. Because Tai Chi is not interesting at the beginning, it is not as fascinating as Shaolin Kung Fu, so people with hot tempers don’t need to talk about it. On the contrary, if learners can persevere, then the daily calculation is not enough, but the monthly calculation is more than enough. After a year, the stagnation can be eliminated, the internal strength can be loosened, and the state can be reached. After 5 years, you can achieve a small success, and after 20 years, you may achieve a great success (the above is for those who really practice). When practicing Tai Chi, you are prone to slackness in the following 3 situations: 1. When you are just starting to learn for one or two months. 2. When you are on your honeymoon. 3. When you encounter important things. It is a pity to be hot and cold for a while. If you can still hold perseverance and continue to practice in any setbacks, and don’t have the intention of slacking off, you will have hope of success in the future. - Be focused
With this spirit, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort, and achieve success quickly and deeply. - Do not slack off in learning
Even in the cold and hot weather, you still insist on practicing, and never stop. - Don’t diverge
Don’t be greedy for too much and too complicated, just seek simplicity and precision. - Don’t skip levels
Practice step by step, don’t practice skip levels for the sake of speed. If you practice the lower forms before you are familiar with the upper forms, if you try to use the methods before the postures are correct, if you practice the big stroke before you are fully pushing hands, if you try to learn the pole before you are proficient in swords and knives, and so on, you will form a wrong form and achieve nothing. You must know that you must start from the bottom to climb high, and you must start from the near to go far. Haste makes waste, and this is true for everything, and Tai Chi is no exception.
In addition to the above points, it is also very important to learn from a teacher. Before seeking advice, you should understand whether the person is highly skilled and virtuous, and whether he can pass on the true teachings. As the saying goes, if you learn from the best, you may be better than the master. Otherwise, you will waste your energy, time and money, and you will work in vain for your whole life and gain nothing. At the same time, once you have a famous teacher, you must ask for advice with an open mind and serve him wholeheartedly. Otherwise, even if you have the intention to ask for the truth, it may not be easy to get the true teachings. After practicing to a certain level, you must also study the two skills of nourishing qi and hiding. Because the purpose of Tai Chi is to calm the mind and strengthen the spirit, and to nourish qi as the goal. You must not be competitive and fierce, throw your sleeves and collars, glare and gnash your teeth, and be brave with blood and energy. You should also have the skill of self-cultivation, which is like nothing, and be true and false. You should cherish the skills you have practiced and hide them. Don’t be arrogant, you must know that there are stronger people among the strong. As the proverb says, “Kill the boxing teacher and drown the swimmer.” Most of them are caused by carelessness, and practitioners must have a deep understanding.