Tai Chi Kung Fu includes health-preserving Kung Fu and fighting Kung Fu. The unity of the two is the way of Tai Chi. How can we practice Tai Chi Kung Fu well? In a nutshell, we must first understand the principles, second, we must know how to practice, and third, we must know how to nourish. Only when we have all three can we master the Kung Fu.
If you practice boxing but don’t know how to nourish, you won’t be able to improve your skills. We must understand the principles and know how to practice, and we must know how to nourish. If we can’t practice, we can’t nourish, and if we don’t know how to nourish, we will get hurt. Only when we know how to practice and nourish can we succeed.
First, what should we know how to nourish? That is, nourish the three treasures of spirit, energy and spirit internally, and nourish the three bodies of body, hands and steps externally; nourish the body fluids and blood internally, and nourish the tendons, bones and flesh externally; nourish the five internal organs internally, and nourish the whole body of the limbs externally; nourish the nature and morality internally, and nourish the form and boxing externally; nourish the acquired nature and return to the innate nature; nourish the innate nature and transform the acquired nature. Nourishment is multifaceted, all-encompassing, and runs through the whole process.
Second, we must know how to nourish? Cultivate the mind and cultivate the nature, cultivate the body and nourish boxing, all depends on the mind and effort. The heart is the master of the body. All the seven emotions and six desires of a person are born from the heart. Excessive activities will damage the three treasures and hurt the innate nature. Therefore, if you know how to practice and nourish, one is in the heart, two is to get the middle, and three is to go against the flow.
One is in the heart, that is, a quiet heart can nourish the essence, a peaceful heart can nourish the qi, a vacant heart can nourish the spirit, a tolerant heart can nourish the nature, a heart that does good can nourish the virtue, a sincere and respectful heart can nourish the Tao, a plain heart can nourish the five internal organs, a comfortable heart can nourish the body, a neutral heart can nourish the boxing, and a tenacious heart can nourish the will.
Two is to get the middle, that is, when practicing boxing, pushing hands and competing in skills, dealing with people, you must achieve harmony in the middle, be sincere and neutral, have a neutral body, be impartial, balance yin and yang, neither push nor lose, be half hard and half soft, neither too much nor too little, just right, walk in the middle, turn in the middle, open in the middle, close in the middle, lie in the middle, and develop in the middle. Choose the middle way to do it, and get the middle way to nourish it. Practice the middle and harmonize the primordial energy, and nourish the righteous energy. The three reverse movements are to reverse the innate true yang, so as not to be harmed by the acquired false yang. For example, if the acquired consciousness is in power and the mind is used indiscriminately, the innate primordial spirit will be damaged; those who reverse the movement should calm their minds and seek tranquility, restrain the acquired recklessness, and nourish the innate. For example, if the acquired essence is full, it will overflow. If it is consumed excessively, the innate primordial essence will be damaged; those who reverse the movement should practice the essence to transform into qi, so that the semen rises and is transformed into qi and blood to restore to the body, which is nourishment. For example, the heart is Li fire, and the kidney is Kan water. The nature of fire is blazing upwards, and the nature of water is going down. If the heart and kidney are not connected, it will be hurt after a long time; those who reverse the movement should focus on Dantian, so that the spirit goes down, the qi sinks to the soles of the feet, and the fire is led back to its source, and water is used to help the fire. The heart and kidney are connected, which is nourishment. For example: people are used to using acquired clumsy force, big force beats small force, fast hand beats slow hand; while Tai Chi advocates using intention instead of force, using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, and reverse movement uses innate mixed primordial qi to activate limb movement, force is changed from the inside, force is borrowed from others, leading to the empty space, and using small force to overcome big force. If you practice Tai Chi without understanding the principle of reverse movement, you will not be able to practice and cultivate.
Third, you must know how to practice for cultivation and how to practice to hurt.
For example: quiet practice is for cultivation, and urgent practice will hurt; slow practice is for cultivation, and fast practice will hurt; relaxed practice is for cultivation, and nervous practice will hurt; intentional practice is for cultivation, and forceful practice will hurt; neutral and generous practice is for cultivation, and the thought of hitting others will hurt; gathering spirit and qi practice is for cultivation, and one-sided force will hurt;
Practicing boxing is like resting for cultivation, and fatigue of body and mind will hurt; practicing boxing is like moving qi for cultivation, and exerting qi will hurt; pushing hands is good at softening and relaxing for cultivation, and those who resist the top force but are not good at moving will hurt. Knowing how to practice and maintain it can not only cure diseases and prolong life, restore the three treasures of essence, energy and spirit that are deficient and make those that are round even rounder; it can also increase your skills, and continuously enhance the qi, electrical and magnetic energy of your own Hunyuan Tai Chi body, forming a deterrent force, reaching a state of superb skills, and reaching the highest level of success in your kung fu.