The old Zhaobao Taijiquan manual says: The primordial energy is warm and the turbid energy is cool. The immortals left behind a recipe for fitness. First, you need to open your crotch and collect the energy, and then stand with your knees tucked in. Roll your shoulders, bind your ribs, and gather your brain strength. It is best to open your crotch and lower your hips. The energy does not enter the mouth from the mouth, but enters the small intestine from the corner of the mouth. The energy does not exit from the nose, but the nose sends the five internal organs to the bladder. There is also a wonderful secret of the mouth method, which seems to be closed but not closed, and seems to be open but not open.
The purpose and spirit of the old Zhaobao Taijiquan manual have formulated a set of practical training requirements for practicing Zhaobao Taijiquan. It requires that when practicing Zhaobao Taijiquan, you must perform slow, slow, loose, true, light, agile, lively, and round trajectory-guided movements under the centered body. The method is to shake it lightly to loosen the shoulders, follow it gently to liven up the body, walk slowly to stabilize the steps, calm the head and lead the energy to defend the strength, and wait for the shoulders to be loose, the body to be lively, and the steps to be stable and the strength to defend itself.
Because the characteristics of Zhaobao Taijiquan are: high fist, small movements, easy to change and good at release, and can hit a cow lying down. It requires to treat the body with uprightness, to defend strength with softness, to attack the enemy with surprise, to take advantage of the back, to be the first to arrive after launching, and to be gentle and elegant. It has both the blessing of nourishing the body and superb fighting skills. It is a rare and excellent boxing style. As the old book of Zhaobao Taijiquan says, rolling shoulders, binding ribs, and gathering brain strength, and standing with knees hidden, it alludes to the word “upright”. It requires people not to bend forward or backward, not to lean left or right, but to stand upright. As the saying goes, one uprightness suppresses a hundred evils and one uprightness covers a hundred uglinesses. If the heart is upright, there will be no evil thoughts, the body is upright and the mind is not crooked, the body is upright, there will be no disaster of falling, the posture is upright, there will be no trouble of failure, and the behavior is upright, there will be no trouble of dirty words. The old book also says that the feet are firm and stable, the knees are bent and stretched, the crotch is deep and hidden, the ribs are open and stretched, and the knees are hidden when standing. Aren’t they all still requiring the realization of the word “upright” when practicing? In addition, it requires the knees to be relaxed but not bent, and the word “straight” is still the main factor. It also explains that as long as the feet can move, the most taboo is the bending and exertion of the knees. The abdomen and ribs must be tightened under the requirement of the body to be upright, so that the qi can pass from the feet, legs, waist, ribs and spine, and be released through the relaxation of the Jianjing and Quchi points. In addition, it also explains the importance of stepping on the feet. Zhaobao Tai Chi also uses the ground with the feet and the reaction force of the earth, just like the action of a bird stepping on a branch when it takes off.
Practicing Zhaobao Tai Chi is not like other martial arts schools. Once the boxing posture is fixed, it can be practiced unchanged. Zhaobao Tai Chi requires the practice process to be divided into many stages and levels. First, the boxing posture routine is correct. After correction, the external movement is guided to drive the internal movement, that is, the movement of the crotch, and then the internal movement of the crotch leads the movement of the unity of the posture and external movement. Next, it is to rise to the movement of the tie with the mind, and then reach the state of dancing without moving the hands and stepping without moving the feet. It is not something that can be fully achieved in one day or without hard work. In this process, it is necessary to lead the hands with the body (the arms and crotch must be united to get wonderful strength); lead the qi with the mind (must be calm to be restrained into the bones); move the body with the qi (must follow to be convenient from the heart), and also to refine the essence into qi, the body must not move recklessly (if it moves, the qi will not enter the spirit); refine the qi into the spirit, the mind must not move recklessly (if it moves, the spirit will not be qi); refine the spirit back to emptiness, the mind must not move recklessly (if it moves, the original essence will be scattered).
Therefore, Zhaobao Tai Chi specifically requires that when practicing, the heart should not move when moving, and the body should not move when moving, so as to reach the advanced state of calm mind and firm steps, calm qi and steady body. Zhaobao Tai Chi also requires that every time you stretch your hands and move, you must have the ability to move in a parabola and breathe. As people age, their bodies become deficient, and they must practice breathing exercises to replenish their qi. Having abundant breath is an important foundation for martial artists. In this regard, Zhaobao Tai Chi pays special attention to postures. The movements must be done by moving the hands and feet, arms and legs together, with the body and hands in unity, and the hands and feet move in sync. Because moving the two arms to open the spine and straighten the chest and various stretching exercises can achieve the effect of strengthening the lungs, so that the lung qi can be sufficient. The legs of a person belong to the kidneys. If a person has impotence, it will be considered as insufficient kidney water. The leg exercises must be strengthened to nourish the kidney water. In this way, the lung qi is sufficient and the kidney water is prosperous. If the upper and lower parts are well repaired, there is no need to worry about not having a strong body. As for refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit into emptiness, what is being said is not the qi that a person breathes, but a special temperament that a person obtains after training. For example, the handsomeness of men and the charm and beauty of women are all due to the effect of this qi, and the vitality of people is also the effect of this qi. As for the breath and qi of breathing, it is like a person’s inhalation and exhalation. People who practice Tai Chi should not only have normal breathing, but also learn to “breathe with the body” during exercise.
Zhaobao Tai Chi emphasizes borrowing power from others, changing steps with the body, and power from the spine. A catchphrase known to all Tai Chi practitioners is “four ounces to move a thousand pounds”. In the past, one pound was sixteen ounces on the old scale, so four ounces is one-fourth of one pound, and compared with a thousand pounds, it is equal to one-four thousandth, which is an astronomical disparity. Tai Chi proposed four ounces to move a thousand pounds, which is a puzzling and unbelievable thing, but it is relatively easy to understand it with Zhaobao Tai Chi, which is reflected in the following aspects.
- Master the theory that a standing tree can bear a thousand pounds, and realize the possibility of four ounces to move a thousand pounds without being damaged. Therefore, Zhaobao Tai Chi specifically requires that you keep in mind the work of loosening your knees but not bending them when practicing.
- Use the return force of the circle. The purpose of Zhaobao Tai Chi requires that the movement trajectory be guided slowly, gently, loosely, softly, lightly, nimbly, evenly, lively, and circularly under the rhythm of the body, so it is easy to return the opponent’s force.
- Master the role of tangent and centrifugal force. When Zhaobao Tai Chi fights with others, it has adjusted its own center by the method of circular rotation, so that the opponent is in the outer circle and tangent of the centrifugal force, so it can win.
- The centrifugal difference between the center and the outer circle of the circle. When practicing Zhaobao Tai Chi, it is required to use the circular movement trajectory as a guide in every posture, so that it is easy to put oneself in the center of the circle and put the opponent on the edge of the outer circle. In this way, there is a centrifugal difference, which makes oneself stable and the opponent difficult to gain a foothold.
- The method of introducing the opponent to fall into the air and then coming out. Use the method of circular rotation to introduce the opponent in, and use the method of coming out to win.
- Win without bearing the opponent’s force and strength and crotch movement.
- Defeat the opponent by pulling the opponent to make him fall into the air.
- Strive to achieve everything going smoothly, and let it go naturally.
- The methods of light listening to the power and superhuman seeking integrated power obtained through long-term training will achieve victory.
The above principles of Zhaobao Taijiquan are what the author has learned from many years of practice. If there are any inappropriate points, I sincerely hope that readers will correct them.