This article uses a concise style to explain the training methods of Zhaobao Tai Chi, which is suitable for Tai Chi learners with a certain foundation to improve and deepen their knowledge.
The teacher said, “The shoulders must be lowered, the feet must move together, and the internal and external strength must move together.” Zhaobao Chengjia Three-in-One Tai Chi requires reaching the high level of “Tai Chi without hands, hands are not Tai Chi”, and must go through the key training stages of leading the hands with the body, leading the qi with the mind, and moving the body with the qi. Especially when you stretch your hands, your wrists must not bend or shake, and always keep straight, move with the momentum, and use the inertia of the up and down, left and right rotation of the posture to achieve the movement of the hands led by the body.
When practicing Zhaobao Tai Chi, the purpose is to be relaxed, soft, upright, and not to emphasize strength. Practice can reach the five senses, limbs, and bones, and ten thousand trees can gather into one, and one can disperse ten thousand trees, as well as understand the training principle of pulling out a tree and collecting its roots. The master said: When practicing the stance, you should “stand without being fixed, stand without being stiff”. This means: stand without being rigid and rigid, and have the intention to move; stand without being fixed, and have the intention to move. The purpose is to train a flexible and non-rigid body, so that the center of gravity is everywhere, yin and yang rotate, and the whole is mixed.
Zhaobao Taijiquan not only requires the chest to be held in and the back to be stretched (not forced), but also requires the spine to be straightened and the chest to be straightened (natural and not artificial). This is in line with the theory of yin and yang in Yi, that is, to treat it dialectically. Both holding the chest in and straightening the chest have a fighting effect. There is also a special requirement when practicing Zhaobao Taijiquan, which is not only to practice elbow rolling, but also to require “elbows not to move”. Practicing “elbow rolling” and “elbows not moving” (relatively speaking) is not only to transform strength, but also to transform and fight, transform and use. Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi has a saying that “first there is openness, then there is compactness”, but this openness should be understood correctly. It is inside, not outside, it is intention, not form. When compacted, it changes from large to small, from form to intention, so there is a saying that “one inch smaller, one inch more clever”. In short, you can appreciate it only if you work hard on the boxing posture.
Zhaobao Tai Chi hopes that practitioners will know the transformation of yin and yang in the shortest time, understand the Tai Chi principle of not being someone else’s crutches and not bearing the opponent’s force when fighting. Zhaobao Tai Chi has always been said to be “the tiger opens its mouth wide, and yin and yang are reversed”. In fact, it is the training of yin and yang conversion. It requires that in the boxing movement, not only the whole body is united, but also yin and yang are separated in the invisible. In the practice of Zhaobao Tai Chi, first To get rid of the four major drawbacks of “throwing, flattening, pushing, and resisting”, it is also required to use the innate clever strength, and when exercising, follow the movement trajectory of the circle to eliminate the acquired clumsy strength under the natural, soft and comfortable body charm of the center, and seek integration and unity.
There is a saying in boxing that “everything is sought in the crotch”, so Zhaobao Tai Chi Quan pays great attention to the practice of the crotch and hips, and regards the crotch and hips as water, as a ruler, and as a scale, and exercises step by step. Because water can float a boat or overturn a boat; a ruler can measure the length of a person’s strength to the nearest inch; a scale can measure the size of a person’s strength to the nearest inch. Opening the crotch is conducive to the initiation and conversion of strength, and sinking increases the stability of the center of gravity. Therefore, there is a sentence in the literature of Zhaobao Tai Chi Quan that “the immortals left a recipe for fitness, and opening the crotch and bending the waist is the best.” Zhaobao Tai Chi requires that the muscles and bones should be loose and the skin and fur should be attacked. Each joint should be connected and the mind should be empty and in the middle. This means that when practicing, you should pay attention to being upright, loose and soft, so as to develop elastic expansion force. When practicing Zhaobao Tai Chi, you should know the training methods and wonderful uses of entanglement and binding. Practicing the boxing form is entanglement, and holding hands with the opponent is binding. Only when you are good at entanglement and holding hands when practicing boxing can you trap the opponent tightly. When practicing Zhaobao Tai Chi or holding hands with others, you should know how to master and use the wonderful use of seeking straightness in the curve and stacking squares in the circle. When practicing and using Zhaobao Tai Chi, special attention is also paid to the coordination of the three joints and the four ends: the three joints (tip joints, middle joints, and root joints), the four ends (muscles, bones, and roots), and the four ends (muscles, bones, and roots). Blood and flesh) at that time, the tip joint leads, the middle joint follows, the root joint pushes, the fingernails pry for the tendon tip, the teeth buckle for the bone tip, the upward push for the blood tip, the tongue pushes up for the flesh tip, at that time, the four tips gather, the power is complete and strong.
Zhaobao Taijiquan requires the use of non-collinear force, flip board force, lever force and spring force when holding hands with others, and release to win. Since the power of the whole body must pass through the Jianjing and Quchi acupoints, it is necessary to pay attention to the relaxation of the points when practicing, so that the qi can flow smoothly and unobstructed to the fingers. Zhaobao Taijiquan is not only about keeping the center when practicing, but also with When people hold hands, they should also keep the center (that is, put themselves at the center axis) and put the other person on the centrifugal tangent line. Whenever they release strength, they should add the combined force of three hearts (the original heart, the palm of the hand, the sole of the foot) and one root (the root of the hip) to achieve better results.
Zhaobao Taijiquan requires that when holding hands with others, they should focus on points rather than faces. (At the moment of contact) they should focus on both faces. If they meet and face each other, the technique should be changed as soon as possible, that is, the other person wins by force, and I win by cleverness. Zhaobao Taijiquan also requires that when holding hands with others, you should pierce the skin but not the bones (light contact, do not let people feel the strength and the contact between bones). Piercing the bones will block the qi. But when releasing the opponent, you must have the strength to pierce the flesh and pierce the bones. Zhaobao Taijiquan requires that holding hands with others is like grinding millet with a millstone. The millstone is round and the hub is round. When the circles roll against each other, the millet and the chaff are naturally separated. This is to use the principle of circles to compete and release people. Another requirement is to be able to be like a carpenter’s saw and a sledgehammer (one end is big and the other end is small). When you put your hands together, you will see sawdust. When you put your hands together, you will have to fill the opponent’s gap with the sledgehammer. The tighter it is, the more it moves, the more it will be bent. Zhaobao Tai Chi not only requires the body to prepare “five bows” (two arms on top, two legs below, and waist in the middle), but also requires the training of thirteen nests of elastic force (shin, shoulder, elbow, hand, foot, hip, knee).
Zhaobao Tai Chi requires the forearm to rotate in a circle to seek the leading force, and then to exert force after leading. Put your hands together and rotate to find the force pair and straight force. Zhaobao Tai Chi requires the crotch and hips to move continuously, the forearm rotation cannot be stopped, and the elbow cannot be blocked when the forearm rotates. The crotch and hips rotate in a circle with the change of momentum, follow the momentum, use the momentum to attack, and use the force to attack. Zhaobao Tai Chi requires that when pushing hands or fighting, the contact point cannot be pushed or retreated, but must be used to find the other force in the circle rotation, find the advancing force, and give up oneself and follow others. It is not walking and yielding, but to rotate in a circle. When pushing hands, the wrist should not leave the hand, and the hand should not leave the wrist. If the opponent eats your left hand, the left hand rotates in a circle and the right hand counterattacks. If the opponent eats your right hand, the right hand rotates in a circle and the left hand counterattacks. Therefore, one hand rotates in a circle and the other hand draws an arc.
The learner must do what the master often says and the apprentice often thinks. Otherwise, it is difficult to improve effectively if you practice in a muddle. Zhaobao Tai Chi has an eternal training requirement for relaxation, softness and lightness. The inner emptiness and calmness move outside, and the outside is loose and the inside is spirited. Practicing Zhaobao Tai Chi, only when the whole body is empty and transparent, pure spirit, and touch is smooth, can the mystery of internal strength be achieved.