Boxing Exercises
Boxing exercises refer to boxing exercises, which are exercised with a 72-style Tai Chi routine. Boxing exercises are the central activities of health preservation, fitness, and self-defense exercises. In order to achieve this comprehensive benefit, it has formulated specific posture rotation changes and overall requirements for functions.
Section 1 Teaching according to the individual
Learning Tai Chi skills, teaching is an important link, so the instructor must first clarify the student’s physique and learning purpose. Although Tai Chi skills are a health and fitness exercise that can be practiced by the elderly, the weak, women and children, the form and content of the teaching should be based on the student’s physical fitness and the student’s purpose. This is the same as a doctor treating a disease. Although the disease is of the same type, the medicine used is different due to the different genders, ages and physiques of the patients. In the practice of Tai Chi teaching throughout the ages, the predecessors have accumulated rich experience and conclusions. For the weak, the elderly, the sick and some scholars, the teaching is mainly health preservation, with boxing skills as a supplement and self-defense skills as a reference; for young learners, the boxing skills are the main focus, with self-defense skills as a reference, and health preservation as a reference; for young and middle-aged learners, the three can be taught in parallel and strictly required. In short, according to Tai Chi theory and practice, health preservation, boxing skills and self-defense skills are interrelated and inseparable, and can only be used as primary and secondary references. This is the method of teaching according to the individual.
Section 2 Credits Four Periods
Why is learning Tai Chi divided into four periods? Because it has profound theories, it should be combined with practice from shallow to deep, step by step, and rushing for success may cause disadvantages.
The first period is the entry stage for beginners. First of all, you must correct your posture, understand the direction, and start with relaxation and softness, and carefully explore and learn one posture and one move at a time. From incorrect posture to correct posture, from unclear direction to clear direction, from rigid to soft and flexible, we should study and improve day by day, accumulate over the years, and not be careless. This is the key to beginners. We should cultivate the patience and perseverance of learners. As the saying goes, “Everything is difficult at the beginning.” Another saying goes, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” After the posture is correct, we should understand and master the requirements of boxing according to our physical conditions. First of all, we should loosen the joints and soften the tendons and collaterals. For this reason, the body movements should be enlarged in principle. Although there is a saying in boxing that “big leads to stagnation”, it is for a high level and the final summary of the practice process. Beginners do not need to be too rigid about this. It is better to change from nature to small, and from stagnation to agility. Because if beginners do not enlarge their body frame, they will not be able to meet the requirements of looseness and flexibility, especially the large joints such as elbows, shoulders, hips, and knees, which need to be enlarged, and then the small joints are relaxed one by one. In this way, the joints are opened, the meridians are unblocked, the qi and blood are smooth, and the tendons and bones are soft, so that people can reach the state of being small and agile.
In the second phase, on the basis of the functions of correct posture, clear direction and loose body, roundness and flexibility are added. The reason is that only roundness and flexibility can soften the limbs and achieve the balance of qi and blood circulation in the five internal organs. How to use circular motion? The body moves in a circle, the limbs move around the circle, the hands draw a circle, the steps walk in a circle, etc. In short, every move should be based on the circle. How to use flexibility? That is, the “three joints” must be flexible (see the third theory of “Nine Essentials” for details). If you understand the flexibility of the three joints, then you will be active. Only when kung fu has looseness, softness and roundness can the body be more energetic and full of vitality, achieve the effect of curing diseases and prolonging life, and thus gain a preliminary solid foundation in boxing.
The third phase is the key stage in the function of Tai Chi, which requires the use of external body movement to drive the internal strength function, so it also requires the learner to master a more comprehensive theory. And the knowledge of the essentials of the exercise method combined with practice.
This stage has 6 requirements on the basis of looseness, softness and roundness:
- Understand strength
Qi, force and strength are basically one, but there is a distinction in the theory of Tai Chi skills. As mentioned before, Qi is the natural and natural primordial energy, while force is the acquired and artificial force. However, through the coordination of Tai Chi postures, the independence of Qi and force can be transformed, that is, they can be combined and transformed into a unified internal force. When the posture is formed, it is said that Qi sinks into Dantian, and the transformation of the posture drives the release of Qi in Dantian, which is the force. Therefore, students must understand the force emitted by Dantian. Because only it is the unity of Qi, force and force.
- Yin and Yang reversal
Movement has movement and stillness, and movement and stillness are divided into Yin and Yang. In the change of Yin and Yang, the driving of internal force plays a leading role (see the second theory of “Nine Essentials” for details). The so-called Yin and Yang reversal (i.e. the change of virtuality and reality) means that the internal force can be used freely, whether it is moving or still, fast or slow, hard or soft, purely out of nature, so that it can change infinitely.
- The whole body follows
In movement, the inside and the outside are one, and everything moves when one moves, and everything is still when one is still (see the relevant part of the first theory of “Nine Essentials” for details).
- Ming Sijiao
The circulation of qi and blood in the human body has its own natural laws. Therefore, during the exercise of the four extremities, the circulation of qi and blood must be carried out according to the natural laws. When it is released, it can be released; when it is closed, it can be brought in; when it is opened, it can be raised; when it is lowered, it can sink; and it is in accordance with nature in all directions (see the fourth theory of “Nine Essentials” for details).
- Ming Liuhe
During the exercise, it is necessary to coordinate the inside and outside of the body so that the body movement can reflect the best integrity and harmony. This is to drive the internal strength, and only the coordination of the limbs can achieve the goal (see the sixth theory of “Nine Essentials” for details).
- Steps
Steps are the foundation of the body and the hub of movement. Inhibition, extension, extension, advance and retreat, height, etc., are all based on steps. Therefore, the steps are only stable, light, and flexible (see the ninth theory of “Nine Essentials” for details).
In summary, in the process of exercise, theory, practice, methods, and essentials must all cooperate with each other, and finally we can achieve the function of internal and external integration, limb softening, and internal strength driving, and achieve the purpose of practicing the foundation of Tai Chi internal strength.
The fourth stage is the stage of hard work.
It is the continuous training of internal strength driven by external body movement. When you can move freely and handy, you can transform into the stage of leading external body movement with internal strength. This stage takes softness as the key point, lightness and flexibility as the auxiliary, and the middle and flat circle as the method of movement, gradually climbing to the advanced stage.
The larger body method in the previous stage (i.e. the primary stage) gradually transforms into a small and flexible body method, and then moves from a tangible circle to an invisible circle, and from external movement to internal movement, purely from internal strength to play a role in the circular movement of natural laws. On the surface, there is no circular movement in the appearance. It is not easy to achieve such a high function. However, we should work harder to pursue a higher divine realm. The higher realm has achieved the best health-preserving effect. Its performance in fighting is “a feather cannot be added, flies cannot fall”, “soft with hardness, hardness and softness complement each other”, “soft as cotton wool, hard as gold and stone, slippery as pond fish, sticky as glue maw”, and the wonderful skill of “four ounces to move a thousand pounds”. Because this stage has reached the high-level skill function state of unity of essence, qi and spirit, and a very orderly life movement mechanism, it naturally reaches the wonderful state of rejuvenation.
Section 3 Boxing routine
Zhaobao Zheng Wuqing Tai Chi routine consists of 72 styles. For the convenience of beginners, each style is initially divided into 4 movements, which are called four strengths in boxing terminology. Therefore, the whole routine of 72 styles has a total of 288 movements, that is, 288 strengths. When starting to learn, you should learn one strength and one posture at a time, that is, first learn the previous strength and one posture, and then learn the next strength and one posture, until you gradually learn and practice a set of boxing. In the process of persisting in learning and practicing, you will generally have a very profound experience. That is, if you learn a few postures correctly, you will have a sense of strength. So the general requirement is to achieve the correctness of the whole set of postures, so as to achieve the sense of all strength. According to the principle of one level of Kung Fu and one level of theory, you can gradually experience the various levels of strength in the process of Kung Fu sublimation, and then you can appreciate the endless demonstration of boxing. Scholars must know this principle first.