Training the legs and hands also requires training the body. The training of the body cannot be separated from the hands and feet. The so-called forward and backward, looking left and right, and central stability are all completed by the cooperation of the hands and feet. Hold the chest, pull the back, open the spine and straighten the chest. If you don’t understand, your whole body will be empty. Looking around is stillness, advancing and retreating is movement, and central stability is change and transformation. Only by knowing it can you achieve the state of leaving no trace. Sticking, sticking, following, the body has giving up and taking. The waist and hips are the banners, and the hands and feet are the flags. They are connected from top to bottom. The spine is straight and the power is spontaneous. The qi is deep and the danjin is out. Crouching to store strength, standing up to attack, this is the innate ability. Turning the shoulders and sending the hips, leaning on the body to fight, is the acquired learning. Extremely flexible and then extremely strong, sinking the qi in the dantian and running it through the meridians, then the inside is extremely strong, and the outside is strong and strong. Who can compare with it? Moving sideways, twisting the back and retreating, central stability transformation, dodging and moving, this is the work of the waist and body, which shows the importance of the waist and body. Knowing the importance of the waist and body, the method of training the body must be practiced. The method of body training is divided into two parts: external training and internal training: external training: body training starts with shoulder training. When practicing shoulder training, stand in Tai Chi Kaili Zhan Zhuang, first practice shoulder rotation (circling), relax the shoulders, use the cervical thoracic spine as the axis, rotate forward and backward, horizontally, up and down, etc. The circle can be large or small. When rotating, the crotch and hips follow the linkage, rotating clockwise and counterclockwise, and coordinating naturally. Then practice shoulder rotation (transfer), transfer forward and backward, up and down, left and right. When practicing, it is important to relax the shoulders, and do not use force. Using force means not knowing, and not knowing and not understanding will lead to no benefit. It is divided into single-person practice and double-person practice. Single-person practice rotation (circle rotation) and rotation (transfer rotation), start slowly, and finally practice fast. When you can cooperate with the crotch, you can shake it. The shaking speed should be fast, and the main thing is to sink the qi. From the appearance, it looks like a landslide. When fighting with others, when the stalemate, a shake and turn will be unstoppable. Practice with two people, one person holds the other person’s shoulders with both hands, pulls and pushes, from light force to heavy force, and then shakes the hands, the other person relaxes his shoulders and turns, each turn must be with crotch strength. Practice for a certain period of time, suddenly shake, so that the other person can feel a deep internal force coming out. Second, practice sideways running. When practicing, first practice the wild horse split mane style of marching, from slow to fast, just like the hands, legs, and body of the wild horse split mane frame, the center of gravity should be transferred quickly, and the footwork should be stable. Then practice the sideways running of the Bagua pile, sideways arc walking in the Bagua wooden pile, if there is no wooden pile, use sandbags to place. The body must not be crooked when running. Practice with three people, one person is the main practitioner, around the two people “8” running, sideways passing, step lightly, and backward steps must be fast. Two people are running side by side, two people stand side by side, the distance between them is only enough for one person to pass sideways, the practitioner relies on eyesight, practice without touching anyone, and pass sideways. Third, practice waist and hips. First practice flat turning, Tai Chi opening standing method, with the waist and sacrum as the axis to turn big circles, small circles, spirals, from small to large. The center of gravity moves with the change of the left and right feet. When practicing, lead the rotation with the mind. Achieve a state of turning like not turning, not turning like turning. The circle can be round or flat, but there must be no edges and corners, which will give the opponent an opportunity to take advantage. Then practice standing rotation, still Tai Chi opening standing, can only be practiced on one side, when practicing, with the femoral head as the axis point, the crotch makes up and down front and back circles. When practicing, stand firmly, do not lift the toes and heels. Also lead the rotation with the mind, the hands, feet, and body are integrated, do not let them be stiff, but be flexible. Internal training method: Qi sinks into Dantian, and Qi circulates in the meridians, which is called Dan training. It is divided into two training methods: static and dynamic. Static training is the breathing training method. Dynamic training is the Qi circulation method.
1, Summary of Body Training
Taijiquan not only requires practicing the posture, mastering the routines and various moves, but also mastering the power path and various changes; in addition to practicing the boxing posture, you must also practice the hand and leg exercises. Here, I want to introduce my understanding of the secret body training method. What is the body training method? It is what the article “Practicing Body Training” says: “Practicing legs and hands requires practicing the body, and the body training method is inseparable from the hands and feet. The so-called forward, backward, left, right, center, etc. body methods are all completed by the cooperation of hands and feet.” In the process of learning and practicing Taijiquan, not only must the posture be practiced correctly, but also time must be taken to practice, such as practicing hand, leg, and body exercises. The so-called upper practice is to push, stroke, squeeze, press, pick, lie, elbow, and lean; the middle practice is to advance, retreat, rise, fall, leap, dodge, circle, and turn; the lower practice is to entangle, kneel, pick, lift, cut, chop, hang, and kick.
The practice of the frame should be done on the body, so practicing the body skills is one of the important parts of Tai Chi. Why are the listening, transformation, grasping, and releasing of the masters so fast, so powerful, and so exquisite? It comes from their serious practice of various single-training skills every day. They are called auxiliary skills, but they are actually very important methods to increase skills, and they are also compulsory courses for teachers. In the past, it was rare to hear that other masters had such practice. It is a training of strength and skills, and also the role of body skills and techniques. When the teacher was teaching push hands and Sanda, although he was nearly 70 years old, in the changes of boxing skills, his steps shuttled back and forth, and his movements were as agile as arrows, flashing and disappearing. In a blink of an eye, the teacher was quietly behind me. That kind of body method and speed are hard to describe. Nowadays, few people who practice Tai Chi have this kind of training method. It is a training method for traditional Tai Chi skills.
For the specific practice of physical training, the first thing to do is to stand upright, that is, to be empty and connected from head to toe, such as empty and energetic top strength, chest and back, shoulders and elbows, not leaning forward or backward, and keeping the body in the middle and stable. These basic theoretical common sense are described in detail in many Tai Chi books and periodicals, so I will not repeat them here. We mainly talk about the body method, so-called: “What is the body method? The body moves forward and backward with the hands and feet, and turns back and moves forward; the body turns back and looks back, the latter is in front, looks left and right, vertical and horizontal, high and low, vertical and horizontal, vertical and horizontal according to the situation.
Practice the body first to practice the shoulder, refer to the “shoulder practice method” in “Practice the Body” for details.
The method of practicing the shoulder is actually to practice the release of strength, which can practice a kind of shock and rebound strength, and the release of this strength is very powerful, like a landslide, its momentum is like a bamboo, swift and shocking, and it is released according to the situation. Sometimes it is better to practice with two people, from slow to fast, until the vibration strength is released, which can make the other party feel the heavy and shaking power.
There is also a very important role. Teacher Hou’s shoulder is trained to be a shoulder like a flexible ball, like a universal joint. His adjustment and his direction are unbelievable. No matter what moves you make, what direction, what movements you make, or even the point of force you hit, it seems that you can knock him down with one shot. In this instant, the teacher’s shoulder turns or moves, which means that the point of force you want to hit has undergone a qualitative change, and the teacher changes his crotch; that is, it is the position and time for you to be hit. In this technique, it is difficult to explain it clearly in words, which is the saying that “experts know the doorway”. The real technology does not require a few words, and the key point is clear. Learning boxing is silent: “The key to martial arts is one or two words, and the source of the mind is not many. If you can get the key, you will end it with one word, and if you don’t get the key, you will be scattered forever.” The reason is also here.
2, Sideways shuttle method
For specific training methods, please refer to “Practicing sideways method” in “Practicing body exercises”.
The forward method of Zhaobao Tai Chi is to use wild horses to split their manes The posture is a typical method of advancing and opening the way, while the backward posture is the typical method of rolling the arm backwards, which is the basic method of practicing forward and backward. Of course, this method is not only used to defeat others, but it has a certain combat effect. Not only should the hands have the strength of the 扌朋, but the shoulders and back can also use the strength of the leaning. The hands, feet, and body are all there. The so-called approaching others should be approaching the body, like a pioneer opening the way. It is also suitable for individual practice.
As for the practice of Bagua and Jiugongzhuang, we have practiced them before. At first, there were certain rules, and then there were no fixed rules. The main practice was a kind of dragon-swimming body method, which was to move sideways and move quickly, moving left and right, ups and downs, and shuttle back and forth. In the past, we used to use bamboo poles as a mark and could only run sideways. Later, we practiced shuttle body methods in dense woods, which was quite similar to the dragon-shaped swimming Baguazhang. Not only do we shuttle back and forth in the woods, but more importantly, we treat the trees as hypothetical enemies. While passing by sideways, we hit the set parts of the tree, such as the main acupuncture points of a person. After practicing well, we can also practice with two people. When we touch the opponent, we use one hand to hit the opponent’s attacking hand, and at the same time, we quickly shuttle sideways and pass by, and in an instant we are behind the opponent. In the technique of Sanda, this is the key to determine the outcome. Without this skill of shuttle back and forth, you cannot fight with others. For example, when fighting with other boxers, or boxers, if you are hit by the opponent a few times, I think the power of this heavy punch is enough to make you fall to the ground. But between the time of being hit and not being hit, in the blink of an eye, you have already shuttled to the right side or the left side of the opponent, and then attacked the opponent, making the opponent confused and can only passively take the beating.
Some people say: “It’s easier said than done!” I think this way: the real boxing skills are that the victory or defeat is determined in just one round. How can you fight for half an hour or even several hours continuously? In a real battle, the victory or defeat is in the blink of an eye. When we practice sideways sprinting, our speed is as fast as thunder and our movements are as fast as shooting arrows. But when we really fight, we still wait for action. As the saying goes, be still like the autumn moon and move like a gust of wind. Be still like a woman and be fierce like a tiger. We don’t just rush around randomly. We must judge the situation and be simple and practical. Hit the acupoints and strike the key points. This is introduced in detail in “Essentials of Taijiquan”. It’s just that some fighting methods have been lost or are not applicable in today’s society. But the key techniques are still very important. According to the body method we trained, the requirements are very strict. The body movement and attack must be very precise, just like shooting an arrow at the bull’s eye, hitting the target every time without missing a single shot. Of course, we need to practice frequently, forward and backward, left and right, and shuttle attack. I once told my opponent that I would hit a certain part of his body, even though the opponent was defending tightly. I feinted in front of him with one hand, and hit the acupoints at the indicated part while sideways sprinting past him. The same thing happened when I tried again. Just like in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Gong said to Cao Cao, “My second brother Yide, taking the head of a general in a million troops is as easy as taking something from a bag.” So when we practice hitting, we must be proficient and try it again and again, just as easy as taking something from a bag. At the moment of fighting, we must solve the problem, otherwise how can you deal with many gangsters? The ancients said: “Two hands can’t beat four fists, and four fists can’t beat many people.” Although it is said that, as a martial artist, if you encounter a few gangsters and a few strong men, you can’t deal with them, then you can only go to the entertainment circle to play!
3, Practice waist and hips
See “Practice waist and hip rotation method” in “Practice body exercises”.
First practice the waist and hips, the specific method of operating the circle, while rotating and transferring the shoulders, cooperate with the rotation of the waist and hips, which can be practiced separately or separately. When practicing the waist and hips to a certain extent, you can practice them together in the boxing frame, and cooperate with the left and right rotation of the waist and hips when two people push hands. This is a secret technique of Zhaobao Taijiquan. The author was deeply inspired by the teacher’s sliding shoulders and moving hips. Our teacher Li Zongyou also pointed out that the waist and hips are the hub of the entire Taijiquan movement. It is also like the main axis of the body’s gears. Due to its start and operation, the large and small gears drive the operation of all gears. Taijiquan is the same. The start of the crotch and hips drives the movement of the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and lower limbs. Regarding the role of the waist and hips, it plays an absolute advantage not only in the boxing frame, but also in pushing hands.
The real boxing skills of China are not to compete with others in strength. Challenge is also a kind of competition. The sideways running method of practicing body skills has been mentioned above, which is an extremely flexible body method. If you are good at it, you can’t be hit by the opponent at all. Before you hit, you have been restrained by the acupoints in an instant. Therefore, many schools have practiced the shuttle body method of Jiugong and Bagua Zhuang. Some even have special training methods, such as practicing body methods and light body skills. So if you learn Taijiquan Sanda, then the first person you challenge should be a boxer.