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Inner Health Taijiquan Blog

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Stand like a balance rotate actively like a wheel

17/11/2014

 
​This is in response to a question by Rachel about the relevance of why do we turn (rotate) on heel in “rotating left to kick with heel” and front ball of foot in “rotating right into sweep lotus”.
It’s important for a couple of reasons, as will be outlined below, but it struck me that it is an aspect of the form I had given little consideration or thought to, though I can remember asking this very same question of my teacher many years ago.
​When the question was asked, Roman answered in-part that it was part of the transitional process, which is absolutely true. I would like to attempt to elaborate a little further upon the important question Rachel posed as follows:
In our 37-posture form we rotate on the right heel when we "turn” to left and kick with heel and rotate on the front ball of right foot when “turning” into sweep lotus. We do this because it leads us into both those respective movements with ease, balance and stability. Why we do this is due to the momentum of the movement going into the posture and the way in which our body, carried by momentum, shifts and re-connects with the earth when concluding the rotation into either posture.
I suggest that during your next practice session you rotate and kick with heel whilst trying to rotate on the front ball of your right foot and I think you will find that you will need to re-adjust your balance awkwardly and it will feel clumsy. That is, the momentum from the rotation to the left is going forward and IF you have rotated on your front ball of your right foot and not the right heel then when placing your foot down, your balance and weight will shift rearward against the motion of the rotation when attempting to re-connect your foot back flat to the earth.
Given that the kick is going out to your front it makes the posture (if rotating on your front ball of your right foot) clumsy, unclear, off balance, of little use martially and, importantly, little use for health – given that chi is the root of good health and the practice of accumulating ones chi, is, in part, through the continuous, unhurried, smooth and even manner in which we practice the form. Unbalanced transitioning or sudden stoppages breaks “the flow”.
It is likewise for rotating right after step back to ride tiger going into sweep lotus. If you rotate on your right heel instead of your front ball of right foot the momentum is rotating to the right with a forward motion of energy.
I may be wrong and actual experience can be a good teacher, so again I encourage you to try it. I am sure it will become clearly evident as to why we transition the rotation on right heel in turn to kick left or the front ball of right foot when rotating into sweep lotus. One way will naturally throw the energy of the body back, the other will naturally throw the body forward.
It’s important to understand that the rotation to the right into sweep lotus commences from step back to ride tiger and continues to rotate to a point just prior to stepping forward into the 45-degree 70/30 stance of bend bow to shoot tiger posture. So balance, timing centeredness and root are very important, as is the body moving as one continuous piece throughout the rotation…any rotation.
Regardless of where in the form if your movements feel awkward, we must look for the source of the unease in the waist and/or legs or, as it is written in the Taichichuan Ching by Chang San-feng, “if the timing and position are not correct, the body becomes disordered, and the defect must be sought in the legs and waist. For example, in stepping forward or back have I clearly distinguished substantial and insubstantial? Am I twisting my waist instead of turning my waist? Have I maintained my feet shoulder width apart?
Please note, throughout my above response I use the words turn/ing and or rotate/ing. Now, this perhaps is only a personal preference but when referring to transitioning in Tai Chi Chuan I tend to use the word rotating more so then the word turning. In the classical text entitled the “Taichichuan Lun” by Wang Tsung-yueh it states; “Stand like a balance rotate actively like a wheel”. (translation: Ben Lo & Martin Inn version).
My own experience after having practiced the linear and the square for some years then advancing into the circular expression of Tai Chi Chuan was that after a time my form began to feel as if it was one smooth continuous rotation from beginning to end.
It is also important to note in the application of turn and kick with heel – the hip, knee and ankle joints of the kicking foot must all align in a straight line. And in sweep lotus, round out the lower back and bend the knee to shorten your leg, as it makes touching your left and right hands more approachable.
I trust I have been clear and not steered too far from the original question?
Continue gently…
Steve D
30/12/2015 07:13:51 pm

Yes, I agree that word choice can make a very big difference. Using the "right" word is very important. A wrong word can sometimes change the apparent meaning of a phrase, passage or instruction. It can lead you down the wrong path if you don't learn to question the true meaning behind the word.

Roman and I have often discussed this and he has pointed it out to the class numerous times. The expression "the waist" is a good example - we at Li Chi Hsiang understand this to be a western translation of the Chinese "qua" (or perhaps best thought of as the hips/pelvis), not the narrow band of the torso between the ribs and the hips (which is what most english-speaking westerners understand it as). Thinking of the western idea of the waist is totally different to thinking of the chinese idea.

Likewise, in some translations of the classics to english we have found that perhaps the wrong word or phrase has been used in the so-called "literal" translation and this error becomes compounded with further interpretation by the author. Language translation is not necessarily an exact thing and relies not only on the language ability of the translator but also, at least in part, on their understanding of the subject matter.

Thus, an interpreter/translator of the Classics from Chinese to English, will be able to do so much better if they actually understand and practice the Art of Tai Chi Chuan at a very high level and have it in their body. Sadly, it appears that these people are too few in number.

Roman and myself have found inaccurate translations and interpretations in books by comparing what is written with what we know, though our understanding of the Principles. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and when adhering strictly to the Principles you can feel in your body what is right and what is not.

This is one reason (among many) that Tai Chi Chuan cannot be learned from a book, but only at the hands of an instructor who "has the Art" and who knows how to impart it to others in a practical way (which is why we at Li Chi Hsiang are so very fortunate to have such teachers as yourself, Roman and Darren).

I believe we must be careful to not get "stuck" on any particular word, phrase or expression, but to try to understand the real meaning behind it. Language can be very subjective, depending on the connotations that certain words have for an individual. A simple example - the word "cold". What is cold for a far-north Queenslander, weather-wise, is probably fairly warm for a native of Tasmania. It's not the word "cold" that is at fault, as such, but our interpretation of it.

From my own experience, the common expression "turn the waist" took on a totally new meaning for me when I changed my interpretation of it from the active-voice "turn the waist" (which implied to me that I had to "do" something) to the passive "let the waist be turned" (which put allowed me to "be the wheel" and let the energy of my push-hands partner do the turning for me).

Similar changes of understanding came for me over time with common words and expressions such as "yielding", "suspend the head-top", "draw under the wei lu / tuck under the wei lu / drop the wei lu" along with many others and of course, the granddaddy of them all "sink and relax"!

Is it any wonder this art can seem so difficult to learn? It seems we are (to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw) "...divided by a common language".

Thankfully, we have our Sifus to ask for clarification and practical demonstration to help clear up any wrong-wordedness.

John H link
30/12/2015 07:15:06 pm

In response to your post Steve I think Tui Shou often translated as "push hands" in my experience is another interpretation which can be misleading?

There is a vast difference between the idea of pushing hands and sensing hands. Pushing carries with it the idea of muscular force, aggressiveness and insensitivity which is counter productive to our practice of Taichichuan.

Sensing on the other hand (no pun intended) carries with it, awareness, sensitivity and defensiveness.

Pushing is heavy and tense and blocks the energy whereas sensing is soft and relaxed and overtime allows the energy to pass through the body unobstructed.

The idea of "pushing" has no place in Taichichuan as such, all too often "push-hands" becomes a shoving match of the strong defeating the weak, a contest of win or lose. The idea of sensing-hands is working together in a co-operative manner to develop each others understanding and skills in accordance with the principles of Taichichuan.

As for the push in our form we have to understand the energy comes from the legs and not the hands acting in isolation. For a long time I found I was pushing from the hands separate from the rest of my body. The classics inform us from the feet, through the legs, to the waist, to the hands must be one unbroken line of of energy.


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    John Hartley, Founder and Principal Instructor of Inner Health School of Taijiquan, Adelaide 

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