IHT Blog

The compass and the square

1/12/2014

"What is firmly established cannot be uprooted
What is firmly grasped cannot slip away"
– Tao Te Ching

The Compass and the Square.
I was thinking recently about how over the years my form has changed, but it struck me that the constant within the change remains this: my personal belief in the practice and embedding of the theories and “classical” principles of Tai Chi Chuan, theories and principles that have their roots in, and stem from the I-Ching, Tao Te Ching and Sun Tzu’s art of war.

I began to think also of the importance of the linear, the square and the circle in the learning and teaching of Tai Chi Chuan and how it ensures a strong and stable foundation upon which to practice.

My teacher brought my attention to the square and the circle when I first began my Tai Chi Chuan practice. In fact, it was central to his teaching methodology and was meticulous in ensuring we moved correctly in accordance with it. Following is my attempt to give an overview and share a small insight of the linear, square and circle as it relates to our practice and teaching methodology.

What is meant by the square and the circle?

Stuart Alve Olson, I think, outlines the learning process quite well, when he informs us that in beginning to learn our Tai Chi Chuan we do so firstly through learning:

The linear – (Humankind) the orderly sequence of movements of our Tai Chi Chuan form, and
The square, (Earth) which is the regulation of those movements, referred to as “the square within the circle” and
The circle, (Heaven) which is the expression of Tai Chi.

In my teaching process I also equate the linear with skeletal alignment of the body; the square with the muscular relaxation of the body, and the circular with the suspension of, or the complete opening of, all the joints throughout the body and of course, the rotational expression of Tai Chi Chuan. These are all consistent, I feel, with the orderly teaching methodology as outlined above.

“A good craftsman teaches in accordance to the compass and the square – who dare goes against the chalk-line?” – Cheng Man-Ching

The linear, from which the square is constructed, consists of the most fundamental principles of Tai Chi Chuan. These principles are introduced and imparted to the student as we make our way through the transitional movements and postures of the form.

We learn the square in a linear fashion, step-by-step in a 1-2-3 manner. We lay the foot down straight following the knee as we step directly and clearly to our cardinal and diagonal directions when transitioning, so that after a time, we gradually gain clarity about the individual postures, positions, directions and the functional aspects of Tai Chi Chuan, and most importantly distinguishing clearly the substantial and insubstantial (yin/yang) along with proper skeletal alignment and muscular relaxation and sinking.

The linear and the square aspects of the Tai Chi Chuan form, dependent upon consistency of practice, can, on average, take about a year to impart, or perhaps a little more, then we should allow another two years (or more) for corrections. Essentially spending our first five or six years in laying a healthy foundation prior to even beginning our circular exploration.

One could say that the linear and the square cover all the technical and regulative aspects of our practice from the beginning (or birth) of movement, through to our transitions into a singular posture within the form.
It has been said that the square is essential for development.
Underpinning and central to the idea of the square and relative to all aspects of Tai Chi Chuan practice, are the five actions of: advance, retreat, look-left, gaze right and central equilibrium.
Given the above, we can perhaps begin, on a fundamental level, to understand the saying that "the square never leaves the circle and the circle never leaves the square". A circular process of developing and refining regulated continuously through the square.

The Compass
“We practice our art in a circular manner so the devil of hardness can no longer corner us”.(jbh)
We study and practice the linear and the square in our form for some years. That is to say: we step out, shift the weight, turn the waist, our directions become clearly defined, as does the substantial and insubstantial. We then begin to enter into the circular expression of Tai Chi Chuan. Of course, this area of practice is, like a circle, never-ending.
In relation to Tai Chi Chuan, it has been said that the circle is for refinement, for intensity and for the accumulation of one's chi. or, as Sifu Roman Czerniawsky has eloquently stated: “the rounding out of our form is an ongoing process of softening into the square”.
Though not exhaustive, the circle is about feeling one's way through the form, rotating as one unit in a fluid,unbroken,unhurried, upright, aware, balanced and calm manner, rotating smoothly like a well-oiled wheel, not, in a flighty fashion I might add, but in an internally aware and highly sensitive well-grounded and connected manner, having absorbs and aligned the principles internally.
Having consciously practiced the linear and the square they are then expressed externally in a circular manner. The square is yin and the circle is yang, making up an interdependent and interconnected whole.
It is good, to give consideration be it in our learning or teaching phase to the linear, the square and the circle, as each aspect can be likened to the ABC of Tai Chi and are vitally important to our continual learning, study, refinement, practice and transmission of this wondrous art of Tai Chi Chuan, this gentle art of “letting go” gracefully.

John B Hartley, 2014-
Editing assistance: Steve Duncombe

2 Comments

Felicity

30/12/2015 07:45:57 pm

I’ve just been reading the writings regarding the compass and the square and I thought I’d share my thoughts.

In reading about the three phases of learning (the linear, the square and the circle) it made me reflect on something that has been becoming clearer to me of late. I feel I’m starting to relax more in my movements and I feel this is very much due to the extra time I’d spent working initially through the linear concepts of the form (learning the square).

Because of my injuries (in the ankles, knees and feet) I had to initially go more slowly through the structural components of the form and really think on each posture and what I was asked to do. My limitations, though frustrating, made me really focus on what was important to the stability of each posture. As a result, I have noticed that I now feel much more relaxed in my form, because I feel more confident in my understanding of the principles.

Especially in my legs and waist, which have always been prone to injury and stiffness, I can feel a huge difference now and a lot of it comes from relaxing mentally. Because I have a "checklist", in the form of the principles, to refer back to, I feel I carry much less tension, which has allowed me the briefest moments of feeling that my movements are taking on a connectedness. I am starting to feel able to relax from one posture into another, which is quite exciting.

Also, the idea of moving through different phases of learning has given me another perspective on the topic brought up in the last newsletter, in terms of the language used and how different phrases can take on different connotations. I’ve found that by having a clearer sense of the different “steps" to learning the art, it provides the context for these terms, which helps to ensure the correct meaning is found.

The best example I’ve found most recently is transitioning from the phrase “tuck under the wei lu” to “let the wei lu relax to initiate the movement”. The use of ‘tuck" is active and important in helping your body start to activate areas that may not be used to working in this way. Once this idea is clearer in the mind, the active term starts to be replaced by something that is less of a "doing” action.

That is, we start off learning to “do” a movement, but later come to understand it as more of a “not-doing” – more of a letting go, that does the “doing” for us. I have become aware that there are many subtleties in each movement and it is important to try to feel all the slightly different movements in each posture – feeling what the body’s structure “wants” me to do, rather than forcing the same action in each.

I’m so glad to have the Bubbling Well Discussion Group, as these different thoughts, coupled of course with all the hours of practise and talk I’ve had with Roman, Steve and everyone at Li Chi Hsiang, always seem to help me clarify a little further where I am and where I’m going to in the Art.

John H link

30/12/2015 07:47:23 pm

Thanks for sharing your insights Felicity, the feet, ankles knees form very much the physical foundation of our practice I can understand the degree of difficulty/frustration you have had to work through to this point.

I find reading the experiences of other Taichichuan practitioners who in spite of their physical capacity continue to apply the principles in their practice refreshing and inspiring. Applying the principles to the way we move is not always as physically easy for some at first as it may be for others, and it is important when teaching Taichichuan that we are reminded to remain mindful of this and not become overly dogmatic in our teaching approach as if one size fits all.

Principles govern and regulate our movement in Taichichuan and whilst unchanging can, if explained and demonstrated well be accommodated in numerous ways when taking into account our physical capacity into account. For example stepping patterns and foot placement whilst transitioning, length of steps etc. can be arranged to better suit a person’s physical capacity and range of movement and still remain consistent and in accord with Taichichuan principles. When teaching a group class, of course, our methodology and fundamental exercises are standardized for efficiency but it is in the one-to-one teaching where flexibility is required.

I am sure many will have found how much of what we learn in Taichichuan classes slowly begins to ripple through and brings many benefits to our daily living. Our practice however does not need to be confined only to our weekly classes, principles found in Taichichuan can be applied in all areas of our life whilst standing, sitting, walking or lying down, not only in the doing of “the form”.

As you allude in your reflections Felicity, its important we are accepting and embracing of “our” “limitations” then beginning from where we are, working with and through them, adopting a slow, step-by-step gradual bit-by-bit but consistent approach to learning Taichichuan cannot but produce very beneficial results over time.

I tend to agree with you about the “doing” of Taichichuan, what I am realizing over time is that Taichichuan is very much in the “non-doing” which reminds me of the saying,"Don't go around pulling up the corn shoots". Like in the story of the foolish emperor who in his hunger for coin,, spent all night in his corn fields on his hands and knees tugging away at the freshly sprouted corn shoots in the vain attempt to hasten their growth only having destroyed both their potential and their growth. Not knowing the corn shoots left alone in the absence of greed, with a good amount of sun, good amount of shade, good amount of water, good amount of dryness, good amount of time, would have grown accordingly to their own nature all by themselves?

Likewise, the in-principled practice of Taichichuan can be seen as the pre-conditions for release and growth, (potentially at least) it cannot be forced, work with what we have today,"hasten slowly"and enjoy the harvest.

Thank you again for the reminder and for sharing a part of your journey and reflections on your practice with the BWDG Felicity

May your practice continue to grow corn?

Continue gently
John H

Inner Health Taijiquan Blog

The compass and the square

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