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High level Grandmaster do not fight to win for one's own glory.

My sifu used to have reinforced walls in his academy It depends on the type of fajin being applied. The below is a video of my sifu showing some fajin (8:09 onwards) -- Here's another one -

My teacher never fought competition , never ran a school for money , never had big classes . When his very famous teacher passed on. several claimed to be the new leader and master , he never did . The one that did and still is, I think , cannot show any authority from that master that says he is now the head . However my teacher inherited the masters sword and weaponry . Also my teacher looked after him for years at the end when he was infirm . No would know who this man is , he was a quiet and humble person . teaching individuals and small groups, yet many high level instructors and other masters came to see and learn from him. When teacher died a few from here went to Okinawa for his funeral , they said there were a large amount of people from OS attending . His neighbours wondered why all the people from different countries , they were told that was because he was a very accomplished and world famous ( with those 'in the know' ) martial artist . The neighbours were surprised, they never knew that about him . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosei_Nishihira

It will cost you 5$

finally sorted it out!

This is much better. It is the correct Zhan Zhuang stance. The lower legs are not tilted as much as the previous one.

I do not do any meditations from Garry' channel and do not recommend it to anyone. Just saying it in case

If you just do Taiji, it is neigong and qigong already. It is all in one. There is no need for any preparation. It is still very awkward. Please do the correct Zhan Zhuang stance with the knees line up with the toes.

The breathing part is good. However, please don't do this. This is the worse stance that could putting too much stress on the knees. This is not Taiji at all. Please do the correct Zhan Zhuang stance with the knees line up with the toes.

We have never been separate from wuji for an instant. To conceptualize it as something distant or only occurring before birth or after death or at any point in time is misleading, imo. It is independent of time and space and ever-present as the undifferentiated, unmanifest source of all. Taiji and wuji are not separate in time and space, that is a misunderstanding, imo.

I’ve not come across any rule that prevents us from working on the MDT in temple style. The taiji stance is not the same as the prayer hands form that we use in temple style for MDT work. Also the same posture can be practiced in different ways depending on what the purpose is. For beginners (ie someone who has had 4-6 months of form practice) the static posture is used to learn how to sink qi to the LDT. Then it can be used to MDT and UDT.

Hahaha If you have reached wuji, then, you are dead.

This may qualify as one of those unpopular opinions but I think people are more likely to harm themselves with sitting meditation than with standing meditation, both physically and mentally.

I know that smth similar to ZZ is in Temple Style neigong but it is called "Taiji Stance" there. And it is not static, but can be seen as static one if smb watches you. And it is done no longer than 10 minutes. (May be somebody does it for longer period of time, I dunno) In Yiquan there is similar one as well and it is done as combo - you stand still lets say for 5 minutes and then you should do micro-movements in "taiji stance", and I dont think in the beginning they do it longer than 10-20 minutes on the chest level.

Yes, something similar to it

That is a wonderful gateway to meditation.

I think if we stand simply for the sake of standing, with no expectations or demands on ourselves, there is little risk of harm and it can be a wonderful practice, even for beginners. If we stand to reach some objective, with a certain set of expectations. that is when we tend to cause problems for ourselves. I find standing practice to be a great way to introduce people to meditation. It is less challenging in many ways than seated meditation and has additional physical benefits.

Agreed, in practice we stand for a time before we begin and after we end. My teacher encouraged standing for as long as possible after completing the form, 5 minutes minimum.

@-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ- I know you do Rudi' neigong. Interesting if there Is ZZ stance on chest level in level 1?

All troubles of our life is due to our being in the world of post-heavenly qi , an arena where all things are in fact projected from the core ( the world of pre-heavenly qi ) and materialized , so they look real . Whenever we get problems/ troubles , we use our reasoning , in which embedded with drives, emotions, bias..,to study and solve them, "collapsing " them as what they are (as particles ,atoms, affairs..) . And, our lifetime becomes a frustrating process of getting troubles, working out solutions, then getting new problems..; post-heavenly qi world is full of annoyances as in it, we are entangled by space , time , logic , steps..,those Kantian categories which enable us to understand and act, now become things and matters as barriers; our world is really a world of blockades (事事有碍 ) ; on the other hand , in the arena of pre-heavenly qi where mindless Mind dominates, is a world free of blockades because the analytical mind is ousted ; the mindless Mind (== pre-heavenly qi ) also enables us to manipulate one or more exrea dimensions from the existing one , making it a world of no blockade (事事無碍 ) , therefore doing the non-doing is possible . For example , a 3-dimensional being can intervene the matters happened in the 2D world with ease . A 4D being can intervene events in our 3D world with ease. Qi, in essence, is that extra dimension opens to us.

I didn't say a martial artist. I said martial arts practitionerS. The definition of Wuji was already existed what it is in the mind of the Taoist practitioners. I don't know why someone else wanted to reinvent the wheel?

Wait wot penis molds? Moldy penises ? Goodness me.

Yes please Uncle Apech . hey .... wait a minute ... I already said that didn't I ?

It should be CORRECT moving (moving is yang) complemented by CORRECT standing (yin). So it is not just standing and moving that people do in 1000 variations of qigong styles. How and when to stand matters too.

However, it has to be in one position as defined by the martial arts practitioners with consistency in communication.

I think to define wuji simply as stillness, as opposed to dynamic, whether in practice or ontology, is misleading. Wuji is not “other than” or “opposed” to anything else, it is better expressed as undifferentiated, imo, not static. I certainly allow the body to move if it arises, standing quietly before or after the form or zhan zhuang. Taiji expresses motion vs stillness, their mutual arising both in form and meaning. Wuji embraces and does not favor ANY position relative to any other. All is completed and yet nothing is done.

To learn martial arts, one must know the principles of Yijing(易經). The principle of yin/yang was from the understanding of Wuji and Taiji. If one don't get it right the first time, then, the practice will be deviated from its true meaning. One will start at the wrong foot. Things in the universe is alway started with Wuji, then to Taiji. Wuji is static and Taiji is dynamic. If one thinks that moving from Wuji is still Wuji, how wrong can one be? Acturaly, as soon one took an action from the Wuji state, it becomes the state of Taiji. One is no longer in the Wuji state. It might be too difficult for someone to change the notion from what was learnt in the first place. https://www.learnreligions.com/wuji-wu-chi-3183136

I feel overwhelmed by your enthusiasm.

While there are many different approaches to learning the lessons of static stance work, in my work with a number of different systems there seemed to be a basic, simpler stance taught as a platform with modifications built on that - as many as 20 or 30 or more. This often included different leg stances as well. I think one can go quite far in cultivation just with the simple, basic “platform” stance. In my previous comment becoming more adept at having one’s mind absorbed inside applying song and ting, opening yong quan, learning how to respond to physical and mental discomfort and both connecting with and directing the upward rising expanding energy to open the body and build energy can all be cultivated in the basic simple”wuji” stance. In the systems I am familiar with, Additions/modifications are made to the basic platform stance for specific cultivation reasons which will vary based on the art you study and how your teacher was taught. The way I learned Zhang Zhuang was as a specific application working on a specific quality after a good deal of time in basic stance and movement practices. For me the prep work enabled me to connect with the lesson. Others might emphasize ZZ more and earlier in their study for reasons relative to their art and their teacher’s experience/preference. dwai makes an important point about over reliance on static postures and the need to balance them with movement to avoid stagnation and associated health consequences. Easy to get carried away with what you like to do, whatever it is. Trying to physically impose your will on your body practicing something or at a level you are not ready for also could also lead to this and some other nasty problems as well. My yoga teacher always counseled against imposition in practice as it carried a price, sometimes a lot higher than you bargained for. There is another saying from yoga about energy work that I think is applicable here - When taming wild animals it’s usually a good idea to take your time. On balancing static practices with movement, I would emphasize that this movement include movement of the physical body with just Yi and qi (not only external physically based movements). This is important for both cultivation and health reasons.

Interesting conversation (I'm sure we've all discussed this many times on this board). FWIW, we should never do just standing. Standing should be complemented by moving. So in the context of Taijiquan, if we stand (beginners should not stand for more than 5-10 minutes and slowly build up standing time) - it builds power, we should also practice a moving form to circulate the power. If people only stand, they can end up damaging their kidneys or other health problems. Another thing about standing, imho, is that the mental state is very important - one must be "sung" in the mind as well as the body.

The book Taranyali Tridha Dhyanam by Sundarnath describes the Kanphata Nath view on kundalini referencing three types urdvasakti, adasakti, and madasakti from the Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati and the Amanaska Yoga classical yoga texts associated with Gorakhnath’s teachings. Covers one of their main tools, Sakti Calani, along with their view on what sambavi mudra, vajroli mudra and khecari mudra really involve and how to use them to prepare for/approach it. In their view it takes many years to achieve and achieving it is a very high level outcome that will change one dramatically , not something that one attains without a very serious commitment or without taking some serious risks. There are parallels in my opinion between Neidan (particularly the final process step - return to source) and the Amanaska yoga (the yoga beyond the mind as described in the text). Kundalini in their view is not just an experience of energy in the body that someone can easily access which seems to be a common, popularized conception of it, but rather a very profound and deep connection with spirit that involves going beyond “ doing” , beyond one’s self and acquired mind (to the unmani state).

Just curious, have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you care so much how other people practice?

I said the same thing, more gymnastics than martial arts. But still a high level of accomplishment. Maybe you can appreciate this one a little more