Taijiquan- 5 Elements & 8 Energies-Whats yours?

[Taiji Bum]

Different folks learned very different ways to express the elements and energies in taiji. Heres how I learned them in regards to push hands. But first heres a joke.

 

How many taiji teachers does it take to change a lightbulb? Just one, but nine other taiji teachers have to stand around and say we do it differently in our school.

 

The five elements are in regards to footwork. We always put our right foot forward and left back and we try to not to move the left because the eight energies or eight arm techniques are designed to deflect/return attacks from the eight directions.

 

Ward Off and Roll Back are best practiced against take-downs.

Press and Push Down are best practiced as hip throws and shoulder throws.

Split and Take are best practiced against punching attacks.

Elbow and Shoulder are best practiced against kicks.

 

These are just the archtypical practice moves since we believe that all taiji can be boiled down to ward off alone. Each moves the contact point closer to your body starting with your hand in Split and in to your shoulder in Shoulder.

 

Advance, retreat, yield, follow and hold are the foot movements and I am drawing a blank on how to describe them without standing up and showing you. But since you cant see me...

Advance-step straight forward

Retreat-step straight back

Yield- is stepping back to the left and behind your left foot and it makes you spin clockwise a bit.

Follow is stepping right with a sweeping arc and again spinning clock wise.

 

I will attach a handout I made.Push_Hands.doc

 

Oh I forgot that its important that you dont have your weight on both balls or both heels the way I learned it. We always shift ball to heel and if the weight is on the ball of one foot then you pivot on the heel of the other and vis. versa. That makes it very specific on weight shift to pivot to arm movement.

 

Here is a video of me doing the eight energies I uploaded. Eventually I want to make a video for my students but I think I will get someone more photogenic to do it.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=69...p;q=darin+hamel

 

Anybody else?

[Taiji Bum]

Anybody else do taijiquan? Anybody else want to describe how they learned the 8 & 5?

[GrandTrinity]

I beleive Mantak Chia incorperates the five elements into the five directions, but neglects the 8 forces! This is unfortunate!

[thaddeus]

Different folks learned very different ways to express the elements and energies in taiji. Heres how I learned them in regards to push hands. But first heres a joke.

 

How many taiji teachers does it take to change a lightbulb? Just one, but nine other taiji teachers have to stand around and say we do it differently in our school.

 

The five elements are in regards to footwork. We always put our right foot forward and left back and we try to not to move the left because the eight energies or eight arm techniques are designed to deflect/return attacks from the eight directions.

 

Ward Off and Roll Back are best practiced against take-downs.

Press and Push Down are best practiced as hip throws and shoulder throws.

Split and Take are best practiced against punching attacks.

Elbow and Shoulder are best practiced against kicks.

 

These are just the archtypical practice moves since we believe that all taiji can be boiled down to ward off alone. Each moves the contact point closer to your body starting with your hand in Split and in to your shoulder in Shoulder.

 

Advance, retreat, yield, follow and hold are the foot movements and I am drawing a blank on how to describe them without standing up and showing you. But since you cant see me...

Advance-step straight forward

Retreat-step straight back

Yield- is stepping back to the left and behind your left foot and it makes you spin clockwise a bit.

Follow is stepping right with a sweeping arc and again spinning clock wise.

 

I will attach a handout I made.Push_Hands.doc

 

Oh I forgot that its important that you dont have your weight on both balls or both heels the way I learned it. We always shift ball to heel and if the weight is on the ball of one foot then you pivot on the heel of the other and vis. versa. That makes it very specific on weight shift to pivot to arm movement.

 

Here is a video of me doing the eight energies I uploaded. Eventually I want to make a video for my students but I think I will get someone more photogenic to do it.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=69...p;q=darin+hamel

 

Anybody else?

Here's a good example of what you're talking about:

can anyone identify the energies?

btw, I don't believe there is much room for argument when talking about peng lu ji an, etc. Some teachers just don't know the stuff and need to fill in the gaps with other things (imo). What style of taiji are you teaching?

T

[Taiji Bum]

I would have said I practice and teach Yang style but we got excommunicated this year by the Yang family. My teacher John Wang was a Taiwanese student was Cheng Man Ching. Or at least he considered Cheng to be his main teacher since he also did Wu style and some Chen stuff.

 

I am taking some time off teaching at the moment and got myself a day job. I am still meeting with students but I got disillusioned with the money in it. I was teaching for St John Hospital here in Detroit but towards the end I just donated my fee's back into the Hospitals alternative health program and becamse a volunteer. Then there was the politics of all the different teachers.....It got really bad when I started to not take money and so I left.

[GrandTrinity]

Politics in Tai Chi

 

LOL

[Taiji Bum]

Politics in Tai Chi

 

LOL

By other teachers I didn't mean other tai chi teachers. Perish the thought! No politics in tai chi, no siree! The others teachers I was refering to was the chi gong guy, the various massage therapists and the yoga babes.

[Spectrum]

In my research on the Eight ways and Five steps I've found any of the Yang family songs are lovely to read before practice. They really capture an essense of each movement. I've excerpted these poems from a book titled "Yang Family Secret Transmissions" Translated by Douglas Wile 1983.

 

---

 

Songs of the Eight Ways (attributed to Tan Meng-Hsien)

 

 

The Song of Ward-Off

 

How can we explaint the energy of Ward-Off?

It is like water which supports a moving boat.

First make the chi in the tan-tien substantial.

Then hold the head as if suspended from above.

The whole body has the power of a spring.

Opening and closing should be clearly defined.

Even if the opponent uses a thousand pounds of force,

We will float lightly and without difficulty.

The Song of Roll-Back

 

How can we explain the energy of Roll-back?

We draw the opponent towards us by alloing him to advance,

While we follow his incoming force.

Continuing to draw him in until he overextends,

We remain light and comfortable,

without losing our vertical posture.

When his force is spent he will naturally be empty,

While we maintain out center of gravity,

And can never be bested by the opponent.

 

The Song of Press

 

How can we explain the energy of Press?

Sometimes we use two sides

To directly receive a single intention.

Meeting and combining in one movement,

We indirectly receive the force of the reaction.

This is like a ball bouncing off a wall,

Or a coin dropped on a drum,

Which bounces up with a metallic sound.

The Song of Push

 

How can we explain the energy of Push?

When applied, it's like water in motion

But within its softness there is great strength.

When the flow is swift, the force cannot be withstood.

Meeting high places the waves break over them,

And encountering low places they dive deep.

The waves rise and fall,

And finding a hole they will surely surge in.

 

The Song of Pull-Down

 

How can we explain the energy of Pull-down?

Like weighing something on a balance scale,

We give free play to the opponents force whether great or small.

After weighing it we know it's lightness or heaviness.

Turning on only four onces,

We can weigh a thousands pounds.

If we ask what is the principle behind this,

We discover it is the function of the lever.

 

Song of Split

 

How can we explain the energy of Split?

Revolving like a flywheel,

If something is thrown against it,

It will be cast off at a great distance.

Whirlpools appear in swift flowing streams,

And the curling of waves are like spirals.

If a falling leaf lands on their surface,

In no time it will sink from sight.

 

The Song of Elbow-Stroke

How can we explain the energy of Elbow-stroke?

Out method must be reckoned by the Five Elements.

Yin and yang are divided above and below,

And full and empty should be clearly distinguished.

The opponent cannot keep up with out continuous movement,

And our explosive pounding is even fiercer.

When the six energies have been thoroughly mastered,

Then the applications will be infinate.

 

The Song of Shoulder-Stroke

 

How can we explain the energy of SHoulder-stroke?

The method is divided between shoulder and back.

The posture "Diagonal Flying" uses the shoulder,

But between the shoulders there is also the back.

When suddenly an opportunity presents itself,

Then it crashes like a pounding pestle.

Yet we must be careful to maintain our center of gravity,

For losing it we will surely fail.

 

 

Songs of the Five Steps

 

Song of Advance

 

When it is time to advance,

advance without hesitation.

If you meet no obstacle,

continue to advance.

Failing to advance when the time is right

is a lost opportunity.

Seizing the opportunity to advance,

you will surely be the victor.

Song of Retreat

 

If our steps follow the changes of our body,

then our technique will be perfect.

We must avoid fullness and emphasize

emptiness so that our opponent lands on nothing.

To fail to retreat when retreat is called for

is neither wise nor courageious.

A retreat is really an advance if

we can turn it to a counter-attack.

 

Song of Gaze-Left

 

To the left, to the right, yin and yang

change according to the situation.

We evade to the left and strike from the right

with strong sure steps.

The hands and feet work together and

likewise knees, elbows and waist.

Our opponent cannot fathom our movements

and has no defense against us.

 

Song of Look-Right

 

Feigning to the left, we attack to the right

with perfect steps.

Striking left and attacking right,

we following the opportunities.

We avoid the frontal and advance from the

side, seizing changing conditions.

Left and right, full and empty,

our technique must be faultless.

Song of Central Equilibrium

 

We are centered, stable and still

as a mountain.

Our chi sinks to the tan-tien and

we are as if suspended from above.

Our spirit is concentrated within and

our outward maner perfectly composes.

Recieving and issuing energy are

both the work of an instant.

[forestofsouls]

We didn't necessarily learn these as separate entities. For instance, with the steps, we start off with simple advancing and retreating in an arrow and bow. We come to what you call yield and follow, I believe, when we learn retreat to ride tiger. Another stepping variation are the "five style steps" which we learn by using a sort of grid that looks like a 5 on a die to practice side to side, front to back, and attaching steps.

 

I've been taught the energies pop up in different places depending on the form you're doing. We can do all 8 energies in two forms: grasp sparrow's tail (ward off, roll back, press, push) and single whip. When we're forming the whip, we go through shoulder, elbow, to roll pull (pull down). Then we shift to split. In our single hand push, our first two person practice, we do ward off to press to roll back, which when combined looks like a circle.

[thaddeus]

I've been taught the energies pop up in different places depending on the form you're doing.

One teacher I know has a good way to explain it. Picture a ball. If you push on the ball and rotate so your attached fingers go under and up..that movement is Peng (ward off)..if you go over and down, that's An (push), forward to the side is Ji (press), backwards is Lu (rollback)..so yeah, it's all over..and people express the same named movements in different ways..

T

[Spectrum]

... Then internalize the ball into your dan tien. Now be the ball.