Pressing? I press with my hands I thought. Yes and no. To issue energy there must be a root, or for my physic nerds, an equal and opposite energy! Due Ba Li (opposite power), can be expressed in many different ways (the theory can be quite deep and expressed from whole body to 1 inch 😉 but no greater way then by rooting through your feet and exploding its opposite energy the other direction.

Now some people will imagine their feet deep in the earth while others will use their intention and develop a strong Yongquan (K-1) connection in the middle of the soles of their feet. The idea is the press through the foot, if you do not connect your foot to the earth is some fashion the energy will be false and weak. Even weightlifters understand this as they squat or deadlift, its not just the muscles contracting and extending but the pushing down that generates quite a bit of power in the lift as well. Hell Sir Isaac Newton must have been practicing Tai Chi because his third law of motion is based off this principle (well maybe… 😉

The truth of how this truly works still lies within the connection the body, the relaxation, and the smooth breathing. As the foot connects the body stores the energy and releases it at the appropriate time through the proper channels internally, between joints and nodes, meridians and tendons! Without proper form the pressing will be useless.   The tenacity of the movement has to find its power delivered from the foot!

This concept seems simple.  Of course I move around by using my legs, duh!  The important part is in the how.  Sun Lutang and several other masters talked of 4 manifestations and 5 steps within Taiji.  The 4 manifestations are: advancing, retreating, going left, and going right.  The 5 steps are; advance, retreat, left, right, and stay in the center.

Well that seems simple enough, I just move around right?  Unfortunately its more complicated than that.  One must move with the right intention and centeredness.  You must move with root yet be agile and smooth.   These ideas take years of moving in a slow and relaxed manner, discovering the depth of each move.  Should your leg be empty or full? Should it deliver energy or accept it?  Once you grasp these details you then must dive deeper into what the movement entails.  Your legs must connect to the body, must become light and agile yet able to sink into the ground within a moments notice.  You must be moving left then change right within an instant.  You must be able to retreat yet advance at a moments notice when the vulnerability is discovered.  This is a martial art that breeds health and longevity but is still a MARTIAL ART!

The ability to change intention within any part of the body is difficult, but even more so with the legs.  Many people spend more time sitting then actually moving, much to the dismay of our genetics and heritage!  Their kuas are closed and tendons tight.  This sluggishness is hard to overcome and must be trained OUT of your body.  The bows of the legs must be trained to be taut and strong!

“But Sifu, I am tired today…”

Too bad! Through the difficult comes the great.  A person must eat the bitter to attain the truth in things.  Without Yang, your Ying will never truly flourish, only lie dormant and elusive to health and combat.  Even just standing at a desk or in your house instead of sitting will give strength to the legs and help overcome this idleness.  This is the start, in the little achievements greater will persist and one day you will accomplish your form 10, then 20, and may be even 40 times without noticing any sluggishness and tiredness – true Gong Fu!

Inspiration penetrates my headtop? What the h, e, double hockey sticks do they mean? Well these cryptic sayings help you ponder the meaning of tai chi and internal martial arts. There are many levels in tai chi and the first starts with intention. One must learn to use their intention to draw energy up the back of their spine to the top of their head, then back down to the lower Dan Tian. The micro cosmic circuit is an important, it helps deliver the energy to the all 3 Dan Tians and develop deeper levels of internal training. Once your lower Dan Tian becomes full and rock hard one can start developing the internal organs and fill the body, thus naturally expressing through the 4 extremities or antennas. It all starts by using your intention and delivering energy up your back side though 😉
Now there are three gates that one must get through to fully open your Governor Vessel (Du Meridian). The first gate is (GV 1) located on the tailbone. Energy must be in abundance to “push through” the gates. Intention must truly be focused but not on the point, a person must concentrate on the Bai Hui point (crown of the head) as if the gates were already open and the energy flow within the vessel was smooth. Once the energy “pops” through the first point it will again need to gain abundance at the next point opposite the middle Dan Tian, located between the shoulder blades. Lastly it must pass through the base of the skull also known as the Jade Pillow in Daoist terms.
*Side note, Depending on your lineage and sifu these points have different names and even locations. I’m not one to argue whether it GV1 or 4, 10, 11 or 12, and 16 or 17; the concept is the important part–knowing that feeling or hearing a popping action will allow you to know you have passed the gate!
**Side Side note, But Sifu I didn’t hear or feel a pop! That’s ok, keep relaxing and moving the energy. A slow leak may occur that eventually gets bigger and bigger. Not everyone is the same but when a person starts really feeling the energy buzzing/vibrating in their upper Dan Tian they will know it!
With the Du meridian open your yin and yang energies can blend and true harmony can be gained. By combining the active and passive energies, vigor and health can be re-aligned, your essence can be converted to energy and this energy can be moved, especially through the yin meridians to nourish the 5 organs and then to deeper levels.

What does it mean to have liveliness in your waist? The waist is the most important part of your body within tai chi. Externally it has to be supple and soft thus creating an ability to be agile, the ability to store energy and the ability to release that energy. Internally it houses the Dan Tian, one of the main energy centers of your body and the location to change essence into chi. When your energy is alive you can respond to all situations without effort. Your movement becomes free and easy; any situation becomes effortless.
The waist is where internal martial arts start all movement (internally and externally). The power center, inside and out, drives the locomotion and generates the power. To develop this one must first find proper structure. The coccyx must be tucked, the Dan Tian sunk, chest hollowed, head hung high, chin tucked in, and back slightly rounded. Once the structure is correct a person must learn to relax into it or become “sung.” Through relaxation energy has true freedom and expression and power can occur at the speed of thought!
Now does this mean people need to have extremely supple waists and hip flexors? No but the more flexible you are the greater ability to store energy within your joints and issue when the time is needed. Flexibility and relaxation in the waist and hips is only one part of the greater equation though. A person must learn to connect their body parts together to create unison, internally and externally, to truly be able to express the power. Once the body is connected the intention can carry your energy through your body effortlessly. The bows of the body can be contracted and expanded at will and a person can become as fast as thought, this then leads to the idea of no-thought, a spiritual level, but that is for a later blog. Yet to accomplish all of this the waist must first be relaxed and the energy must be alive!