Missing Handouts

As promised here are the texts of the handouts you should have received yesterday.

Zhan Zhuang :

Lifting

Ensure that you are sitting comfortably, that your back is upright and that you are relaxed.

Just let your arms hang at your sides. If you are sitting on the floor, just allow your hands to rest on the floor.

Raise your arms by pushing your elbows out to the side slowly, pushing them away from your body. If you are sitting in a chair, let your arms come up to the point at which your hands are roughly in line with your thighs. If you are sitting on a cushion or on the floor, raise them until your hands are clear of the floor.

As you raise your arms, be sure not to pull them backwards; your lower arms should hang slightly in front of the midline of your body.

Keep your shoulders relaxed. Do not try and lift your arms by hunching or lifting your shoulders.

Once in this position, breathe normally.

You should, after a little practice, start to feel a sense of lifting when in this position, hence the name. However, do not let this sense of lifting introduce any tension; stay relaxed and focused.

Imagine that your fingers are being pulled down by weights attached to the end of each of them whilst your arms are being held in place by balloons held under the arms between the body and elbow.

There should also have been some handouts for the bits of the form you did, so here they are...

Name:

Grasp the Bird’s Tail (I) [Right Ward-off]

Foot Position and Weight Placement:

Direction:

· Lead Foot: West

· Face: West

· Centre: North West

Position:

Arms:

The right arm should be extended in the same direction as the lead foot, palm up fingers open and wrist open. The elbow should be unlocked with the tip of the elbow pointing down. Keep the shoulder relaxed. The finger tips of right hand should be no higher than the base of the throat.

The left arm, with the palm facing downwards and the fingers and wrist open, should be placed so that the mid-finger is pointing at, and is level with, the mid-forearm of the right arm. The elbow should be sunk low and the shoulder relaxed. Try to maintain some space under the armpits.

Legs:

The right leg is placed flat on the floor with the outside of the foot square and pointing west. Ideally, the lower leg will be perpendicular to the floor. If the knee is forward then it should be no further forward than the base of the toes. The centre of the knee should be aligned with the centre of the foot.

The left leg should be straight but without locking the knee. The foot is at 45° pointing north-west.

Centre:

The pelvis should be pulled forward and the head lifted to make the back upright. The waist should be facing North West.

Intent:

The primary focus of Intent is in the fingers of the right hand and the palm of the left. The arms are energized by sinking the elbows and pulling the shoulders back and down.

The lower body Intent comes from pushing backwards and down with the left heel, as well as pushing down on the right heel rather than the ball of the toe. It also comes from energy used to pull the pelvis forward.

Finally, the spine is opened by pushing down in to and through the coccyx and, at the same time, lifting the head.

Application:

This is an arm hold. The right hand is up in the arm pit of the right arm of the opponent whilst the left hand is (notionally) holding the wrist.

Points to Note:

When playing this form, there will be a temptation to push the pelvis forward by tensing the buttocks rather than pulling it forward using the lower abdominal muscles. Try and keep the buttocks relaxed.

Whilst moving directly to this shape from a ‘standing start’ placement of the feet and the right knee are easy to get right. When moving to Right Ward Off from one of the many transitions that there are in to it, care must be taken to ensure that a) the feet are shoulder width apart, b) the front foot is square and that c) you haven’t over flexed your right knee or allowed it to collapse inwards.

Name

Grasp the Bird’s Tail (II) [Reach out and roll out]

Movement

Arms:

Right arm: Without changing the position of the arms with respect to the chest, rotate the wrist to the left until the palm is facing downwards.

Left arm: Again without changing the position of the arm, rotate the wrist to the left until the palm is face up.

Feet:

The feet do not move.

Centre

Square the centre to the west by pulling your left hip forward. At the same time extend the upper body forwards making a straight back.

Weight

The weight is moved more in to the front foot; however the heel of the back foot should remain firmly on the floor.

Face:

The face remains looking forward. Do note become mesmerised by the movement in the hands and allow the eyes/face to follow them.

Intent:

Forward movement comes from pushing the upper body forward and straightening the back leg a little. These movements must balance so the chest pushes forwards by concentrating on its centre rather than simply allowing it to fall forward.

The extension of the leg should be matched with a pushing down in to the heel.

The actual movement gained from pushing the chest forwards is quite small. It is increased by the action of turning the centre to be square to the West. The power in the turn comes from the lower abdominal muscles being used to turn the waist with the upper body turning to match it, rather than simply turning the upper body at the waist.

Whilst the forward motion comes from turning the waist, extending the upper body and pushing forward through the back leg, the intent of the movement should be matched through the fingers of both hands.

Application:

The application for this transition is the preparation to throw the opponent to the ground by repositioning the grip formed in Right Ward Off prior to turning the body and forcing the opponent down.

Points to Note:

The application requires that you turn your body sufficiently to move your right hand from under the armpit of the opponent to place it on top of the shoulder; care should be taken not to over-rotate.

Points of Interest:

This transition is used repeatedly through the whole of the Yang-style form.

Name

Grasp the Bird’s Tail (III) [Sink back and turn]

Movement

Arms:

During this transition neither of the arms actually moves, despite appearances. The shape the arms formed in the previous transition is maintained throughout. The position of the arms with respect to the chest remains constant.

Feet:

Again, the feet do not move.

Centre

The movement of the centre is fairly complex, especially as this is the first time in the form that it is experienced. The transition starts with the back straight. You return to an upright back, not by pushing back with the upper body, but rather, by pulling the pelvis forward – tucking it under the body. Doing this causes the back leg to bend. As the back leg bends, push down, through the coccyx, to sink the weight, this is further aided by pushing off the front foot and straightening the right leg.

At the same time as sinking backwards, the centre is turned through 45° to the North-West.

Weight

The weight, at the start of this transition, is forward of centre; more in the right leg than the left. As the transition progresses, the weight moves smoothly back in to the left leg. By the time you have finished sinking back and turning, all of the weight should be in the left leg; the right leg should be all but empty.

Face:

The face remains looking northward.

Intent:

There is turning intent in the centre, generated by pulling the left hip and shoulder backwards whilst pushing forward with the right hip and shoulder.

There is sinking intent in the centre which is expressed by pushing down through the coccyx, first as the pelvis is pulled forward and then as the left knee bends and the right leg straightens.

Additionally, there is intent in the hands and elbows that adds to both the sinking and turning actions but generally, this is something that is experienced only by those who have spent quite some time practicing many other different aspects of Tai Chi.

Application:

Here, the act of turning and dropping your body weight down is an attempt to throw your opponent to the floor. The act of sinking backwards and down is designed to pull the opponent off balance. Turning the body whilst sinking uses their loss of balance to force the opponent downwards.

Points to Note:

Beginners often find that what they see when this transition is demonstrated is at odds with the instructions given. This transition, when played correctly, gives the appearance of involving much more movement in the body, and in the arms, than there actually is.

The timing and speed of the turn is such that you should finish turning at the same time you have finished sinking back; all the movement in the centre should stop at the same time.

Care should be taken not to drag the arms down and across the chest. Nor should you turn the body more than 45°. These are the 2 mistakes most commonly made by beginners when leaning this transition.

The next most common error is caused by either turning too quickly or too slowly. In either case, the beginner will find that the turning action is not coordinated with the act of sinking.

Name

Grasp the Bird’s Tail (IV) [Square up the belly]

Movement

Centre:

Push the right hip and right shoulder backwards, squaring the centre to the West.

Arms:

As the centre turns, push the right elbow across the belly until it in line with the right hip. Pull it in at the same time until it is almost touching the belly. As the elbow moves, turn the wrist slightly, so that the palm is facing you and push the forearm in towards the belly so the, when the centre has finished turning, the forearm is square across the belly, parallel to the ground at or about the bottom of the ribcage.

At the start of this transition, the left hand is palm up. The forearm and fingers are pointing down and away from the body. As the centre begins to turn to the west, keeping the elbow pointing downwards, rotate the left forearm to bring the hand up, fingers pointing skywards with the palm facing away from the body and the hand tucked in behind the right mid-forearm to support it.

With the left hand in this position, it should be in line with, and directly below, the sternum. The left palm should be in contact with the right forearm whilst the back of the hand should be in contact with the belly.

Feet:

The feet do not move.

Weight

The weight remains firmly sunk in the left leg

Face:

Continues to face west.

Intent:

There is tuning intent here both from the movement of the hips and shoulders, which is generated in the abdominal muscles, and in the right elbow. The action of pulling the elbow across the belly is the driving action here. It is this that is the focus of the turn; it is the primary action rather than, as it appears to many beginners, secondary to it.

Application:

This transition is in preparation for a push.

Points to Note:

Again, everything starts and stops moving at the same time. The beginner will often find, moving in to this position, that they have allowed their shoulders to lift, especially on the right side. If this is something you find when playing this part of the form, then try to think about sinking the right elbow, pushing it down as you draw it back across the belly. Similarly, if the left hand is too high, resting on rather than below the sternum, or if the right arm is angled upwards rather than parallel to the ground, try and think about pushing downwards with the left elbow as you rotate the left forearm.

Name

Grasp the Bird’s Tail (V) [Forearm Press]

Movement

Arms:

Keeping the right forearm parallel to the ground and square on to the front, push the right elbow forward. At the same time, push the right forearm forward with the left hand, keeping the palm in contact with it. Do not grasp the forearm with the fingers; keep them pointed skywards. Ensure that it is the palm and not the fingers that are in contact with the forearm.

As the right elbow, and hence the forearm moves forward it will naturally rise from its starting height at the bottom of the ribcage; let it continue to do so until it reaches sternum height.

Feet:

The feet do not move.

Centre:

The centre is driven forward, initially by driving off the back leg. Whilst it is possible to do so, keep the body square with the belly facing west. Drive forward by pushing forward on to the front leg. When the body has gone forward as far as it can whilst keeping the back heel firmly planted on the ground, push the right hip forward and push forward with the upper body to, once again, straighten the back.

At the end of the press the centre should be turned through 45° to the northwest.

Weight:

The weight will move forward through this transition. At the start of this transition, the right leg is almost empty. At the point at which the belly starts to turn the weight should be equally spread about both legs and it should continue to move forward as the press is completed but not so far that the back heel cannot remain firmly planted on the ground.

Face:

The face continues to look west.

I'll give you all the handouts when we're next together, but the above should be useful in the meantime.

--
Stuart