Section 2 Videos - 2024
Went into the details of the Fair Lady Works at the Shuttles, and how the first Fair Lady turns into the next set of Part The Wild Horse's Mane movements.
Went into the details of the Fair Lady Works at the Shuttles, and how the first Fair Lady turns into the next set of Part The Wild Horse's Mane movements, and how that evolves into the next Fair Lady. Discussed how expansion is important to create the feeling of fullness (peng-jin).
Discussed the importance of feeling the barrel (expansion) while doing any movement, but specifically the Part the Horse's Mane. Went over how to sit back while doing the Fair Lady. Introduced the last 2 Wild Horses and how they change into the Grab the Peacock. Finally, introduced the Apparent Closeup where the left wrist goes under the right wrist, and then they reverse as you step back into a horse stance to go into the Closing Form or transition into Third Section.
Emphasized the importance of feeling the barrel (expansion) while doing any movement, but specifically the Part the Horse's Mane. Reviewed the last 2 Wild Horses and how they change into the Grab the Peacock. Finally, introduced the Apparent Closeup where the left wrist goes under the right wrist, and then they reverse as you step back into a horse stance to go into the Closing Form or transition into Third Section. Discussed how energy moves through the hands, even as the arms move back and how counterbalancing is important in the moves.
Reviewed the aspects of posture of connecting the knees and connecting the elbows. The knees can be connected by holding a basketball between them. The elbows connect by holding a barrel. The upper body is connected through the hollowing of the chest and rounding of the back. THe lower body is connected by hollowing the lower abdomen and rounding the hips (and opening the ming-men). Did an exercise to feel the hollow and emptiness in the qua. Throw a baby up and catch it. As you catch it, you naturally bend you knees and empty your quas. That's the feeling to capture.
Reviewed the Part the Wild Horses Mane in more detail. Discussed how to hold the ball and how to sink the tailbone. How to keep expanded. REviewed the Fair Lady and how the arms remain expanded. Discussed how the shifting of the weight at the end of the movement creates the slight turn away from the hands, and, how the shiting of the body's weight to the back foot pushes the arms out.
​The position of the head and chin are vital for correct posture, for rooting and chi flow. We explored how tenseness in one muscle creates tension in other muscles. We discussed how to tuck the chin to lift the head, straighten and open the spine, and to feel energy go down the arms and legs when the Jade Pillows open. We did a deep dive on the Grasp the Peacock's tail. We looked at the position of the feet and knees. We pointed out how as the weight shifts to one leg, the other leg sinks deep into the ground to create a balance in the legs. We also explored how in Roll Back both hands keep expanding forward.Finally, we looked at how to raise the arms in the Press by bending the quas and elbows to redirect someone's force to the feet.
Shifting Weight; How to shift weight in a more advanced way. Demonstrated how in order to receive the weight in one leg the knee lifts and the foot absorb energy from the ground. Simultaneously, the "empty" leg sinks into the floor. The end result is that the quas open more, the tailbone sinks, and the feet root. Did an exercise where the hollowed hands interchange receiving and giving, and how to feel that in the feet. We then embodied these concepts in doing "Grasp the Peacock". This answered the question of how to sink the right qua when turning to the left in "Rollback". Reviewed the Grasp the Peacock's first 2 moves.
Reviewed Shifting Weight; How to shift weight in a more advanced way. Demonstrated how in order to receive the weight in one leg the knee lifts and the foot absorb energy from the ground. Simultaneously, the "empty" leg sinks into the floor. The end result is that the quas open more, the tailbone sinks, and the feet root. Discussed how "sink, Turn & Expand" are in every posture.
Went over the last part of the section where the left wrist crosses under the right and then the right crosses over the left as you step to the left and go into a Horse Stance. We then reviewed how the arms circle to open, rise up through the center and open out in a circle. The hands meet at the bottom with the palms facing up, and the left foot comes in at the same time so the feet are together. The arms go out and then in toward the chest as the palms begin to rotate to face down.
Reviewed the Grasp the Peacock first 2 moves in detail. Explained the upward trajectory of Ward Off and how Roll Back is all about expansion rather than just retreating.
Discussed Shifting Weight; How to shift weight in a more advanced way. Demonstrated how in order to receive the weight in one leg the knee lifts and the foot absorb energy from the ground. Simultaneously, the "empty" leg sinks into the floor. The end result is that the quas open more, the tailbone sinks, and the feet root. Related this to Grasp the Peacock movements.
Reviewed how the feet are engaged in going into Ward Off, and how the sinking of the back foot creates a lifting force. Discussed how to avoid being double-weighted in Roll Back. Explained how the body lifts the arms in Press. Went over how the third part of the Peacock is done; the stepping forward while sinking; the arms moving into position; how the trunk moves the arms to the side and back.
Discussed Shifting Weight; How to shift weight in a more advanced way. Demonstrated how in order to receive the weight in one leg the knee lifts and the foot absorb energy from the ground. Simultaneously, the "empty" leg sinks into the floor. The end result is that the quas open more, the tailbone sinks, and the feet root. Related this to Grasp the Peacock movements.
Continued with discussing how to Shift Weight in a more advanced way; Demonstrated how in order to receive the weight in one leg the knee lifts and the foot absorb energy from the ground. Simultaneously, the "empty" leg sinks into the floor. The end result is that the quas open more, the tailbone sinks, and the feet root. Related this to Grasp the Peacock movements by reviewing how Ward Off uses the weight shift to make it effective, and how Roll Back uses expansion to make it effective. Explained how the lifting of the knee and sinking of the kua creates a change in the back muscles that connects the arms to the legs. We also reviewed the importance of lifting the head and sinking the chin and its connection to expanding.
Covered the postures from Fair Lady to the end of the section. Added more detail in how we do the Part the Wild Horse's Mane, especially how we step into the last one so that we have space for our hips to turn. We reviewed how in each of the moves there are opposing directions to help us expand and create balance. We went in depth into how and why we expand using Master Ting's expanding and contracting toy. We watched a brief video of Master Ting showing the applications of the Grasp the Peacock postures. We also highlighted common errors that students do when doing the Peacock.
Went in depth about softening the fee and how there is a hollow under the feet. The toes touch the floor and extend out. There is symmetry between the hands and feet in what they do, and how they are shaped. We followed that up with a detailed description of how to shift weight by sinking the kua, the "empty" leg, and the tailbone to move the body's weight from one leg to the other. To shift forward, the front kua bends downward, the "empty" leg sinks, and the tail bone sinks down and forward. This also helps to create a slight turning in the trunk. We reviewed teh 3rd Grasp the Peacock movement.
Brush Knee: Did a deep dive into the details of how to do the Brush Knee. Reviewed to Closing of the 2nd section.
We are restarting the 2nd paragraph from the beginning. We started with a discussion of the position of the tailbone when we go forward and when we go back. The tailbone attaches to the heel of the weighted leg. We then went into a deep dive about "open the Clouds (Wave Hands In the Clouds)". We discussed that when we are in a horse stance to start the movements, we are actually sitting back as if in a chair. Our elbows and knees match by going forward. When we sit back, our lower kuas open causing the upper kuas to open as well. Shifting weight is not a horizontal movement, but rather a sinking of the kua so that the weight moves because of the sinking. The hands are always spiraling. The arms have a shape (holding a barrel) that is kept throughout the movement.
The class started with an in depth analysis of how the arms open and lift when in a horse stance. We looked at the fundamentals of posture and expansion both in the upper body and the lower body. From there we worked on expanding the move into the first part of Open the Clouds (Wave Hands in the Clouds). We looked at how the body turns and the feet pivot, and how we sink into the ground to shift our weight forward. We looked at the direction of the movements and how the hands spiral at the end of each turn.
Continued with the in-depth look at the "Open The Clouds" movements. Started with looking at the basic structure of the tai chi posture. We worked on softening the feet and extending the roes. We looked at how to relax the muscles of the legs and feet. We looked at the relationship of the elbows to the knees and how sinking the elbows to the knees connects the arms to the legs. We explored how when the arms rise and open, they expand outward, and as they do the elbows squeeze inwards. We then related all these postural requirements to doing the Open the Clouds movement. We connected the shifting of the weight to the sinking and absorbing of the feet, and how each move ends with a circle to go to the next move. Lastly, we started looking into the High Pat On Horse movement.
The overarching theme of tai chi is to relax, to release, to let go of all tension and stiffness in the body. Unless the body is relaxed, nothing works. Next is posture. If the posture has flaws, things don't work well in tai chi. Then, each movement must have 3 components: Sink, Turn and Expand. That's what we worked on in this class. We used the "Strike and Block" qigong to demonstrate these concepts. We then transposed them into the "Open Clouds" postures, where we went into detail about how to turn, use our feet, expand, and spiral.
The foremost aim of tai chi movement is to relax followed by Sink, Turn and Expand. Within that one must feel the interchange of yin/yang as well as forming internal connections to tie everything together. The act of catching something slightly heavy as it comes down epitomizes all of this. You cannot only use your arms to do this; you must use your legs. The opening move of the 2nd section calls for sitting in a horse stance which is similar to catching a weight. Raising the arms requires the sinking of the elbows (yin/yang), and the arms expand forward as the body goes back(yin/yang). Turning left requires putting attention on the right side (yin/yang). Opening the arms requires the arms to remain connected so that you feel more.
Continue with Open the Clouds (Wave Hands in the Clouds). Introduced the qigong, "Swing Arms". We reviewed the fundamentals of footwork, where as the feet turns, one leg pulls (absorbs) and on sinks. The pulling leg absorbs by sinking the kua, which raises the knee. What moves the arms away from the body is the bending of the kuas and the expansion of the body. As you pull (absorb) with one leg, the other leg sinks creating a feeling of energy that goes up the back and over the head. When doing Open Clouds, at the end of the movement tot he left, there is a small circle in the hips caused by the pulling of the right leg. The right leg is pulling the body to turn to the right.
Continue with Open the Clouds (Wave Hands in the Clouds). Went deeper into the qigong, "Swing Arms". by discussing how the knees move as we shift weight. The knees stay relatively in one place even though the hips rotate. This is because the kuas are open and sunk as the trunk sits back a bit more. We also talked about how as we turn our mind goes to one knee and mid-way to the other. We discussed the concept of turning and dropping the hips at every move. In "Brush Knee", we go past the center line so that the middle of our chest is lined up with the inside of our knee. Simultaneously, we drop our hips straight down so we're rooted and yet are free to move forward with the least amount of strain or stoppage. Finally, we looked at the weight shift in the "Cloud Hands" when our feet are together. To get to the posture, our left foot is pulling us forward and turning us left. As our turn reaches it's maximum, our right foot begins to pull, while the weigh stays on the left. The right knee and right elbow extend forward to create "peng jing" as the left is sinking.
Continue with Open the Clouds (Wave Hands in the Clouds). Went deeper into the qigong, "Block and Strike" as a way to relate it to how we use our feet in the Open Clouds move when the feet are together and we want to turn to the right. To get to the posture, our left foot is pulling us forward and turning us left. As our turn reaches it's maximum, our right foot begins to pull, while the weigh stays on the left. The right knee and right elbow extend forward to create "peng jing" as the left is sinking. We also looked at the small circle at the end of each move that allows us to smoothly continue the turning.
In this class we first discussed how the kuas should feel. We used the example of catching a weight, where the knees bend and the kuas simply relax, separate, and bend inward. The kuas never move forward, and we looked at various examples. We explored the adage, "Separation within connection, connection within separation." We discussed how as parts of our body separate, their connection becomes stronger. For example, as the hips fall away from the head, the connection between them becomes stronger. As our elbows rise, the connection to the knees is strengthened. We further related how the hands always connect to each other. We, then looked at the qigong, "Swing Arms" to see how the hands connect. We worked on sinking the tailbone in "High Pat On Horse", nd how we use our arms when doing the kicks.
Shifting weight is done by the dropping of the hamstrings in the leg that is getting the weight. The drop in the thigh muscles opens and sinks the kua, resulting in a lifting of the knee, which creates the pulling or absorbing in the weighted foot. It also sinks the hip to open the spine as well as opens the chest and upper kuas. When you combine the sinking of the tailbone to the supporting heel, you can then easily move the "empty" foot.
When doing the kicks in the second section, the expansion of the arms is key. From when the kick starts to its conclusion, the arms are open and expanded as if holding a large ball. The expanded arms an important counterbalance to the movement of the leg as it kicks and then steps down.
Reviewed the shifting weight is done by the dropping of the hamstrings in the leg that is getting the weight. Discussed how to hold the arms down, middle and up postures while connecting to the ming-men. We further discussed turning the feet by turning doorknobs under the feet.
We went deeper into how the arms expand when doing the kicks. We related that to earlier in the class when we talked about holding the arms down while connecting to the ming-men. The arms maintain this connection all through the kick. We then reviewed how the one arm comes to meet the other arm to do "High Pat On Horse."
"Circling the square". We reviewed the idea of how the arms and legs radiate from the middle. The fingers connect to each other, as do the toes. The fingers connect to the toes. The elbows connect to each other as they sink to the knees, and the knees connect to each other as they rise to mee the elbows. We the looked at how this actually works in our qigong movements such as "Push the Water". We looked at how we move in the form while keeping these connections. We also looked deeper at what the arms do during a kick, and how they meet when doing "High Pat On Horse".
We always talk about opening the lower kuas, or hip joints (inguinal crease), but there are also the upper kuas, the area between the shoulder and the chest. Just like the lower kuas, the upper kuas also hollow inwards and must be present in each posture and movement. The lower kuas help open the upper kuas, because just opening the upper kuas creates tension and is stiff. We then applied this opening to swing arms and push the water. We further reviewed how the sinking of the kuas moves the arms. We explored the Push and Pull qigong and how the kuas move. When opening the kuas go diagonally down, and when pulling, the kuas go straight back. This creates a forward and backward movement in the trunk. We discussed the martial application of this movement. We then related these concepts to doing Brush Knee. When we step in Brush Knee, we let go of the hamstring of the stepping leg so the body sinks, rather than just shift across. The feet are turning, which turns our trunk a little more so that our chest is over our front knee. And, this turning swings us into the next move, "Present the Peach". Lastly, we discussed the spiraling of the body as expressed in the pinkies.
In today's class we reviewed the sinking of the leg that has the weight, and how the feet turn as one pulls and one sinks. The turning creates a horizontal move. The sinking creates a vertical move. Together, they create a spiral which is found in every move. When the weighted leg releases the hamstring muscles and sinks, the other leg sinks as well so that both legs are in the floor. When the feet turn, the hip responds as well. If the weight is going forward as in Brush Knee, the hip turns opposite the front foot. But, if the weight is opposite to where we are looking as in Push the Water, then the hip turns with the foot.
When kicking, put your mind on everything but the kicking foot. When you put your mind on the kicking foot, there is too much going forward, creating an imbalance. When the arms open it is from inside your body going outward. Similarly, when we raise the arms from a horse stance, the arms are going up, and they are also going forward. When you finish the kick, and the arms come together, it is because the forward arm bends to match the bending in the kua. It is the trunk turning that brings the hand closer to the body.