Cheng
Man-Ching left us TCC practitioners with a treasure trove of insight into the
TCC Classics. For example, he advocated “beautiful lady's hand,”“no arms in TCC
(NAIT)”, and “investment in loss,” all of which are as important and beneficial
as they are profound, counterintuitive, and often perplexing.
Let
me tackle NAIT here.
When
he became a CMC disciple, Soong JJ, my teacher, was already a veteran martial
arts and TCC practitioner, but deep down he was aware that he still did not
understand the real essence of softness and relaxation in TCC. Soong only
really “got it” after CMC had told him the nuances of the NAIT method.
NAIT
helped Soong realize that real softness and relaxation in TCC could only be
achieved by having the hands and arms move passively in response to other
movements.
The
hand and the arm are collectively or separately called “the hand” in the
Chinese language. “Don't move your hands in TCC,” CMC would inculcate
his disciples with this important concept and training method, which I have
shortened to NAIT.
NAIT
means that you should not initiatie a movement of your arms and hands to, for
example, attack your opponent, and furthermore you should make your arms and
hands totally passive. As such, they merely respond to the movement of
something else, such as (a) your opponent's attack, (b) the turning of your own
waist, or (c) the relaxing of your own shoulder.
If
you can do (a), you fulfill the Classics' requirement to “yield and adhere.”
If
you can do (b) and (c), you satisfy another requirement, “move as an integrated
whole.”
Having
benefitted from NAIT, Soong designed a set of eight drills as concrete and
tangible steps for practitioners to take so they may advance towards the
nebulous goal of NAIT.
Having
benefittd from these eight drills, which I have practiced for 30 years, I can
attest to the profound benefits of the NAIT.
Essentially
the eight drills boil down to two points.
- The waist
leads the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, in that order.
Notice
that the origin of the movement is the waist. This movement “ripples out”
through the shoulder, the elbow, the wrist, and then at last the fingers. The
momentum travels from “inside” orderly toward the “outside”. The hand is
clearly at the very end of the sequence, hence CMC's “Don't move your hands in
TCC,” or more plainly, “hands last.” The hands never start a movement; they
only end it.
“From
the inside to the outside” is a TCC principle that applies in all
circumstances. It is, however, little talked about openly in the TCC community.
Teacher Soong called this type of counterintuitive principles “inverse
thinking.” Inveruese thinging is a unique feature of TCC, and it is also what
makes TCC great.
Many
practitioners violate this principle. For example, if you intend to push your
opponent's right shoulder, you intuitively use your fingers first instead of
last.
- Relaxing the
shoulder and then pointing the elbow downward.
These
are the embodiment of these stipulations in the Classics: “sink the shoulders”
and “drop the eblows”.
Thiese
are very important upper body movements in TCC.
To
sum up, NAIT = hands last. The hands are terminators, not initiators; passive,
not active. The hands never start a movement.
They only end a movement—they are the last stop of your energy transmission.
To prove this, let's take a look at this requirement
in the TCC Classics: “From its origin in the foot, your momentum travels up the
leg, through the waist, [the shoulder, the
arm] and finally manisfest itself in the fingers.” Notice that the sequence
goes from the inside to the outside, reaffirming the soundness of Teachers CMC
and Soong's methods.
What are the 8 drills of Master Soong? Could you name them, please?
回覆刪除Chinese is ok, many thanks in advance?
Hermann
Hi Germann, Thanks for your question.
刪除The Study of Tai Chi Chuan, one of the books that Soong wrote, is a cultural treasure that Soong left with us. “Original space position (OSP)” and “original body position, (OSP)”, the first two of the eight methods of natural movements, were novel training methods that defined his achievement. They are stepping stones for practitioners to enter the world of “no arm movements in TCC”.
Please see the complete article:http://goo.gl/c90yyn
I do not know whether it's just me or if everyone else experiencing problems with your site. It appears like some of the written text on your content are running off the screen. Can someone else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them too? This might be a issue with my internet browser because I've had this happen before. Thank you hotmail sign in email
回覆刪除For first-time homebuyers, the us government allows website visitors to borrow up to $25,000 with an RRSP account. mortgage calculator Of course this can increase the mortgage balance as the interest is added back towards the principal, effectively lengthening the amortization. mortgage payment calculator canada
回覆刪除