Chi Chuan is to teach a person to be like a Tai Chi ball, there are two main points in this rule:

1. Always try to get the projection of the center of gravity on that foot,

which is currently tight.

2. When тело движется вперед, назад, вправо или влево, центр тяжести тела, Даньтянь, должен двигаться по траектории, параллельной земле, как центр катящегося по плоскости мяча.

If the student is able to grasp these two points, he has a chance to become a master in the change of empty and dense.

2. Breath

Tai Chi Chuan is based on the philosophical position of Lao Tzu: "softness overcomes hardness." The series of taijiquan movements were created to cultivate the physical and mental abilities of a person and develop his qi, not to strengthen the muscles.

Long and deep breathing contributes to the overall metabolism in the body, blood circulation and the functioning of internal organs.

In the human and terrestrial stages, breathing was not specifically discussed, but emphasis was placed on soft, slow, and even tempo movement. Following these principles prevents short, short breaths. In the celestial stage, however, breathing becomes an exercise in itself, performed on the basis of gentle movement. Работа дыхания должна соответствовать переменам Andнь-Iн в движении руки. Exhalation occurs when the hand from empty becomes dense. At the end of the exhalation, the lower abdomen expands and at the same time the hand reaches a peak of density and the palm slightly rises. Inhalation is carried out when the hand becomes empty. When рука достигает предела пустоты, вдох и сжатие живота заканчиваются. For beginners, coordinating breath with movement seems to be a very confusing and difficult matter. But кто практиковал тайцзи-цигун (см. разд. 3-2), тому сочетание дыхания и положений тела дается легче. It can take more than ten years to master this type of technique when practicing only taijiquan.

3. Consciousness

When вы начинаете to learn tai chi chuan, you consciously memorize the movements and think about the correct postures just as you would in other martial arts, sports and dances. But тайцзи-цюань требует более высокого сознания или большего осознания, поскольку сила развивается больше духовная, чем физическая. When упражнение требует скорости и силы, вы можете иметь над ним сознательный контроль только в самом начале и самом конце движения. Taijiquan is different. The movements are soft and smooth. By practicing going from non-action to action and vice versa, you can stop, advance or retreat when and where you want and always keep yourself in control. The purpose of the latter is to use the mind to increase body movements and achieve what in Taoism is called lian qi hua shen - "translate physical strength into spiritual power."

Self-control is also useful because it develops a good habit of doing everything, including in everyday life, with awareness. To при занятиях тайцзи-цюанем развивалось сознание, каждое движение нужно не просто исполнять, но еще и мысленно представлять себе – т. е. использовать осознание вместо силы. For example, if you want the action (let it be raising the hand) to be lighter (more qing), imagine the whole process at a slow pace. If you хотите улучшить свое умение чэнь, или стать более устойчивым, переливая силу и напряжение из верхней части туловища в ноги, следует опустить волю и ум через линию тяжести к центру земли и представить себе, что все действия происходят оттуда. Thus, the deliberate use of imagination and exaggeration can enhance the effect of Tai Chi Chuan. These principles of awareness and imagination apply not only to the cultivation of qing and chen, but to all activities, such as opening and closing, feeling empty and dense, and so on.

four. Пустота и Неподвижность, или Сюй-Цзин

Andскать пустое в плотном – значит искать «пустоту», или Сюй. Andскать недействия в действии – значит искать Цзин, или «неподвижность». Andметь дело с Сюй-Цзин - это высочайший уровень и конечная цель тайцзи-цюаня. Atже упоминалось, что тайцзицюаньское движение больше связано с осознанием, чем с физической силой. In the last stage, the practitioner strives to ensure that the movement itself (as the opposite of force) produces an instantaneous and essentially the internal effect, in particular, turned the actions of the enemy against him.

The Taijiquan principle of using stillness in motion to master action through non-action implies that each outer form must project an inner perception of stillness. Andтак, занимаясь Сюй-Цзин, вам придется упростить сознание до одной только идеи – несмотря на то, что есть различные виды движений, активных и неактивных, их нужно как бы собрать вместе, чтобы воплотить неподвижность. Действие и не-действие (соответственно Iн и Andнь) постоянно чередуются. After much practice, with the help of concentration, one can make a conscious transition from action to inaction and vice versa. Your goal is to become more peaceful inside, this will definitely affect the outside. Gradually, the outer movements will reflect inner guidance and general awareness. As a result, your spirit will flourish and pacify. The ultimate goal of tai chi is to reach a higher spiritual level and come closer to understanding the Tao through increasing understanding of martial aspects and improving health.

Lao Tzu said: "to touch the ultimate emptiness, be unshakable and still." One who knows how to handle Xu-Ching will be able to gradually learn to predict the path of everything under the sun. Emptiness and immobility, the quintessence of Tao, permeate everything and everyone. If you follow the Tao, you can clearly see the origin of things, because everything returns to its origins. This principle applies to Tai Chi Chuan as well. Движение в тайцзи-цюане течет, как река Iнцзы, плавно и бесконечно, в действии и не-действии, открывании и закрывании, плотности и пустоте и множестве других пар противоположностей. Это кажется сложным, но все вернется к первичному состоянию – Тайцзи, т. е. к Iн и Andнь. Lao Tzu also said:

All things work together.

I видел, как они обращаются вспять,

I saw them bloom

And возвращаются к своим корням.

This, I say, is stillness.

Get back to your roots

Andли, лучше сказать, вернись к воле Дао.

Everything belongs to the Universe, so everything returns to the Universe. This is a natural law, and it is fair. People may be rich or poor, but when they are born they have nothing, and when people die, no one can take anything with them there. Understanding this law leads a person to painless coexistence with the world, but misunderstanding is dangerous! Since all things obey this law, the one who adheres to it approaches the essence of Tao. The Tao permeates time and space, and in order to live in contentment, humanity must follow the Tao.

The heavenly stage of taijiquan is based on the Xu-ching law. Whatever external changes may arise, the internal adept remains calm and empty and is not influenced by them. Through this practice, he will understand how to enter the 4D world. Zhang Sanfeng said: "Whoever focuses only on the martial art misses the most important aspect of the philosophy of tai chi quan."

One way to develop a stable state of Xu-ching is to choose a quiet place where there are not too many external influences, such as a park, seashore or mountain. You need to leave all thoughts and calm down. Forget about all the previous rules. Go back to the roots and change the complex to the simple. Atделять внимание только переменам Andнь-Iн внутри и снаружи, в действии-недействии и недействии-действии. Finally, one must discover how each movement returns to its roots.

Этот раздел является пересказом книги о тайцзи-цюане, написанной Чэнь Iньлинем (род. 1906, продолжает преподавать тайцзи-цюань в Шанхае) в 20-х годах. He describes his experiences and gives valuable information and advice on tai chi practice.

Typically, students start with the Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi Chuan and learn them relatively quickly. Often after three or four months of practice, students will finish the form and think they know everything there is to know about Tai Chi Chuan. They don't want to think that Tai Chi Chuan was created by our predecessors with great difficulty and for a long time. How can a beginner master everything in three or four months? The fallacy of this attitude will become more apparent if we consider the original method of teaching taijiquan as a martial art.

The course of study should begin with the ma-bu, or "rider's stance," which teaches density and "rooting the feet." It takes at least a month to master it, and often a year. Once the student has learned to stand firmly, he can move on to Raise Hands and practice it for at least one month to learn how to empty one leg and root the other. Having demonstrated the ability to use both postures as follows, the student must learn all the Thirteen Postures and all their applications. It takes at least a month to master each posture. And только тогда ученик переходит к изучению полной формы. After completing the form, which takes several years, the student begins to learn advanced operations such as Pushing Hands, Dalü, and tai chi sparring (tai chi san shou), and then weapon forms.

Three positions form the framework of the original yang taijiquan: high, medium and low. Atченики начинают с высокой позиции, в которой колени только чуть присогнуты. They then move into a middle position, sometimes called Four Levels Pose, where the eyes, hands, feet, and hips align. Finally the low posture is practiced. Each of these three positions is a subdivision of the large, medium, and small styles. Большая форма, которой обучал Iн Чэнфу, требует вытянутых поз и оказывает тонизирующий эффект. This is a good health exercise. Средняя форма, преподававшаяся Iн Ю, требует применения философии тайцзи и ведет к умеренности. In this form, concentrating on the Dan Tien prevents excessive energy flow to the top of the head. Малая форма, которую преподавал