TAI CHI’S EMPTINESS & FULLNESS EXPLAINED
TAI CHI’S EMPTINESS & FULLNESS EXPLAINED. In Taiji Quan, understanding emptiness and fullness, in the sense of shifting body weight from the rear leg to the front leg and back again is important. The reason why, is that it is the essence of the martial art. Uniting yin and yang and combining the two to form taiji.
From a physical point view the weight is shifting from one leg to the other. From a mental point of view, in does so under the guidance of the mind. How? By focusing the mind on the dantian, a point located a few inches below the navel. The mind sinks to this point and then connects with the yongquan points of both the front and back foot. From here it connects with the ground or the earth. By connecting with the yongquan points, what is meant is that the feet are physically connected with the weight distribution on both feet, being equal in the heel and ball of the foot. From this connection, you can visualise the motion rising up from the ground into the feet, up the knees and then driving the one hip as you “connect’ with the other hip, during the shifting of the body weight.
By being able to this smoothly and properly, you are able to prevent your opponent from detecting your centre or centre of mass. Adding the other principles of sinking the chest, and raising the back, as mentioned in other articles here on deadlyduels.com. Your upper body becomes light and sensitive. Light as the tension sinks down and the mind relaxes more and more into the bone marrow.
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The idea is to become empty and fill your body with this emptiness, meaning there is no tension, created from resisting your opponent’s pressure or force. With this ability you can redirect their force and by being “empty” they begin to fight the ground. The more you can maintain your connectivity to the ground. With your head suspended from above, the less your opponent can uproot you.
In perspectives moving away from fighting, this maintaining of balance is what would assist one in confronting the daily challenges of life be it at work, or where ever. It is all about the mind and the body is but an outlet to express it.
Written by Narcisse Sadi who is a Tudi (student) of Dr Jeff Lan. He is a certified 1stDuan Health Qi Gong by the International Health Qigong Federation. And a 1st Duan Yang Style (Cheng Man Ching lineage) Tai Chi Chuan Instructor, certified by Dr Jeff Lan.
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