Second day training with a small private undground group of internal martial arts practicioners. The group is quite a weird and wonderous little crew and quite a range of skill levels. Primary focus is around i-chuan and taiji.

Today’s learning moments (that I can remember – it becomes a blur at hour three.)

General

• Standing leaning against tree on one side. As he pushes into my shoulder on the other, push back the same amount (energetically/intention) in both directions. Then do it just remembering the feel of the tree there – respond to the push into my chest, shoulder, back as though I was pushing against an equal force from the opposide side.

Taiji

• Really staying loose with hands and arms. Nothing to do there.
• Always keeping contact
• In 4 square practice – hand comes to elbow – not forward of elbow or they can bend in and attack with that elbow
• Watch my center line – I’m leaning all over instead of staying straight up and down

I-Chuan practice

For everything done with i-chuan

Everything is done with the “ready to go energy”. (When someone says ready, set… the energy of the moment before muscles move – that. Keep that energy throughout the body. Keep this energy throughout the exercises.)

Hands are always alive – slightly extended but not tight – with energy going out through them and extending far beyond fingertips. (Although another suggestion was to have intention of always reaching for a point just 5 inches past fingertips.)

The Practice

I’m trying to get details on names in Chinese but had to scrape these from the internet and not sure they line up quite right and don’t include actual characters and tones. 🙁

From internet scrape: Ju, Bao, Peng, Tway, An, Hua, Ti and closing with Jia So Su

My notes from today:

• Ju is the first: rising.
  • Palms facing one another
  • Extending energy beyond fingers (always)
  • Focus on hand energy extending outward – all else completely loose – structure will follow
  • Elbows down. Shoulders dropped.
• Then there is a setting down. Like placing a basket over the top of a tree in the distance beyond the person.
• Slight outward press with hands, extening long beyond fingertips (Tui).
• Bao (the “hug”)
  • In application later: draws and traps the other person
  • First finding place where comfortable – hands back and forth until not too far, not too close
    • Feeling “fullness”
  • When someone else touching, connect through both of you, absorb towards yourself and imagine/have the intention of moving both of you drawn towards each other without physically moving
• Sinking. Palms down.
• Offering a gift – extending forward and rotating hands upward
• Lifting water bucket
  • palms facing each other
  • intention of about to lift using feet
• Then hands out wide and low – feel like being filled like a sail – then take that energy and focus it very slightly more compressed on sides and forward
• Ending with hands behind back, backs of hands against kidneys, still energized, and leaning forward on the toes and chin down

Other exercises

• Hands palm down, then coming up to strike upward with wrists (hands slightly dripped) as body drops, then reverse: palms sinking with body rising
• Same but forward and back – forward until on balls of feet and palms down just beyond body on the sides – then coming forward and body back