Pravilno razumevanje Taičičuan vežbe

Li Ja-šuan (1893-1976)

Prikupili i zabeležili učenici Čen Lung-ksiang i Li Ming-dih

Prvi put štampano u Tajvanskom Taičičuan magazinu, 1993 godine.

Preveo David Čen, 2002.

Pre nego započnete da se krećete, proverite da vaše celo telo stoji sigurno, centrirajte ravnotežu, opustite um i omekšajte-opustite telo. Ne uvlačite u sebe bilo kakvu izrazitu snagu, obrišite i uklonite sve nepotrebne misli, vratite svoj um i svoje telo u neutralno stanje: tada ste spremni da se krećete. Pokrete treba da pokreće Šen (duh) i Ći, a da ga usmeravaju struk i kičma. To se tokom vežbe bez reči ispoljava kao voda koja teče, kao oblak koji putuje, kao izvlačenje svile, kao istkana nit koja visi.

Dvadeset do trideset minuta svakodnevne vežbe je dovoljno. Ako nakon vežbe osećate da je vaše telo i um veoma čist i prijatan, onda ste je obavili na ispravan način. Ovo stanje bi trebalo da vas dovede da budete mirni, tihi i zamišljeni – niste daleko od prosvetljenja.

Važno je da treba izbegavati da telo bude napeto i ukrućeno, ili da četiri uda pokrećete svaki za sebe. Morate kao podsticaj za pokret da koristite svoj Ji (um) i Ći. Svaki santimetar vašeg tela mora da se pusti i opusti i morate da spustite Ći na niže; to su pravilni načini vežbe Taičija. Neki vežbači dozvoljavaju da njihove ruke i noge mašu okolo nezavisno, ili ih pokreću na slepo bez razloga. Ili ih pokreću kao da su cvet u strahu da njihova forma nije spektakularna i dovoljno lepa bez ovih suvišnih pokreta- kakva greška!

Nakon izvesnog vremena uporne vežbe, ako osetite da vaš Ći pulsira u sredini vaših dlanova ili prstiju, to znači da je Ći i cirkulacija krvi stigla u krajeve vaših udova, nastavite vežbu i dozvolite da punoća Ći osećaja prirodno teče. Ako nakon dugotrajne vežbe nemate Ći osećaj mora biti da nešto nije u redu sa vašim odnosom Ji i Ći, vašim stavovima; upitajte iskusnog učitelja da vam pomogne, ne čekajte da to postane loša navika, biće tada kasno da se ispravi.

Koristite Ksin (srce-um) da pokreće vaš Ći; koristite vaš Ći da pokreće i prenosi telo. Vaše posmatranje okrenite ka unutra, ispitujući saglasnost i koordinaciju uma i tela, i prijatni nivo Duha i Ćija; nakon dugotrajne vežbe harmonija unutrašnjeg i spoljašnjeg će se prirodno uspostaviti. Ako je vaš um usmeren samo na spoljašnje tehnike, onda ćete samo to i dobiti.

Sačuvajte vašu vezu Šen-Ći u unutrašnjosti i tiho je negujte, na taj se način vaš Đin (unutrašnja moć) mogu sačuvati. Samo sa potpuno opuštenim pokretima ta duhovna tajna će se pojaviti.

Nikad ne izražavajte napetost u vašim pokretima kao kad bi dva ratnika koji treba da se bore stezala zube i očima sevala. Neko može da pomisli da, ako nema napetosti tokom treninga, onda ne bi bili u stanju da primene potrebne tehnike. Ti ljudi ne razumeju da svakodnevna vežba čini Gong-fu čuvanja i negovanja obe stvari – Ći i Šen. Kada su Ći i Šen u potpunosti sačuvani i negovani, imaćete sasvim dovoljno snage kada vam bude potrebna. Oni koji žele da podižu napetost u svojoj vežbi samo troše veliku količinu unutrašnje energije. Kako mogu da zadrže i sačuvaju Ći i Šen i kako mogu da poseduju snagu da obore protivnika kada je to potrebno?

 

Vaše telo mora da ima prazninu i pokretljivost na vrhu, struk i kičma snagu u sredini, a Ći u oblasti Dantijen na dnu. Ove tri stvari su sjedinjene kao jedna, tada unutrašnje i spoljašnje postaje ujedinjeno; na taj način svi pokreti će biti usklađeni. Ali svi ovi elementi će morati da se prirodno oblikuju; ne tražite ih u parčićima i delovima. Ako se samo usmeravate na spuštanje Ćija, tada će Ći usporavati pokrete. Ako se samo usmeravate na uzdizanje Duha, tada će duh sputavati pokrete. To nije prirodni način za Gong-fu.

Ksu Ling Ding Đin – neizražena i živa energija vodi glavu na gore – to znači da se Ći neizražene živosti prirodno uzdiže kada je stav uspravan, siguran, stabilan, miran i udoban. Ovim ne želim da kažem da glava mora na silu da gura na više. Ako je gurate na silu, onda ona postaje ukrućena i gubi neizraženu živost, i to je najgora (najviše zabranjena – rdj) greška u Taiči treningu.

Kao vežbači Taićija treba da sledite i veoma se trudite da razumete učenje vašeg učitelja, a u isto vreme da  razumete veštinu tako što ćete čitati Klasike – Žang Sanfeng i Vang Zongjue. Tokom vašeg treninga ne smete imati ideje njihovog mešanja sa eksternim tehnikama, jer ćete završti u pogrešnom pravcu. Kada  vežbate ovu veštinu, ne smete istovremeno vežbati i eksterni boks, inače će sav vaš napor biti utrošen i bačen. Ova veština se zasniva na Song Ling Đing – opuštena živost snage. Nema zvuka kada se snaga iskazuje, protivnik nema rane ili ožiljke na površini, ali Đin je već prodreo u telo.  Drugi stilovi boksa (udaranja) daju napeti, tvrdi Đin, čuje se udarac, protivnik ima modrice i rane, ali sila nije prodrla unutra.

Neki kažu da Taičičuan ne bi bio koristan bez mešanja sa drugim stilovima Gong-fu; ovo samo pokazuje da ti ljudi nisu učili kod dobrih učitelja i nemaju nikakvu predstavu o principima Taičičuana.

 

Kada započnete da učite Samostalnu formu, u prvih nekoliko dana ćete osetiti tvrdoću i vatru u mišićima vaših nogu, onda ćete nakon mesec dana osetiti bol u zglobovima kolena, a potom tvrdoću i ukočenost u ramenima; učenici ne bi trebali da budu uplašeni ovim stanjima, ovo je proces kroz koji morate da prođete; to pokazuje ispravan trening koji vam daje vaš učitelj. Ako nastavite vežbu, nakon izvesnog vremena ukočenost i bolovi će se zalečiti i vaš Gong-fu će steći dobre temelje.

Sa druge strane ako prestanete da vežbate zbog ovih ukočenosti i bolova, oni će se kod ponovnog započinjanja treninga ponovo javiti, samo ćete gubiti vreme i osnovu svog rada. Ako tokom treninga nikad niste osetili da noga „gori“, koleno boli, ili da je rame ukočeno i tvrdo, možda je to i zbog toga što dobijate netačna uputstva, zato potražite pravog učitelja da popravite to stanje.

Duh vašeg stava mora da bude potpuno otvoren i opušten da bi Ći živosti dopro do vrha glave. Krećite se kao reka koja teče, korak neka vam je kao kod mačke koja se kreće, gornji i donji deo tela neka se prate jedan drugi, unutrašnje stanje i spoljašnji oblik se usklađuju , kada dostignete ovu tačku počinje da raste vaša unutrašnja snaga. Da biste postigli istinsku opuštenost, morate prvo da opustite Ksin (srce-um); Ksin je komandant vašeg tela, kada je on opušten slediće ga svi drugi delovi tela. Koristite opušten um da osmatrate svoje telo svakodnevno, nakon nekog vremena postići ćete istinsku opuštenost, a za njom sledi rast unutrašnje snage.

 

Kada vežbate Taičičuan ne pokrećite svoje udove svaki za sebe. Umesto toga, koristite opušteni um da Ći kruži, koristite taj Ći da nosi telo, koristite struk da vodi pokrete; samo ako opušteni um vodi pokrete, gornji i donji deo tela i unutrašnjost i spoljašnjost tela mogu da postanu potpuna celina.

Što se tiče otvaranja stava, pre nego što otvorite (pokrenete) četiri uda otvorite vaše srce-um i deo grudi-kičma. A kad govorimo o zatvaranju stava, pre nego što zatvorite četiri uda zatvorite srce-um i deo grudi-kičma. Svi pokreti moraju da započnu iz unutrašnjosti da bi doprli do spoljašnosti, zbog toga se to zove Nei-gong – unutrašnji Gong-fu.

Traganje za saglasnošću gornjeg i donjeg dela tela je praksa osnovnog nivoa, traganje za mekoćom i živošću koja je kao pamuk je praksa srednjeg nivoa, a traganje za nevažnom prazninom je naš krajnji cilj. To je zbog toga što u mekoći i živosti još uvek ima nečega, ali nema ničega u nevažnoj praznini, tada nema nečega što ne možete da uradite kako želite i tada ste stigli u stanje razumevanja mističnog i lepog.

Srce-um je komandant unutrašnjeg, struk i kičma su ključevi za spoljašnje; zbog toga gornje, donje, unutrašnje i spoljašnje ujedinjeni kao jedno telo, kako je to neverovatno lepo i za zdravlje i za borbenu primenu.

Moj pokojni učitelj Jang Čeng-fu je prilikom izvođenja Fa-jin kod guranja ruku imao duh u očima koji bi trenutno uplašio protivnika i naterao ga da se oseća životno ugroženim. Sve je to bilo moguće jer je imao sjedinjenu pojavu i duh, to mu je omogućavalo da usmeri sve svoje snage u veoma kratkom trenutku i da ih iskaže (isprazni), njegova moć se mogla sakupiti i iskazati kao munja, nalik onome kada neko ne može da ima vremena da pokrije uši zbog grmljavine, nije bilo prilike i načina da se odbrani. Razlog da vežbamo Taićićuan na usporen način je da bismo gajili i negovali ovu vrstu Đinga (esencije našeg tela), naš Ći, Šen (duh), u saglasju sa svim unutrašnjim i spoljašnjim delovima tela, to stvarno stvara čuda.

Ako je tempo vaše vežbe suviše brz, ne samo da niste u stanju da negujete vaš Ći i Šen već ćete imati i poteškoće da uskladite unutrašnje i spoljašnje delove vašeg tela na pravilan način, zbog toga moć Fajin ne može da bude zgusnuta i veza Ći i Šen ne bi bila tako blistava.

Celo vaše telo treba da bude opušteno i omekšalo, gornji i donji deo tela treba da budu sjedinjeni, to su neophodni uslovi za vežbu Taićićian. Ako pokreti nisu usaglašeni, ili su usaglašeni a nisu opušteni, ili ako su ramena opuštena a struk, karlični zglobovi, abdomen i leđa nisu opušteni, ili laktovi, šake, prsti ne znaju kako da se opuste, ili ako nakon vežbe sredina vaših dlanova nema Ći doživljaj pulsiranja i znojenja, to je samo zato što vam nije bilo preneto ispravno učenje.

 

Ponekad vidim vežbače kako cepaju celo telo na delove i komade, ljuljaju svoju glavu kao ulični prodavci koji nude svoju robu, ljuljaju se i tresu, arogantno verujući da su mekoća, živost i pokret bez sile sve što Taićićuan ima, oni nemaju pojma da pravi Taićićuan ima svoje duboko značenje i mora da bude naučen uz pomoć učenja kod učitelja koji to iskazuje, a ne preko gledanja vežbe i krađe, ili kroz prepotentno stvaranje svog vlastitog mišljenja iza zatvorenih vrata.

Kod vežbanja treba da smireno osmatrate svoje celokupno telo i proveravate da li je potpuno opušteno, da li je potonulo i da li mu je prijatno. Kod svakog pokreta treba sebe da pitate kako da Ji (um) stigne do svog cilja, kako da prodre u njega, tek nakon malo vremena doći će do usavršavanja.

Duh treba da ostane unutra i da bude sačuvan u kostima; punoća nevažnog Ćija omogućuje telu da bude lako ili teško, onako kako vi želite; može da bude tako lako kao da tu nema ničega, može da bude tako teško kao da se cela Tai planina iznenada složila i potonula. To je je konačni rezultat pretvaranja (negovanja) Đieng (seme) u Ći, potom pretvaranja Ći u Šen, i konačno negovanje duha nas vraća u nevažnost.

 

Nevažnost dolazi iz važnosti; da bi bio lak i brz moraš da se krećeš iz potonulog (spuštenog) i stabilnog stava; nakon što godinama gomilaš svoj Gong-fu ostvarićeš stvarnu nevažnost i živost.

 

Ako početnik odmah počne da radi na lakoći i brzini, to će njegove pokrete učiniti da budu iscepkani na deliće i parčiće;  isto je ako započne da vežba nevažnost suviše rano, to će dovesti da njegovi pokreti lebde okolo pa će time sav napor biti bačen u prazno. Rečeno je: „Potrebno je bar 10 godina da bi se izašlo preko vrata učenja Taičičuana!; 10 godina je dugo vreme ali ako nemate pravog ucitelja Taićićuana plašim se da će vam biti potreban ceo život i još uvek nećete biti u stanju da otvorite ta vrata.

Taičičuan Gong-fu se odnosi na Ne-delanje (Vu-vei) ali Ništa-ostaviti-nezavršeno (Vu-bu-vei), svaki pokret sadrži tako divnu nevažnost da otkriva fenomen u celosti; bez obzira kako protivnik koristi svoju tehniku, ja ću imati taj Nevažni Ći da prati njegov pokret i odgovoriću na pravi način, i svaki odgovor je pravilno i tačno usmeren na cilj. Nikad ne gubite vreme na usmeravanje pažnje na primenu svakog pokreta (tehnike), jer ćete „uhvatiti jednu primenu a izgubiti hiljadu“. Taićićuan je kao Veličanstveni Tao utkan kroz Jedno, ako razumete to Jedno neće vam trebati drugih hiljadu. Ako nastavite da mislite na ovu tehniku i onu primenu i pored toga što postoji hiljadu tehnika, postoji samo jedna koju možete da upotrebite u određenom trenutku, pametni vežbač to neće propustiti.

Postoji 5 zabrana (tabua) u vežbi Taičičuan:

1. Sledili ste lošeg učitelja, greškom ste skrenuli u neki mešani stil i pogrešan pravac, kasnije je to postalo loša navika koju čak ni pravi učitelj neće moći lako da ispravi.
2. Nemate dovoljno poverenja u vašeg učitelja, ne sledite uputstva za rad vašeg učitelja, umesto toga, prepotentno mislite da dodate neki vaš lični ukus u vežbu, to čini vaš um nervoznim i nemirnim, tako se uvlače sve vrste grešaka, kriju se ovde ali izlaze onde, to je najteži problem koji treba rešiti.
3. Loše navike kao što su droga, kockanje, porno … itd. Te loše navike će dovesti do toga da se 3 blaga vašeg tela – Đieng (seme), Ći (unutrašnja snaga), Šen (duh) iscrpljuju, oni drže vaš um lelujavim i zbunjenim pred velikim Taom.
4. Suviše naglašen tvrdi spoljašnji stil Gong-fu, kao zadržavanje daha, naduvavanje snage, stezanje zuba, zurenje očima, udaranje stomaka, šamaranje tela, ili razbijanje cigle o glavu … itd, svi oni namerno ubijaju divnu dragocenu osetljivost da bi postali tvrdi, nažalost čovek ne može da dostigne Taići Gong-fu bez osetljivosti.
5. Napuštanje učitelja prerano, pre nego što produbite veštinu; pokazivanje pred publikom i veoma brzo privlačenje drugih spoljašnjih stilova koji vode u pogrešnom pravcu i teško je vratiti se natrag.

   Oni koju upadnu u ovih 5 tabua neće moći da prihvate Tao.

Očistiti svoje srce i smiriti prirodu je glavni Gong-fu od svih Gong-fua, ali čišćenje i smirivanje bi trebalo da bude zasnovano na smirenosti i stabilnosti, samo nakon izrazitog mira i tišine u stanju ste da očistite svoje srce i smirite prirodu, tada se pojavljuje svest i prati je shvatanje; tada je to istinsko shvatanje.

Razlog da čistimo srce i smirujemo prirodu je da bismo povratili stanje uma bez misli i tela bez pokreta,  to je um i telo Vu-vei (ne-delanje). Vu-vei čini da se duša osvetli, kroz tu osvetljenost se javlja prirodni osećaj, to je ono što je Konfučije nazvao Svest. Svest dolazi samo iz izuzetnog mira i tišine, ne od prekomernih misli, ako gurate i prisiljavate vaše misli, to je kao da pokušavate da prođete kroz zid bez vrata, ili pokušaj da prođete kroz požnjeveno polje bez staze, što više mislite dalje ste od pravog Taići Gong-fu, učenici moraju da budu svesni ove činjenice.

Taičičuan Gong-fu zahteva i shvatanje unutrašnjosti i spoljašnju vežbu; bez shvatanja nećete biti u stanju da razlikujete pravo od pogrešnog, bez vežbe telo neće biti u stanju da bude u saglasju sa vašim umom; zbog toga se unutrašnje i spoljašnje moraju usavršavati zajedno; ako samo nastavite da vežbate, čineći da vaše telo pati a um bude zauzet, nećete dobiti ništa sem mokrog smrdljivog znoja. Vi samo trošite dragoceni Đieng, Ći i Šen, to ne samo da nije korisno već je i štetno za vaš Gong-fu.

Negujte nevažnu živost da bi rasla mudrost za Tao Taičičuana. Ako ovu nevažnu živost koristite za samoodbranu, ona će vas odbraniti od napada, ako je koristite da bi rukovodili stvarima, ona vam može pomoći da  neutrališete pogrešno i činite samo pravo, a ako je koristite za čuvanje zdravlja može vam doneti dugovečnost.

 

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*The correct understanding of Tai Chi Chuan practice*
By Li Ya-shuan (1893-1976)
Collected and recorded by students Chen Lung-xiang and Li Ming-dih.
Originally published in Taiwan Taijiquan magazine in 1993.
Translated by David Chen, 2002.

Before starting to move, first make your body stand stably, center your balance, relax your mind and loosen your body. Do not harbor any  stagnant force, wipe out all unnecessary thoughts, return your mind and  body to a neutral state; then you are ready to move. The movements should be led by the /shen/ (spirit) and qi, directed by the waist and spine. These are silently expressed in the round of the routine, like running water, like a traveling cloud, like pulling silk, like a hanging thread.

Twenty to thirty minutes of practice each time would be appropriate. After practicing, if you feel your body and mind to be very clear and pleasant, you have done it correctly. In this state, you should be quiet and contemplative-you won’t be too far from enlightenment.

It is important to avoid having a tense and stiffened body, or to move the four limbs by themselves. You must use your /yi//qi (mind/qi) as the impetus for movement. Every inch of your body has to let go and relaxed, and you must sink the qi downwards; these are the correct ways of practicing taijiquan. Some practitioners let their arms and legs wave  around independently, or move blindly with no reason. Or they move in a  flowery manner afraid that their form is not spectacular and beautiful enough without these excessive movements, what a mistake!

After a time of diligent practice, if you feel the qi puffing in the center of palm and fingers, this proves that your qi and blood circulation has reached the end of limbs, you should continue the practice and let the fullness of the qi flow naturally. If you do not get the qi sensation after a long time of practice, there must be something incorrect with your yi/qi and your postures; you should ask an experienced teacher to help you, don’t wait until it becomes a bad habit, it would be too late to correct.

Use the /xin/ (heart/mind) to circulate the qi; use the qi to transport the body. Turn your observation internally, examining the coordination of the mind and body, as well as the comfort level of the qi and spirit; after long practice, it will naturally reach the harmony of internal and external. If your mind is only at external techniques, then that’s all you going to have.

Preserve your /shen//qi inward and nourish them quietly, thus your /jin/ (internal power) can be stored. Only with relaxed thoroughly in your movements that the spiritual wisdom will appear.

Never express the tension in your movement as if two warriors are about to fight with clenching teeth and staring eyes. Some may think if there were no tension during the training they would not be able to apply the techniques when needed. These people don’t understand that daily practice is a /gongfu/ of storing and nourishing the qi and /shen/. When the qi and /shen/ are stored and nourished fully, you will have plenty of power when needed. For those who like to build up tension in their practice, they are consuming a lot of internal energy, how could they have a chance to store the qi and /shen/, and how could they have the power to stun the opponent when needed?

You must have emptiness and agility on the top, waist and spine power in the middle, and qi in the dantian down below. These three are united as one, then internal and external become unified; thus all movements will be harmonized. But all of the above elements will have to form naturally; do not search them in bits and pieces. If you only focus on sinking the qi, then the qi will stagnate the movement. If you only focus on raising the spirit, then the spirit will restrain the movement. These are not the natural way of the /gongfu/.

/Xu ling ding jin/-the insubstantial and agile energy leads the head upward— means the qi of insubstantial agility raises naturally when the posture is upright, stable, quite and comfortable. This is not to say that the head forcefully pushes upward. If you force it, it then becomes stiff and loses the insubstantial agility, and that is the most forbidden mistake in our Taijiquan training.

For Taijiquan practitioners, you should follow and work hard on your teacher’s teaching, and at the same time, comprehend the art via reading the Classics by Zhang Sanfeng and Wang Zongyue. During your training period, you must not have the idea of mixing it with external techniques, or you will go off with the wrong direction. When practicing this art, you must not practice the external boxing at the same time, or all of your effort will be wasted. This art is based upon the /“song-ling-jing“/– relaxed agility power. There is no sound when discharging the power, the opponent has no bruises or wound on the surface, but the /jin/ has already penetrated the body. Other styles of boxing issue tensed, hard /jin/; it makes beating noise when launched, the opponent got bruises and wounds, but the power does not necessarily penetrated inside.

 

Some say Taijiquan would have no use without mixing with other style’s /gongfu/; this shows those people have not studied with realized taijiquan teachers and have no idea of the principles of Taijiquan.

When first learning the solo form, you will feel soreness and burning in your leg muscles in just few days, then feel pain in your knee joints after a month, then soreness in your shoulder later; students should not be wondered or frightened with those condition, this is the process you need to go through; this shows the correct training taught by your teacher. If you continue practice, after a long while the soreness and pain will heal and your /gongfu/ will then have a foundation.

On the other hand, if you stop practicing because of the soreness and pain, they will come back if you start practicing again later, you will waste your foundation for nothing. If you never felt leg burn, knee pain, or shoulder soreness during the training, it may be because you have received incorrect direction, you should ask a competent teacher for correction.

The spirit of your posture must be totally open and relaxed in order for the insubstantial-agility qi gets to the top of the head. Move like rolling river, step like walking cat; upper and lower body following each other, internal and external coordinating each other, when you reach this level, your internal power has begun to grow. To reach the true relaxation, you must first relax the /xin/ (heart/mind); /xin/ is the master of the body, once it is relaxed, every part of the body will follow. Use the relaxed mind to nourish the body everyday, after a time you will naturally gain the true relaxation, and the growth of the
internal power will follow.

When practicing Taijiquan routine, you must not move your limbs by themselves. Instead, use the relaxed mind to circulate the qi, use the qi to transport the body and use the waist to lead the movements; only with the guidance of the relaxed mind, the upper/ lower and the inner/ outer body can be one complete unit.

As to open a posture, before the opening of 4 limbs open the heart/mind and chest/spine first. As to close a posture, before the closing of the 4 limbs close the heart/mind and chest/spine first. All movements must start from internal then reach to external, that’s why it is called „Nei-gong“— Internal gongfu.

Searching for the coordination of upper and lower body is the elementary practice, searching for the cotton-like softness and agility is the intermediate practice, and searching for the insubstantially emptiness is our final goal. Because there are still something within the softness & agility, but there’s nothing at all within insubstantially emptiness, until then, there’s nothing you can not do as you wish, thus arrived the state of comprehension of mystical and wonderful.

Heart/mind is the master of the internal, waist & spine are the key of the external; thus upper, lower, inner and outer unified as one body, it is amazingly wonderful for both health and martial application.

My late teacher Yang Cheng-fu, when fajing in the push-hands, the spirit in his eyes takes one look at the opponent, it makes him terrified and feeling life-threatening instantly, this is by the result of his unified appearance and spirit, enabled him to centralize all of his strength in a very short moment and discharge it, his power can be gathered in a sudden and issued in a lightening, as if one couldn’t get the chance to cover the ears when thunders, there’s no chance and no ways to defend it. The reason that we practice Taijiquan in a slow manner is to cultivate and nourish this kind of Jieng (essence of the body), Qi, Shen (spirit), accorded with every part of inside and outside of the body, this is truly the work of wonders.

If your practicing tempo is too fast, not only unable to nourish the Qi & spirit but also difficult to accord the inside & outside of body properly, thus the power of the fajing would not be condensed and the Qi/spirit would not be stunning.

The entire body should be relaxed and loosen, upper body and lower body should be integrated, and these are the necessary condition in Taijiquan practice; if the movements are not integrated, or if integrated but not relaxed, or if shoulder relaxed but waist, hip joints, abdomen and back are not, or elbows, wrists, fingers don’t know how to relax, or after the practice the center of the palms have no sensation of Qi swelling, all because of no authentic transmission was passed on.

Some times I see practitioners vacillating the whole body in bits and pieces, they rock their heads like street vendors shouting for sales, swaying and shaking, arrogantly believing that Taijiquan’s softness,  agility, and forceless are all that is, they have no idea that real Taijiquan has it’s deep meanings and must learned through a realized teacher’s teaching, not through stealing by watching, or through presumptuously creating of their own behind closed door.

When practicing, you should calmly observe the whole body and check if it’s relaxed thoroughly, or if it is sunken, or if it is comfortable. Within every movement, you need to ask yourself how to reach the Yi (mind) to the target, and how to penetrate into it; after a time you will make improvement.

The spirit should be retained internally and stored into the bones; the fullness of insubstantial Qi enables the body at the lightness or the heaviness as you wish; it can be so light that as if nothing’s there, it can be so heavy that as if the Tai Mountain collapsed suddenly. This is the outcome of cultivating the Jieng (semen) into the Qi, then cultivating the Qi into the spirit, and finally cultivating the spirit returns to the insubstantiality.

Insubstantiality comes from substantiality; to become light and fast you must work from sinking and stable; after accumulating a long years of gongfu, you will gain the real insubstantiality and agility.

If a beginner works on light & fast right away, it will make his body movement scattered into bits & pieces; same with if he/she practices insubstantiality too early, it will cause the movement floating around, and thus their efforts would be wasted. It is said: „It takes at least 10 years to walk out from the door of Taijiquan study“; 10 years is a long time, but if you don’t have a real Taijiquan transmission I’m afraid it might take you a life time and still not able to open the door.

Taijiquan gongfu is about (Wu-wei) Non-action but (Wu-bu-wei) Nothing-left-undone; every action contains such wonderful insubstantiality that it covers all phenomena; no matter how the opponent uses his techniques toward me, I’ll have this insubstantial Qi to follow his momentum and respond accordingly, and every response is properly and precisely to the target. Never waste your time on concentrating the application of each technique or you’ll „catch one but lose one thousand“; Taijiquan is like the grand Tao threaded through with Oneness, if you could comprehend that Oneness you would not need other ten thousand; if you keep thinking about this technique and that application, although there are thousands techniques but you can only use one at a time, a wise practitioner will not fall for that.

There are 5 taboos in practicing Taijiquan:

1. Followed a wrong instructor, mistakenly went into a mixed style and wrong direction, later became a bad habit that even a competent master would have a hard time to correct.

2. Not enough faith with your teacher; not following your teacher’s teaching for practice, instead, thinking presumptuously of adding personal flavors into the practice, this caused your mind nervous and restless, thus revealed all kinds of mistakes, hiding here but showing there, this is the most difficult problem to solve.
   3. Bad habits like drugs, gambling, porno…etc; those bad habits will cause the 3 treasures of your body—Jieng (semen), Qi (internal energy), Shen (spirit)— to exhaustion, they kept your mind dizzy and confused from cultivating the Tao.
   4. Over trained external hard style gongfu; like holding the breath, pumping up the force, biting the teeth, staring the eyes, puffing and beating the stomach, spanking around the body, or smashing a brick to the head…etc, they purposely killed their precious sensitivity in order to become numb, unfortunately one can not gain Taiji gongfu without sensitivity.
   5. Leaving your teacher too early before deepen the art; starting to show-off in front of public but soon get induced by other external styles which leads to the wrong direction and hard to pull back.

   Those who fall into above 5 taboos will not be able to comprehend the Tao.

   Clear the heart and settle the nature is a principle gongfu of all gongfu, but clearing and settling would have to be based upon the stillness and stableness, only after the extremely still and silence one is able to clear the heart and settle the nature, then the conscience appears and followed by the realization, and this is the true realization.

   The reason that we clearing the heart and settling the nature is for the recovering of no thoughts in the mind and no actions on the body, that’s the mind and body of Wuwei (none-action). Wuwei makes the soul brighten, within that brightness appears a natural sense, that’s what Confucius called conscience. Conscience comes from extremely still and silence, not from extremely thinking, if you force your thinking, its like attempt to go through a wall without a door, or attempt to walk through a bramble field without a path, the harder you think the further away from the real Taijiquan gongfu, students must aware of that.

   Taijiquan gongfu requires both internal realization and external exercise; without realization, you would not be able to distinguish the right and wrong; without exercise, the body would not able to coordinate with your mind; that’s why the internal and external should both cultivate together; if you just keep on practicing bitterly, making the body suffer and mind busy, you’ll gain nothing but soaking stinky sweat, and you are wasting the precious Jieng, Qi & Shen, this is not beneficial but harmful to your gongfu.

   Cultivate the insubstantial agility in order to grow wisdom for the Tao of Taijiquan; if we use this insubstantial agility for self-defense, it  can protect us from attack; if we use it on managing things, it can help us neutralize the wrong but do the right; and if we use it on cultivating health, it can bring us the longevity.

 

Tekst sa engleskog jezika preveo Radiša Đorđević