Fluid
So one has to
learn the art of seeing and listening, and to find out how to look at the
world in which you live; how to look at a tree, at a cloud, at the beauty of
the sunset.
To see something clearly you must be sensitive - you understand? - and if
your hands are hard, brutal, cruel, you cannot touch the tree. If your eyes
are blind with your worries, with your gods, with your wife, with your sex,
with your fears, you cannot see the cloud, the beauty of the sunset.
(Krishnamurti)
Liquid
The essence of fluidity can best be demonstrated by water. Water
flows.
It does not struggle or
force
anything. It simply flows.
Water can be found in three states: solid, liquid and gas.
As a liquid it can be still or moving. Water is supremely
soft,
yet has the potential for great power.
The key is momentum.
In our classes we seek to acquire the power of water by relaxing our bodies
fully and allowing gravity to give us strength.
A balanced relationship with gravity enables you to deliver your mass
effectively into another person without much effort.
Still & moving
A tai chi student must shift from still to moving instantly, without
becoming entangled in muscular or mental tension.
Physical stiffness hampers your ability to move spontaneously.
Anticipation, doubt or scattered thoughts makes your mind sluggish.
We need to maintain the quality of stillness even whilst moving.
This means a variety of things:
Your groundpath must be constant, whether moving or stationary.
An unbroken connection must thread each part of your body together at all times.
You need to be physically and emotionally balanced as well; stable and composed,
unmoved by a change in circumstance.
Heavy
Being relaxed and moving
slowly
helps to develop your relationship with gravity.
Your limbs will begin to let-go of unwanted contraction and work more
effectively.
To another person, your body will feel heavy and rooted.
Even a small, lithe person can be powerful when they let-go.
Circular
Every tai chi movement should be rounded and smooth in shape.
The actual physical
structure of your body must
be devoid of sharp angles.
Curving, arcing, spiralling, flowing, waving, corkscrew - these are the words
that your tai chi practice should reflect.
Circular motion is more economical than linear action because it contains the
quality of returning.
The energy that leaves your body also comes back.
Imagine a whip...
The force is delivered when the hand returns, rather than the outward stroke.
More...
Page created 4 September 2003