Fa jing | ||
Energy release | ||
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Fa jing
Fa jing is the main method of striking in
tai chi: fuelling punches,
palms, elbows, kicks and chin na.
It is the medium by which kinetic energy is transmitted from one body to
another.
However, fa jing is not the energy itself.
It is the means by which the energy is delivered: the body mechanics
which produce this outcome.
Legendary
skill
In a 2008 Stanford University
experiment tai chi expert Chen Xiang generated a
force 14 times his body weight when striking.
0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds.
Types of jing
It is necessary to differentiate clearly between the types of
jing at your disposal. Without such knowledge, how are you going to fa jing? Energy release without focus is random and clumsy.
There is a distinct difference between each jing.
You must be conscious of the quality/nature/essence of the jing you intend
to utilise.
Movement begins with intention.
Where does the power come from?
A practitioner learns how to generate an undulation wave.
This is passed throughout your entire structure, storing and releasing
kinetic energy.
We develop this wave by
learning whole-body movement. Every strike involves
every body part moving as one.
The skill cannot be attained by tensing the
muscles or trying hard.
Only when the body has augmented itself with
neigong will
fa jing emerge without effort.
You need to be soft and relaxed.
You need to let go of your tension.
When we attack with the internal energy,
we are not attacking with the left or right hand,
but with a line of energy that originates in the foot,
is channelled through the legs, waist and back,
and only emerges from the hand.
(Wolfe Lowenthal)
Opening & closing
The fa jing release of energy is akin to a sneeze; the entire body
opening and closing in an instant. In combat practice, we cannot use fa jing on one another with full
power.
The outcome is too unpredictable.
Gentle release is fine for demonstrations, but not too often.
Typically, we use soft target pads and sticks for fa jing practice.
Conduit
If you regard your body as being a channel for the
transmission of kinetic energy, you can start to understand what tai chi striking
involves.
You do not punch or kick using local muscle groups.
The energy is transferred from the ground, passing through your frame and
out into the opponent. Your limb is simply the part that makes contact with the opponent.
Wrong means = wrong end
The body, freed of tension, should reach a condition where the joints move
freely.
Only then is the body loose enough for fa jing.
You must be sufficiently attuned to your own movements to feel when and how
fa jing can be generated.
Some students are not patient enough and use force
A common mistake is to use the pelvis and hips rather than the combined
muscles of the entire body.
People become adept at rapid pelvic turns or abrupt shunts of force.
These are quite strong but they are not fa jing.
They tend to create a residual pattern of tension within the body.
Wave
Fa jing is like a wave, rippling up from the ground, through your hand and
into the opponent.
Instead of using the hips and pelvis, you should use the spiralling of the
legs, the opening and closing of the spine and the movement of the centre.
Hocus pocus?
There is nothing mystical or unscientific about fa jing.
Despite the exotic Chinese name, it is simply a question of body mechanics,
gravity, distance and timing.
It will not develop overnight but the seeds should emerge
as the student becomes increasingly adept.
He taught me to vibrate the
breath and body rather fiercely and loudly like a growling lion, stretch the
tendons, turn the waist like the motions of a food mixer, hit my own body
and then flap my arms in the air.
I started accruing some fa jing, although of a more shocking nature, rather
than the smooth kind that can come from tai chi.
The drawback is that it made my energy jumpy.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Soft power
Fa jing is not hard, it is soft. The
effect is hard, not the means itself.
No more than 4 ounces of pressure is applied and the moment of delivery is a
split-second.
You do not have time to tense the hand.
The hand (and body) must close by itself on impact, then instantly re-open
again.
Conscious strength ruins any chance you have at using fa jing, so just
relax.
Be patient.
Vibration
When you deliver fa jing into a focus mitt or target pad it will pass
through the body and into the ground.
It may cause the floorboards to resonate.
External ways
Students often make the same mistakes when attempting fa jing:
Pushing upon impact
- this approach is
external
in nature - the classic 'punch through the opponent' strategy
- it is not tai chi
'Cocking' the pelvis and/or shoulder
Lunging forward
An obvious build-up
Jerky
A step
- your step should occur because of the release, rather than to cause the
release
Tension in the striking tool
Overall tension in the body
Emotional tension: anger, aggression
Forcing
Fa jing is altogether different to these approaches.
If I concentrate while he divides, I can use my
entire strength to attack a fraction of his.
(Sun Tzu)
Cold jing
There must be no anticipation, no telegraphing, no movement at all. One moment
you are standing still, the next you have struck.
The spiralling kinetic energy wave passes through your body without fanfare, and
into the opponent.
This is known as 'cold jing'.
To achieve cold jing, you must be completely
in the moment, alert and physically relaxed.
Spontaneity
Increased effectiveness is produced by gravity and heaviness in the striking
limb, rather than pushing harder or striking faster.
Spontaneity is the key to fa jing.
A tense body - with habitual holding patterns - will not provide an adequate
conduit for kinetic energy to pass through.
If you can feel your own body moving, you are too tense. You should feel only
the movement itself.
A free body is capable of striking instantly and spontaneously.
No telegraphing
Fa jing looks fast but it is not a matter of speed.
It is loose and sudden.
By relaxing the muscles and joints fully, the body is capable of spontaneous
movement.
This is what makes fa jing seem fast - no preparation, no tensing-up beforehand.
Instant energy release.
Small power
Large sweeping or jabbing movements cannot be applied using fa jing.
Fa jing is small by its very nature. A bigger movement
takes too much time.
To use fa jing, you must get your body close to the opponent - then apply fa
jing as the sting.
How do you learn fa jing?
Beginners start by studying a set of moving qigong exercises designed to loosen
the body and expel kinetic energy.
Some of these exercises are partnered in order to experience the effect of an
energetic release in contrast with conventional striking methods.
At this stage, jing is unrefined but the ability to release exists.
Experience
Experienced students learn 13 methods and multiple jing combinations.
Once the 13 methods and jing are understood, the form must be explored anew.
The body mechanics of each pattern need to be reconsidered in the context of
energy release.
Students are initially taught a crude level of fa jing as a precursor to the
more complex variations offered later in the syllabus.
Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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