Although many would know that chansijing or silkreeling energy is the main element that makes up Chen Style Taiji, those who understand and can apply it is few and far in between. There are those that think silkreeling as spiral force. If that is the case, their often point of view that follows would be correct -  Don’t have to bother as other Taiji styles dwell on spiral and circular energies too. But does silkreeling equates to spiral force? And does their application differ?

According to expert opinion, they are not the same; read on as Master Li Jingwu(李经悟)elaborates further from an extract in his 1964 article:

“Produced through spiral movement, the spiral energy is focused on a single point of the opponent’s body, with the purpose of upsetting his structure or balance. This kind of energy application exists in all forms of Taijiquan, for example Wu Style’s Grasping Bird’s Tail or Brush Knee Push, all which exhibit obvious spiral energy application.

The silkreeling energy however is different.

Firstly, the mechanism to achieve it is more complex. Its uniqueness is marked by the multi-varied rotational movement of the waist and dantian working in tandem. This results from combining the two rotational movements of the waist and dantian, twirling on at least two different axes. With the guidance of the mind intention the silkreeling energy reaches the finger tips through the rotating spine and arms.

Secondly, ‘returning to the source’(归原) must be achieved through the settling of qi in the dantian at the end of each movement with the rounding of the ‘dang’. On the surface it looks as though this energy is the result of the movement and the rotation of the upper limps only. But in actual fact precise co-ordination of the whole body is required, right from the feet to the main focus of the waist and dantian rotation, to the spine and arms and finally to the finger tips, all guided by the mind intention.

Finally however, let’s examine this in terms of application and usage because in it lays the most obvious difference between the two energies. Silkreeling energy does not stop at the finger tips to be focused on a single point if the opponent. Instead, through the multi-axis rotational movement of the finger tips, wrist and arms, the twirling and twisting energy enters the opponent. This energy becomes amplified giving rise to a natural but overwhelming wrapping up or entanglement effect. The opponent will be ‘wrapped up’ or entangled by his own body or limps and thus being subdued that way. This is the essence of Chen Style Taiji, which is truly unique”.

Well, Master Li Jingwu’s (李经悟)above writing may indeed be the most succinct explanation on silkreeling energy to date. Compare it with the clip below and see if you can relate the two or come up with any new insights. The clip shows demonstrations by Li Baoting (李宝廷), a very accomplished student of Master Hong Junsheng. Enjoy.

How is your practise for the year 2009? Let see how a 12 year old been doing. According to the note posted on Youtube, she is doing Chen Style Taijiquan from Ma Hong school. She is the daughter of a prominent student of Ma Hong.

Well, I am sure we have been guilty of, or have encountered other players, slagging off each others styles, lineages or teachers; and the possibilities why we react that way must be a handful.

Now, Fist in hand with a Stamp is the signature of Buddha Warrior Pounds the Mortar. It is like the hallmark posture to Chen style Taiji and those who play it would know it involves inner focus of energy amidst a very quiet mind, with reams of expansiveness unbounded. It casts a deep impression to most beginners’ mind as it is one of the first movement that is introduced to them. And with its association to the Buddha warrior, I can’t help being drawn to something I read before, especially when I start thinking why other Taiji styles do not contain this fantastic move. With the below quotes, I wish that all of us Taiji players are also able to find liking and meaning in other styles of Taiji:

Zen

zen mind, beginner’s mind – quote from right attitude:
“If you understand the cause of conflict as some fixed or one-sided idea, you can find meaning in various practices without being caught by them. If you do not realise this point you will be easily caught by some particular way, and you will say ‘This is enlightenment! This is perfect practice. This is our way! The rest of the ways are not perfect. This is the best way.’ This is a big mistake. There is no particular way in true practice. You should find your own way, and you should know what kind of practice you have right now. Knowing both the advantages and disadvantages of some special practice, you can practice that special way without danger. But if you have one-sided attitude, you will ignore the disadvantage of the practice, emphasizing only its good part. Eventually you will discover the worst side of the practice, and become discouraged when it is too late. This is silly. We should be grateful that the ancient teachers point out this mistake.”

zen mind, beginner’s mind – quote from right understanding:
“But if enlightenment comes first, before thinking, before practice, your thinking and your practice will not be self-centered. By enlightenment I mean believing in nothing, believing in something which has no form or no color, which is ready to take form or color. This enlightenment is the immutable truth. It is on this original truth that our activity, our thinking, and our practice should be based”

http://www.chentaichi.com
http://www.chiflow.com/html/Taijiquan_Chen3.html

When it comes to Taiji practice, have you ever felt like you are in a maze running in circles, almost with no hope of seeing light at the end of the tunnel? You can be sure you are not alone, and going online in search for new perspectives might just be the way to cheer you up! These two websites stated above caught my eye, with the contents bearing the hallmark that would only come with years of genuine practice. In addition, the authors are from lineages not familiar to most from this part of the world so it will be good to briefly talk about them.

Chentaichi.com

Paul Chou is the person behind http://www.chentaichi.com, one of the first Chen Style Taiji sites that surfaced in the 1990s. His teacher is Master Pan Wing Chow, who was one of the first students of Chen Fake during the 1930s in Beijing, China. And also Gerald A Sharp, who occasionally writes for Taichi Magazine, also has a site dedicated to the practice of the internal martial arts and qigong. Gerald spent many years in China researching with top masters of the internal arts; he is a student of Master Zhou Yun Long, who learnt from Chen Zhao Kui, the son of Chen Fake.

Chi Flow

So what is so special about the two sites? For one, they have video clips to effectively illustrate the point across. Paul’s site has the full length clips of him performing Laojia Yilu and Erlu, which can be co-related to online lessons. While Gerald’s site is not exclusively on Chen Style Taiji, there are video clips of martial application of the various Chen Taiji postures i.e. Single whip etc.

One of the main aims of http://www.chentaichi.com is to communicate by  translating the teachings of Master Pan Wing Chow. There is a good mix of theories complementing the online lessons that focus on form practice. The theories presented include topics such as Ying and Yang, Peng Jing and Application, Chung Chi, Load path, essence of Taichi etc.

As a beginner looking for encouragement, this is one of my favorite lines from Paul’s site
“They are partially correct. The achievement you have is a necessary intermediate step, not the stage Great Master demonstrated in their generation, not the one the story tells….However, Master Pan’s saying is to encourage us. Master Pan himself didn’t stop here. He move on to that stage with pure elegancy with all his energy embedded. He used to let me grasp his hand and move around while I feel not a single trace of resistance, though he is in perfectly connecting and ready to use my energy at any instance. Therefore, if your opponent tells you: That’s not Taichi, don’t be angry or frustrated. You are on the right track, just not there yet. – <Beyond root and load path>“

The chiflow site however, presents us with yet another perspective; this time how not to practice Chen Style Taiji “If the practitioner employs patience, slowness and softness and is able to find stillness in their movement, they will develop a natural twisting and diligent practice will yield huge results. The key word is patience. Without that, you’re really banging your head against the wall. Chen Taijiquan can be very powerful, but if practiced incorrectly, you can damage your back, energy, knees, etc. With improper practice, such as moving first from the waist, you can also make yourself putty in the hands of those who know how to use lightness in applications……..Generally the nontraditional Chen stylists are the same people who believe that something slow and intricate is useless and flowery. This group has an excessive desire to see overt training that involves heavy perspiration and heavy-handed looking blows they can revere and label as “martial.”"

So if you make a cross-reference and view Paul’s form in the video clips on his site, do you see slowness, softness and intricacy? Well, that’s for the experts to tell. For now, I’ll leave you with what I think might be the most important lesson, as a closing remark of my visit to two of the finest sites on Chen style Taiji  “‘First let it in your heart (Conscious mind), then apply through your body (Subconscious reflex) <From Master Pan>.’ This is the approach to build the circles of Taiji into ourselves. Until one day we succeed, the movements we make will be in perfect harmony and balance.”

Illustrated Canon of Chen Family Taijiquan

The Illustrated Canon of Chen Family Taijiquan was written by Chen Xin from 1908. In 1919, the manuscript was sent off to Nanjing to try to get it published. That did not work out and the manuscript was lost.  in 1929, at his deathbed, Chen Xin passed over another copy of the manuscript to his nephew, Chen  ChunYuan and advised him to get it published or else to destroy it. Chen Chunyuan and a few others further arranged and edited it before it was finally published by KaiMing Bookstore in 1933. Thanks to them, this book remains one of the best taijiquan classic today.

Well the scanned images may not be of high resolution but it is good enough for research or personal use.

So here it is The Tai-chi Martial Art Digital Archive.

One of the manual in this archive is  by 17th generation xiaojia master, Chen Ziming. His work, The Art of Chen Family Taijiquan Transmitted Through Generations published in 1932.

Well hopefully some of you find this archive useful.