Taijiquan, Back to the tradition
There are no martial arts without Jin (勁). What is a traditional Neijin (内勁)?
Tai Chi is the northern style of Chinese martial arts, and bow stance is fundamentally used for strikes and punches.
Most parts of the Tai Chi forms (套路) are repetitions of this bow stance.
If you did not master the bow stance, you could not defeat people with Tai Chi’s palm strike.
Let’s explain.
Horse stance is the fundamental stance in all style of martial arts. Japanese Karate also has horse stance named Kiba-dachi.
In Chinese martial arts, the way of standing differs from school to school.
What does the Tai Chi horse stance look like?
Let’s explain.
Today’s topic is Middle Dantian.
If you just say “Dantian”, it is generally pointed out Low Dantian, which is located about 10 cm beneath the navel.
This is the center of energy and also the center of gravity of the body.
Stable movement with high efficiency can be done if setting the starting point of movement here.
Low Dantian is very famous as “Dantian”.
However, it seems that the existence of Middle Dantian is not well known.
This time, based on my martial arts experience, I would like to talk about Middle Dantian.
（虚領頂勁 虚霊頂勁 虛領頂勁 虛靈頂勁 虚领顶劲 虚灵顶劲）
In the sports world, there is the word of “entering the zone”.
What does it mean? If you enter the zone, you can drive your best performance. In this state, relaxing and tense are living together, and your concentration is peak. You are in mysterious state.
Traditional theory in Taijiquan tells us an importance of “Top force with the neck empty (虛領頂勁)”.
Today, I would like to explain the relation between “Top force with the neck empty” and “entering the zone”.
“Sink the chest, raise the back (合胸抜背)” are the words that Taijiquan practitioners may commonly know. It is one of the important teachings so I would like to explain it in my own views.
“The three tips align with each other(三尖相照)” is one of the important teachings of traditional Chinese martial arts. However, I feel that its essence has not been known in general.
At the moment of hitting, the ground and the fist hitting point should be connected directly. In this reason, it is the rules of posture that must be taken. Let me explain it.