FREE MAN

In the beginning of my training, I focused mainly on frame (taolu), working hard on basic exercises , this is what we call “getting rid of power” stage. It is during this stage that we refine our martial skills. It was from this hard training that I unveiled progressively all the wonder of Tai Chi’s roundness and started to apprehend all the marvelous possibilities that it generates . In the beginning stage we need to perform correctly “sinking shoulders and dropping elbows”, “crotch descending with arc”, ”emptiness guiding propping up strength”, “hand leading (internal) strength”. 

1) In “sinking shoulders and dropping elbows” we must make sure that our shoulders are not contracting up, maintaining a constant space inside armpits, When using force, elbows should be facing outward dropping down.
2) In “crotch descending with arc”, the crotch should take the arc form of a pan.
3) “hand leading (internal) strength” is a rule to be applied in every of your Tai Chi movement. This is extremely important if we want to perform correctly: folding, turning/closing, opening/closing, unsubstantial/substantial…

In boxing, we should be able to express through the form (of our movements). The Form should convey your interpretation of Tai Chi Chuan’s characteristics, while alternating fast and slow, this is the “entering stage of sticking”.
I continued to train that way until the second year of my training, which was the 14 February 1974, after 18 months I became aware of all principles described previously. But I noticed that some of my fellow apprentices where still trying to solve this “sinking shoulders” problem. When they were doing a movement even a twist, many of them were criticized and as it was not the only time, they were even afraid to train after. For myself I was fortunate enough to solve this problem and to gather further knowledge during this time. At that time I was working a kind of night shift so that every night I was leaving my job at eleven to start directly my training in the park and I would not stop until the dawn.

Seeing from my present point of view it was obviously exceeding the reasonable: I used to repeat at least twenty to thirty times my frame (taolu), plus many times the “silk reeling” exercise, only one way using elbow strike and totaling seven different basic exercises for internal power training.

After these decades of training, I can say that this problem of “sinking shoulders” is a persistent problem generally not easy to solve. After so many years practicing this way how can you get rid of it? Once you acquired this “stiff” shoulder habit, it is very hard to sink it down. Now in the world of Tai Chi Chuan practitioners, whatever they are famous experts or just beginners, you can compare all of them with only this “sinking shoulder dropping elbow” criteria.

You should find a way or another to do “sinking shoulder” well. In the very beginning when you do not use force, you can maintain it, as soon as you relax your “sinking shoulder” is gone. Then use your hands to keep it, you can do it this way. I had a student in Tangshan city, she was nurse and had really hard times with “sinking shoulder”. So finally she decided to use a plaster to fix definitively the posture maintaining “shoulder sinking and elbow dropping” but as you can imagine when it came to add some movements from this posture, everything was unable to move. However this is still a good example where a motivated practitioner is trying to find a way to solve this problem. And be sure when the practitioner has successfully overcome it always through a very strong dedication to solve it. One hour of training is one hour training “with” shoulder sinking in mind. So you can end like training all day long just training one single movement, paying attention to your shoulders…

We are just talking about “sinking shoulder”. And think about it. Everyone has heard about it or even spoke about it since couple of centuries. But finally how many of us can really perform “sinking shoulder”? “Sinking shoulder” is the hardest thing in Tai Chi Chuan and in the same time the simplest. Once you master it then you can use it immediately for martial applications. If you cannot achieve it your Tai Chi Chuan is remaining a simple physical exercise involving your bones and tendons at best. Just consider this. If in every of your movement this default is constantly appearing then how can you movement be correct?

(To be followed)