Sloths, Slothiness, and Energy - Training to Release Energy in Taiji
In Taiji when you are told to relax it doesn't mean to go limp. You must learn to create an energy path, remain springy, and loosen your joint to efficiently release your energy (Qi).
TAIJI INSIGHTS
Bob Shannon
10/5/20264 min read
My interest in Taiji was first piqued by my Hung Ga teacher many years ago. He was big, strong, and forceful but he encouraged us to learn Taiji to balance our martial skills. I kept that in mind as I went about my life but never studied the art until many years later. As I got into it, I witnessed so many practitioners playing Taiji in a totally relaxed state. I don’t mean that in a positive sense. What I saw was physical movement with almost no energy. It was like someone told them that relaxation is the key and they took it literally. For simple exercise and movement, that is okay. But to practice Taiji as intended you must nurture energy and use it throughout your practice.
Create the Energy Path
How did it happen that Taiji drifted in this direction? I suspect a big influence was from the misinterpretation of Song (松). Other than Qi(氣), this may be the most overused and misunderstood concept in Taiji. When a teacher tells you to relax, it should not mean to go limp. Song is more the characteristic of loosening your joints so energy can be released through them. Our skeleton is a kinematic chain. Each joint transfers energy from one section of the chain to the next. Think about the connections from hip to shoulder, to elbow, to wrist, to fingers, then out. Release the tension in the muscles so they do not interfere with the efficient transfer of energy through the bone structure and send it out. My teacher would always say, “Energy broken. Let it out!”.
The hardest part of the chain to train is the waist. It not only participates in transferring energy to the shoulder but it plays an enormous role in creating rotational efficiency. Chenshi Taijiquan is notable for its frequent use of Fajin (发劲) which means the sudden, exposive release of energy. If you watch an experienced practitioner carefully, you will see a very loose waist driving the energy from the center out, like the spokes of a wheel. It is hard to train because the muscles in the lower torso are big and frequently flexed in daily life. It takes a lot of work to learn how to release tension in your core so the pelvis can move freely.
Maintain Your Structure
With an understanding of Song you quickly realize your structure should not look collapsed or go limp. The principles of Taiji structure must be observed since they were developed to optimize our skeletal design. Here are a few important things to remember. Maintain your structural roundness (Peng, ☰). There should be an outward expression of structure throughout your body, like an inflated ball. Head up, arms rounded without dropping the elbows completely down, arm pits are open, the inguinal creases known as the Kua (胯) are open, the legs from hip to ankle have an outward expression, the chest and shoulders are rounded. There are other more subtle points but you should get the idea.
Remain Springy and Elastic
To maintain our structure, we need to use our muscles. The concept of Song allows for this. Without muscle, we collapse completely and look like the sloth in the picture at the top of this post. There is a happy median where our muscles are used just enough to hold our skeletal frame in an optimized position but not so much that we restrict energy passing through it. But here is the dilemma. We need to do this in the face of an incoming force. This is where training comes in, especially in Push Hands (Tui Shou 推手).
Our body is composed of five bows made up of arms, legs, and torso. These bows need to absorb energy when pressed and return to their shape when the force is gone. They bend, the waist turns, and the energy is deflected without having to use equal force. If you press on a tree branch, it moves with you but you can feel some degree of resistance. If you press too hard, the branch will roll around your pressure, springing back to hit you in the face. Beware the first time you do this. It could be a lesson you won’t forget.
Stay Lively
Slow execution of a form does not mean it should lose all liveliness. It helps to have intention by imagining an opponent, an incoming force, a threat. How will you receive it, redirect it and counter? How do your bows respond? You should feel the subtle bend and release in the legs, arms, and torso. You should feel the turn of the waist. It is very much like the response of an under inflated ball as it is pressed. When you practice like this, you look like an active participant, paying attention, adapting to change, maintaining structure while having intention to release. If your style incorporates Fajin it is even more expressive because all the concepts discussed here suddenly explode outward and then return to a lively structure.
Some practitioners may read this and think liveliness is related to how fast the form is practiced. Speed is not what we are referring to here. Yes, speed can be a component but the quality of being lively does not necessarily rely on fast execution. This is a complicated topic and to be addressed in a separate post.
Tying it All Together
This series of posts began with a discussion (Root, Energy, and Spirit - The Foundation of My Taiji) I had with my teacher many years ago about the qualities she most looked for in a practitioner. She said “Root, Energy, Shen”. I have been studying, practicing, and teaching many years since then. I try to look at most of what I do in Taiji through that lens. Am I rooted? Do I express energy through each movement? Are my eyes like a window, used to detect and understand the threats around me?
I was inspired to write these introductory posts to share my ideas of what Taiji is, what I have learned, and to help new people discover the true beauty of this art. It is not simple or easy, nor should it be. Anything of value takes time and work. The stylistic division of lineage does not matter. Take up Chen, Yang, Sun, or Wu. Who cares? Just find an authentic teacher. Someone who teaches beyond the next dollar. Someone who is preferably not a sloth with a smart phone and sore feet. Someone who can guide you through root, energy and Shen. The analogy may sound funny but is worth keeping in mind as you move along through your Taiji journey.
