YANG'S TEN IMPORTANT POINTS
by Yang Cheng-fu (1883 - 1936)
as researched by Lee N.
Scheele
1.) Head upright to let the shen [spirit of vitality] rise to the
top of the head. Don't use li [external strength], or the neck will
be stiff and the ch'i [vital life energy] and blood cannot flow through.
It is necessary to have a natural and lively feeling. If the spirit cannot reach
the headtop, it cannot raise.
2.) Sink the chest and pluck up the back. The chest is depressed
naturally inward so that the ch'i can sink to the tan-t'ien [field
of elixir]. Don't expand the chest: the ch'i gets stuck there and the
body becomes top-heavy. The heel will be too light and can be uprooted. Pluck up
the back and the ch'i sticks to the back; depress the chest and you can
pluck up the back. Then you can discharge force through the spine. You will be a
peerless boxer.
3.) Sung [Relax] the waist. The waist is the commander of the
whole body. If you can sung the waist, then the two legs will have power
and the lower part will be firm and stable. Substantial and insubstantial
change, and this is based on the turning of the waist. It is said "the source of
the postures lies in the waist. If you cannot get power, seek the defect in the
legs and waist."
4.) Differentiate between insubstantial and substantial. This is the
first principle in T'ai Chi Ch'uan. If the weight of the whole body is resting
on the right leg, then the right leg is substantial and the left leg is
insubstantial, and vice versa. When you can separate substantial and
insubstantial, you can turn lightly without using strength. If you cannot
separate, the step is heavy and slow. The stance is not firm and can be easily
thrown off balance.
5.) Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows. The shoulders will be
completely relaxed and open. If you cannot relax and sink, the two shoulders
will be raised up and tense. The ch'i will follow them up and the whole
body cannot get power. "Sink the elbows" means the elbows go down and relax. If
the elbows raise, the shoulders are not able to sink and you cannot discharge
people far. The discharge will then be close to the broken force of the external
schools.
6.) Use the mind instead of force. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics
say, "all of this means use I [mind-intent] and not li." In
practicing T'ai Chi Ch'uan the whole body relaxes. Don't let one ounce of force
remain in the blood vessels, bones, and ligaments to tie yourself up. Then you
can be agile and able to change. You will be able to turn freely and easily.
Doubting this, how can you increase your power?
The body has meridians like the ground has ditches and trenches. If not
obstructed the water can flow. If the meridian is not closed, the ch'i
goes through. If the whole body has hard force and it fills up the meridians,
the ch'i and the blood stop and the turning is not smooth and agile. Just
pull one hair and the whole body is off-balance. If you use I, and not
li, then the I goes to a place in the body and the ch'i
follows it. The ch'i and the blood circulate. If you do this every day
and never stop, after a long time you will have nei chin [real internal
strength]. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics say, "when you are extremely
soft, you become extremely hard and strong." Someone who has extremely good T'ai
Chi Ch'uan kung fu has arms like iron wrapped with cotton and the weight
is very heavy. As for the external schools, when they use li, they reveal
li. When they don't use li, they are too light and floating. Their
chin is external and locked together. The li of the external
schools is easily led and moved, and not to be esteemed.
7.) Coordinate the upper and lower parts of the body. The T'ai Chi
Ch'uan Classics say "the motion should be rooted in the feet, released
through the legs, controlled by the waist and manifested through the fingers."
Everything acts simultaneously. When the hand, waist and foot move together, the
eyes follow. If one part doesn't follow, the whole body is disordered.
8.) Harmonize the internal and external. In the practice of T'ai Chi
Ch'uan the main thing is the spirit. Therefore it is said "the spirit is the
commander and the body is subordinate." If you can raise the spirit, then the
movements will naturally be agile. The postures are not beyond insubstantial and
substantial, opening and closing. That which is called open means not only the
hands and feet are open, but the mind is also open. That which is called closed
means not only the hands and feet are closed, but the mind is also closed. When
you can make the inside and outside become one, then it becomes complete.
9.) Move with continuity. As to the external schools, their
chin is the Latter Heaven brute chin. Therefore it is finite.
There are connections and breaks. During the breaks the old force is exhausted
and the new force has not yet been born. At these moments it is very easy for
others to take advantage. T'ai Chi Ch'uan uses I and not li. From
beginning to end it is continuous and not broken. It is circular and again
resumes. It revolves and has no limits. The original Classics say it is
"like a great river rolling on unceasingly." and that the circulation of the
chin is "drawing silk from a cocoon " They all talk about being connected
together.
10.) Move with tranquility [Seek stillness in movement]. The external
schools assume jumping about is good and they use all their energy. That is why
after practice everyone pants. T'ai Chi Ch'uan uses stillness to control
movement. Although one moves, there is also stillness. Therefore in practicing
the form, slower is better. If it is slow, the inhalation and exhalation are
long and deep and the ch'i sinks to the tan-t'ien. Naturally there
is no injurious practice such as engorgement of the blood vessels. The learner
should be careful to comprehend it. Then you will get the real meaning.
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