These days I’m not so interested in the ‘Forms’ (sets of movements) of Tai Chi. I’m more interested in the way in which we generate and use our energy which can be applied to those Forms. Perhaps the reason that I can say that though is because I have learnt a lot of Forms! This doesn’t mean that I don’t teach Tai Chi Forms – I do; you need to be comfortable with some kind of sequence of movements so that you can practise all the other skills within Tai Chi.
Currently I’m interested in the controlling of energy – the way that movement on the foot generates a rising energy or creates a sinking energy. The principle is simple and works like this: When your body weight is more on your heel than on the ball of your foot, your energy sinks. When your body weight is more on the ball of your foot than on your heel, your energy rises.
Walking
When you think about the way you walk, it’s very obvious:
Putting the heel down: You place your heel ahead of you to step forwards, putting your weight on it, and your body mass settles into the ground, initially through that heel. As your weight transfers from one foot to the other, you release the rear foot in order to bring it forward so as to take your next step.
Moving on to the ball of the foot: As you bring the rear leg beyond the standing leg (the one with the weight on it), your body mass moves forward and your weight moves over the ball of the foot which has your weight on it; in effect, you drive your energy upwards for the next step.
Energy rises and falls Although the body will produce a tiny bit of up/down movement, we aren’t talking about the body bobbing up and down here like a cork on the sea. We’re talking about an energetic up/down action… You drive downwards into the ground as you place the foot ahead of you, but that downward drive generates the next energetic lift as you transfer the weight over the toes. The ‘lift’ is ‘energetic’ – in TCM terminology it is Yang – active movement. The energetic settling into the heel is Yin, energy subsiding/compressing.
The effects
This has a major impact on the way in which we do not only Tai Chi or Qigong but any sport or activity that involves movement.
In whatever we do, we want our actions to be effortless, and if we begin to be aware of the use of the foot, it means that any rising energy should be generated from the ball of the foot.
To apply this in Tai Chi, think of the first movement of many Tai Chi Forms:-
1) you raise the hands, and 2) you lower the hands. 1) Energy rises and 2) energy falls. 1) The weight is on the balls of the feet and then 2) on the heels. N.B. This does NOT mean that, when the weight is more on the heels, the balls of the feet come off the ground (or visa versa) – this is absolutely NOT the case. This is all about triggering different sets of muscle groups, so you only need enough pressure to do the job.
This relates to ‘Fascia’
Fascia is also known as ‘connective tissue’ and is the tissue that connects different muscle groups in the body.
It is not muscle in itself; it is a net-like stretchy substance that contains groups of muscles – rather like a string bag that can expand as you fill it.
If you’ve ever jointed a chicken, you will have come across membranous tissue between the muscles in the chicken; it is stretchy and remarkably strong, often separating muscles or groups of muscles. This is the chicken’s fascia.
Thomas M. Myers, in his book ‘Anatomical Trains’, refers to these lines of connective tissue as ‘trains’. (The image shows an example of some fascial trains from his book). When we settle into the heels, a different fascial train (line of fascia) is triggered to that which is triggered when we settle into the balls of the feet. In other words different muscle groups, falling within that fascial train, are activated.
Applying this to exercising The point here though is that when we move (e.g. in Tai Chi), we want to activate the entire fascial train in one go, rather than individual muscles. When involving the fascial train, it is a very good example of “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”; in other words, the power generated when the whole fascial train is activated far exceeds that of the individual muscles.
‘Effortless’ I used the word ‘effortless’ above; when we work from the level of connective tissue, movement becomes effortless. It’s as though every part of the body is interacting with every other part precisely as it is meant to. All parts are supporting each other and the collective (and connective) whole is working harmoniously.
Western & Eastern Medicine This makes me think of the major difference between Western and Eastern medicine. I’m aware that this is a generalisation, but in Western medicine, if a part of you ‘goes wrong’, the doctor will immediately focus on the malfunctioning part. In Eastern medicine, the doctor will look at the supporting structures and the relationship between all the organs, and why the body has moved out of harmony.
As soon as you start watching the action of the feet, walking becomes a rather slow process!
___________________________________________________ James Drewe teaches Tai Chi and Qigong in both London and in Kent and online. Details of weekly classes both live and online can be found on the website, and there are classes for 2-person Tai Chi on one Saturday a month. You can also learn both tai chi & qigong through a monthly subscription, and there are also many free videos on YouTube.
CONTACT: http://www.taiji.co.uk https://www.qigonghealth.co.uk Email: taijiandqigong@gmail.com Phone: 07836-710281 ___________________________________________________
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