1

Tai Chi is effective for millions of people around the globe as

a health and wellness practice. Drawing on scientific
research and a lifelong obsession, this book explores the
processes responsible for the success of Tai Chi and its
related disciplines.

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 Dedication

This book is dedicated to a few special people who continue to inspire.

To two of my most important early teachers and friends, Alex Kozma &
Quentin Ball without whom I would have never have found my way onto the
correct path and been pointed up the mountain.

To my wonderful mother, who raised me with the fire in my belly to seek

truth and an understanding in the World.

Lastly the Yin to my Yang, Sarah, whose patience and kind heart inspires me
daily.

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 Contents:
Introduction
1- Relaxation
a. The nature of tension and its consequences.
i. The Cause of Postural Tension
ii. Stress and Tension.
b. How Tai Chi & Related Practices Mitigate Tension
i. Sung – soft tissues around the bones.
c. Smoothing the circles
d. Slow movement training to recognise sticking points in our
movement capacity
e. Winding and twisting to massage the tissue and squeeze the bones.
f. Physical grounding and its effect on emotion
2- Joints and Circulation
a. Joint mobility
b. 3 external harmonies
c. Opening the Joints
d. Joint health and circulation
3- Tissue conditioning and development
a. The unified body
b. The muscular tissue
i. The Psoas
ii. Muscle development of the lower limb
c. Fascia – the heart of connection
i. Fascia – illness and injury
d. How Tai Chi trains the structures
e. Fascia and the Sensory networks
f. Winding the tissues
4- The major body lines & Tai Chi
a. What are the major body lines.
b. Axis
i. Gravity and spine stacking
c. Crotch Arch
d. Side Lines
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 e. Upper Body Bridges
i. Through the back
ii. The front arm bridge
f. Cross body
5- Moving for Health
a. Defining our movement
i. Sagittal Plane
ii. Transverse Plane
iii. Coronal plane
b. The General Motions
i. Abduction and Adduction
ii. Flexion and Extension
iii. Rotation
c. Combining the General Planes of Motion
d. The relationship of Movement to health
e. Entrained dysfunction and the Fascia Fuzz
f. Underpinning the health benefits of movement. – The Lymphatic
System
g. Sedentary lifestyle and ‘kinking your tubes’.
6- Spine Health
a. Spine Health and Aging
b. Spine health and Mobility
c. Lumbar Mobility
d. Spine Position and Movement Capacity
e. Tai Chi and the appreciation of load.
7- Economy of effort
a. Tension and effort
b. Just enough
c. 70% rule
d. Economy of human locomotion
e. The radiation concept
8- Breathing
a. What is breathing
b. The 3 phases of breath
c. Pressurisation – ‘raising the chi’

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 d. The link between the conscious and unconscious
e. Building the awareness of your breath
f. The postures breath for you.
g. Consciously controlled breathing
h. Breathing as a guide to relaxation
i. Physical Autopilot
9- Training the Mind
a. Postures relationship to the emotions
b. The effect of the form
c. Occupying the mind
d. Proprioception and emotion
e. A single unified whole.
10- The Fun Factor!
a. Enjoyment is no small point
b. Smiling changes our physicality
c. Happiness and health
11- Final Thoughts.

Appendix 1 – How to train

Appendix 2 – Finding a Teacher.

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Introduction

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The gentle art of Tai Chi is famous throughout the world for giving its
students and practitioners an increased sense of health and wellbeing indeed
several of the most famous masters of the style credit it with healing them of
debilitating illnesses. But why does a movement practice like Tai Chi promote
vibrant health and wellness in its practitioners? In fact, Does it really do this
or is it simply the perception of the practitioner? This book aims to dive into
these questions of function and benefit and give you a real sense of the
blueprint behind Tai Chi, the Code that makes it a beneficial practice for
health and wellbeing.

For me the journey into the art of Tai Chi started from a somewhat strange
place. As a child I had been obsessed with martial arts movies, the height of
Bruce Lee’s fame had passed but I was still obsessed with his works in
addition to the flavour of the moment, Ninja Films! My summer days were
spent replicating the moves I saw in these movies with my friends, with
choreographed exchanges often becoming heated scraps and martial bouts.
We were young boys expressing and testing one of our innate human
attributes, combat! A few black eyes and bloody noses into this period of my
life, it was decided that perhaps I should really look at these skills with a
proper teacher, probably a sensible approach for my mother who can attest
to the mischief that lack of guidance in this area would cause!

So I took up Judo at the local Dojo. This is something that I would recommend
to all parents out there wondering if Martial Arts are useful for their children.
Judo was a fantastic exploration ground me, I could put maximum effort into
trying to throw my peers down without any threat of being punched in the
nose or being knocked out. This was the start of my love affair with the
martial arts, the first time I put a Gi on I knew ... this is what I will do forever.
This love affair was to lead me to various other martial arts from Judo I
started to study Wado Ryu Karate. From there dabbled in Ninjutsu,
Kickboxing and Boxing before returning the Judo I loved.

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There was something about the Japanese arts that captivated my attention.
They were from the lineage of the Samurai or Bushi, the famous warrior caste
of feudal Japan. They were the arts of warfare and the stoic warrior, a
romantic vision and one that was to shape my mind deeply throughout my
late teens and early 20’s. It was during this time that I met my first real
Sensei. A small, unassuming British man, it was from Ball Sensei, and through
his teacher Okabayashi Shogen Sensei that I would first be introduced to the
‘internal arts’. The art that Okabayashi was passing onto his students was the
famous Daito Ryu, a renown style of Budo that was the foundational base of
the art Aikido. Okabayashi sensei had enormous power and apparent
strength for someone so small, but more over he was extremely healthy even
in his late 50’s at the time of training. We would be able to move with more
grace and more stability that my 20 year old body seemed capable of. This
vision of Okabayashi sensei sliding smoothly around the mats has always
remained with me.

It was during this early time of inspiration and devoted practice that a
program was aired on British TV that was to change the direction of my
practice forever. It was a show which highlighted the skills of many different
martial arts from Karate to southern Kung Fu, from Street fighters to No hold
barred brawlers but it was one performance that really shone off the screen
and held me captivated.

A very small, unassuming, 50 or 60 something man with bright eyes, slowly

moved through a series of movements with great fluidity and freedom. There
was no hint of the rigours of age, no sign that this man was inhibited in his
movement in any way. He moved like a river, smoothly winding and flowing
gently through a set of hand gestures and postures that created a seamless
unending motion. This was very different to the technical Daito Ryu that I had
studied before, which was full of formality, bowing and posture. He seemed
free, unencumbered, almost fluid and 100% right there in that moment.

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This little man was Master Chen, a teacher of a very old style of Tai Chi. I had
seen Tai Chi here and there before and had always thought of it as something
old people did in the mornings in China to keep their blood pumping. It had
held little interest to my Samurai constitution and warrior mind! But there
was something about this man that seemed to show great power within his
softness, like the tip of the iceberg belying the great expanse below.

I kept watching, transfixed and the screen changed to this little man stood in
front of a very tall and powerfully built western student, the man who was to
become my second Tai Chi Teacher. In this exchange the small unassuming
gent moved from gentle contact and control of the student’s hands to
lightening fast strikes, to wrist locks and throws. The strikes were audible,
like the cracking of a whip, leaving the big western student crumpled in pain.
The throws or locks would contort his body and fling him many feet from the
teacher, all the while teacher would be standing, moving smoothly without
apparent effort and with a grace and beauty rarely seen. This exchange
highlighted one thing, not only was this man a formidable fighter, he was also
extraordinarily healthy for his age, moving faster and with more ease than
most 20 year olds I know.

This experience started my interest in the Chinese Internal Arts and I was to
spend the next 10 or so years travelling to study with every expert I could
meet. I met some of the great experts of the 3 major internal systems, Hsing
I Chuan, Ba Gua chang and Tai Chi Chuan. Over time it became clear that, far
from being some magical practice, there are some very real and interesting
reasons for that master’s vitality that I saw jumping from the TV screen.

I sought out the student from this footage and ended up studying with him
for a number of years very closely. He was to teach me the graceful
movements i had seen on the film and how to apply them. The training was
very demanding but extremely fruitful. I was getting stronger, more rooted,
more fluid in my movements and walking around all day with abundant
energy. As we will see later in the book, some of the stories of these training
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sessions were not always enjoyable! But the net result was that I was
healthier and happier than I had ever been.

Known throughout the world as a functional health exercise developed in

China, Tai Chi is practiced by people of all ages and backgrounds. Many, or
even most, of the people practicing Tai Chi today do so because it gives them
a definitive sense of wellbeing, enjoyment or helps them to correct and
manage illnesses or the rigours of age.

Originally (and still for select groups) Tai Chi was developed as an advanced
form of Chinese Martial Arts. Practitioners of this style were famed not only
for their power and effectiveness but for their apparent softness and
sensitivity. The skills of the little man from the screen all those years ago still
attest to this attribute. Over time, word of the health and vitality of Tai Chi
practitioners spread and some sections of this martial art’s syllabus became
highlighted as the cause, it is these specific sections that we see most people
practicing when they look to the system as a health practice.

The popularity of these practices, fuelled in part by the Chinese Imperial

family, spread throughout china during the 19th and 20th centuries. Then, with
the doors to china opening up and noticeable exponents like Chen Man Ching
moving to the west, Tai Chi began to spread worldwide. Now, millions of
people around the world are studying and training this system purely for
health benefits with only small pockets of dedicated and committed
practitioners still studying the entire art with its difficult basic training
methods and brutal combative effectiveness.

Although I consider myself as part of this select group of practitioners still

studying the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan, there is no doubt that this system
also represents for me a great tool for improving the health and wellbeing of
my students. So rather than add to the myriad books on how to practice Tai
Chi, this book will instead focus on why this system has become so valued for
its health and wellness benefits.

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We will explore the various facets that training in this art develop and how, in
turn, they produce a healthy and happy individual.

15 years since I began looking at this system, I have taught people, including
my own mother, this wonderful system and watched as their movement
capacity, fluidity of motion and awareness levels increased. I saw softness
creep into tense muscles and postures straighten, I saw limps return to
strong steps. It is with this real world evidence of change that I was
motivated to find out why Tai Chi seems to work!

Of course I could have accepted the party line. I could have laid all these
wonderful benefits on the shoulders of that most abstract of Chinese Art
concepts ‘Chi’. But this was not enough for me. I have a mind that looks for
concrete answers, for some explanation for what I experience for myself and
observe in others so my approach to this subject diverges from that
normative stance. My approach is one of pragmatism and practicality so you
may not find much talk of ‘chi’ in this volume not because I do not believe in
it as a concept, but simply because it lacks a clear enough definition to be
truly useful to our research. Instead I will be using some of the latest western
anatomical and neurological research in the following pages, as well as
findings from my diligent exploration of these methods.

For those of you who are new to this art and even those who have trained a
little while, at the end of this book, I have outlined some learning’s and
findings on what to look for in a Tai Chi Instructor. As with any popular
system of training, this method has it’s greats and, well, not so greats so it is
worth a little time to find the teacher who is right for you.

It is my hope that for both those who study the art, and those with a casual
interest, this short book will help to enliven some of the methods and
techniques that the clever old masters of China founded all those years ago.

Happy training!

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 Chapter 1
- Relaxation-

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“Relax” the word rang in my ear for the 50th time that session but was clearly
not getting through! We were practicing the Tai Chi movement known as
Snake creeps down and had been refining the details and looking deeply at
the nuance of the transitions, for about 40 minutes now. Imagine, for those
not aware of this position, squatting deeply on one leg with your back
straight and the other leg stretched out in front of you. When performing this
motion you start in an upright posture, then sink slowly down into the
squatted position then glide back up and repeat on the other side. It should
look smooth, effortless and flowing, but I must have looked a million miles
aware from those attributes.

“Relax!” my teachers word always arrived at the peak of the demand on my

thigh muscles. I was trying to remain relaxed, but no matter how much effort
I was putting in to let go my thigh muscles wouldn’t stop shaking! I was a
relatively fit young man who could run long distances, could carry heavy
weights and had a long history in Ju Jutsu and grappling arts. My leg muscles
were well defined and strong but this method was really testing their resolve
to the absolute limit. I continued to plug away, slowly dropping into the
position and rising out of it, legs shaking, sweat beading on my brow. It was
then that I noticed I was beginning to hold my breath for increased support
which compounded the problem as my heart rate increased and the posture
started to break down.

“Relax!” ... That word again! I had heard of the term ‘tasting the bitter’ from
my teacher before but now I was really beginning to understand what it
actually meant. Just as I felt ready to call it a day and tell my teacher I could
do no more, I started to drop into position as I had done so 100 times before
and an interesting thing happened. My legs shook violently, like a car
spluttering as it ran out of fuel, and then ... stillness. My legs didn’t feel tired,
by breath flowed like waves lapping a beach, my posture became straight and
upright. I glided down and back up with ease as a state of release flowed
through my body. It was as if the conscious control of my body and all that
effort I had been putting in trying to relax had failed and at that moment my
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body just let go. All of the tension I was using to create and maintain the
movements was released and it felt as those I was simply supported by my
skeleton. Teacher looked over and with a grin simply said “OK, now you can
start to practice the method properly.”

This was a powerful lesson in the true meaning of the word relaxation. It is a
word synonymous with Tai Chi and one of the most reported benefits.
Practitioners will often be heard to comment on the successful alleviation of
tension through Tai Chi training.

Part of the systems notoriety as a martial art comes from its ‘soft’ approach
to the problem of combat. It is somewhat famous for this attribute and the
idea is one that translates very clearly into our health and wellness practices.

Relaxation can mean many things, from mental relation (which we will
discuss later) to muscular relaxation, to postural, to emotional relaxation and
positional relaxation. In this section we will explore why Tai Chi is so effective
at relaxing its practitioners and how this method creates health and wellness
in the body as a result.

The Nature of Tension and its consequences.

Perhaps the most famous icon or symbol associated with Tai Chi is the ‘Yin
Yang’, indeed this famous symbol denoting the nature of opposites is called,
the Tai Chi. So it is fitting that in order to talk about relaxation we first need
to talk about its opposite, tension. Tension and relaxation are opposite sides
of the same coin and although tension is often to be eliminated, it does have
its role to play in our bodies. Without tension we would not be able to stand
up! So although relaxation is a specific goal of Tai Chi, correct tension should
not be vilified as a result. Note however that I said ‘correct tension’.

So to understand relaxation we need to know what we are relaxing and how

the tension occurs in the body.

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The cause of postural tension.

One of the first aspects of tension to examine is the type caused by posture,
or the effect of posture and entrained dysfunction on our overall level of
muscular and tissue tightness. It would be fair to say that for a lot of us living
in the modern world, working office jobs, driving cars and travelling on the
tube trains of big cities, we have a different posture to our hunter gather
ancestors. Even modern farmers or producers are not placed under the same
physical competency demands as those early humans or existing hunter
gatherer tribes.

When we look at a typical city living, office working human and compare
them to a tribal hunter from the Amazon we will immediately recognise the
difference in their posture and how they locomote and move through their
respective environments.

The hunter will have a relaxed and natural gait, an efficiency and fluidity to
their motion that would be largely absent in most city dwellers. He would be
able to move across uneven terrain spotting food and resources with sharp
eyesight and accumulated knowledge of his ancestors. He would be able to
lift heavy trees or branches, build shelters, carry water and meat without
injury and would be resistant to the rigours of his environment. Meanwhile, a
friend of mine twisted their ankle a few days ago stepping from a very flat
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surface (a sidewalk) to another very flat surface (the road). This lack of
movement capacity and complexity, the fragile nature of the modern human
and the difficulties we face with back, neck, hip or knee problems can largely
be laid at the feet of entrained dysfunction and postural tension.

Sitting at desks, sitting in cars, sitting on trains, sitting down to lunch, sitting
on couches, we sure do sit around a lot! This sedentary life, mainly composed
of sitting, is one of the primary causes of tension, and one of the reasons
many of us don’t move with the natural fluidity and grace of our hunter
friend.

The area’s most often effected by this way of life are the shoulder and upper
back, the chest and almost universally the hips. These problem areas are
characterised by postural distortions, tension headaches and lack of mobility
in the individual.

Perhaps the most debilitating postural tension that I come across is the issues
found in the hip area and their resulting effect on the lower back. Because we
spend a large amount of our time with our thighs at 90 degrees to our torso
(sitting in chairs) systemically tightened Psoas muscles which, when standing,
work against our natural position and misalign our pelvis creating deep
seeded tensions in our lower half. This is a largely unavoidable issue if we
spend our days sitting. Manufacturers of various products like standing desks,
posture seats and kneelers have tried to mitigate the effect of our ‘desk
driven’ lifestyle but these problems persist for a huge proportion of the
population.

Related to postural tension is the effect of misalignment on musculature and

musculo-skeletal support. A great example of this is hunching over our smart
phones all day, a problem largely appearing in the last few years, a simple
look around a public place will highlight this serious postural problem. The
smart phone is a wondrous invention, granting access to almost all of the
information ever conceived by humans, however it is also proving to be a

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serious issue for our posture. The musculature of the neck and upper back is
becoming tense and tight because of the head down posture we tend to
adopt while reading, watching or messaging.

In his paper named “Assessment of Stresses in the Cervical spine caused by

posture and position of the head” Doctor Kenneth K Hanraj made the
following assessment.

“The weight seen by the spine dramatically increases when flexing the head
forward at varying degrees. An adult head weighs about 10 to 12 pounds in a
neutral position. As the head tilts forward the forces seen by the neck surges
to 27 pounds and 15 degrees, 40 pounds at 30 degrees, 49 pounds at 45
degrees and 60 pounds at 60 degrees

Loss of the natural curve of the cervical spine leads to incrementally increased
stresses about the cervical spine. These stresses may lead to early wear, tear,
degeneration, and possibly surgeries.

Individuals should make an effort to look at their phones with a neutral spine
and to avoid spending hours each day hunched over."

Mitigating the effect of this increase and aligning the head and spine
correctly is a valuable facet of Tai Chi training that is not to be
underestimated for the modern person, but we will delve into that a little
later.

For now it is safe to say that the apparently natural act of living in the
modern world, with all of our ‘comforts’, is a huge contribution to the
tensions present in our posture.

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Stress & Tension

Tension, far from being simply a response to postural misalignments or un-

natural loads is actually perhaps most closely linked with ‘stress’. We hear of
people experiencing ‘tension headaches’ or stiff necks when they are
stressed, when they are mentally or emotionally worn down. This is the
body’s reaction to the perceived stress it has been placed under. But to really
understand this process we need to look at why we evolved to experience
stress and how, in modern times, that process has been allowed to go a little
haywire!

Stress can be classified as the natural body reaction to perceived threat or

danger. This evolutionary trait would have been a response mechanism for
our early ancestors and would have directly related to threats such as
predation, environmental disaster or tribal combat and war. In these
instances the body has a specific set of hormonal and physiological changes
that it will undergo naturally and unconsciously. These reactions include the
production of the so called ‘stress hormones’, Cortisol and Epinephrine.
These hormones change the resting metabolic rate and prepare the body for
life saving action by altering body functions like heart rate, mobilizing energy
stored in the muscles as glycogen, increasing blood pressure and breathing
and inhibiting metabolic processes like reproduction, growth, immunity and
digestion.

These threats and the resulting physiological changes would, in fact, have
been somewhat spread out and few and far between. For our ancestors it
wouldn’t be a daily occurrence to be hunted by a predator or survive a flood
and the level of stress hormones coursing through their bodies would be
minimal.

Fast forward 20 or 30 thousand years and we find ourselves in modern

society. The actually stress reaction cycle is biologically unchanged but the
environments and mental challenges that us modern humans find ourselves

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in are vastly different. Here in lies the problem! Imagine, if you will, the
middle manager at medium sized business. They get into work every day at
7.30am and leave at 6pm, their day is filled with decisions that will affect the
bottom line if they make a bad call, they are handling the staff under them
and answering to the bosses above. To put it into evolutionary terms the
days of this middle manager are filled with perceived threats and it is the
perception of threats that cause the endocrine system to pump stress
hormones into the body. But what does this do to our middle manager in
terms of health and, more importantly to this section, Tension?

Well to put it mildly the body is in a state that it has not evolved to cope with.
The constant low level release of stress hormones into the body was not a
part of our early ancestor’s lives but we modern humans often live in this
state for years on end. The result of this constant low level stress hormone
release is manifested in two ways, inflammation and postural reaction.

The postural reaction to stress is one that we can see in a lot of people when
we begin to look. On our journey to and from work it is easy for us to see the
manifestation of mental or emotional stress in the postures of those we
encounter. Withdrawn people may concave their chest protecting the heart
centre where emotional response can be felt. The high flying businessman,
with their red face and puffed out chest is manifesting the high level of
perceived stress that they are under every day. A tight, un-natural and
uneven posture resulting from stress can point to the deeper or more severe
emotional or mental problems within the individual.

To say that none of these deviations from the relaxed nature equilibrium
granted by our genetics are good for our bodies would be an
understatement! But there is very good reason to believe that practices like
Tai Chi, with its focus on relaxing the body and creating an even, aligned
posture can mitigate some of the effects that we see. Indeed, just as the
perceived stresses and mental or emotional difficulties can have a direct
effect on the body, the body position can have a direct effect on the mind.
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How Tai Chi truly effects this change will be covered in a later chapter, but
the resulting effect of mitigating tension in the body by re-aligning, softening
and evening out the position is a classical benefit of correct Tai Chi training.
Let’s look at how Tai Chi achieves these results.

How Tai Chi and Related practices mitigate tension

So now that we understand a little about the causes of tension in the body
and how they manifest in the individual, we can begin to look at the core
principles found in Tai Chi that help to mitigate them. The originators and
developers of the internal arts like Tai Chi realised that, not only were some
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the attributes that were achieved through training useful for combat, they
were also useful for health. Indeed many of these early methods of health
and wellness training were required before the fighter could truly utilize the
arts combative side. What good is a sick or immobile combatant! The
foundational principles of Tai Chi could almost be said to be designed
specifically for the relaxation of improper tensions and stiffness.

‘Sung’ – the soft tissue around the bones.

Perhaps the most widely known concept of relaxation we encounter in Tai

Chi is the idea called ‘sung’. Indeed, if you were to walk into any reputable Tai
Chi school anywhere in the world you will most probably hear the teacher
talking about this concept at some point. It is something that you hear
teachers saying a lot, especially to their tense new students.

The idea of sung is the concept and principle of softening the tissues around
the frame created by the skeleton. It is very closely related to the movement
efficiency we will discuss later in the book and essentially means that the
tissue is as released and soft as it can be while performing a given movement
or method. We are using just enough to maintain posture or movement and
the result is that the body feels soft to the touch and the movements are
extremely efficient.

In the internal arts the act of softening is commonly described to actually be

the act of ‘release’. It is not simply enough to say to someone relax in most
cases and for the majority of people I have taught, try as they might,
relaxation is not something they are used to feeling. Generally even when a
student feels that they are fully relaxed the teacher is able to increase this
relaxation deeper and deeper with careful instruction. For us to truly achieve
a state of relaxation we need a few tricks and methods to guide, or
sometimes force, the body into a relaxed state. These methods are unique to
the many lines of internal art and each teacher will often have a favourite
trick up their sleeve to deal with tense muscles or stuck posture. Some of

22
these ideas and tricks included leading the relaxation with the breathing via
release, fatiguing the offending musculature so that it ‘gives up’, physically
pressing on trigger points that will help the student to identify root causes of
tension and even using the wall or floor combined with detailed guidance to
‘roll out’ the problem tensions.

A very common method of guiding release in Tai Chi is to slow movement’s

right down to the point where they are hardly noticeable. We perform a
certain nei gung or form loop that will immediately impact a tension area at
super slow pace, perhaps taking 5 minutes to run through 2 or so
movements. This slowing of the movements to a literal snail’s pace has two
effects on our musculature, effects that become almost immediately
apparent when the practitioner performs the work for any period of time.

1) Firstly the super slow movements will highlight the points of tension
in the frame and especially musculature by making them ache. The
reason that this ache appears is due to inefficiencies in the muscle
usage and areas of tension causing compensations elsewhere in the
body. That tension as the practice continues will fatigue the muscle
and, at first, they will simply ache. It is important that we move
through this tension however and actually allow what my teacher
would term ‘failure’. This is when the muscle can no longer perform
in this tense state and has to give up. When this happens the body
will generally align in a much more efficient way and the tension will
be released.
2) Another aspect of super slow training is the identification of ‘sticking
points’ in the joints and their articulation. These sticking points are
generally characterised by flat spots in circular motion or by sudden
stops and starts as we perform a circular action. Once highlighted this
problem of sticking joints and flat spots in motion can be addressed
by the next method Tai Chi uses to soften the body, I call this
‘smoothing out the circles’

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Smoothing out the circles

Smoothing out the circles, as call it, can be seen in Tai Chi under many titles,
but they all amount to a certain training method that is related specifically to
softening the tissues that wrap or connect the joints. It is like a circle with a
slice taken off to create a flat edge. This flat edge will become apparent as
you move as a stop start or jolt, or simply as a little wobble in your motion
that was unintentional. These ‘bumps in the road’ as I sometimes refer to
them are clear indicators of tensions somewhere close to the flat spot.

As we will see later, the joints are invariably surrounded by connective

tissues and these tissues can sometimes form in such a way that they support
misalignments and tensions in our frames. This tensioning of the joint will
also generally effect our joint articulation and range of motion thus creating
tensions further up or down the chain from the cause of the dysfunction. In
order to combat this limiting range of motion and start to soften the
connective tissues we can start to work with circular movement patterns that
hit full range of motion for our major joints.

The process of smoothing out the circles will involve performing a circular
motion very smoothly and slowly at a consistent pace. The practitioner is
looking for any deviation from the circle in this movement and as soon as the
deviation if observer the practitioner will mentally make note of its location
of the circle for the next pass. As the movement reaches this point the
student will slow their movement to extremely slow speed, almost not
moving at all, and will look deeply at this sticky area. They will correct and re-
correct constantly as they pass through this area then continue the circle at a
normal speed, then repeat.

After some time training this method across multiple circles in multiple
directions the bumps in the movement should have been smoothed our and
the practitioner ready to begin the complicated work known as reeling or
winding.

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Winding and twisting

In Tai Chi we see many movements that involve rotating and twisting the
limbs. Often known as pulling or reeling silk, these movements have a myriad
of purposes but one of the interesting areas that they improve is our ability
to remain soft and relaxed. The sort of movements we are looking at here, as
we will see in later chapters, actually work to condition the connective
tissues of the body in such a way that their elastic content increases. This
reforming of the Fascia (connective tissue) to be more elastic actually lets it
also remain soft and still protect the joints and muscles, you are conditioning
the tissue to perform more efficiently.

Conditioning, as we mean it here, is the twisted stretching of, primarily, the

Fascia. If you think of wringing out a towel for instance you will get an
impression of what the action can be like, although much softer.

Part of the reason for his work softening the tissue is that twisting and
winding of the action has an effect on the moisture in the tissues. Fascia is in
fact full of water, much like a sponge. As we wind It is like wringing out a
sponge, the water is released from the tissue, then when we release the
winding action the tissue fills back up. This process is sometimes called,

25
cleaning the tissues and some old texts describe this method as a cleansing of
the body. Now that we have an idea of the actual physiological make up of
our tissues it is easy to see that these old masters knew what they were
talking about! The Fascia is, for want of a better term, cleaned as the liquid is
squeezed in and out of it over the course of a training session.

There is a method is also known as washing the bones in some Chi Gung. As
the tissue winds and unwinds around the bones of the skeleton a slight
inward pressure is applied to the bone itself and the squeezing of the tissues
and their fluids is thought to have an effect on the bone itself. This hasn’t
been tested to any great degree however, but the idea is that this squeezing
and un-squeezing of the bones themselves has a positive impact on the
health of the bone and its marrow.

Grounding

Tai Chi uses another interesting approach to lead relaxation that may not
immediately point to removing tension from the tissues, this method is called
grounding or more commonly ‘rooting’. In the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan
rooting is used during striking or grappling exchanges to give a stable base to
the power expressed by the practitioner. But outside of this combative
outlook there are also a few key benefits for the body found in the practice of
rooting and grounding.

Grounding was most probably originally used by Taoist sages and adepts to
connect to the ‘earth energy’ as part of the ‘heaven, earth, man’ model of
spiritual development. There are entire schools of training that put focus on
the rooting or grounding of the individual to stabilize the body and mind
ready for the higher level spiritual trainings to come. This first step in the
process of development is actually also common to methods found outside of
Chinese arts with certain Yogic traditions focusing on the lower ‘root’ centres
for a large proportion of their early training.

26
The link between ground contact or focus and health and wellness is slowing
beginning to be understood by the scientific community as a whole with pilot
studies springing up using grounding as a tool for various explorations. For
instance, a Pilot study was carried out on the effect of ‘grounding’ on athletes
suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness. The findings of the study,
although fairly small in nature and just an initial exploration of the concept,
showed that grounding was in fact a positive first intervention at reducing
the inflammations and tensions caused by high levels of physical exertion.

“Grounding appears to be the first intervention with the potential to reduce

the time of recovery and improve muscle function from DOMS. These
findings suggest that grounding has enough of an effect on DOMS that a
larger study is warranted.”
Dick Brown, Ph.D., Gaétan Chevalier, Ph.D., 2 and Michael Hill, B.S.1
1

The reason for this effect is still largely not understood but one possible
reason taken from Tai Chi is the release of tension downward with gravity as
we place our attention downward into the earth. Part of the rooting process
involves this deep feeling of ‘sinking’ even though we remain static. The
attention is turned inward and, when timed with the breath, the tissues of
the body begin to feel like they are melting down into the earth. This is also
part of the ‘sung’ attribute we discussed earlier. It could be that the deep
release and softness caused by this rooting training is somehow having an
effect on the nutrient supply to the fatigued and damaged muscle tissue that
causes DOMS and therefore decreasing recovery time.

Another aspect of rooting and the release of tension downwards into the
earth is the way it highlights frame position and alignments. Rooting and
ground contact allows practitioners to recognise tension or balance skews
further up their frame. The mechanism for this awareness is largely based in
the increased sensitivity of our feet when rooting practice is studied for a
long period of time.
27
For instance if we stand still, try not to move even a millimetre, but put our
attention on the soles of our feet, we more often than not find that our
balance is shifting around constantly. We become aware that we are in fact
rocking side to side, or wobbling or shifting weight between the feet etc. All
at a very tiny level, a level at which under normal we would be completely
unaware. However, with the entire attention placed on the feet and rooting
down towards them we begin to feel this strange and constant adjustment.

These micro adjustments are more often than not indicative of a lack of
stability and posture control further up the body. A good Tai Chi teacher will
look at a student and immediately tell where they are tight, compensating or
unbalanced in their position or posture.

Part of the understanding of our body position or motion within the space
around us is the sense known as proprioception. This is a sense that we will
discuss many times in this book as it relates to a great many health and
wellness benefits but here we can say that it directly relates to the sensitivity
of the feet and muscles of the lower leg.

Proprioception (/ˌproʊpri.ɵˈsɛpʃən/ PRO-pree-o-SEP-shən), from Latin

proprius, meaning "one's own", "individual," and capio, capere, to take or
grasp, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body
and strength of effort being employed in movement.

Relevance of the foot.

So we have begun to sense the relative position and constant movement of

our frame in our feet as we root or sink ourselves downwards. The more we
relax and are able to let the foot and the ankle relax the greater our
proprioceptive capability will become. In Tai Chi we use markers, or areas, of
the foot to better feel how we are contacting the ground, how our weight is
distributed and where corrections for balance adjustments need to occur.

28
These areas form 9 points, the 5 toes, the heel, the ball of the big toe, the
remaining pad of the other toes and the outside ridge of the foot.

The 9 points of the feet are a theoretical framework for identifying balance
distributions and the model is very useful for grounding or root training. It
forms part of the training methodology to increase our stability and
awareness of unconscious motion even when stepping and moving very
quickly.

The basic process for utilizing the 9 points is, initially, one of awareness. We
can ‘check’ each point in turn as we standing in a static posture to see if there
is any weight shift or wobbles that are specifically being received by one of
the points.

Then we try to feel the weight in each of the 9 points in turn. One by one, we
try to put our awareness into each of the 9 points in turn, truly and physically
feeling their contact with the earth without moving at all. Next we start to
'load' each of the 9 points by moving our center of balance very slowly. For
instance we could slowly move our center backwards in order to shift our

29
weight distribution into the heel. After loading each area via movement, we
return to the static practice of bringing our observation and awareness to the
entire foot on the earth.

This training has two main purposes.

1) to increase our proprioceptive and general response feedback from the

sole of the foot. This increased awareness is acutely linked to the internal
adepts ability to efficiently root themselves.

2) It develops the natural load management tissues in the lower leg and ankle
which helps to provide smooth and non abrupt redistribution of weight
should we move outside of good position.

One of the key benefits of this type of ‘foot awareness’ is that it can help
people increase their ground contact awareness, particularly when
recovering from injuries that will affect their stability. The increased ground
awareness and gentle activation of the stabilization tissues greatly diminishes
the chance or re twisting an ankle and also means footfall and weight
distribution will be more refined.

The Ankle and related lower leg tissue.

Moving up from the sole of the foot another area of deep consideration in Tai
Chi training is the articulation of the ankle joint and more specifically how it
manages balance and weight force distribution.

As Bipeds we have an extremely refined system of muscles and connective

tissues that keep us upright. Most of the correction and balance maintenance
systems work without conscious thought, they simple activate as and when
they are required. This is, of course, how it should be! If our conscious mind
was occupied with firing muscles to remain standing all the time we would be
to pre-occupied to achieve much else!

30
With that said, we can consciously improve our ground connection by
increasing the sensitivity of our balance maintenance systems. The ankle is a
control joint, it controls balance and weight distribution by articulating in
association with weight shifts using the various muscles, tendons and tissues
of the lower leg.

Tightness in the ankle is one of the most significant factors inhibiting the
ability to feel ground connection, relax fully into a rooted position or
maintain our balance. ‘Clumsy’ people will often have poor ankle and knee
mobility and awareness for instance, meaning that they are unable to feel
surface changes or angle changes effectively. If the ankle remains 'soft' and
receptive as trained in Tai Chi then, a clearer transfer of information back to
the central nervous system and balance tissues will occur.

31
This work is extremely useful for the elderly as the increase in Proprioception
from foot and ankle awareness is thought to decrease the likelihood of
falling.

Here is the conclusion of a Study performed by the Department of Sports

Science and medicine and the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology
at the University of Hong Kong.

"The elderly people who regularly practiced Tai Chi not only showed better
proprioception at the ankle and knee joints than sedentary controls, but also
better ankle kinaesthesis than swimmers/runners. The large benefits of Tai
Chi exercise on proprioception may result in the maintenance of balance
control in older people. "

Pelvic Crossed syndrome – Tension and instability.

An initial point of research for the Internal Arts coach is the relationship
between the various muscles of the ‘center’ (lower Dan Tien) and how they
relate to, and influence, structural alignment.

Before any of the strength development can occur (pulling silk - winding etc),
we need to address these imbalances or misalignment which are usually the
result of tension and entrained dysfunction or misalignment. If they are not
addressed early then the body will build strength over misalignment and
compound any per-existing tension issues. The centre can be thought of as
the nexus of the postural tissue web and a junction point for the major body
lines that we will discuss later. Any tensions in this area will cause a knock on
effect throughout the body so getting this area relaxed, aligned and fixed is
one of the first priorities of the Tai Chi instructor.

One very common problem that we see in new students is something called
the the lower crossed syndrome. The lower cross is a term used to describe a

32
specific pattern of muscular imbalance in the lower body which results in
pelvic tilting and curvature of the lower back. If left unchecked, internal
strength training where we are specifically working on the connective tissues
and muscles in this area can actually compound postural problems, as well as
increase the likelihood of injury under load in the lower back. So getting this
problem sorted out and the body back to a natural state of balance is a big
goal for the early training.

The lower Cross is characterized by a combination of both weakness and

tightness in the lower torso which combines to misalign the pelvis and
lumbar spine. Specifically we are talking about ‘tightness’ in the thoraco
lumbar extensors which is reflected in the hip flexors and ‘weakness’ in the
abdominals reflected in the gluteals. The imbalance is reflected in the
opposite side of the body in a cross pattern.

The cause for this problem is largely laid at the feet of muscle shortening and
a lower irritability threshold in the shortened muscles which also has a knock
on effect on the motor programming. The knock on effect of this problem can
also often be seen in the hamstrings, the hip joints themselves and especially
the lumbar spine where the anterior pelvic tilt will compress the lower
vertebrae.

Internal arts have specific training methodologies to address this issue. The
corrections are achieved through 'releasing' the tightness in the
thoracolumbar and hip flexors rather than some interventions which call for
‘strengthening’ of the weaker muscles to bring a sort of ‘tension’ balance in
the area.

We are aiming to bring the lower cross into a relaxed and balanced state to
create stability from softness, rather than adding 'pressure' into the system
by focusing on strengthening the Glutes and Abs as some interventions
advocate.

33
Much of the early static standing training, which focuses on suspending from
the head and pointing the Coccyx at the earth, is focused on this release of
these tensions. We see that the conditions created when standing for a
prescribed lengths of time will elicit the release we are looking for.

However, there are also several focused walking methods and movement
practices where the focus is on releasing or relaxing the tensions of the lower
back and hip flexors. Methods like ‘walking on train tracks’ and the toe in toe
out stepping will have a strong effect on the articulation of the ‘kwa’ and the
resulting tensions found in the Psoas and hip flexor muscles.

These work just as well when the correct level of attention is used.

34
 Chapter 2
- Healthy Joints -

35
The cold morning air met my face as we stepped out of the warm, cosy
cottage in a sleepy village in rural Gloucestershire. 3 or 4 mornings each week
we would get together to train in the Tennis courts of the local park very
early, honing our particular area of study regardless of the weather forecast.
Paul, a large strong cheerful and deeply kind man and Karate 6th dan, was
studying Ba Gua (a circular sister art to Tai Chi) and I the direct combative
internal style of Xing Yi.

As we walked through the streets, mist hanging over the fields and frost
tipping the grass verges I could feel my hands freezing. I had turned up to
training that morning with nothing but some cotton Kung Fu trousers, a T-
shirt and a light hoody to keep me warm but it was freezing and even during
the short walk to our training ground the chill was apparent. Leaving Pauls
kitchen with a belly full of warm coffee and walking to the tennis courts I
knew my error and by the time we arrived I was blowing warm air into my
cupped hands in a vain attempt to warm them up.

It was too late to do anything about it. Paul wandered off to his usual spot
and began his morning ritual of swinging his arms and hanging forward from
his hips, bent in half. He would set a timer on his phone and stay like this for
many minutes, releasing one vertebrae after another with the natural weight
of his head hanging from his spine. It is a method I would later employ to heal
a mid-back injury, but for right now all I could think about was warming up.

I started to move through the 5 element forms of Xing Yi. These seemingly
simple movements hold a great depth of refined and subtle body skills and,
as is still the case today, they were an endless source of research. On this
freezing morning I hurried through them trying to build up some fire in the
furnace to heat my hands which by now felt like ice blocks. Nothing worked. I
ran through the Dragon form, a leaping, swooping method that was
demanding on the body and leg muscles knowing that it would get my heart
rate up and warm my body. Indeed my body was hot, I could feel the sweat

36
starting to form on my chest as I breathed deeply from the training, but still
my hands remained frozen.

I stopped, glancing over at Paul as he slowly moved through his Circle walking
practice I thought ‘maybe I am approaching this from the wrong direction?’.

So I stood in the WuJi posture which commences the Xing Yi form work.
Focusing all my effort and attention on relaxing my shoulders and standing
perfectly balanced between heaven and earth I relaxed my hands and
opened them up. My fingers extended down towards the ground, softly
lengthened and ‘alive’ as my teacher would call it. The feeling was sublime, I
could feel the warmth spread from my body through my elbow into my hand
and then pass each finger joint.

Relaxation and alignment had brought warmth where there was none. I
would later use this method to warm myself while on sentry duty in the Royal
Marines, where cold conditions and long periods exposed to them took on a
new meaning, far removed from that pleasant morning training in the park
with my friend!

Joint Mobility, Opening the Joints and circulation.

There is a saying in some old texts that we are only as ‘old as our joints’ and
certainly it can be said that healthy joints mean freedom and mobility for a
person and a relatively pain free movement experience.

Movement is at the core of what we, as animals, are designed to do. We have
complex neurological systems and musculo-skeletal structures that have
evolved specifically to allow us a great range and breadth of movement
capacity. Indeed we the most complex movers on the planet. We may not be
as fast as a cheetah or swim like a dolphin, but a dolphin couldn’t climb a tree
nor a cheetah swim in the ocean. This movement capacity, in all its
complexity, is directly related to the health and wellness of our joints.

37
Our joints are often thought of as the meeting points of two bones but we
need to look at these areas of the body in a much more holistic manner, if we
are to understand how the movement practice of Tai Chi helps to keep them
healthy. They are, in fact, the articulating areas of the body that are
composed of bone, cartlidge, fluids, blood vessels, nerves, connective tissues
and muscles. The composition of the joint is complex array of materials that
work in harmony with each other to produce required mechanical effects.

Tai Chi’s slow movement practice and the resulting joint health is one of the
most underappreciated, misunderstood and under discussed aspects of Tai
Chi practice in my opinion. Many instructors favour the relaxation, mental
and tissue development benefits over the effect on the joints themselves as a
primary curative tool. But there are examples personal to me and my
students that attest to this system having a direct impact on the joints and
their associated tissues.

In my teens I was a very active sportsman competing in an array of different

pastimes outside of the martial arts, from Basketball to badminton. One of
my first loves at this time was Volleyball and by my late teens I was travelling
the country playing in the National league. Volleyball is a very demanding
sport on the joints and the constant jumping, leaping onto the floor and
squatting down took its toll on my young knees. As is very common with
‘jumping’ Athletes, I developed a condition known as patella tendonitis. This
is related to the fraying of the patella tendon and the damage to the knee
tissues and fluids. I was in nightly pain and when not warm or in motion my
knees would seize up leaving me immobile and hobbling. Not the ideal
situation for a young fit guy! After ultrasound and scan after scan at the local
hospital I was referred to a physiotherapist and told I should give up sport for
a while. My interest in Volleyball was waning by this time, but I was delving
deep into the art of Daito Ryu Ju Jutsu which is particularly characterised by
some of its techniques performed from a kneeling position. Something had
to be done!

38
It was around this time that I began looking into Tai Chi and the slow
movement training created some immediate and interesting sensations in my
ruined knees. I could almost feel the fluid in my knees moving around and the
frayed tendon pulling and tightening gentle as I moved through the form.
After 3 months, the nightly pain and immobility had disappeared and within 6
months my patella tendons had begun to thicken and tighten up. Within a
year I was able to run, jump, roll and perform my beloved JuJutsu absent of
pain or discomfort!

So I have personally cured myself of patella tendonitis and nightly knee pain
through the practice of Tai Chi and internal arts. These systems really do
something interesting with the joints that few other training programs seem
to. The process of smooth continuous, slow, long and open circular
movements is fairly unique to Tai Chi and its related arts like Ba gua and chi
gung traditions and there is a number of interesting responses both in the
tissues that wrap the joints and the fluids within the joints from their
practice.

So as we say above, joint mobility is something that, by our very genetics, is a

fundamental prerequisite for the healthy human. We cannot imagine a
hunter gatherer crippled by arthritic elbows or hunched over from poor
shoulder alignment getting very far on his hunts!

Joint problems can stem from a wide ranging variety of sources, from
muscular or connective tissue instability to Dietary insuffiencies to genetics.
So it is hard to provide a ‘catch all’ description of what joint health really
looks like. However we can say with some certainty that for joints to be
healthy they are pain free and have to exhibit a natural range of motion
without inhibition.

39
3 external harmonies and the joints.

In Tai Chi there is a method for identifying the relationship and the role of
our major body joints known as the 3 external harmonies. The identification
of these joints and their associations to each other was initially part of the
martial system to identify effective movement and expression of force but
the idea of associating the joints to one another
soon became important for the health and
wellness practitioners too. The six harmonies are
between the wrists to the ankles, the knees to the
elbows and the shoulders to the hips.

This association is an important point because it

means that, as we make movements in the Tai Chi
forms or Nei Gong training, we have an
understanding of what the joint does and how it
works in harmony with the rest of the body and its
associated lower or higher joint

When we work on movement with the idea in our

minds that hips and shoulders have a rotational
function for instance we are able to harmonise
their action. As the shoulder rotates the hips can
rotate. This harmonisation between the joint
types will create a large increase in our proprioceptive capacity. This sense, of
where we are in the space around us, is linked to the position of our joints as
well as a number of other feedback loops. As the joints articulate, the
sensory network is informed of the joint position and our brain maps our
limb position. So with deep focus we can mentally align our joints to one
another and the resulting increased awareness of alignment and spatial
recognition will mean we are less likely to operate outside our natural ranges
of motion, and equally recognise when our range of motion is impinged.

40
One of the primary causes of joint pain or wear and tear on the joints
themselves is an uneven posture formed by unnatural habits. Operating
outside of our natural base, alignment, centre of stability or joint position is a
very common because people are used to leaning on one leg when they
stand still, sitting at desks with their shoulder slumped forward or even
sitting on seat with their wallet in one of their back pockets! Leaning on one
leg for instance can develop problems in one hip and a lopsided gait, people
who hunch at a desk all day will create a Kyphotic spine, and manual
labourers who always use their right knee to rest on will develop uneven
bone growths that impede mobility of the knee joint.

The internal arts like Tai Chi have an entire section of their training devoted
to ‘alignment’ which is one of the first practices that the exponent will delve
into. The practice of recognising alignment issues is a fascinating one because
more often than not, in the early stages, we are completely incapable of
recognising when we are lopsided, leaning forward or tilting back. My
teacher would often get me to practice standing positions in front of a large
mirror, or looking in glass doors, this allowed me to look directly at my
posture and work my way through the positions of each joint in relation to
the next. I would stand in the pre-defined posture, looking at the spine
position, the shoulder alignment to the hip, the knee alignment to the elbows
etc. Having this acute sense of the position of our major joints will help us to
recognise the markers of instability or misalignment in a systematic way. It is
not enough for teacher to point out misalignments or issues with your
position, we have to actually feel them for ourselves if we are to truly correct
them.

So the three external harmonies is a very useful tool for understanding the
position of the joints in relation to one another, but they are also used to
define the role that the joint plays in movement capacity. We can say that
these joints share a specific set of attributes and this understanding can
inform our practice.

41
Shoulders and Hips

So, the first two joints to look at are the shoulders and hips. In Tai Chi we say
that the Shoulders and hips are ‘Mobility’ joints.

That means that they are responsible for the mobility of the limb in and its
action in motion. If we think about the shoulder for instance, it allows the
arm to articulate in a near 360 range of motion in relation to the torso while
remaining strongly connected and able to apply forces. This mobility is also
true of the hip and this definition of the joint role is very useful when we look
at moving through the various positions of the Tai Chi form or, in fact, any
movement practice.

If we are struggling with a particular movement or set of movements, pulling

our attention back to the mobility of the shoulder or hip can afford us a focus
that may enable us to perform the action more easily.

42
Elbows and Knees
The elbows and knees are what we refer to as ‘transfer’ joints. They are
responsible for transferring weight/power from the body to the hand or the
foot. They have a strong element of linear functionality and are extremely
powerful in their linear alignments.

In the martial arts the elbows and knees are a cause for concern in certain
arts where snapping or whipping strikes are a regular feature. Karate-ka are
commonly diagnosed with knee and elbow problems later in life if they have
not taken care of the action in the knee and elbow earlier in their training.
This is because the elbow and knee articulation is focused around smooth
and uninterrupted transfer of force or load from the body, via the articulation
of the mobility joints to the control surfaces of the hand and foot.

Any ‘leaking’ force in the elbow or knee causes by rapid articulation to the
extreme range of motion will cause damage to the cartilage and associated
protective tissues in the transfer joints. For this reason, Tai Chi employs the
70% rule when looking at extension of the elbow or knee. That is to say that
these joints never extend past 70-80% extension in the postures or
movements.

43
Wrists and Ankles.

The wrists and ankles are ‘control or sensitivity’ joints. These joints control
and distribute forces produced by the body or from external factors to the
body.

Imagine, if you will a hand balancer or gymnast performing a handstand to

get a good impression of what I mean by ‘control and sensitivity’. Their hands
will constantly be adjusting and redirecting the forces acting to make them
drop from the handstand. They are performing controlling actions with the
hands and wrists, while transferring load through the elbows through the
mobilized shoulders.

Perhaps an easier way to understand these joints roles is to simply stand on

one leg and observer the constant adjustments made in the lower limb
muscles around the ankle. They will subconsciously engage and disengage to
retain the position and centre of balance. In many lines of Tai Chi we see
training where the practitioner will stand on one leg, under deep control
while slowly moving into the next motion. This capability is born out of the
control afforded by the development of the ankle and foot.

44
So how does associating the joints in this way help us increase our joint
health? Let’s say for instance we are performing a slow stepping movement
in our Tai Chi practice (or walking normally in everyday life!) and we have a
clear understanding, honed through the training of awareness of the 3
external harmonies that the knee is a transfer joint. But we feel a pressure on
the inside of our knee joint with every step, a dull ache after some time
appears.

This increased awareness of, and sensitivity too, changes or un-natural

loading will help us to protect our joints in every aspect of life. A great
example of this is found in runners who have started to learn Tai Chi
mechanics to improve their running technique. The now popular ‘chi running’
for instance helps runners to become aware of spine alignment, knee
pressures and foot fall, which in turn has shown to decrease systemic issues
like ‘joggers knee’.

With training in the understanding of alignment and joint roll, we should be

able to understand that the knee joint is not optimally transferring weight
through to the ground. There is a misalignment and the weight loading a
specific, and unnatural, tissue line. This misalignment can then be addressed
and remedied through focused practice and continued awareness
development.

For most people new to Tai Chi, these revelations about the misalignment or
misuse of the 3 external harmonies will come thick and fast! People will
notice their knees misaligned, their hips uneven, their wrist mobility
impaired. But these noticeable misalignments will get smaller and smaller
through training eventually resulting in a body that is powerfully aligned with
all joints working as they should in harmony with one another.

45
Opening the joints – Free flowing fluid.

When we practice the internal arts for some time, as evidenced by my knee
recovery, we begin to feel that the joints are somehow articulating more
smoothly. Certainly when my joints recovered from the rigours of jumping
and diving around the volleyball court there was the clear feeling of them
somehow being freer than before. I am sure that most of you have heard of
the term ‘well oiled’ which certainly describes the feeling very well, but in Tai
Chi and internal training this attribute is known as ‘opening the joints’.

This idea is related to the relaxation of the any bound tissues around the
joints so that the synovial fluid of the joint cavity is able to perform its correct
function.

46
The joints are areas of the body where the bones of the skeleton terminate
to allow articulation and movement capacity. In order for this articulation to
work correctly for the 70 or 80 years we may be alive, there are very refined
mechanisms in place that our bodies use to ensure good working order. The
joints are lubricated by the synovial fluid, they utilise special tissues like
Cartilage to allow bony surfaces to articulate with each other in a smooth
way and they have a series of muscles and connective tissues working in
harmony to maintain the optimal position and state of the joint during
movement.

However, the realities of modern life can, and do, conspire to interrupt this
natural function. When we sit with our elbows on desks, our knees bent
permanently for a large proportion of the day or our fingers work harder than
they were designed to on keyboards and smart phones we really don’t do our
natural articulations any favours!

Perhaps the first problem that these positions can create is in the fixing of
the joints in a static position and the lack of articulation in the joint causing
what the Chinese would call ‘stagnation’. Basically this means that, because
we are not moving our joints throughout the day as we normally would the
joints become stiff, the fluids become more viscous and the sliding surfaces
begin to stick. When we do begin to move again we can hear pops,
experience joint pain or event ongoing systemic issues.

A problem far more wide reaching than the static joint and associated
stiffness is the way in which the muscles and connective tissue react to this
sedentary lifestyle. The static position can cause various key muscle groups
related to the joints to shorted or tighten. When this happens the joint is
compressed and the fluid squeezed, the sliding surfaces and cartilage can be
pressed into themselves and we begin to see the signed of this compression
in frayed joint capsules and articular cartilage.

47
In instances where this un-natural positioning has been enforced over years
or decades, large scale body wide joint issues can become apparent. Muscles
tighten seemingly permanently, joint articulation is impaired severely and the
resulting posture can cause pain and discomfort when moderate physical
activity is required

Although the joint opening methods found in Tai Chi were not designed to
combat these modern stresses, they are very well suited to the job of ‘fixing’
the modern humans predicament. Some methodologies will introduce a
stretching routine to remedy these issue, and indeed Tai Chi also uses specific
‘stretching’ methods to combat these problems. But the overall approach
taken by the Tai Chi practitioner has some fundamental differences to the
western idea of stretching.

Tai Chi training for joint health works in a slow manner with a focus on
creating a ‘release’ rather than the pull normally associated with a stretch.
This is slightly different to the stretching methodology in that we are not
adding elastic tensions into an already closed system. If you imagine a joint
with muscles and connective tissues under tension crossing and passing it,
where would the forces be acting on the joint? They would be working to
close the joint further, adding pressure to an already pressurised cavity full of
liquid and increasing the pressure of the cartilage pressing on itself.

The release method involves slow and deliberate joint rotation and extension
of the limbs while relaxing the surrounding muscles to a point where they are
only holding the tension needed to fulfil their role of supporting the joint.
This is the natural state of the tissues around the joints and is the aim for the
Tai Chi Exponent to reach for. As mentioned in the chapter on relaxation
there are many methods that we can use to relax the tissues of the body, but
the method of opening the joints is specifically designed to relax the tissues
to release the pressure of the joints.

48
Opening the joints of the body in this way will generally feel very liberating
the practitioner because it is returning the joints to their natural state of
health. These feelings of freedom can smooth action can be enhanced with
the supplementation of Omega 3 oils from various sources. Another example
from my own training came in the form of nightly Brazilian Ju Jutsu practice
where the tough workouts and sparring would leave my body aching and my
joints sore. Every evening I would supplement with high quality fish and
hemp oil and in the morning would perform my morning routine of chi gung,
Tai Chi and ba gua. These soft methods combined with the right diet meant
that all the aches and pains of the night before would disappear in dramatic
fashion and I would invariably be left feeling relaxed, open and free to move.

It is important to note that this softer method of opening up the body is

specifically very useful for the older practitioner who, due to pre-existing
deficiencies could theoretically suffer instability and injury if they would to
take up a dedicated western stretching routine. The softer release method of
stretching is far less demanding on older connective tissues which have less
elastic capabilities and can suffer damage from stretching work.

49
Furthermore the release methods and mobility training of the joints found in
Tai Chi proved to increase the range of movement and movement capacity in
adults with specific diseases that impact movement, like Obesity or type 2
diabetes.

In a study titled “Mobility impairment in type 2 diabetes: association with

muscle power and effect of Tai Chi intervention.” The researchers found the
following:

“After 4 months, Tai Chi provided modest significant improvements in mobility. Tai Chi
was shown to be effective for mobility and other health outcomes relevant to this cohort,
it may present a viable alternative exercise modality. “

Joint health and Circulation

As the fruits of the basic Tai Chi foundations begin to be felt, an important
knock on side effect is often experienced as the joints and associated tissues
are aligned, open and working properly. Indeed, often when we train specific
body methods we will experience seemingly unrelated benefits, this is
especially true in Tai Chi where we could be focused on one body work
aspect and suddenly notice that something else is moving much more
smoothly. An example of this from the martial side to the art is how
blindingly fast the adepts of this art are, something you would not necessarily
expect from a system that has a focus on slow or static training!

So as the process of aligning and opening the joints happens it we see a very
interesting knock on effect in a seemingly unrelated body system, the
circulation. There have been several studies into the effect of certain
movement methods and their effect on the circulatory system, even some
specifically focused on the practice of Tai Chi.

50
RESULTS: Tai Chi practitioners showed significantly better haemodynamic
parameters than the controls as indexed by larger and small artery
compliance. They also demonstrated greater eccentric muscle strength in
both knee extensors and flexors.”

But most Tai Chi instructors and students will be able to identify this change
in themselves, their students or their partners. We have people come into
class with consistently cold, white hands for example. This problem is most
often seen in the elderly where postural restrictions will impact the blood
flow to the extremities. But it is extremely common to see dramatic changes
in peoples cold hands, even in a single Tai Chi session and after an hour of Tai
Chi and chi gong training their hands will be a healthy pink and warm.

51
It is important to note that this effect often fades after the session as the
body tissues, misalignments and joints start to retract back to their entrained
positions. But over time, with dedicated practice, the improvements will last
longer and longer until they are permanent.

The reasons for improved circulation are multiple and we will look at some of
the other aspects like lymphatic health, compression and release of the
vascular tissue etc, but certainly one of the primary reasons is related to the
release of tension in the joints themselves causing constriction of blood flow.

The tensions and muscles that are responsible for the closing and inhibiting
of joint motion will create multiple compressions across the vascular and
arterial networks. If you imagine a person who has very pour natural resting
posture, a curved kyphotic spine, elbows permanently bent, Lower Cross
Syndrome etc and think of how these postural skews and compressions are
impacting the veins and arteries that pass through the points of most tension
it is easy to see how constriction occurs. The body has to fight to push blood
past all of these blockages to the extremities.

Much of the practice of Tai Chi has been created to work the body up and
down, in and out, open and close. The process of working between two
opposite actions is baked right into the Tai Chi system and is denoted by the
Yin Yang symbol. But this method of flowing between opposite actions will
have a large impact on the overall state of the bodies’ circulatory system.

There have been several studies on the effect of Chi Gung and Tai Chi on the
cardiovascular system, however these studies are usually related to
addressing disease or illness rather than increasing or maintaining general
health and wellness. The information is none the less quite interesting to the
casual practitioner and helps to re-enforce the idea that the combination of
practice in general as well as the effects on the joints is effective.

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In conclusion, Tai Chi has significant benefits to patients with cardiovascular
disease, and it may be prescribed as an alternative exercise program for
selected patients with CVD.

The sensations of improved circulation.

Tai Chi is a fairly unique training method in that it involves deep introspection
and analysis of the methods as they are performed. We are constantly
observing and assessing our posture, our breath, our extension etc, and
adjusting our positions or focuses as new information arises. This is part of
the beauty of this art and others like it and it part of the reason the method
has remained so popular. But there is a slight track to this approach that my
teachers would consistently warn me about and that is the ‘track of
sensation’.

When we perform Tai Chi or the related internal training methods, is

extremely common for our body to react to the practice in a variety of
unusual ways, especially as the circulation improves. Practitioners will
experience tingling, pins and needles, warmth or heat, ants walking on the
skin sensations as their bodies begin to open up and re align. These
sensations are, unfortunately, often wrongly prescribed by some teacher to
‘chi’.

The fact of the matter is that as we begin to wake up the body from its
entrained dysfunction the sensory network in our tissues, the warmth
returning from circulatory improvement, the re-alignment of the skeleton
and the effect of gravity on our improved posture will directly relate to the
sensations being felt. It is a trap for a lot of practitioners and a warning my
teachers would often remind me to heed. The sensations are not the goal,
they are just the result of correct training!

“Don’t chase the sensations, they are not the end, but a by-product.’

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 Chapter 3

- Tissue conditioning
& development -

54
I remember the first time I laid my hands on my Daito Ryu Ju Jutsu Teachers
arm. He was about to use me as Uke to demonstrate some of the Aiki No-
justu work and I was shocked at how soft his tissue felt. It was as if there was
a deep release of the tissue all the way down to the bone, but inside was a
solidity or thickness that gave the impression of density within. Of course
after I had grabbed I was effortlessly flung to the floor, the density within
rotating and winding in a way that felt unstoppable but would seem like
nothing to the outside observer.

Daito Ryu, a Japanese Internal Art with many comparable mechanics to Tai
Chi, was my first introduction to this sort of unique tissue development. It
was an interesting experience to behold as it was slightly counter intuitive for
me at the time. I had trained Judo and other arts throughout my youth and
had been exposed the excellent skill combined with high levels of athletic
development, but this was entirely different. Sensei didn’t look big, or
particularly strong, he didn’t have the huge shoulder muscles I had seen in
my Judo classmates, he was a fairly unassuming man all around, but there
was a solidity and strength to his motion that belied his stature.

Master Okabayashi Shogen was visiting our school from Japan, as he would
each year, to do a few seminars for the public and teach us higher grades in
private sessions. In these sessions we were being taught the Aiki-noJutsu
training methods, a series of techniques designed to teach the inner
principles of Aiki or the harmony of effort. These methods ranged from subtle
off balancing techniques to huge throws but were founded in a series of solo
‘attribute training’ methods that connected the practitioner with the gravity
power of the style. Throughout it all the idea was to develop the martial body
so that when you were to perform the set techniques of the syllabus they
had a real fuel behind them.

This idea of the Martial Body was felt when you working with Okabayashi
Sensei, he was extremely soft but deeply strong inside, his arms were like
lead wrapped in cotton wool. Truly a manifestation of the attribute that I
55
would later hear mentioned in Tai Chi circles. Whenever it was brought up I
would think of my Aiki teacher, he had truly attained this body and the net
result was that he was able to toss around men half his age and twice his size
with apparent ease. Now it is important to note that we were a very practical
school, we trained every night of the week and put a lot of focus on honest
attacks and defences. There was no teacher worship, no hopping around like
bunnies and certainly no mysticism. We trained hard ... really hard. As a
sceptical young man I was always watching these demonstrations and
thinking “I would get him”, but then when asked to be Uke, there I was on
the floor just like all the others. I watched as the big strong western senpais
were pinned and thrown around by this little Japanese man and was
determined to understand how it was possible.

This brings us back to his body and the development of the tissues. It was
clear on touching him that he had something different about his
development. The deep density and soft exterior was something I would
experience in a lot of internal arts adepts I was to go on to meet.

Developing the Tissues of the body

When we think of Tai Chi we do not necessarily thing of developing body

tissue. Certainly the idea of actually building muscle with these methods
seems to fly in the face of what many know about muscle building and the
gentle art of Tai Chi. However, perhaps the biggest and most significant
benefit of Tai Chi training is, in fact, its ability as a method for conditioning
and training the tissue of the body.

Tai Chi is a relatively unique form of exercise in that much of its training is
performed very slowly, especially when we are thinking about Tai Chi for
health. But hidden within this seemingly soft and slow movement training is
an interesting environment where a series of unusual demands are placed on
the bodies various tissues.

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We have discussed the alignment of the bodies frame and how, with proper
awareness, alignment can play a role in the overall capacity of the body to
perform tasks. Now we will look at the tissues that span and wrap this frame
and how they are pulled, stretched, wound, loaded and utilized as we
perform our Tai Chi training. This exploration of how the methods found in
Tai Chi Chuan actually change the make-up of our tissue and bring a balance
of materials back to our body composition is fundamental in and helping us
maintain flexibility, strength, postural control and ultimately, vibrant health

The unified body

When you watch a high level Tai Chi or internal arts adept move through
their practice one thing becomes almost immediately apparent. They move in
a unified and complete way. Very rarely do we see just an arm move or just a
hand move without the rest of the body moving at the same time. This is the
concept of the unified body or, as some traditions describe it, the connected
structure and it is the central underpinning attribute that I have witnessed in
all of the Internal arts adepts I have research and met. Every one of them
moved with unity and harmony of structure and this quality underpinned
everything movement they would make, be it performing their particular
movement form or walking through the park.

So, perhaps the biggest goal of any training methodology is to produce a

body that works in harmony with itself, naturally unencumbered and ‘fit for
purpose’. The specific goal of the Tai Chi adept is for this co-ordination and
harmony be present while maintaining a soft, relaxed and open body
composition.

“One part moves, all parts move”

Tai Chi classics

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Unification can be described as the development of, primarily, the muscular
and Fascia tissues to work in unison with each other when performing
motion. Essentially we aim to de-segment the body and create a dynamic
single unit made up of a web of tissue linked to an aligned skeleton.

This is quite different from many body training methodologies where

individual muscle groups or singular muscle units will be trained to increase
their capacity. I call this idea the ‘segmentation approach’ to body
development which is essentially the opposite to what Internal training is
aiming to produce. With Segmentation training the athlete will focus their
effort on building the shoulders for instance and their training will work on
the various articulations and muscle groups related to the shoulder in order
to strengthen them for their specific sport. In Tai Chi we will work on the
shoulders but with a focus on the link that they have into the deep front and
back lines, the connections to the rib cage and to the finger tips. Our focus
placed along a much longer chain of tissue and a more holistic view of what
drives or inhibits the action of the shoulder.

When training connection we are working on Chains of Muscle and

connective tissue along major movement competency paths and minor
supporting paths. We will explore these paths in a later section and how they
create capability and the movement capacity of our bodies. A movement
expert who has trained extensively in the Martial arts has an excellent phrase
that sums up the idea behind the internal training body method.

“If you pull on the shirt every atom is affected.’

- Ido Portal

Why we need to train to unify the body

It would seem that we would naturally retain a well-structured unified body

by the very nature of our biology and to a degree this is true. We have all of
the material and structures needed to be a balanced healthy organism and
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the networks and webs of tissue we will discuss here are all ever present.
However, as detailed in previous chapters, there are many factors that
conspire to bring this body out of balance and that is what unification is
squarely aimed at addressing, the entrained dysfunction.

For instance it could be that due to our job or

lifestyle we entrain a curvature of the spine. The
spine has a curvature in the upper portion
making the chest collapse and the head sink
forward. This posture can be created from a
number of modern factors, from sitting at desks
all day long, to constantly being glued to our
smart phones! The posture is compounded over
time and muscular and connective tissues adapt
and change to retain a level of equilibrium in this
un-natural position.

Now this particular problem is a very interesting

one, not least because it has been sighted as one
of the problems with some styles of Tai Chi
training where an old saying has directed
exponents to actually seek to create this un-
natural and out of balance posture!

There is a saying in Tai Chi that relates to the

chest position which is often misrepresented and has been the cause of many
a practitioners spine to become Kyphotic (upper spine curvature). The phrase
states

“Hollow the chest and pluck the back”

This is often interpreted to mean depress the chest inwards causing the back
to curve out. Of course this is not a natural position and is disadvantageous
to a natural equilibrium.
59
 Interestingly it is also a problem
martially as strikes to the body will
tend to remain ‘inside’ as the transfer
of force follows the curvature to a
point of culmination. My teachers
would say that this phase should be
looked at a describing a barrel. This is
hollow but not depressed in any
direction. It is hollow yet stable with
equilibrium on all sides formed by the
structure.

Correct Tai Chi practice will create a similar type of equilibrium all over the
body. It entrains this equilibrium to the front, back, sides, up and down via
the correct development of the tissue so that they are not pulling or skewing
our posture in any specific direction.

Beyond the physical development and conditioning of the tissues, through

the deep introspection of the training and the linking of our mind to our
sensory network, we begin to develop an acute sense of ‘balance’. This is not
only the sort of balance we discussed in the grounding or rooting section
earlier, but is actually the balance of the entire body. To demonstrate what I
mean here you can try a little exercise. Stand in as straight and aligned
posture as you can manage then tense up your abdominal muscles and
nothing else. You will feel that the body curves forward leading the weight
out into the toes and that your equilibrium between your front and back
halves has been lost.

To a much more subtle degree this is the sort of Tissue development problem
that Tai Chi looks to address in its search for greater tissue condition,
connection and equilibrium.

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Muscular tissue
It is easy to believe, when training internal arts like Taiji, that muscle tissue is
something to be avoided. Especially with images of balloon armed body
builders popping up whenever we talk about building muscle. However this
view is largely misguided and for anyone that has met the some of the
younger generation of masters we see a high level of muscular development
in them due to the prolonged training. Exponents like Chen Xiaoxings son,
Chen Ziqiang are extremely strong and fit from the deep, daily, prolonged
study of their method.

We actually need muscle to function and without it we would simply be a

loose heap on the floor, but moreover we actually need to develop the
musculature in a very focused and specific way to create the equilibrium
mentioned earlier. Our muscular system is used in movement, during every
endeavour, be that pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, walking, running,
climbing or swimming. We have a great breadth of movement capacity and
every one of them requires us to use our muscles so we should not neglect
these structures even when thinking about the slow art of Tai Chi for health.

The muscles can be thought of as the power expression units of the body,
they function to produce force and motion. The are contractile tissues that
fuel our movement, but also allow us to breath via the diaphragm and to
pump blood around the body via the heart. These different types of muscle
tissue are known as Skeletal, Cardiac and Smooth.

Skeletal Muscle.

This tissue also known as ‘voluntary muscle’ and is usually anchored to bone
via tendons and is used to creation motion or to maintain posture.

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Cardiac Muscle

This is known as an ‘involuntary muscle’ which is closely related to Skeletal

muscle in terms of composition but is only found in the heart.

Smooth Muscle

This is the muscle tissue that is found within the walls of organs like the
Oesophagus, Stomach and Intestines. Again this is classed as involuntary
muscle and is not thought to be under any type of conscious control.

Muscle is a classed as a soft tissue and is primarily composed of protein

filaments that contract to change the length and shape of the cell. These
Filaments are bundled into packets known as muscle fibres which are
wrapped in ‘insulating’ connective tissues. This combination of fibre and
connective tissue is very important to the internal arts practitioner. It means
that even our muscular system is connected together via the connective
tissue network.

With the correct training we are able to make these connections stronger
and unify the body through the musculature. It is this innovated connection
that allows us to begin to work with full chains of tissue rather than individual
packets. When this happens muscular action is no longer an individual action,
instead being the result of action across a chain of multiple muscle groups.

So muscular tissue has the potential to increase out level of body unification
and is an important part of that process. But there are some things to avoid
in the development of your muscles.

One of the main pitfalls with building muscle for the internal arts adept is
crossing the threshold between not enough and too much muscle. If we build
muscles that are too big, they will create tension pulls at 90 degrees to the
natural action of the muscle function. This sounds complicated but is easily
explained through the concept of a balloon. Imagine inflating the balloon to a

62
point where its shape was created but the pressure was still relatively low. At
this point you grab two points on the balloons surface and pull them away
from each other. This represents the muscle between its anchors. Now think
about inflating the balloon further. You will start to feel the balloon pulling
your anchor points together as the internal pressures increase.

This is very similar to what happens to our muscles as we pass the threshold
of size in the muscle. This pull on the muscle anchors closes our joints, inhibit
circulation and reduce natural movement competency ... all the things we
aiming to avoid or address in our Tai Chi practice. Our job is to find that
sweet spot in the middle where muscle building is optimizing the recruitment
and function of the associated and integral connective tissues.

The muscle composition and percentages are defined by our genetics. Some
people will be naturally better long distance runners for instance while others
better sprinters. The muscles are made up of a series of fibres of various
types that respond and are responsible for different demands. Some are used
for endurance requirements and some for explosive force. But there is
something that spans all muscle types and individual compositions and that is
the connection of the musculature to the Nervous system.

Muscular control and the ability of the practitioner to release or tension

muscles with extreme accuracy is an important part of the internal training
process. It is an attribute that will allow us ease of movement and economy
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of motion (to be discussed in later chapters) and one that will help us
regulate our daily energy expenditure. But also it allows us to address
emerging awareness of any muscular tensions of blockages that we
encounter. How use our muscle mass is a very integral part of the health and
wellness puzzle.

Tai Chi has an interesting practice in that it can remove tensions in the
muscular system through, controlled relaxation and deliberate movement
methods, but it can also engage and put pressures onto certain muscle
groups to develop them and increase the capacity or efficiency of the tissue.
This is especially true of the deep shoulder muscles, the muscles of the lower
back and the muscles of the abdomen that make up the classical ‘centre’.

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Development of the lower abdomen – Dan Tien.

The muscles of the centre or the lower abdomen are an area of constant
focus and research for the internal arts practitioner. Anyone who has laid
their hands on the stomach of an internal arts adept will understand the
deep level of development in this area that can occur. The muscles here are
consciously and meticulously controlled and worked to produce a
harmonious connection between the upper torso and the legs. The lower
torso or Dan Tien will move and apparently rotate, it will undulate and ‘pop’,
it will pull on the web of tissues that produce a nexus in this area. This ‘lower
Dan Tien’ is the engine of the Tai Chi adept.

Firstly, and most importantly, we must look at Dan Tien as a nexus or junction
point for the myo Fascial lines of the body and their related muscle groups. It
is composed of material looping in from the hips and lower back, the spiral
lines around the body, the axis material both front and back and numerous
other internal connections that create all round ball of tissue in this area.
Some Key muscles and tissues in this ‘centre’ are the Psoas muscles, the
Diaphragm and the Illius.

Development of this area occurs primarily through the pulling and stretching
of the tissues as we move through the various internal training methods, but
also from relaxation of the area. Relaxing everything inside the body’s outer
suit gives the sensation of filling up the lower Dan Tien and connecting all of
the material in together. When properly relaxed, the pulling and stretching
methods found in Tai Chi, can be felt directly in this area. This pulling is
actually, over time, conditioning the connections to and from the centre in a
clear and physical way and the adept will lose the 6 pack and begin to gain a
taut but slightly thicker abdomen.

This development of the centre holds a wide ranging series of benefits for the
practitioner who is focused on the health and wellness side of Tai Chi
practice.

65
Perhaps foremost among these benefits is the stabilization of our body
through the development of the deep abdominal muscles. These muscles are
used to support the lower half of the torso, protect the organs of the lower
abdomen and also to connect the upper and lower halves of the body. The
development of this area through focused Tai Chi practice will provide the
practitioner with a stability when moving, standing or sitting. The effect of
posture on wellness is something that we covered in the previous chapter
but it would be fair to say that the lower abdominal area is key to its
maintenance.

Another interesting benefit linked to the control and development of this

area of the body is its effect on digestion. The muscles of the lower body
along with the ones wrapping through the pelvis onto the upper femur
encase the lower digestive tract and have been shown to actually aid in the
digestive process. Through movement the engagement and release of the
lower torso muscles help to aid the ‘smooth’ muscles in the transit of food
and waste products through the lower digestive system. This process is
improved by well-functioning abdominal muscles which are developed
through Tai Chi training. If the belly is very loose and distended then the
function of the abdominals during movement will be very minimal and the
action presented to the digestion diminished.

But there is much more to the lower torso and the classical centre than these
few benefits. One of the major areas of study is in how, correct training
allows our pelvis and lumbar spine to position and action correctly. The
muscles of focus for some researchers at the moment are specifically
involved with the importance of these connecting muscles and findings are
coming to light that far from just providing some support or action functions
these muscle groups are actually proving far more important to our everyday
health.

66
The Psoas – muscle of health

One of these muscles that scientists are beginning to focus on is the Psoas
muscle. This muscle is a long thin muscle that connects the lower lumbar
spine via the illiacus muscle to the upper Femur. The psoas and its associated
muscle the illiacus, contribute to flexion of the hip joint, bending of the lower
trunk of the body and raising of the trunk from a supine position.

But why is this muscle so important to the health of the individual? Many of
the old traditions highlight this muscle or area of the body as an extremely
important part of the body control or develop. Classical yoga positions work
on this muscle and there are numerous chi gong methods where the
softening, stretching or lengthening of this muscle is one of the primary
considerations.

The psoas muscle forms part of the body’s natural fear reflex and when
someone is startled the natural curvature of the body in recoil is the result of
action in the psoas muscle. Just as fear will have an effect on this muscle, the
association with the startle reflex can be exploited in the reverse direction.
The relaxation, softening and stretching of the Psoas will have the upstream

67
effect on the central nervous system, relaxing and calming us. This effect can
be seen time and again in practitioners who have gained the ability to control
the lumbar region in their Tai Chi training.

In fact often one of the first focuses in training is the smoothing out of the
Lumbar Curve, indeed it is one of the prerequisites for the later practices.
Again and again my teacher would tell me to ‘relax the lumbar’ area of the
body during my earlier training sessions. As mentioned in the previous
chapter relaxation is not something that can be forced however and it
probably took me a year or so to truly get this area of the body under my
conscious control.

The result of doing this work however is that we de-segment the upper and
lower halves of the body bringing unity to the torso and hips. To illustrate
what I mean by this, think of when we push a car, we do not exaggerate the
lumbar curve but flatten it out to drive power from the legs to the hands. The
same is true of general body structure in Tai Chi, if we want to effectively link
the feet to the hands we cannot have any kinks or joins where the power is
able to leak out.

There are many ideas on how to achieve this, from tucking the cocyx,
pointing it to the floor, tilting the pelvis, opening the back by lengthening to
simple relaxation.

Perhaps the greatest hurdle to overcome with this work and achieving
straight back is a tight Psoas muscle and some of the commonly prescribed
interventions actually work against the idea of releasing or relaxing this
muscle. The idea of physically tucking the pelvis by tightening the abdomen,
buttocks and hamstrings for instance, can actually compound the problem of
a tight psoas. This is because, although lengthened, the tensions will result in
the Psoas activating/tightening to stabilize the pelvis.

So we need to be very careful in how we approach the problem of tight psoas

muscles. The traditional method is to 'relax' the buttocks, abdominals etc and
68
let the pelvis naturally hang like a weight on a string. When the practitioner
can really let go in this posture the position will naturally stretch in the Psoas
without making it engage to stabilize or counter act the tensions elsewhere.
The spine ‘hangs’ from the crown of the head in this practice, as is well
known by any Tai Chi practitioner out there and this feeling of suspension will
allow the re-alignment of the lumbar spine and the pelvis.

Once this training has yielded proper alignment over time and the Psoas has
relaxed into proper function, the lumbar curve will smooth out and this
alignment will become a habit of the conditioned body rather than a
conscious effort.

Muscle development of the lower limb

Another group of muscles that are closely related to the health of the
individual are those of the lower limb. These muscles may not seem
immediately vital to health and wellness, but their development is central to
our ability to balance and locomot. As bipeds we spend most of our
movement time on two legs and as such the lower leg muscles are honed to
keep us upright even on extremely varied terrain.

However as we age the sensitivity of our balance control muscles may

degrade and cause use to lose our balance more easily. The slow deliberate
stepping and motion found in Tai Chi and the deep consideration of the
balance is central to the development of the lower legs.

Indeed this is thought to be one of the really useful benefits for elderly
practitioners who, with this increased tissue, come to have a much greater
sense of stability in their gait and a decreased chance of falling over. Falls
actually account for a huge number of elderly deaths per year and this can be
avoided with focused training on the development of their balance and lower
limb strength.

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Fascia
The heart of the connected body

When we talk of the connected or unified body, we are describing a state in

which the body is connected and unified in its motion from hand to foot,
however when we talk about muscle groups or bones we describe them as
distinct individual packets or lengths. However, there is one tissue that spans
the entire body like a web and that is Fascia.

The Fascia or connective tissue is a fibrous material that is distributed

throughout the entire body. This tissue takes various forms and plays a
number of vital rolls like surrounding muscles, organs, bones, nerves and
blood vessels. It also connected muscle to bone in the tendons, connects
bone to bone in the ligaments and supports the organs in distinct packets to
make sure that they all sit in the right place. It has an appearance somewhat
reminiscent of a spider’s web which spans and permeates every part of our
body.

It also has some properties that are unique from providing support,
exhibiting contraction in harmony with muscle contractions and also being
one of the major sources for our propriocetive capacity. It is a living web
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linking every part of the body to every other and is now starting to be
seriously studied by the scientific community for its roll in a number of
sporting pursuits as well as the health and wellness field.

Fascia is primarily composed of 3 types of material

Collagenous

The Collagenous part of the Fascia is like the cement that binds it together, it
is the tensile part of the tissue that provides stiffness and strength.

Elastic

This is where potential is stored or released by the tissue. It is an elastic

component of the tissue and is also utilized when the tissue exhibits
contraction and release.

Reticular

This component wraps nerves and sensory tissues, which also are present in
the Fascia and provide responses and feedback to the CNS.

When we look at how Fascia is utilized in the body it becomes clear that
working with this material can have dramatic overall health benefits. There is
no part of the body that is not touched by the Fascia web, there is no part of
the body that is not connected to another. Truly your big toe is connected to
your eyeball for instance!

Fascia plays a large number of roles in the body. It is used for:

 Load distribution - for instance in the lumbar Fascia.

 Connection of muscles together - Deep abdominal and ‘core’
 Connection of Muscle to Bones. - tendons
 Supporting Joints (bone to bone generally) - Ligaments.
 Sensory feedback.

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  Contractile/ load response - The golgi reflex is the most obvious
example of connective tissue responding to stimuli with contraction.
 Wrapping nerves – Fascia is a key contributor to our proprioceptive
sense.
 Allowing tissues to slide over one another
 Keeping the organs in place.

Here is some information from a peer reviewed study on the role of Fascia.

Finding #3:The Fascial system is far more innervated than muscle, so

proprioception and kinesthesia are primarily Fascial, not muscular.

This is a hard concept for many fitness professionals to get their heads
around, but it is a fact: there are 10 times as many sensory receptors in your
Fascial tissues as there are in your muscles (Stillwell 1957). The muscles have
spindles that measure length change (and over time, rate of length change) in
the muscles. Even these spindles can be seen as Fascial receptors, but let’s be
kind and give them to the muscles (Van der Wal 2009). For each spindle, there
are about 10 receptors in the surrounding Fascia—in the surface epimysium,
the tendon and attachment Fascia, the nearby ligaments and the superficial
layers. These receptors include the Golgi tendon organs that measure load (by
measuring the stretch in the fibers), paciniform endings to measure pressure,
Ruffini endings to inform the central nervous system of shear forces in the soft
tissues, and ubiquitous small interstitial nerve endings that can report on all
these plus, apparently, pain (Stecco et al. 2009; Taguchi et al. 2009). So when
you say you are feeling your muscles move, this is a bit of a misnomer. You
are “listening” to your Fascial tissues much more than to your muscles. Here
are three interesting findings that go along with this basic eye-opener:
Ligaments are mostly arranged in series with the muscles, not in parallel (Van
der Wal 2009). This means that when you tense a muscle, the ligaments are
automatically tensed to stabilize the joint, no matter what its position.

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Our idea that the ligaments do not function until the joint is at its full
extension or torsion is now outmoded; for example, ligaments function all
through a preacher curl, not just at the ends of the movement. Nerve endings
arrange themselves according to the forces that commonly apply in that
location in that individual, not according to a genetic plan, and definitely not
according to the anatomical division we call a muscle. There is no
representation of a “deltoid” inside your movement brain. That’s just a
concept over in your cortex, not in your biological organization. Apparently,
sensors in and near the skin are more active in detecting and regulating
movement than the joint ligament receptors (Yahia, Pigeon & DesRosiers
1993).

Fascia, Illness & Injury.

Injuries are very common in sports, indeed find a sports team nearby and the
chances are one of the exponents is carrying some sort of injury. What many
people don’t realize is that almost all major injuries are the result of damage
to connective tissue or the bone. Minor injuries generally constitute damage
to the musculature.

Trauma to the connective tissues is a problem mainly because it takes so long

for Fascia to reform and to re-strengthen. The supply of nutrients to this
tissue is generally relatively low in comparison to muscle, so getting the raw
materials to it to heal injury can take time. Indeed it is said in the Gymnastic
world that there is a 10 fold time increase for connective tissue injuries over
muscle injuries. So if you were to pull your bicep for instance and that takes
two weeks to heal, a bicep tendon injury would take 20 weeks!

With this in mind, it is worth us placing some attention on creating a strong,

elastic and capable connective tissue system that can cope with unusual
loading and alignments without failing.

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But trauma is certainly not the only problem that we can face with an
unhealthy Fascia network. MyoFascial restrictions often caused by
inflammation or surgery can also have dramatic knock on effects on the
bodies overall health.

Inflammatory response can create an environment where uneven pressures

and pulls on the web of Fascia occur. This inflammation can be caused by
many, many factors from diet to stress, to overtraining to simply bumps and
injuries. The body’s reaction to adverse conditions via whatever means is to
create an auto immune response and inflammation.

If we were to imagine a sheet stretched out over a balloon with load sensors
in each corner. As we inflate the balloon those load sensors would register
and increase as the sheet is tensioned. This is a good analogy for what is
happening inside the body as inflammation increases. The amount of
elasticity in the Fascia will have a direct relationship on home much these
increases in pressure effect our health. This is why younger people may be
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able to recover from debilitating illness more quickly. The inflammation is not
creating such widespread tension because the Fascia is more elastic.

Linked to the traditional Chinese medical theory, organs can be very clearly
affected by this tensioning in the Fascia. They are held in place by, for want of
a better term, hammocks of Fascia that stop the organs all sinking down to
the bottom of your body cavity. These pouches should be relaxed and
perfectly balanced, they are there to hold the organs while allowing optimal
blood flow and function. But what happens when the Fascia network around
the body start to pull on these pouches? Long term illness and problems with
organ function can creep in. The body ‘squeezes’ the organs, limiting their
function and available blood flow.

It is my belief that manipulation of

this web of tissue can help to
resolve these organ based health
problems specifically because the
tissue wrapping the organ is lead to
relax. This is the reason that the
Chinese identified meridian lines
that relate to specific organs. What
they were actually recognizing is
how dysfunction in a chain of
tissue within the Fascia can create
a health problem by constriction of
the organs.

The use of needles or massage will

work on the junctions in this web
in order to release or reset the
tensions in this network. Over time
as the web releases the body loses
its grip on the organs and health
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can be restored.

Aging and Elastic percentage.

It is interesting and important to note that as we age the percentage of

elastic and collagen components of our Fascia changes. The structural
collagenous material starts to take precedence over the elastic elements in
order to provide structural support, even in the face of diminishing muscle
mass. This is evident when we look at the flexibility of a 5 year old in
comparison to a 20 year old, or a 20 year old in comparison to a 60 year old.
Interestingly, this change in tissue composition is actually used by police
medical examiners as a method for aging bodies.

The impact of this structural % change is wide reaching but is most noticeable
in the ‘ease’ at which someone is able to move. When we have a larger
elastic component in our system we are able to leap, run, roll on the ground
and stretch with relative ease. As the collagenous component of the tissue
increases the body becomes stiffer, less dynamic and less able to stretch or
articulate as it once did. It is thought that the reason for this change is related
to long term load bearing. The longer you carry your weight, the less elastic
capacity is needed and the more a structural system is required. With training
we are able to actually reverse this process and begin to balance out the
elastic and collagionous components of the Fascia.

The structure of the Fascia surrounding the muscles in younger people

appear to be crimped like elastic springs, this increases the rebound and
elastic recoil capabilities of the fibres minimizing the chance of damage. In
older people the fibres are flattened out so loads acting on them have very
little play. (staubesands et al 1997)

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 This is why we see older athletes often experiencing sudden catastrophic
failures in the connective tissues.

(image credit Robert schleip

Perhaps the most exciting development in Sports science in the last few years
is the increasing interest in how Fascia relates to performance. Fascia is
responsible and used in methods like jumping (elastic recoil), running,
preparatory counter movement and proprioceptive improvement has started
to become something of a buzz in sporting institutions. As a result training
methodologies are springing up around specifically training this network to
increase its utility.

Related to the nutritional deficiency discussed earlier, the training of the

Fascia is a somewhat time consuming process. However the connective
tissues are surprisingly and impressively adaptable. We only need to place a
specific demand on them and they will respond with change. The fibroblasts
continually but slowly adapt to the demands under which they are placed in a
process known as remodelling.

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An example of this remodelling can be found in Jockeys. Due to the large
amount of time they spend in the saddle, straddling a horse, they tend to
utilize the inter areas of the legs more and a remodelling of the Fascia in this
area occurs. Within a few months of training a jockey will notice a difference
in the legs structure. The Fascia on the insides of the legs will become more
developed and strong (el-labben et al., 1993). Fascia reacts to the dominant
loading patterns by altering its length, strength, elasticity and ability to shear.
The reaction is directly related to the pattern and method of loading
undertaken.

A useful property of Fascia is in its ability to retain its trained characteristics

long after training ceases. Where as muscles will commonly shrink as soon as
training stops and begin to a return to baseline Fascia tends to retain any
entrained function for longer. This is, once again, related to the transit of
material to and from the tissues but also the bioavailability of the tissues to
the bodies requirements. The body will metabolise muscle and fat tissues
long before it begins to use connective tissue.

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Fascia and the sensory network.

Far from just being a connective tissue the Fascia is also integral to the
nervous system and its function in the body. Fascia wraps and protects
nerves throughout the body ensuring that they are protected in their paths
to the CNS and brain.

Working on the Fascia system is intimately linked with working on the

nervous and sensory networks. These networks are obviously responsible for
touch but perhaps more importantly for our Tai Chi practice they are part of
the proprioception system that is the sensory network that allows us to know
our body position in space. This sense of space is one that is deeply
developed by the Tai Chi practitioner and after some time new movement
patterns are easily performed.

One of my teachers would say that the easier you find complex movements
after just watching them, the better your internal state. This is a good hint as
to what correct practice will bring us.

As we move through the internal training or Tai Chi methods, the body
increases the myelin (fatty tissue) around neurons in the brain responsible
for movement complexity. This is how we retain movement skill, however we
also increase the connection throughout the body via the Fascia. Our
movement capacity increases as our sensory network becomes better
insulated, less constricted and more connected to our mental control.
Obviously we need to work on the mental control side to this as well, which
we will discuss in a later chapter.

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How Tai Chi trains Fascia

So what does this structural and interconnected web have to do with Tai Chi?
Well, as it turns out, quite a bit! One of the primary goals of Tai Chi training is
the ‘unification’ of the body as we have already established. By this we mean
that the body works as a single unit, if the hand moves the whole body
moves, if the weight shifts the entire body reacts. This is one of the most
important fundamental principles of Tai Chi and it is an idea that is intimately
linked to the system of MyoFascia (another name for the Fascia that covers
the muscles and bones.)

In order to target these tissues Tai Chi has a number of exercises that could
be described as extended bodyweight load training. This means that we are
either static or moving extremely slowly with the arms raised in some way
applying an unusual load or stretch to full lines of tissue. These exercises
place prolonged load on our Fascia and prolonged load is not what the
muscles were designed to deal with. So after a time the body begins to
depend on the Fascia for structural support

We often hear Tai Chi adepts telling their students that, ‘when the muscles
give up you will be doing the real work’. This is very strange thing to say as
we are pre-programmed to believe that strong muscles equate to health and
fitness. While this is certainly true to a degree, for us to actually entrain and
re-matrix our Fascia we need the muscles to play second fiddle to this
connective web.

As loads are placed through the structures and the muscles relax to allow
load to be transferred to the Fascia and it will respond by thickening and
increasing its strength capabilities over time. This increase in strength has to
be measured with an increase in elasticity and that is where the many body
loosening, stretching and twisting methods of Tai Chi come in to play. The
purpose of these methods is to create a demand on the connective tissues
which forces them to adapt to the elastic requirements.
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Winding the tissues – Silk Reeling.

In the internal arts there is a specific type of effect that the practitioner is
attempting to express when working combatively, this effect is known as
‘spiral force’. The reason the internal arts practitioners seek out this
expression is that it holds all directions (up, down, left, right forwards, back)
and all degrees in between within its structure which ultimately means it is
very hard for the opponent to read. As with almost everything in Tai Chi, this
early focus on an advanced body method designed for combat created a
series of specialised exercises to train and develop it. The adepts would
spend hours a day working on a very specific type of training that became
known as ‘Silk Reeling’.

The method is characterised by a deep twist in the body tissues as the

practitioner moves in a circular or spiralling pattern. In Chen Style the key
movement method for this attribute is known simply as ‘silk reeling’, in the
later Yang Style it was hidden within the long form and called ‘Cloud Hands’
which is the name used by several other styles that splintered off the Yang
Family system. The essential quality of the method remains the same
however, to twist and stretch the muscular, Fascia and nervous network all at
the same time.

Through the deep practice of Silk reeling we see some interesting effects on
these three tissues. Firstly it forces a twist and wrapping of the muscle fibres,
much like the strands of a rope, or cable. This is true of the fibres within a
muscle as well as muscles within a linked group which, before they are
twisted they can be separated and individual but as soon as they are twisted
become bound together as they wrap around one another. This means that
the muscles have no choice but to work in unison as they are unable to
remain aligned to linear action. Studies on some of the very young Russian
power lifters have shown that due to early development training and some
unique twisted stretching methods, which are very similar winding, the
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muscle fibre attachments are different to the average person. Under
examination it was found that the muscle fibres were attaching at an angle
and spiralling rather than attaching linearly. There were several advantages
to this sort of attachment, not least being that longer and therefore more
muscle could be packed into the same space. A spiral will always cover more
total distance between two set points that a straight line, no matter how mild
the spiral is.

Secondly this reeling or twisting motion causes adaption in the Fascia into a
‘younger’ formation. Over time Fascia changes its composition somewhat
and becomes much more of a ‘messy’ structure than the original lattice type
of material we see in young people. Through placing a twist into the Fascia a
demand is placed onto the tissues that force them to re-model. The Fascia
will take on its younger lattice like appearance due to the spiral demands
placed on it but it will also begin to twist this lattice in the primary direction
so that, again, the overall recruit able material is increased.

Lastly the complexity of the reeling, spiralling circular movement, a method

not normally experienced by the movement control centres will create a

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series of changes in the movement centric areas of the brain. The idea of
moving in a complex and repeating spiral is a demand on the nervous system
and brain. The sensory networks spread throughout the body will be
providing an ever changing array of positional feedback responses and the
brain needs to interpret and consistently adjust to these feedbacks. Think of
a large corkscrew rotating, whenever you fix your gaze on a single point of
the corkscrew it is already moving away from you making you catch up to it.
This is similar to the intense demand on the mind when silk reeling is
performed with deep concentration. The result of this mental pressure is,
again, adaption. The neurology of the individual practicing this method will
be altered by the laying down of more Myelin around the neurons
responsible for movement complexity. Think of this material as insulation for
electrical cables. The better the insulation the less information is lost in
transit. This increase in our movement capacity is not just felt in the specific
movements we are performing in the silk reeling method, but in many other
complex movements found across our daily lives.

So we can see that twisting functions to alter the

composition of tissue in the body. But how is it
performed correctly? Well firstly we must
understand that silk reeling requires several
attributes in order to be successful. The first is
without doubt our ‘intent’ or what the Chinese
would call ‘Yi’. As I mean it here intent refers to the
actioning system that links the mental thought to
do something with the actual physical action to
carry it out. I think of it as a bridge between these
two human functions.

In silk reeling the function of the intent is that it

enlivens and enforces the training with deep

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attention and a guide for the movements. We can place the intent in front of
the physical action or on the physical action but without it the physcal actions
can become empty and ‘just hand waving’. More on intent later!

The other condition we need during the twisting and winding training is an
‘anchor point’ and a point of rotation. In order to make the twist directional
we need to simultaneously lead the stretch with the intent (sensory network
and mind) while we physically rotate away from the anchor point. Imagine
trying to wring out a towel but rotating both of the ends in the same
direction, you would not get very far! Now imagine locking on end of the
towel in a vice and rotating the other end, this is the concept of the anchor
point and point of rotation. It will ensure that a deep twist force is achieved
and the tissues are placed under a demand.

Yang Cheng Fu Performing Yang Style Cloud Hands.

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 Chapter 4

The major body

Lines and Tai Chi

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During my research and training in Tai Chi I have met many teachers and
adepts who all had their own focus or direction when it came to movement.
They had their own specific and often unique ways of utilizing their structure
during form, nei gong or martial action. From different arts, backgrounds,
countries and cities, all of these adepts were separated by tradition, time,
age, and location, but they all had something in common.

One of the very best of these teachers is as happy, smiling French Taoist who
is the inheritor of several complete Tai Chi systems who’s name is Serge
Augier. I exchanged with this teacher in combative application many times
and every time I have been thoroughly defeated, his happy demeanour and
smiling face belies his extremely proficient martial method. His level is extra
ordinary in the martial arts, spiritual methods and health and wellness
practices, but more impressive than his many skills is the one attribute
almost all the people I know who have met him comment on ... he is
extremely ‘free’ and unencumbered. He simply does what he does; there is
no questioning or decisions. You strike at him he acts or reacts in accordance
with the moment, it is rare to find someone so free.

During one of the seminars I attended with Serge, I began to watch his
movement. Not the movement he was teaching, not the classical form or the
myriad of applications that flowed from him as he dealt with the various
attacks his partners would throw. Instead I became acutely aware of the
movement outside of those considerations. Throughout the day I was
entranced every time he would show the next movement or direction or
application. Patterns were beginning to unfold in front of my eyes like pieces
of a jigsaw slowly revealing the completed image but it wasn’t the Ba Gua or
the Xing Yi he was showing, it was something behind that.

All of the moments, regardless of context, application were utilizing the same
set of core directional capacities. If the opposite arm and leg were forward a
spiral from one to the other would form, if the same arm and leg were
forward the shoulder and hip would align, is both hands raised the back axis
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would be involved, as he stepped the legs would retain an internal solidity
and stability. This experience and realization led me to look into the
fundamental movement patterns of us as humans but more importantly the
tissues that had been developed to a high degree to make the utilization of
these directions as natural as walking in the park.

It turns out that there are major tissue lines that are utilized when we
perform action in these primary directions. It doesn’t matter if we are
performing a Tennis Serve or a Brush knee twist from Tai Chi, we will utilize
the body tissues in a specific full body way.

So as we have seen, one of the initial focuses of Tai Chi Chuan training is in
creating a body that is connected and structured with healthy tissue. If you
look at virtually all the physical training methodologies you will see the initial
sections of their training devoted to the alignment, strength, endurance and
connection work. Tai Chi Chuan is no different, but perhaps has a slightly
different outlook on what sort of strength and endurance we are looking to
build.

As we have discussed, the development of the tissues is to create the unified

body, but this can now be broken down a little further into major directions
of force and the related tissue development that is required to achieve action
along them. In this section we will look at how muscle chains linked via Fascia
form ‘lines’ in the body that are responsible for the major motions our body
is capable of making. The body lines are the major chains of tissue that we
use as humans, all be it often without realizing. Major body lines and the
planes of motion that we will discuss in the next chapter have been identified
for centuries through various terms and phrases but the easiest way to
witness them is look at how the human body moves in its actions during
normal demands.

Thomas Myers book ‘Anatomy Trains’ is a seminal work on these lines of

tissue. In it, he outlines what they lines are, what muscle groups are involved

87
and how they are used. I would recommend that excellent work to anyone
truly interested in a deep exploration of these lines. Here my aim is simply to
bring these major lines to the attention of the ready in order to help re-
enforce and quantify some of the movement of their practice.

But first a quick comment on the idea of separation as it relates to bodywork.

It is easy for us to break methods like Tai Chi down into its component parts
in order to examine them in more detail. Indeed, this is book is most
probably focused towards that specific point. But is extremely important that
we remember that these individual concepts are never, at any stage
separated from the whole. The body, mind, breath and the various chains of
tissue are all ‘one thing’ and will always be one thing so we should practice
with the understanding that one thing will affect many and the process is
always inter-related. Here is where the good coach or teacher becomes
invaluable. Their expertise and understanding will allow you to develop
competency in one aspect of Tai Chi while the others are simultaneously
improved.

I mention this here because we are about to ‘slice up’ the body into a number
of specific muscle groups and lines and it would be easy for the reader to
think that these are all that matter. They are, however, part of an all-
encompassing network of connection permeating the body. Much like a
football for instance, made of numerous bits of leather, but none
independent or separate from the other when the ball is used. In between
and spanning the gaps between these lines are a wide ranging network of
minor body lines, webs and networks that are just as vital to the healthy
human as the major ones described here.

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AXIS
Central Channel

“Take care of your centre!” I must have heard this comment a thousand
times from teacher when we trained the pushing hands of Tai Chi. I would be
flung this way and that with ease time and again in the early days of training,
despite my black belts in JuJutsu! The stability of the centre that he often
pointed out related to the control of the ‘Axis’ or central channel of the body.

The stability during action, movement or standing is first and foremost

related to central channel of the body and how we move it through space. If
you watch the Tai Chi Adept you will notice that the body is often upright, the
back straightened and the head held as if suspended by a thread. This
position of structural stability directly relates to the first of the major body
lines, the Axis.

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The axis is the central channel of the body and in Tai Chi it can be thought of
as two distinct ideas, both as important as the next. Firstly it can be looked
at like a rod straight through the body from the Crown Point to the perineum.
This ‘centre line’ interpretation of the Axis is perhaps the most common. We
see some styles of Tai Chi like the version of Yang style developed by Chen
Man Ching focus heavily on this central line of the body in their movements
and forms. This concept is very useful when wanting to apply horizontal
rotation, insertion point yin/yang pairing and other martial ideas. Many other
arts have this idea of the centre line associated with the axis, most noticeably
Wing Chun.

The main health and wellness benefit of this idea is in its ability to correct
and recognize poor posture. It is very hard to have a good centre line if your
chest is collapsed or is your hip flexors are tight causing you to stick your butt
out. By working on the Axis during the Tai Chi practice you become very
aware of when your posture starts to slip back into its own poor ways. Even
when sitting at a desk or at a table the Tai Chi practitioner will start to feel
when their axis is broken down or incorrectly held. This is a very useful skill to
obtain as it has a knock on effect on our breathing, internal body cavity
pressures and their associated effect on the internal organs and also on
chronic neck and back pains that so often arise because of poor posture.

Secondly and more relevant to the pulling or stretching techniques of Tai Chi
Jibengong (basic training), the Axis is the deep front line, superficial front line
and the back lines of the body. These chains of tissue of the body are made
up of muscles and Fascia that link the top and base of the head to the lower
torso and pelvis. The Axis is often mistakenly thought to be the ‘spine’ but
really this doesn't actually cater for all of the tissues that we are interested
in. With that said, the spine is important to the practice as we will see in later
chapters.

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The axis tissue is the material responsible for allowing bowing in the sagittal
and coronal planes, as well as creating waves and spirals during the Tai Chi
forms. It is one of the first lines to begin to work with in order to correctly
align the torso for further postural development and to develop the springy
bow like body of the expert Tai Chi practitioner.

New practitioners often notice that some areas of tissue along their axis may
be bound or tight, either in the lower abdomen and associated tissues of the
hips, or in the lower back or neck. This is perfectly natural and something to
be expected bearing in mind the modern sedentary patterns we engrain. The
actual recognition and application of movement with a focus on the axis
tissues may improve our capacity to find and address these sticking spots in
the body. Over time correct Tai Chi methods start to loosen these bindings,
open up the tissue and allow the body to release.

Gravity stacking of the spine vs elasticated stacking.

Although not the axis itself, the spine is very important to the correct
alignment of the central channel of the body and its correct usage. In Tai Chi
‘potential’ is a large subject and one not often discussed with many adepts
preferring the related subject of ‘relaxation’. But what good is developing all
of this connective tissue and changing the quality of our muscles if we are not
going to take advantage of that increased capacity.

Often it is said that we should stack the spine like a pile of bricks one top of
each other or suspend the spine like a string of pearls on a line with
everything either side or around the spine very soft and relaxed. This is most
commonly popularized by some Tai Chi lines where the focus on a vertical
spine is a core focus of the practice. A lean in any direction during the form is
considered a big problem and much of the training is focused on noticing any
deviation from this verticality.

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This concept is a very useful one in that it maintains a neutrality that the
leaning posture seen in some of the older Yang or Wu styles sacrifice. These
styles actually incline in the direction of expression, much like a sprinter in
the starting blocks, in order to create optimal alignment.

Wu Chien-chuan demonstrating brush knee push

But there are some pitfalls inherent in the ‘vertical’ spine concept. For
example happens if you push the centre of a free standing stack of bricks
hard? They will topple over! To get around this neutral but precarious
stability the development of the tissues in the axis is needed.

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Through the training of the tissues on the front and back of the body, we
align the vertebrae in a similar way but aim to take the slack out of the front
and back lines. This makes the unit springy, like it is supported by thick elastic
bands. In doing so, if a hard pressure is applied, this elastic material stretches
as if drawing a bow creating a real potential energy in the system that can be
utilized in direct response or directed elsewhere via the Dan Tien.

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CROTCH ARCH

(Dang Jin) - The bodies inner support structure

Just like the Jockeys discussed earlier, laying down of thicker and stronger
tissue on the inside of the legs is found to be a core component of Tai Chi
training. Indeed, the postures that train these tissues are often called a horse
or horse riding stance. When done a certain way the practitioner will
effectively ‘sit’ on the inside lines of the legs like the arch of a bridge. This is
the ‘crotch arch’ and is normally the second line to focus on in training.

The crotch arch constitutes the inner support lines of the legs and is
responsible for the support, movement, lightness and springing qualities we
witness in the Tai Chi forms. It runs from the centre of the plantar Fascia (the

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arch of the foot) to the perineum and feeds into the hips and pelvis. As
previously mentioned this is the main support for the trunk of the body and,
much like an arched bridge, distributes load most effectively to the ground.

The crotch arch is often used to create an upward direction leading into the
axis and Dan Tien. This ‘upward’ direction relates to 2 of the primary ‘powers’
found in Tai Chi. Peng or to expand upwards, and Ji or to press or squeeze
forwards. Conversely the sinking of the arch is related to the Lu and An
powers that is to lead or roll back and to push downward.

When thinking about all the tissue that forms the legs it is not a stretch to
understand its potential for agility and movement. There is a method of
utilizing Fascia known as elastic recoil effect or the Catapult mechanism. This
is the process by which Kangaroos are able to leap large distances. They
essentially bounce off their connective tissue structures to catapult
themselves forward (kram and dawson,1998).

Through the training of the Crotch arch we are able to condition the leg
tissues so that they can be tensioned like rubber bands storing the potential
for movement. This not only improves our walking and lower limb movement
capacity, it also increases the efficiency of the movements thus saving over
all energy expenditure throughout the day. We will cover this benefit of Tai
Chi in greater detail in a later chapter.

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SIDE LINES
The pillars of the body.

Almost all Tai Chi forms start in a similar manner, arms by the practitioner’s
sides standing in a neutral posture, then the arms are raised. As the arm
raises the Side lines are revealed and engaged and the support pillars of the
body, much like those of a suspension bridge, are utilized. We can think of
them as being bands of tissue from the arm pit to the outer ridge of the foot
and they are extremely important in their role of overall body stability and
the control of the pelvic movement out to the sides.

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These lines create the stable opposite side to the crotch arch and are
developed in a similar way to produce a downward or upward capacity in the
exponent.

Moreover, the side lines are probably second only to the axis when is comes
to importance for alignment recognition. In Tai Chi we say that the shoulder
and hip should be harmonized as discussed earlier. It is awareness of these
side lines that will allow us to maintain this shoulder hip alignment and
ensure the proper and most beneficial positions are maintained. If, for
instance, we are checking out posture in the mirror and the side of the hip is
poking out slightly, we can draw it back in line making the side line straight
and creating the optimal alignment once again.

The side lines are often closely linked to the ‘sinking’ or rooting ideas of the
Tai Chi. This is especially true in standing post practices where the method
often involves ‘pulling up’ the crotch arch and ‘sinking’ the side lines. When
combined with the spiral lines which also feed into the legs, centre and
pelvis, we have full, all sided support structures for the sides of the body and
the legs.

The development of these lines will create consistent alignments of the

shoulder, hip, hand, foot etc so they are extremely important to the
practitioner as alignment markers. Later, during spiralling practices, we will
create torque and power from the paired twisting of the lines. In a sister art
to Tai Chi, Ba Gua, for instance as you turn, the side lines pull and twist
creating a strong potential energy for their return, like twisting and pulling on
large elastic bands. This twist force is also seen in Tai Chi methods like Brush
knee twist or Repulse Monkey and the side lines are vital to the potential in
these postures. We can think of them as load and release structures that will
store the potential to recoil or return to equilibrium.

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UPPER BODY (arm) BRIDGES
Connection of the arms to the body

Tai Chi is perhaps most famous with the Lay person as a method of ‘waving
the arms’ around slowly and, from the outside looking in, this is not too bad
of a description if we are honest! But as any Tai Chi practitioner knows there
is much more to this art than that and the demands placed on those waving
arm that meets the eye!

The connection’s related to the arms run from the finger tips into the torso
and all connections run through the shoulders. The shoulders are one of the
primary focuses when training the upper body or arm bridges because they

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are normally the source of the biggest tension, misalignment and
disconnection in the body.

For instance, the scapular (shoulder blade) should sit in a flat position on the
back, closed in towards the spine, but we see a huge amount of people with
scapular flared out because of postural habits and entrained dysfunction.
Then we have the tissues of the upper back, like the Trapezius muscle, that
are intimately connected with mental tension, with the resulting physical
reaction creating real discomfort for those suffering with depression.

So much of the training in Tai Chi is focused on these upper body bridges,
both strengthening the shoulders while redressing imbalances or
misalignments. The weight of the arm itself is utilized in Tai Chi training to
identify and resolve many of these, often un-noticed, issues with our
shoulders and upper back. As we move through the form and the shoulders
articulate with the various movements it is easy to see how the motions
slowly and deliberately apply a gentle load to shoulder muscles and their
associated Fascia.

The upper body or arm bridges are the links between the hands through the
back and front of the body that control how we move the arms in relation to
the body position. Obviously our arms are always connected to our body, but
here we are talking about the chains of tissue leading from inside the torso all
the way to the hands and ultimately finger tips. Through targeted training we
can increase this connection from the centre to the finger tips resulting in
unified motion to and from the centre.

The front and back of the body are obviously quite different in terms of
muscle, Fascia and bone format so Tai Chi has specific movements for both
sides and how to link both sides simultaneously. We see opening and closing
in the chest area with simultaneous opening and closing in upper back, we
see bending and extending of the arm at the elbow, we see articulation in the

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wrist and movement of the fingers. All of these movements seen in the Tai
Chi forms are directly related to the entrainment of the arm bridges.

Bridge 1 - through the back.

The through the back connection links the arms to the torso and runs from
the little finger and back of the hand, through the Elbow, Tricep, Scapula and
Latimus Dorsi eventually connecting into the top of the lumbar Fascia and the
ming men point. There are two primary focus points for the through the back
connection. Firstly is the bridge between the scapular and second is the link
downward to into the top of the lats.

The primary muscle groups that constitute through the back connection are
the deeper back muscles relating to the scapular area of the back.

Infraspinatus, Rhomboideus Major, Teres Minor / Major, Deltoids, Lower

trapezius.

Bridge 2 - the front arm bridge

The upper front arm bridge constitutes the tissue linking the arm to the body
on the front. It is the tissue running from the thumb and centre of the palm,
along the inside of the forearm, through the elbow and bicep, into the pec
muscles and the sternum Fascia which links directly into the Dan Tien via the
front line of the axis. This bridge looks a bit like a trident and is largely
concerned with the Pectoralis muscles. These two muscles, the major and
minor, are vital for the front connection and particularly in males can be a
large area of focus for softening training.

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CROSS BODY
The bodies spiral nature.

Just as our DNA forms a spiralling helix, one of the major body lines that we
use in Tai Chi and internal training is a spiral. We can think of this line as a
strap that runs around the body both keeping it stable and also connecting
both halves.

It is perhaps the strongest link through the body because it feeds directly
though the tissue nexus’ of the Lower Dan Tien Point or QiHai and the back
lumbar point or the Ming Men.

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 Also called the spiral line, the cross body connection wraps around the body
like a corset holding the bodies sides in place and controlling twisting actions.
As mentioned this line is important for its direct connection to the centre but
it is important to note that the cross body line is, by its very nature as a spiral,
multidirectional.

It is the link to winding or twisting practice to come later and is one of the
most utilized lines in the transfer of force from one side of the body to the
other via the Kwa. The nature of this line is such that it naturally engages
when spiralling and crossing methods are used, thus it is quite fun to train.

We can see the utilization of the cross body lines in many different martial
methods. From Irimi nage to Gyakuzuki. But here we are looking to utilize
those lines specifically as part of a larger network of connection and all round
support.

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 Chapter 5

– Moving for health -

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As was the way with the early trainings with my teacher, I had travelled
across the country to be with him for a day, training in the park with his
regular students and friends. I recall this day being extremely hot and muggy,
the London air not helping with the heat as we made our way from his home
to the park. I was studying the art of Cheng Ba Gua at the time, one of the
youngest of the internal arts characterised by walking in circles and the deep
twist forces it generated during practice. This busy park in the middle of
London was often full of people sunbathing, reading, playing and enjoying
themselves during the summer months which was in stark contrast to the
winter, when we would often have the area to ourselves.

On this particular day I was suffering from a ‘head cold’, an almost

indefinable feeling of stuffiness in my sinuses and a nagging dull headache
that would not clear. Getting up that morning had been a struggle as I had
lived with this strange head cold for several days now and it was showing no
sign of abating. Still, I had arranged to see my teacher and had travelled
several hours to be with him for the weekend so I had to make the most of
this situation and put the feeling of illness to the back of my throbbing mind.

Training that day took a familiar format. We all stood in a large circle and
performed some warm up loosening exercises, a few specific Nei Gong with
Teacher walking around the circle making little corrections, touching people’s
backs and re-aligning their postures. Then it was off to train on our specific
focus, some people heading off to run through the Old Yang Tai Chi Form, a
few guys cutting straight lines along the grass as they performed their Xing Yi
sets and myself and another friend walking the circle off in a corner to
ourselves.

I remember the pain in my head like it was yesterday. All I wanted to do was
be in bed with a cup of green tea and thick duvet wrapped around me, but
here I was, walking in circles on a hot day in a park in the middle of London.

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Teacher walked over and began to circle with us, his steps swift and fast,
catching us up with ease and urging us to ‘catch the twist’ and let the legs
follow on as we were endlessly drawn into the centre of the circle. The circle
walking of ba gua is a unique experience, quite unlike normal walking or
stepping found in other martial arts , you would almost ‘fall’ your way around
the circle, like a moon caught in the gravity of its host planet. Round and
around we would go, only slowing to perform the various palm changes of
the style which involved deep twisting and turning movements as the steps
would change to the other direction. Dizziness was a common experience in
the early days of Ba Gua practice, but by this point I had gained good control
of my peripheral vision and wasn’t affected by the endless circling.

Eventually everyone was asked to finish up their training in their own time.
Our circling slowed to a walk then to a halt where we stood still, sealing in
the practice. As was often the experience with extended ba gua practice, the
static posture at the end was anything but static to the practitioner. Twists
and spirals would spin inside the body and you would feel as though you
were still on that circle moving even though to everyone else you were still as
an old post driven into the earth.

We finished up the training and headed to the little Cafe at the edge of the
park, as we walked I chatted to teacher about various point of the style and
form. This was a time I truly enjoyed, getting the answers to my little details.
To questions like ‘When I was in pushing palm, should my little finger be here
or here?’ the answer would often be deep and extended leaving no question
of why a position may be relevant. When we arrived at the Cafe I got a bottle
of water to replenish the fluid lost from the demanding practice and sat
down with the rest of the group. Teacher came over and sat close by, smiled
and asked if I was feeling better? I hadn’t even thought about how ill I was
just a few hours before, I was feeling fine!! It was a shock! That morning I had
felt like death warmed up, now I felt full of energy and with no sign of the
throbbing headache that had plagued me for the last few days.

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This experience was an eye opening one. It really demonstrated how focused
movement training can have a direct impact on the health of the individual.
In this section we will delve into how movement directly effects our bodies
and creates the conditions for health.

Defining our movement.

As we have already somewhat discussed the human animal is built to move.

We have very broad movement capacity in comparison to most other species
who tend to be far more specialised. This capability to move in complex ways
has a direct relationship with our health, indeed, movement and the ability to
move freely is one of the key identifiers of the health of our organism. For
instance if we think about our pet dog or cat, how do we normally know they
are unwell? They will not be energetic or moving in the normal way’s we
would expect. This is because our energetic systems are closely linked with
our ability to move. As the body requires more energy for the healing process
our movement capacity drops and we become sluggish or clumsy.

But before we get into the specific benefits of movement practices like Tai
Chi, is it worth defining our movement and understanding how we are
designed to move.

Understanding the Planes of motion

To understand how the body moves, one of the first tools we can use is the y
dissection of the body along 3 planes common planes known as the Sagittal,
the Coronal and Transverse. These three planes are hypothetical ideas that
divide the body along specific directions and are used to segment the body.
They are very useful to describe the location of body structures, to describe
the direction of a movement or articulation, or to describe the position of a
limb in relative space for instance.

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 The Sagittal Plane
The Sagittal Plane is the hypothetical
line that splits the body into left and
right halves. Also sometimes called
the Lateral plane this Plane runs in an
X –Z direction. The Sagittal plane can
sometimes be broken down a little
further into the Midsagittal, which
would run through the spine, chin and
navel and the Parasagittal which could
for instance run through the shoulder
hip etc.

The Transverse Plane

This is the plane that runs parallel to
the ground which separates the head
from the feet for instance. Sometimes
this plane is known as the Axial or
Horizontal plane. Again this plane can
run through other structures
separating the upper and lower and is
often used to identify is the
practitioners hips are level.

The Coronal Plane

This plane runs perpendicular to the
ground and separates the front and the
back of a person, so separating the face
from the back of the head for instance.

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So when talking about direction of motion we can say that we will express
movement in a one of, or more commonly a mixture, of these core 3 planes.
When we run forward we will be expressing movement along the Sagittal
plane while our body will twist along the transverse plane for instance.

Understanding the direction of motion in terms of locomotion and

movement of one body part in relation to another is obviously at the very
heart of Tai Chi form training. We can see that during a method like brush
knee push for instance, is a student is finding the movement hard we can talk
in terms of direction first, then in terms of how a limb moves within a
quadrant, then how that limb moves in relation to the other limbs, then tell
them to ‘just do it’ and forget all of the steps they took to get there!

The General Motions.

General motion is described in several ways but primarily defines the way in
which our bodies can articulate. These general terms can, and often do fall
short of describing some of the more complex motions of Internal Arts like
whipping or wave motions, however they are worth mentioning as
understanding the terms for the later discussion on the impact of motion on
health will require some standardisation.

Abduction and Adduction.

As with most of the general motions the

process of Abduction and adduction is a
pair of actions (Note: in Tai Chi we would
refer to them as a Yang action and a Yin
Action). Abduction refers to a motion that
pulls a body part or structure away from
the midline of the body or another pre-
defined point. For instance we can say that
moving the knees apart is an Abduction, as

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is spreading the fingers in relation to each other or opening the arm away
from the torso. Adduction refers to drawing something towards the centre of
the body or another pre-defined point. So bringing the knees together or
closing the fingers towards each other would be examples of Adduction.

OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax CNX. May 27, 2015
http://cnx.org/contents/14fb4ad7-39a1-4eee-ab6e-3ef2482e3e22@7.28.

Flexion & Extension

Flexion and extension relate to angular

changes in the body. Perhaps the easiest
to grasp is the action of the elbow
opening out or closing. Flexion is the
bending motion that decreases the angle
between two body lengths. This could
be the closing of the angle in any joint,
but also the movement of the body in
relation to the legs for instance.

Extension is the reverse of this and

relates to any direction where the angle
between lengths is extended. So the
opening of the elbow angle or the
bending back of the torso.

OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax CNX. May 27, 2015
http://cnx.org/contents/14fb4ad7-39a1-4eee-ab6e-3ef2482e3e22@7.28.

A very interesting attribute to flexion and extension is found in the internal

arts. Often referred to a ‘bowing’ the action of flexion and extension and the
acute awareness of paired angle change in the joints between the front and
back sides can create strange and powerful attributes in the adepts. When
we combine this flexion and extension with a winding or twisting attribute
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the unusual power of the internal arts is created and anyone interacting with
this potential will understand it strange utility. In the internal arts we often
term flexion and extension as ‘open and close’ which is a nice way to describe
the interplay of postures and directions we
utilise.

Rotation

Rotation of the body is split into two

categories, Internal and External rotation.
This movement attribute, combined with
flexion and extension is perhaps one of the
true keys of the internal arts like Tai Chi and is
at the very heart of methods like Chen Tai
Chi’s Silk Reeling or Yang Style Cloud Hands.
Internal rotation is the action of rotation
towards the axis of the body while external
rotation is the action of direction away from
the body.

OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax CNX.

May 27, 2015 http://cnx.org/contents/14fb4ad7-39a1-4eee-ab6e-3ef2482e3e22@7.28.

Again in the internal arts these actions are often ‘paired’ where, for instance,
one femoral head will be internally rotating while the other is simultaneously
externally rotating or where the hand is externally rotating while the
shoulder is internally rotating. This balance between external and internal
rotation is used to create a mutli-sided support and a balanced movement
skill.

The combination of General motion and Planes of motion.

Tai Chi is an extremely clever system when it comes to movement

complexity. The movements may be small or apparently simple but they can
have a seemingly bottomless depth. As the adept gets better and better the
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movement complexity increases and refines, going deeper and deeper into
the various ideas of flexion or rotation. I like to think of the skilled Tai Chi
adept like an iceberg, the surface of their skill that is observable belies the
depth that is going on underneath. This is perhaps one of the really
interesting definitions of the Internal arts that fits their name.

Tai Chi specifically has arranged its movement skill into 13 concepts, often
called the 13 postures. Firstly we have Tai Chi’s basic idea of 5 directions,
forward, back, left, right and equilibrium. These are some of the core
stepping concepts most Tai Chi systems and describe movement along the
various planes. As we move through a Tai Chi form, regardless or style, we
see that the directions of steps, motions and focus occur along the various
planes in combination or isolation. So we will perform a step along the
advancing or forwards direction we will be moving along the sagittal plane
and this initial plane of movement model is perfectly suited to describe the
basic movements of the Tai Chi stepping patterns. But what is meant by
equilibrium in the 5 ‘directions’ model. It doesn’t seem to suit the idea of
movement!

Equilibrium in this idea could be thought of as the intersection of the various

planes or the point where they all cross through each other. It represents the
potential to move in any direction at any time by allowing the body to move
from the intersecting directions along the prescribed path. There is a saying
in Tai Chi that ‘movement comes from stillness’, however I like to change it
slightly, that ‘movement comes from the potential inside the stillness.’

After the 5 directions, in most Tai Chi systems, there are what is known as the
‘8 energies’ or powers. These 8 body methods use a specific combination of
general movement attributes and plane directions to create a certain quality
to the body or movement. Each one of these powers feels unique and they
represent a flow between the Yang or forward, upward expansive directions
and the Yin or retreating, falling, contracting directions.

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 Peng, for instance, is the primary Yang energy of Tai Chi and could be
thought of as an expansive upward direction. The movement is out in all
directions along the various planes, with a combination of Rotation, Flexion
and Extension in every joint and a tendency towards Abduction or opening
away from the centre of mass.

Lu, The primary Yin energy, which could very well be described as Peng’s
opposite, has a greater focus on Rotation and Adduction or drawing
everything towards the centre.

These two simple ideas of the 8, in addition to the 5 directions, highlight how
clever the creators and researchers of movement where when they
formulated Tai Chi. They catered for every general movement pattern and
direction by combining these ideas of movement into refined and complex
patterns that help us to express our natural movement complexity with every
inch of the motion found in the Tai Chi Forms and training.

How motion builds habitual memory

We can’t really talk about movement skill without talking about how
movement complexity and capacity is handled by the brain. It is our brains
that give rise to our ability to move in complex ways, or to learn new motion,
not our muscles, tendons and Fascia.

Part of the reason for our large brains is the development of our ‘generalist’
movement skill. We are not the strongest, the best climbers, swimmers,
acrobats or runners in the animal kingdom, but a cheetah can’t swim and a
dolphin cant climb a tree, we can! That ability to move and to utilize a wide
variety of movement capabilities is what make the human animal unique in
the animal kingdom. Most of that general and wide ranging capability is
down to our brain power and how we learn, store and re-enforce
information.

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There are a few different ways in which we learn skill, some are short lived
and some remain with us for life. For example when you learn how to ride a
bike or swim it is something that your body and mind will usually remember
for the rest of your life. You cannot get on a bike for 10 years and still, when
you jump on one, you can ride it. This is not the case with many other
physical endeavours and the reason is the connection of our neurology.

Neuroscientists at the University of Aberdeen have identified a key nerve cell

that controls the formation of motor skills, such as cycling or even eating with
chopsticks!

They discovered that one particular type of nerve cell –the so called molecular
layer interneuron - acts as a "gatekeeper", controlling the electrical signals
that leave the cerebellum. Molecular layer interneurons transform the
electrical signals into a language that can be laid down as a memory in other
parts of the brain.

Dr Peer Wulff, who led the research in Aberdeen together with Prof. Bill
Wisden at the University's Institute of Medical Sciences, said: "What we were
interested in was finding out how memories are encoded in the brain. We
found that there is a cell which structures the signal output from the
cerebellum into a particular code that is engraved as memory for a newly
learned motor skill. "

It could pave the way for advancements in prosthetic devices to mimic normal
brain functions, which could benefit those who have suffered brain disorders,
such as a stroke or multiple sclerosis.

Experp from Aberdeen University News Jul 2009

It is my contention that the correct practice of Tai Chi will also build these
sort of habitual skills in the individual. My reasoning is that even after 10
years I can still recall immediately the movements of forms I only practiced
very early in my training. I could obviously represent an ‘outlier’ but this

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attribute is also present in some of my students who trained specific Ba Gua
forms with other teachers up to 30 years ago, but can recall them without
any issue on demand. This movement retention can spill over into other
aspects of life in that it will engrain and retain a movement and
proprioceptive understanding that can help the individual with coordination
etc.

The sliding surfaces of the Fascia and entrained dysfunction

Movement and its impact on the various systems of our bodies can be used
to address certain problems almost all of us experience. So perhaps it is best
to start at the beginning of the day and the first problem that movement can
be used to address. If you watch a cat or dog wake up from any extended
period of sleep you will see it stretch every part of its body in one long
extended motion. This is a sight cat and dog owners know very well. Every
part of the body is involved, there is no stretching one leg, then the other,
then the hamstrings, then the neck. It is one long open stretch and then they
are ready to go. This is a very common example of a process I call ‘melting
the Fascia fuzz’. It is a method that targets the connective tissues and the
movement ‘melt’ this accumulated fuzz, freeing us up for the day ahead. This
example, of involving of every tissue in the body during the motion, is a nice
demonstration of opening up and stretching. The reason the animal does it
relates to a few things.

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As discussed in an earlier chapter, one of the roles of the Fascia is to allow
tissues to slide over each other. However, when we are sedentary for a long
period of time, such as during sleep or if we adopt the same position
throughout the day (like sitting at a desk) a type of ‘fuzz’ builds up in these
sliding layers which makes them begin to stick. This is the reason we often
feel a little stiff in the mornings and need to make a stretch, it is also the
reason that animals perform their stretches when waking, the ‘fuzz’ is
essentially melted by these stretches.

However, if we adopt a specific posture for long periods of time this fuzz can
actually thicken and bind certain sliding surfaces together creating more
permanent stiffness in muscle groups and joints. This entraining of
dysfunction means that a lot of work then needs to be done to unbind the
tissues. If we think about what happens when we have a joint, muscular or
connective tissue injury, we will often naturally hold the injured area static in
order to avoid pain. This creates a build up over time of this fuzziness
between the tissues, night after night we sleep, wake up, don’t stretch or
mobilize the injured area so the fuzz continues to build. Eventually the fuzz
thickens and becomes a much denser tissue. Now it becomes a problem to
shift and you will need to work diligently to correct the situation.

Here is where Tai Chi and the notion of full body movement comes into its
own, especially in the mornings which is a common time to see people in the
parks of China training these body methods. If we were to simply stretch a
tight area of the body in isolation we would, in reality, only hit the portion of
the tightness we are able to perceive. The reality of bound tissue in our body
is that normally we are not very well attuned to the exact location of the
bindings or sticking points, people will often talk of a tight ‘area’ or region of
the body rather than an exact location. To cater for this lack of specificity Tai
Chi and Chi Gung will move and stretch entire chains of tissue rather than
singular points. This movement along an entire chain will mean that not only

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the perceived tight areas but also where they are bound to other muscle or
connective tissue groups will be released.

This releasing of bound tissue can produce some very pleasant sensations in
the Tai Chi practitioner. Sudden warming of an area of the body, tingling,
relaxation or relief from long standing pains are all characteristics that we
feel as release or opening occurs.

Underpinning the health benefits of movement - the Lymphatic system

Perhaps the greatest benefit of regular movement comes via the Lymphatic
System. The lymphatic system is a circulatory system, similar to the system of
arteries and veins that constitute our cardiovascular system, however, rather
than carrying blood the lymphatic system carries a fluid called ‘Lymph’.
Lymph is very similar to the plasma in our blood but instead primarily carries
Lymphocytes and other white blood cells which are responsible for resolving
or fighting disease and illness.

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The Lymphatic system is comprised of a series of lymphatic organs, lymphatic
vessels and nodes that spread throughout the body. It is very closely linked to
our Bone Marrow, which is responsible for the production of some of the
most important cells in our body the T cells. Also very closely linked to the
lymphatic system is the Thymus and Spleen, which synthesises antibodies.

There is a key difference between the lymphatic system and the circulatory
system in that the Lymphatic system doesn’t have a strong ‘pump’ like the
heart to push its lymph around the body. In some animals this pump is
present but in humans it is widely believed to be inactive and a remnant
organ. The transit of Lymph is in fact achieved by the action of the bodies’
motions. As we move the lymph is squeezed and pushed around the body
due to a series of valves, nodes in key compression areas and lymphatic
muscles squeezing the system.

This natural transit of lymph around the body via movement is something
that, evolutionarily, we would have achieved with our natural hunter
gatherer lifestyle. Healthy immune systems would be present due to the
healthy and natural movement of lymph around the body due to a constant
and consistent level of movement from day to day. However, as I have now
said many times, the modern environment has conspired to break down the
effectiveness of the natural pumping action of the body due to sedentary.
We sit for long periods of time and often suffer from weak immune systems
as a response.

So any method which begins to help us move around will be advantageous to

our immune system and our capacity to remain healthy. If someone is
seemingly forever ill, you can look at the level of movement variety in their
day and often will see that either they are not moving much at all. They may
only be performing a standard and consistent few movements rather than
the wide array of movements our organism was designed to do. The
inventors of Tai Chi and Internal Arts recognised this problem and were very
clever in their design of a solution.
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The Tai Chi forms are built around the idea of moving the body with a
number of pre-defined attributes (8 energies). The combination of these
motions and how they are ordered in sequence is designed to maximise
lymph movement within the body, both by increasing movement complexity
but also by applying compression and opening in constant exchange.

The Tai Chi adepts will move in such a way that openings follow closings that
raisings follow fallings or that pushes follow pulls. This idea of flow between
paired actions could be thought of as the very essence of Tai Chi and its close
association with the concept of Yin & Yang. This opening and closing, or
paired opposite actions, actually applies compression to the Lymph nodes
and squeezes lymph around our lymphatic system increasing our immune
capabilities. A very clever system indeed!

The many stories of people taking up Tai Chi in their older years in order to
mitigate certain diseases or health issues, only to see they completely cured
or reversed, could arguably be placed directly on this one aspect of proper
and correct Tai Chi training.

Sedentary lifestyle and ‘kinking your tubes’.

However there is also another very interesting facet to this opening and
closing, compression and release action found in the Tai Chi form. This time
related to the vascular system, the intestinal track and the nervous tissues.

Think, if you will, of a hose pipe with a kink in it, not enough to completely
halt the flow of water but just a little kink that slows the flow so as to be
noticeable. Now imagine how the millions of tubes of the circulatory,
lymphatic, intestinal and nervous systems of the body could be kinked slightly
due to common static positions such as sitting in a chair for long periods. Our
tissues are extremely flexible and able to cope with a lot of wear and tear,
stretching and pulling. But if we sit for long enough, often enough, issues
such as poor circulation to the limbs, shooting pains and digestion issues can
appear.
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Obviously action in these tubes will not be completely halted by the static
positions; our body is far better build than that! But it is not hard to imagine
how constantly sitting on your butt with your thighs at right angles to the
chair could affect the material in your hips!

This is another consequence of modernity that can have a long term effects
on the body’s ability to move, heal and function naturally. A whole host of
illnesses have been attributed to the sedentary lifestyle many of us now lead,
from cardiovascular problems to depression, and new research is beginning
to show that a lack of movement and its knock on effect on our body’s
natural pathways could be somewhat to blame.

Problems such as Peripheral Vascular disease, although primarily the result of

fatty build up inside the blood vessels is also thought to have some basis in
the kinking of the blood vessels and their natural thickening or re-
enforcement due to this kink. One aspect of this disease that is regularly
observed is in how it will affect certain isolated areas of the body. This
isolated problem can, almost always, be resolved through movement with
issues receding somewhat when the patient moves around regularly or
begins a more regimented program of movement.

Again, the creators of Tai Chi were very clever in their design of the systems.
The movements of Tai Chi with their up and down, left and right, forward and
back attributes and the opening and closing of the body’s tissues work
directly to resolve and straighten out the bodies kinks and misalignments. We
will bow and unbow the body, open and close the armpits and hips and
change the height, tempo and direction of our motion. All of these actions
work on the tissues that may have been entrained to remain slightly kinked
from years of sitting! Comfort truly is costly!

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 Chapter 6
- Spine health -

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Returning from my regular Ju Jutsu class in the evenings, worn out and
feeling slightly weak, was the order of the day for much of my early 20’s. I
was training every night of the week and would often train several times a
day. My manic obsession with the martial arts had, up to this point, only paid
off. My skill level was increasing at a startling rate and I was understanding
the methods of my teacher more quickly than most. But sinking into bed that
evening I noticed a small nagging soreness at the bottom of my neck. Nothing
to write home about, and certainly not dissimilar to the many ache and pains
a devoted martial artist lives with on a daily basis. But it was something that
caught my attention before I drifted off to sleep, unconscious from
exhaustion.

My 6am alarm buzzed me back to the waking world with a start and
immediately i noticed that something was wrong. I attempted to roll onto my
side as I normally world, but the action was met by a shocking pain that ran
from the base of my skull just behind my ear down to my mid back. Married
to this acute pain was a stiffness paralysing this side of my body, as if
someone had strapped a splint to my spine during the night. This was all very
unexpected and quite worrying!

I managed to swing my legs out of the bed and onto the floor, reaching up to
clutch my neck and attempt to massage out the pain and tension. It was no
good, I was locked up. I could turn almost fully to my right but not at all to my
left. What had I done to myself, I couldn’t have slipped a disc, or problem a
vertebrae, the effect of these injuries would have been far more instant, but
this pain and immobility was extremely debilitating!

Wandering gingerly down the stairs to my conservatory, the area where I

would train my Tai Chi every morning my mind was racing, searching for
ideas to relieve some of the tension and pain I was feeling. I walked into the
kitchen, flicked on the kettle and gripped my neck again, my face contorted
with pain.

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“What have I done this time?” I found myself saying aloud. The kettle boiled
and as I was pouring the water my coffee mugs a flash of inspiration came to
my mind. Years before, training in the park with my teacher, we would
perform a spinal health practice that involved releasing each vertebrae
sequentially and letting the weight of the head hang to release the back.
“Well it couldn’t do any more damage!” I thought to myself, so hobbling into
the bright light of the morning sun streaming through the conservatory
windows I began to perform this ancient technique.

Raising the hands out to the sides as best I could, I took a deep breath,
opened the body up, and then began to allow my spine to fold forward one
vertebra at a time. My head, like it is attached to a wooden pole rather than
a flexible spine, initially refuses to fall forward but matching the release with
the breath I manage to get into the ‘folded in half’ posture that this method
uses. Everything in my back was tightening up, trying to protect the cause of
the problem. But I persisted.

During my early training days, in the tennis court with my Kung Fu Brother
Paul, I would witness him hold this position for up to 15 minutes! Now
though every fibre of my being wanted to stand back up and go back to bed.
But I knew this was the only method I had learnt that could possibly sort out
the problem; if it didn’t work I would be heading straight for the doctors.

Minutes passed, and my back remained in the same state. I took a deep
breath, a sign of my growing acceptance that my future held a doctors
waiting room. But as I breathed out and completely relaxed, a ‘clunk’ and the
pain and stiffness retreated back to a single point then disappeared. “YES!” I
exclaimed aloud! It felt fantastic to be soft and relaxed again and a shook my
head from side to side, wobbling my torso to experience every part of the
release. This problem was caused by a slight misalignment in my back which,
over the course of the night had caused a muscle to spasm, protecting the
misalignment.

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Without a doubt the spine is at the centre of our movement capacity. A
healthy spine means a healthy ability to move in most cases and the ability to
move well is an integral part of the health equation as we have already seen.
But we can take the importance of the spine further, into the consideration
of static positions, ordering the body unit and arranging the organs within the
body cavity. The spine is the primary dictator of our posture and is often an
indicator, through postural cues, of the health of an individual.

Spine health and aging

“ you are as old as your spine”

This phrase is well known in the Chinese

systems. It describes how, as we age, the spine
can degrade or lose its once dramatic flexibility,
instead becoming locked into positions, stiff or
immobile.

Many of the postural problems and resultant

health issues we see in the elderly are directly
related to the health and mobility of the spine.
As we age one of the most common occurrences
in the west is for our spines to become what is
known as Kyphotic. The reason for this
exaggerated curvature of the thoracic spine is
thought to be related to loss in muscle tone and
perhaps disc degeneration. Kyphotic spines are
not simply a postural problem, they are actually
thought to contribute to an increased likelihood
of falls in the elderly and this as we know is a
major issue.

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Several causes of kyphosis can be somewhat out of our control. Genetic
predisposition to the disorder as well as the type of work we do can all have
an effect on the condition.

But if we can say that kyphosis is to be avoided, we can start by looking at the
most changeable and adaptable tissues related to the spine, the muscles and
connective tissues. Early intervention, with a focus on postural balance and
strength is perhaps the best way of ensuring that the spine doesn't
degenerate due to muscle weakness. But if rebuilding of these tissues is to
occur then it needs to be a slow process. The level of articulation in the spine
means that any incorrect method of correction could cause knock on
problems down the line for the practitioner.

When considering the back tissue training and its relationship to Tai Chi
training we must first understand that there are many forms of Tai Chi, all
with their own strict interpretation of how the back is used. So the
information presented in this section will draw from the styles with optimum
spine positioning. The reader should note, however, that some styles can
actually lead to Kyphosis, as can be witnessed among their practitioners. This
is largely due to the term “Round the Back” which is interpreted differently in
various forms of Tai Chi. There can be interesting beneficial power
generation results from this spine position, but there is most certainly a
health trade off and as the focus of this book is health, we will turn to other
methods as markers for Tai Chi’s relevance to spine health

The spine is obviously a complicated part of the body, composed of

vertebrae, discs, nerves, connective tissues and is the anchor for muscles
throughout its length, it is perhaps the most complicated mechanical system
in the human body. This complex series of bone, cartlidge, discs and soft
tissues can, and is, easily affected by sedentary lifestyles or excessive
comfort!

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Probably the most common version of the modern spine problem is found in
the office worker. As mentioned previously the average office worker may sit
for between 6 - 8 hours a day, often with the arms stretched in front of them
pulling the scapular away from the spine and the upper back curved with the
head slung forward. This position sounds as un-natural as it is! We did not
evolve to cope with these sorts of postural demands and it shows in the
terrible posture, the un-well expression, the gait and the constant need to
stretch that the office worker exhibits.

Lengthening the spine

In Tai Chi perhaps the first method

related to the spine we look at is to
‘lengthen’ the spine. This is often
called “Suspending from the head
top (BaiHua)” but it is equally a
relaxation of the lumbar region as
it is a suspension from the top of
the head. This process straightens
out some of the curves of the back,
placing load back into proper
alignment and allowing the right
muscles to be used to hold the
position. As the practitioner learns
and practices this method it does,
however, often through up some
aches and pains because the
muscles have become used to their
previous role of maintaining poor position.

As out Tai Chi training progresses this position of the back will become very
natural and practitioners are acutely aware of when they are slouching or
slumping and will naturally correct that misalignment. This is because, after a
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period of training, the support tissues of the back have reformed into their
proper and optimum state and to return to misalignment means that they
are being stretched or pulled unnaturally. This often causes discomfort so the
practitioner will return to correct positioning. Certainly when I began
training, after a year or so, my office chairs started to feel uncomfortable.
They were padded, thick, on a spring with height adjustments, but no matter
how I positioned myself I could never get comfortable, my back would ache
constantly. Eventually I got a gym ball, then a kneeling chair, and whenever
my back remained unsupported by anything but my own posture it felt great!

This happy effect of correct spine positioning is one of the major benefits of
Tai Chi training for the healthy spine. We firstly train our minds to feel the
correct postural position, then we work on the Fascia and connective tissues
to maintain that proper alignment. The knock on effect being that improper
alignment becomes quite literally a pain!

Spine health and Mobility

There is an idea in Tai Chi that the movements are like water flowing around
rocks and like waves on the shore. This image of fluidity and motion is one
that we see permeate many of the Tai Chi styles, it is a description of how we
should be able to move freely. The principle of this image is that we should,
much like the water flowing around the rock, be changeable and adaptable in
our response to external factors.

For instance, a rather embarrassing moment from a recent trip abroad was is
a very good example of why entrained fluidity is a useful attribute! While on
holiday with my partner we had travelled across the island to see a horse
show. The famous stallions dancing and performing for the crowd were a site
to behold, Powerful, graceful and joyous in their movements. I sat there for
some time watching their movement very carefully, as was my usual way,
missing much of the beauty of the performance in order to analyse the
capabilities of their bodies and motion.

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Once the performance had finished we were walking back to our transport
and, my mind still thinking about the thick leg tendons the horses had, I felt a
thump on my shoulder. I had walked straight into one of the buildings
supporting columns in front of a crowd of hundreds! But there was no
laughter, I was not damaged in any way, my stride was hardly broken. My
body had felt the change in circumstance and immediately and
subconsciously adapted to the new pressure. I flowed around the column like
water around a rock, entirely without thought and no one perceived it as
anything but natural.

Obtaining the fluidity in the spine that we require for changeable and
adaptable movement skill is something that can sometimes be overlooked in
some of the Tai Chi lineages, preferring stability and straightness to fluidity
and undulation. But for many a method known as the Spine wave is at the
core of developing this skill.

The spine wave is an interesting method. Imagine if you will that the pelvis is
an anchor for the spine, with the Coccyx rooted in this anchor. Now think of
the Crown Point as another anchor point, fixed in relation to the coccyx.
These two anchors will not change, but the spine between them, much like
an elastic can wave, undulate, bow and un-bow, coil and stretch. This is an
interesting and integral part of some Tai Chi styles and you will often see
practitioner’s bodies from these styles waving and rippling like the classic
image of the Chinese Dragon.

This ability to wave the spine is closely and intimately linked to our level of
spinal mobility. How free the tissues and muscles are and how well we are
able to articulate the spine in action. Spinal mobility is largely achieved
thought the flexibility and capability of the soft tissues in our backs rather
than the spine itself. If these tissues are tight or bound we will have a poor
movement capacity in relation to the spine. Here is where a lot of the
hanging and swinging exercises come into their own that we discussed

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earlier. They allow the practitioners to apply slow rotations or undulations to
the torso which will open, release and massage the tissues of the back.

Lumbar mobility and the importance of the lower back.

In most Tai Chi styles we find that the initial training methods (Jibengong)
may have a focus on helping us to relax, stretch or open the tissues of the
lower back. The Lumbar spine is composed of the 5 vertebrae between the
rib cage and the pelvis known as L1 – L5 and is used in twisting and bending
motions, but is also key to the connection of the spine to the pelvis and
upper femur.

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The lumbar region, which is the roughly the lower third of the spine, is
covered by a large thick sheet of connective tissue called the Thoracolumbar
Fascia. This sheet of Fascia is one of the most important parts of the body in
Tai Chi training because of its ‘load management’ properties and also its close
association to the core muscles of the lower Dan Tien.

The tissue is thick and strong, somewhat akin to a leathery material, and as
such can take a long time to be affected by training. This is partially the
reason for its early focus in the basic skills training, you wont see results for a
relatively long time! The classic, smoothed out lumbar of the Tai Chi adept
can take many years of dedicated training to achieve.

The Thoracolumbar Fascia can be thought of as a junction between the lower

half of the body and the upper where forces are transferred during loading
and movement. The thickness of this area is in part due to the demands
placed on it in almost all movements we make. The area is composed of 3
layers, the Anterior, Middle and Posterior layers, each with their specific roll.
But we can say that the Lumbar is connected to many of the various muscular
and skeletal systems linking them all together through this nexus of tissue.

Specifically the Lumbar connects many of the joint and mobility systems of
the body from the hips, pelvis, lumbar spine and the thoracic spine. The
material is linked to the other areas of connection in the body such as the
cervical Fascia and all the way to the cranial regions. It truly is a linking
junction box for the whole body. In addition to its connections to other
sheets of Fascia, the Thoracolumbar is directly linked to the Transverse
Adbominis, the Internal Obliques and the Quaratus Lomborum muscles which
provide a range of fundamental functions like ‘core’ stability and
Intrabdominal pressure control. (gracovsky 1981).

The Tai Chi Adepts identified this areas importance early on in the process
and much of the initial standing training can be seen to work on this area. We
see that the ‘flattening’ of the back is a very early focus in Tai Chi work. This

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flattening can be seen as the relaxation and increased elasticity of the
Lumbar Fascia and its relationship to the various important muscle groups
like the Psoas. Spine health and mobility can be greatly impaired if the
thoracolumbar is immobile or consistently tensioned. This early soft work to
release and relax the thoracolumbar is a very interesting and productive part
of Tai Chi training that can have a knock on effect on the rest of the bodies
systems once it is trained to a large extent.

Spine position and the effect on movement capacity and energy levels.

So once we have gained some mobility in our back from the releasing of the
connective and muscular tissues and through the correct utilisation of the
thoracolumbar Fascia we can begin to feel and appreciate how the position
of the back and spine affects our movement capacity.

A little test in observation is a great highlighter here. If you go to any busy

town or city, take a seat on a bench and simply watch people walking around
‘naturally’ you will see a massive variety of posture, position, gait, mobility
and ultimately energy. You can see some people hunched over their phones
glancing up at the crowds as they bump and knock their way through the
streets, you see old people shuffling along with Kyphotic spines, you see
business men rushing with hurried walks, chests puffed out and red faced.
But every now and then you will see someone moving smoothly, softly
weaving in and out of the crowds walking with effortlessness, head up, legs
carrying them along at a good pace without any tension. It is this state that
we try to enforce and ingrain in Tai Chi practice. The effect of the position of
the spine on our general every day movement patterns is dramatic, that little
observation test highlights that to the fullest! But why is it that the people
with healthy backs and good posture seem to have more energy?

Well a study on the lung volumes of women with Thoracic Kyphosis is a good
arrow for the answer, the study found that:

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RESULTS: Vital capacity, inspiratory capacity, total lung capacity, and lateral
expansion of the thorax were lower in the osteoporotic group (P < 0.05).
There was a significant negative correlation between kyphosis angle and
inspiratory capacity, vital capacity, and lateral expansion of the thorax.

CONCLUSIONS: Lung volumes and rib mobility were significantly impaired

in women with thoracic kyphosis.

The lack of breath capacity is something perhaps you did not consider when
thinking about the position of the spine and its overall health, but these
findings are a stark reminder that the body is a single unit and every system,
if it displays dysfunction will have an effect on the others.

Tai Chi and the appreciation of spinal load

One of the aspects Tai Chi Is extremely refined in identifying is how we hold
our weight in relation to our base. This is to say that if we were to lean
heavily forward so that all the weight moves to our toes we would become
intimately aware of this skew. Part of the Martial Aspect of Tai Chi is its ability
for its practitioners to retain their ‘centre’, both in terms of foot position, but
also in terms of body mass in relation to their base.

This appreciation has a direct consequence for the spine and its associated
tissues. For instance, the head could be thought of as a bowling ball on a
stick. When the stick is vertical the ball is neutrally supported, but should the
ball move even a millimetre in any direction an uneven loading will occur and
for the stick to remain upright counter forces will be required to maintain the
position. If we imagine that these counter forces have to be generated by
the tensioning of tissues in the back as the head extends out to the front, for
instance, we can see that an entrainment of the muscles to ‘pull’ in order to
maintain equilibrium can occur. This is something that Tai Chi and its
extension of the spine in the practice attempts to mitigate. In the form and
training method some styles of Tai Chi advocate the vertical posture at all

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times, other advocate an alignment or inclination with the direction of travel
or force, but they all advocate controlled movement inside the base.

The base is the area covered by the capability of the feet to maintain position
without stepping. If you were to draw a circle around both of your feet
roughly the size of your foot width you would be somewhere near the base.
The training to appreciate this base is integral to Tai Chi and is extremely
useful in its knock on effect of reducing the problem of un-even loading of
the back.

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 - Chapter 7 -

Economy of effort

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“Ok, let’s go into the garage and do some training”. We had just finished our
vegetarian lunch and were midway through the first 10 hour day of training
in the art of Ba Gua. Everyone had been sat around for an hour or so,
drinking green tea, eating our food and talking about the morning’s sessions
but now it was time for the next bit of training.

We walked into the single garage, 8 of us cramped into this relatively small
place wondering what the next session would hold! “We are going to work on
some of the ChinNa and wrestling work of this system” teacher said. A smile
grew on my face, this was my element. 5 years of daily Daito Ryu would have
prepared me well, indeed teacher was later to comment that my basic body
method was already well refined. However, the ensuring exchange did not
make this apparent.

After some time showing techniques here and there, we began to play a
‘locking and countering’ game. One person would put the other in some sort
of hold and the other would escape using the circularity and spiralling
inherent to this style of Ba Gua. Teacher knowing that I had studied grappling
arts for most of my life so paired off with me and we began the game. Well,
what can I really say about this? I was thoroughly defeated. I would start with
some sort of wrist twist or arm lock and teacher would feel the point of
escape, spin around it and lock me from the point of contact to the floor. I
would struggle to escape as his power seemed to spiral through my frame,
eventually getting out only to be caught again the next time. This constant
play of locked up escape, locked up, escape was taking its toll on my muscles
as well as my ego. Sweat beaded on my brow and I was breathing hard by the
end of the exchange some 25 minutes later.

“Time for a quick cup of tea” said teaching, his breath calm and natural, his
skin, dry and a grin on his face. Later I was to ask him how on earth he was
able to stay so relaxed and composed despite the obvious effort i was
exerting. His simple answer was that he was taking care of his energy, not
burning things that needn’t be burn.
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Saving, building or moving ‘energy’ is something that we hear discussed in Tai
Chi and Internal arts all over the world. Many times this has been translated
to mean moving some form of undiscovered energy around the body,
building it up or focusing its potency. But there is another very different and
much more understood type of energy saving method that we see in these
arts. That is the minimising of our energy expenditure in physical exertion.

The body is a complicated system that has evolved to change food, air and
water into energy for our body systems to function and repair themselves.
This process of transformation or conversion is at the heart of our life as a
human and something that is in a constant state of flux. In physical training
we can affect the composition of our bodies with what we eat, how we
breath and how hydrated we are. Our body fat percentage can move up or
down, our mood and energy level can be affected by the oxygenation of our
blood, our eyesight and flexibility can be affected by our level of hydration.
This complex and interwoven series of systems stretching from the gut and
lungs to every cell in our bodies is a marvel of nature and one which can and
is deeply affected by energy expenditure.

If we look at a day in the life of your average human, we will see that there is
an ebb and flow of the energetic requirement for body systems as demands
are placed on us. Hormones released as we wake from sleep cycle like
Adrenocorticotropin prepare the body to rise, our food provides calorific
intake to allow us to mechanically move around for the day and for our
organs to function, the vitamins and minerals in our food are transported to
the relevant tissues where they are utilised for everything from heart beat
regulation to neurotransmission, the air we breathe adjusts and changes
based on the physical demands our muscles are put under, our organs work
hard at all times ensuring we are able to function without illness. The day is
filled with intake and expenditure, even for the most sedentary among us.

This realisation of how, in any one day, we are in a constant balancing act of
energetic output and raw material input is perhaps the greatest key in how to
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view the ‘energetic’ benefits of Tai Chi practice. We do not need some
undiscovered energy system in this model; we need to understand how and
why Tai Chi can help us save our daily energy expenditure, which in turn
takes stresses off our natural body systems.

Tension and effort

Perhaps the most common (but least recognised in the individual) effect on
overall effort is the impact of tensions on a person’s daily energy
expenditure. We can look at the actual load forces and mechanical effort that
a given action takes for a relaxed and aligned person vs a tense and
misaligned person and see a multiple time increase in the forces required for
the given action. This shouldn’t be too surprising to any mechanical engineers
out there considering the nature of our articulations.

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If we look at one of the most common contributing areas of effort
magnification, tension of the shoulders and Trapezius muscle, we can see
how this affects many normal everyday tasks. For the healthy shouldered
individual, picking up something from the floor is a relatively easy and simple
task. The healthy aligned individual may squat down slightly, incline forward
a little the arms hang naturally as they grasp the object then the legs,
posterior chain, and forearms will tension and work in unison as the object is
lifted.

In contrast someone with tension issues in the shoulder and Trapezius, they
may well squat slightly just as the healthy person, incline a little, but then the
shoulder will front rotate, the thoracic spine will bow as a result
disconnecting the posterior chain of tissue, the scapula will pull away from
the spine as the head sinks forward. All just to find a mechanical alignment
that gets around the tensions present. This postural skew will mean that the
weight of the head is coming into play on the overall structure, the bodies
core muscles start to fire to stabilise the posture as the load is grasped,

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individual muscle groups are now firing at high states of tension to counter
the loss of whole body connection. The load is being handled in segmentation
as the tension causes a cascade of muscle fires throughout the body.

So the load is lifted in both instances but in the first, the body works as a
mechanically unified whole, and the second, well it is often the case that the
individual doesn’t realise the war that their body just went through in order
to perform a simple task!

What effect do these two scenarios have on the bodies energy expenditure?
In the first instance we see that, as unified effort is utilised, the individual
muscles and their associated connective tissues work in cooperation with
each other. This reduces the stress on any one individual muscle instead
allowing the body to work as a unit. This process creates a lower expenditure
in the individual muscle units and a naturally lower overall expenditure for
the given action.

In the second scenario we see a very different story. The muscle groups are in
a state of segmentation. Here the chains of tissue are not capable of
connecting mechanically because of the tensions present. The tensions stop
the smooth unified mechanical advantage that we see in the first example.
The Body finds alternative routes for mechanical competency and the result
is much larger individual muscle effort. The body will often halt breathing in
order to help find some more stability due to increase intraabdominal
pressure, mainly when the core musculoskeletal stability is failing it. Energy
expenditure in this instance can be several times that of the first instance.

But we don’t need to look at such dramatic representations to really start to

appreciate how mechanical issues, or postural tensions can have an effect on
our daily energy expenditure. Imagine for a moment the cumulative effect of
shoulder tension on the body systems throughout the day. For example if we
think about lifting coffee mugs, getting up from chairs, opening doors, typing
on keyboards, if the shoulders are holding systemic tension we can see how

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many cumulative misaligned actions can add up. Every one of these actions
will have an energetic cost and throughout the day this expenditure builds up
to quite staggering figures!

How many times do we see tense people who are absolutely wiped out by
the time they get home from their sedentary office job in the afternoon?
They may not have done anything that could be considered a ‘workout’ yet
they appear to be as drained as a marathon runner crossing the line! The
amount of effort they have had to put into everyday tasks, without even
realising it, mounts up and by the time that fuel tank is empty they hit a full
metabolic crash. The knock on effect on hormone levels and regulation,
inflammation in the body, cardiovascular health, blood pressure, digestive
capacity and a host of other body systems can be dramatic. All from energy
expenditure and postural stresses.

So how does Tai Chi help us to regulate and normalise our energy
expenditure throughout the day? The very simple answer is that Tai Chi has,
as a fundamental part of its practice the aim of aligning the body, softening
the tissues and utilizing what we call the ‘just enough’ concept.

Just enough ...

The Just enough concept it one that we see in the soft movement training of
Tai Chi as well as many of the chi gung methods and static posture training
where positions are held for a period of time. The idea here is to use the
absolute minimum amount of expenditure to perform a given movement or
to hold a static posture.

For instance as we raise our arms in the opening movement of the form, the
idea is to only be using the amount of muscular contraction needed for the
hands to raise. This process can become painstakingly deep and for most
practitioners is a constant and ongoing process of tension recognition and
release. I still work on this simply opening movement from the Tai Chi form
every day as a focused practice for the ‘just enough’ concept.
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The process of eliminating unnecessary expenditure is a mix of neurological
training, whole body connection and muscular training. But before the
connection and muscles can be addressed we have to have the sensitivity to
actually recognise how much effort we are expending in any given
movement. This is where the slow motion movements of Tai Chi and internal
training come into their own!

There is a physical law known as the Weber Fenscher Law which states that
the higher the speed of a given movement, the less able we become to
recognise the power required to perform it. So if I were to raise my hand
extremely slowly I would be very acutely aware of the amount of effort it
takes for me to lift it. If I were to lift it as fast as possible the movement of
mass would mean that I simply was unable to perceive the amount of energy
it took me to move the limb. This law explains very nicely how our sensitivity
to a given effort is decrease as we move faster and faster. So slowing the
movements down to a snail’s pace will allow us to recognise how much effort
we are exerting during motion.

Secondly understanding how muscular chains and connective tissues work

together, in unison to reduce the overall demands on the individual muscle
fibres allows the Tai Chi adept to move in a way that is whole and connected.
This means that loads which would ordinarily be placed on a single muscular
unit are shared across a multitude of tissue.

Which leads us into the recognition of the muscle state and how the muscles
are firing during a given movement. This is often a key component of static
posture training, with the load application due to hand position, often
highlighting when one or more muscles are ‘overworked’. When we find
these muscles that are working extra hard we can start to release them to
come back to the ‘just enough’ idea and re-establish this optimum body
usage.

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The 70% concept

Another interesting idea that Tai Chi adopts is the concept of 70% extension.
This idea states that when extending the arm out from the body, for instance,
we go to the 70% of the total extension and no more. Now in addition to the
positive impact on our energy, this concept is also useful for a number of
attributes we aim to develop in Tai Chi training. These include Curved
structure, circularity of motion and protection of the joints. However there is
a direct energetic expenditure consideration too.

If for instance I reach to pick something up off a table but reach out to 100%
extension with my arm rather than simply move my entire body closer, the
effect of the weight of the object on my structure will be increased.

We see in this diagram how, as mass gets further from our centre there is an
increase in total effect on the structures that must support it. In some of our
Tai Chi training we utilise this concept of extension to increase effective load.
We sometimes want to ‘hang’ weight (the weight of the limb itself normally)
out from the centre, in order to condition the tissues. But if the goal is
movement efficiency then this is obviously not ideal.

This method of finding the ‘sweet spot’ in extension and contraction

translates across all methods and all movements in our daily lives from
picking things up, to carrying things, to bending or extending.

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Economy of Human Locomotion.

In the process of training Tai Chi, as mentioned in earlier chapters we begin

to become acutely aware of how our weight is distributed on our feet and
also the position of our centre of mass. This increased awareness can be
brought to bear on our everyday locomotion, walking, running, turning,
changing directions and even jumping.

Optimising our movement patterns for the highest energy saving throughout
the day is an interesting area of study that can come directly from Tai Chi
body mechanics. But first let’s look at how the standard movement model
can be compromised and our movement capacity moved away from the
natural condition.

When observing people walking around an ordinary busy street at first glance
it may appear that everyone is walking the same manner. Indeed they will
usually all be walking on two feet, one leg after the other, so that observation
isn’t incorrect from a certain point of view. But if you look a little longer and a

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little more deeply into how they actually take each step and how their body
moves in relation to their steps you may notice some differences. Observe
how their knees align, how they swing their arms or not, the position of their
spine as they walk, you will invariable notice quite a few differences from one
person to the next!

This variation is the result of a variety of factors that can range from body
weight to flexibility, from muscular development to genetic bone structure or
even the type of shoes they are wearing! Even emotion has been shown to
have an effect on the individual’s locomotion. (Barliya A1, Omlor L, Giese MA,
Berthoz A, Flash T.) So how do these seemingly wide ranging attributes affect
our locomotion?

Well they all have a direct impact on the body’s nervous system, the tissue
system or the centre of mass. The body will naturally adapt to the limitations
placed upon it and will try to optimise the gait by changing the mechanics of
the individuals walking pattern. If the person is withdrawn and sinking their
chest the gait of the person will adjust accordingly, if they are wearing high

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heeled shoes, the knees will take a beating and the Achilles will become
obsolete making the gait change dramatically.

With this in mind it is clear that to truly change a person’s movement

capacity and decrease their required energy expenditure for a given task, we
need to be take into consideration the wide variety of possible causes for
inefficiencies.

With that said, Tai Chi does offer an excellent set of tools to help the
practitioner optimise their everyday walking and gait.

1) Using the centre

the first method we can draw on from Tai Chi is understanding and
using the centre of mass located in the lower abdomen. If, for
instance, we are stood still as we would be at the start of the Tai Chi
form, the centre will be directly between the feet. In order to begin
to move forward we just need to shift our mass forward in front of
our base and we will, at some point, need to begin taking steps. This
‘falling step’ as it is known, is a very economical way to walk, you are
constantly leading your centre of mass out in front of your base then
catching it with your step.

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2) The 6 harmonies
we talked about the harmony of the body in a previous chapter but
revisiting it when simply walking can solve any alignment problems
and re-establish the correct walking mechanics. As we walk we want
to preserve a side by side vertical alignment through the ankle knee,
hip and shoulder. This alignment will mean that there is no lateral
loss in the joints and a corresponding adaption in the gait to
compensate.

3) Ankle softness and footfall awareness

as we walk one of the most common problems that we see is ankle
stiffness or lower limb tension. This is why people can twist their
ankles simply stepping off a curb.

As we train Tai Chi slowly we become acutely aware of the ankle

position and the tensions in the lower leg. During the form stepping
it’s important to have this deep awareness so that tension is released
and rooting can become achieved. However, when simply walking
around, especially if the terrain is uneven, we also need to retain this
natural ability of the foot to land with softness should an unexpected
angle present itself.

The way in which we deal with

unexpected angle changes is directly
related to our footfall awareness and
ankle sensitivity. We either keep
walking like nothing happened, or
twist or possibly even break the

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 ankle.

4) Gravity power
Part of the initial training in Tai Chi relates to the interplay of heaven
(gravity) and Earth (the ground support) and us (man). This paired
concept can actually be utilised to increase our efficiency of motion.
In this idea we utilize gravity to fall forward with every step, like the
support of our legs is being removed then suddenly caught as the
next leg steps. This method is very closely linked to the ‘using the
centre concept’ discussed above.

The Radiation concept

Radiation of tension or relaxation is a concept we also see in disciplines like

power lifting or strength training and is a very useful tool to increase the
efficiency of our movement or method. The basic idea is that if we tense or
release a specific muscle or small muscle group, the tension or relaxation will
radiate out into the muscles surrounding the one that is focused on. This idea
is used by lifters where a focus on squeezing the grip and the butt can
immediately increase the stability and power of a given position allowing the
lifter to up their max weight.

This little trick also works very well in the opposite direction. As a Tai Chi
practitioner notices blockages or points of tension they are able to focus
deeply on that one point, breathing the tension out of the muscles and in
turn relaxing the surrounding tissues. For efficiency, this is a very useful
concept. As we discussed earlier efficiency can be scuppered by isolated
tension. But more than this the isolated tensions have a dramatic effect on
neighbouring muscle chains as they begin to take up the slack in order to
achieve a similar mechanical goal. So the radiation concept will allow the
practitioner to not only deal with the root cause of the issue, the point of
tension, but also allow the supporting tissues that are compensating to relax
and release.
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- Chapter 8 –

Breathing

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 “You know science has proven that people who don’t breathe will die!”

This was a little joke, a teacher would say to their students when he caught
them holding their breath. Usually while they were deeply concentrating on
some difficult motion. He would walk around the room looking at people and
just know intuitively when the breath would be held, interrupted or stuck. He
would then lead the students to re-connect with their breathing cycle and
start to identify the natural instincts that cause breathing changes. Indeed, I
recall one training session with my teacher which highlighted how important
the breath is during practice.

The day was a warm and it was spring. I had travelled for several hours by car
to train for weekend with my teacher as I had many times before. The subject
for the weekend was the Yin style of Ba Gua and the day was filled with
learning one of the many forms of the style, the Liang Yi form. This method
involved deep spiral twists in all of the movements and long extended
postures. It was, by its very nature a demanding practice and touched every
inch of the body with its deep spirals.

As we trained in the various initial movement during the morning I distinctly

remember the call to ‘twist more’, ‘turn more’, ‘twist deeper’ by my teacher.
It was extremely uncomfortable to do and just when you thought you had
rotated your arm as much as you could .. ‘Twist more!’.

As the day wore on I began to notice that I consistently and apparently out of
nowhere would become short of breath, my body gasping for a large intake
and taking a few moments to settle back into a relaxed rhythm. Why? I was a
relatively fit young man, training hard in Daito Ryu Ju Jutsu and Tai Chi, I ran
consistently and was able to cover half marathon distances with relative
ease. So why were seemingly still postures causing me to gasp for breath?

The answer was to come when we moved the training down onto the beach.
After some more training in the deeply coiled and twisted postures, we
performed a specific exercise known as ‘deer running’ where you bound and
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leap off of your connective tissue, springing into the air, travelling quickly
covering a large distance. We all bounded towards the sea, focused on the
technical details of the method, trying not to ‘muscle’ the jumps but to
rebound and launch into the air like a deer. We came to a stop at the water’s
edge, a stiff breeze blasting us from the ocean waves.

At that moment my legs started to give way, I began to feel sick, faint, my
whole body started to misfire, like a car with an engine fault. I dropped to my
knees for a moment and tried to recover. My hands were buzzing with pins
and needles and the sickness was growing in my stomach. It was a miracle I
managed to keep the Vegetarian lunch we had just had down. After several
minutes my body began to recover its composure, I stood and walked back to
the group who were now training the form movements again.

Saying nothing I got back to work and joined in the deep twisting practices.
My teacher wandered over and simply said, ‘Maybe you won’t forget to
breath this time huh?’ This whole painful experience had been because I had
held my breath while my mind tried to focus on the complex movements and
methods. It was a stark reminder of how our breathing is linked to everything
we do.

The fundamentals of breathing.

Breathing is the process by which we obtain oxygen to release in cells via

cellular respiration. This oxygen is provided by the breath and transported by
the circulatory system where, when used in the metabolism of energy rich
molecules like Glucose, it is turned into carbon dioxide. This ‘waste’ gas is
then returned to the lungs, again via the circulation where it is release during
our out breath.

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It is fair to say that the complexities of the breath cycle and the associated
transport of oxygen to every cell in our body is an amazing process. The
breathing, often thought of to only be related to the lungs is in fact truly
touching every part of our body, every cell of our body in fact. A fact that will
become much more interesting later when we talk about the processes Tai
Chi uses to increase health.

Breathing is often called a cycle. It is a constant and ongoing process of ebb

and flow, of in and out and indeed of yin and yang. The breath cycle is one
that we really dig into when looking at the meditative aspect of Tai Chi
training. It is a well-known and useful marker for improving the efficiency and
reducing the noise in our minds by giving a point of focus or attention.

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The ancient Chinese inventors of traditional medical theory and martial arts
intimately knew the importance of the breath to the human animal. The
practices they were to develop ranged from the elaborate to the extremely
simple. A special word was associated with the breath system and the
effects, feelings and consequences of its control, the well-known but hotly
debated term, Chi.

The 3 phases of breath

In western medical literature we will often see the breath thought of as two
phases, in and out. However, every breath we take is, in fact, a cycle of three
distinct phases, the inhalation, the exhalation and the pause between these
phases.

The act of physically breathing and its three associated phases can be
thought of as an interplay of high pressure, low pressure and the transitional
moment between these two states. The filling and emptying of the lungs is
entirely dependent on how gases act when there is a pressure differential.

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- Inhalation -

Inhalation is the in breath. The in breath is the result of low pressure inside
the lung being created by the action of the diagram and muscles connected
to the rib cage. This low pressure wants to equalise with the high pressure of
the surrounding air and so the lung fills. The inhalation is related to getting
oxygen into the blood stream, I am sure you have all felt the curious effect of
hyperventilation so realise that the transit of oxygen into the blood from the
lungs is a very efficient one!

Inhalation is far less voluntarily controllable than exhalation and in order to

control the inhalation phase requires much more mental focus. The reason
for this is not exactly clear but it seems that because phonic exhalation
(speech) is a conscious process, the motor neurons used in the Exhalation
phase have a much deeper level of control.

- Exhalation -

Exhalation serves several purposes but first and foremost is it is the process
of removing Carbon Dioxide from the body, which is a waste product of the
metabolic process. This transit of Carbon Dioxide from the cells via the
circulatory system to the lungs and then out into the atmosphere is achieved
by a pressure differential once again. This time the higher pressure lung
wants to equalise with the surrounding air. This process is also helped by the
action of the various muscle groups ‘pushing’ and controlling the exhalations.
This control is used for speech or noise generation, known as a ‘phonic
exhalation’.

We are also able to perform what is known as forced exhalation, where the
elasticity of the lung is also combined with forced contraction of the
intercostals and associated muscle groups to rapidly force gases out of the
lung, this is how we would blow out a candle for instance.

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- Pause –

This is perhaps the most interesting and often completely skipped aspect of
the breathing cycle. The pause is the point between the in and out phases
where the breathing cycle completely stops. It occurs when the body
transitions between the in and our breaths so the lungs will either be
pressurised or released.

This can be thought of much like the classical Tai Chi Symbol or as it is
sometimes known the ‘Yin Yang’ in that at the maximum Yang there is a little
Yin and a transformation to yin occurs at the maximum Yang, and visa versa.

Pressurisation – ‘Raising the Chi (breath)’

The idea of raising the breath is one that we see in a number of internal arts.
It can normally be seen in new students where they are puffing the chest up,
interfering with their breathing pattern and pressurizing their upper body.
This is especially seen during complex motion where they might need to think
hard about what they are doing.

This problem actually originates largely in the mind but the knock on effect is
felt and seen in the body. In training I like this model of competence in order
to describe the student level.

Unconscious incompetence - we don't know when we are not doing

something well

Conscious incompetence - we know when we do something incorrectly but

are unable to rectify it yet

Conscious competence - we can perform something correctly when we really

think about it

Unconscious competence - We perform things correctly with no thought.

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It is in the first 3 stages that raising of the breath normally occurs and most
commonly the middle two stages where struggle is at its highest. If we are
consciously incompetent for instance, the thought process can interfere with
the breathing cycle. What is the classic image of someone in thought? They
are looking up! This gives us a good impression of the direction when we are
deep in thought.

We will hold our breath as we try to figure out how to do a certain

movement or method and this is a natural process, but not one that should
be ignored. Holding the breath during motion can be thought of as
pressurization of the body cavity, and this has knock on effects for on the
organs and their Fascia 'pockets'.

When we 'raise the breath' the lungs inflate and the pause phase is
prolonged. During this time the position of the body will invariably change as
we flow through our movements or motions. This change will apply a
‘squeeze' to the already pressurized body cavity. If we are mistiming the
breath and our movement, for instance, we will consistently apply this little
'squeeze' at the pause section of the breath cycle.

This is where ‘raising the breath’ can have a negative impact on the health of
the individual. Over time the cumulative effect of this ‘squeeze and release’
will cause problems in the Fascia encasing the organs and the tension pulls
discussed earlier posts will begin to appear. The pressurization also has an
impact on our cardiovascular system, so you will often see people who have a
habit of raising the breath with red faces and cold hands.

After some time training and with correction from a well-trained coach, we
become unconsciously competent in a movement and then our breathing can
return to a natural state.

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The Link between the conscious and unconscious

Breathing is one of the few body systems that spans the conscious and
unconscious control networks. We can consciously control our breathing
patterns but they are also somewhat automatic and will change as the
demand for oxygen increases. This spanning of the conscious and
unconscious creates an interesting bridge for both our mind to access our
physicality and our physical state to impact our mind.

During the training of the Tai Chi form, a focus on the breathing both in
awareness, and then in control, will help us to affect the mental and physical
state. We can use the form as a method of breathing awareness, a moving
meditation, and observe how our breathing may stop, start, hold, change
tempo or rhythm as the movement complexity increases. This is a direct
marker that the mind is trying to figure things out and as a result is disrupting
the breathing pattern.

After we have become intimately aware of the breathing changes we can

reverse the process. Here we put our mind on smoothing out the breathing
cycle, minimising the pause phase and allowing the breath to naturally flow
in and out as the movements dictate.

Building the awareness of breath

The first stage of breath work is simply the observation of the current natural
breath pattern. In this instance we do not try to change the breathing but
simply look at how we breathe in and out and how the pause feels. This stage
is usually first performed in the various static postures or when sitting still.

In this first step of training it is important that we do not try to enforce a

specific breathing pattern or change to our natural state even though we will
want too. This sort of defeats the observation task, as we will actually be
observing our ability to effect the breathing cycle. No, here we must try as

155
hard as we can to simply sit, or stand and observe with no notion of how the
breath ‘should be’.

What most people will find is that as you observe the breathing there may be
an irregularity between the in, the out and the pause phases of the breath.
Some people will hold the breath at the top of the breath cycle when they
have breathed in fully, even for just a second and then the rest of the cycle
will be even. Some will have a longer inhale and a shorter exhale. This is all
fine, we just need to observe it, no addressing of the breathing cycle occurs
at this stage.

Once we have observed the breathing in isolation and in a static position we

now need to frame the breathing cycle within the context of our movement
capacity. This is where things get a little tricky because as physical demand
on the body rises and the need for oxygenation increases, our breathing cycle
will unconsciously adapt to these demands. But we shouldn’t necessarily be
looking at this early stage of training as breathing work. It is much more of an
exercise in awareness and observation. Later, as the work proceeds and we
look to address certain breathing deficiencies, the ability to accurately
observe the breath state becomes vital.

The postures breathe for you

After gaining a good degree of awareness of our natural breath cycle, many
traditions then move the practitioner onto ‘postural breathing’ or training
where the posture breaths for you.

This is a fairly unique aspect of Tai Chi training in that the forms are largely
designed around open postures followed by closing postures. By their design
the forms encourage the flow in and out of the breath as the form is
performed. This ebb and flow of breath is often likened to the sea gently
lapping a beach, the in breath creeping up the sand and the out breath
retreating back to the ocean.

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There is a very interesting benefit to this type of training. As we begin to let
our posture breath for us, we reduce the systemic over pressurisation of the
body cavity that we see in ‘raising the breath’. The breath simply and
naturally flows out as the postures start to close so there is no sticking point
at the culmination of the breath for this raising to occur. This clever, physical
method for optimising our breath cycle requires that the earlier observation
training be engrained but also that the breathing is unobstructed when a
posture begins to close.

As we recognise the postural change the observation of the breath can begin
to switch into an active thought to not ‘stick’. We are still not controlling the
breath in any way, simply attempting to get to a point where the breathing is
a natural flow in and out with no starts or stops holding us back and
disrupting the postures ability to breathe for us.

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Consciously controlling the breathing

After we have gained a strong ability to observe and to allow the postures to
breath for us, there comes a huge variety of consciously controlled methods
in the classical breath training. These methods vary from playing with the
pause, where we will intentionally halt breathing at the top or bottom of the
cycle, to adjusting the breathing tempo as we perform the fast ‘fa jing’
movements of the fighting form. Needless to say these methods are the sole
realm of the knowledgeable teacher to impart on their student when the
time is right.

However, we can say that often during this training the form becomes
something that is performed as if on auto pilot, with all the minds attention
turned inward. The change of focus from the physical shapes and movement
to the breath is the process of external consideration to internal
consideration. We are building the bridge between the mind and the body via
the breath and the body motions becomes an automatic result of
entrainment and movement capacity.

Breathing as a guide to relaxation

Often in Tai Chi physical tensions become starkly apparent in the beginner.
They are unable to lift their arm without building isolation tension in the
shoulder, or relax the hips to step in accordance with the proper form. In
these cases a Tai Chi adept will often instruct the pupil to relax with every out
breath in order to guide them in isolating and relaxing the specific points of
tension.

This use of breath is one that we see in many disciplines, from healing
practices to stretching or gymnastic systems and there is a very good theory
as to why leading with the out breath is so effective.

As we have already discussed, the out breath is the flow of gas from the high
pressure environment of the lung to the relatively low pressure of the
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surrounding environment. But perhaps the most important point here is the
change in inter-abdominal pressure that occurs during the breath cycle, and
how this pressure subsequently effects the web of Fascia spanning the body.

As we take our in breath the inflation of the lungs causes a change in body
cavity pressure. Essentially the organs will experience a slight change in state
as the Fascia surrounding them gets tensioned from the action. Then as we
release the breath, the internal system relaxes and is once again in a state of
softness. Now I must highlight that this process is not an un-natural one, the
body is of course more than adequately capably, and in fact is designed, for
this increase and decrease in pressure. The increase in pressure is actually
utilised by the body for structural support when lifting large weights or under
high demands. But this process is one that feeds an entire series of
consequences for our ability to relax.

If we think of the web of tissue spanning the body that we discussed in earlier
chapters as being directly linked to this constant change in pressure, we can
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see that the breathing cycle will affect every part of the body, from the finger
tips to the toes. As we breathe in, the resulting pressure change in the torso
and pull on tissues linked to the ribs and diaphragm will, for want of a better
term, tension the web. Tai Chi adepts can feel this effect, even in their fingers
with the deep introspection gained through practice. The body feels like, as
the breath flows in, it is being threaded together and linked.

Then after the transformation of the pause, the breath flows out, the body
cavity de-pressurises and tensions release. It is this natural physiological and
subconscious release that we can use to guide the relaxation of tight muscles.

The release of breath is often associated with a sinking feeling which is the
de-tensioning of the web as the pulls created from the in breath are released.
Once we are able to feel this ebb and flow, through our connected structure
we are able to direct our attention to specific junctions of the web, the
meridians, and actively work on their relaxation and opening.

Physical Auto Pilot

At some point in our Tai Chi Chuan Training the physical motions of the form,
nei gong or Chi Gong become so embedded in the neurology and physicality
that we do not need to think about them. Thoughts of what movement
comes next or how do we perform a specific motion fade from our conscious
mind and we begin to enter a state of physical autopilot. This state will be
discussed in more detail in the next chapter, but it has an interesting
advantage when considering our breath training

The unconscious competence displayed in the movement training at this

stage means that we are able to completely focus our training onto the
breathing cycle as we more through the form. The breath becomes the point
of focus and attention, with the movements flowing naturally from open
posture to closed and visa versa.

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Here is where some of the most interesting breath training happens and this
work is the gateway to the ‘moving meditation’ so often cited as a primary
benefit of Tai Chi Training.

In Auto Pilot mode, we are able to set a pace for the movements we are
undertaking, then let them play out. It could be that we would like each
posture, counter posture and transition to be timed with a single breath cycle
so would match these movements to the in, out and pause flow. It could
however be that we would like the transitions to represent the in or out
phases, with the defined posture only being reached at the pauses and then
passed straight through.

This work of breath focus during auto pilot has a myriad of variables that the
Tai Chi practitioner is able to play about with.

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 Chapter 9

Training the mind

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‘Now just stand’. The wind hit my face as I closed my eyes holding the first
basic standing posture of the Zhang Zuan method we were practising. I was
focusing on my breathing phases ... in and out, in and out, minimizing the
pause and concentrating on relaxing my body with every out breath. The
posture was such that the body was optimally positioned for circulation and
my hands started to warm up. I felt a fullness and connection between the
extremities of my body and I began to relax into the position and moment.

Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, “and she’s buying a stairway to

heaven” a Verse from the Led Zeppelin Classic pops into my head. I try to
refocus, back to my breath, back to my posture, feeling the breeze on my
skin, the warmth in my hands but the song won’t fade. It plays over and over
and over in my mind, distracting me from the practice at hand. As amusing as
it may seem at first, it becomes a serious distraction. I am no longer training
the posture, the breath or the connections as my mind is pre-occupied with
this never-ending tune.

Frustration and annoyance starts to creep in and my body begins to tighten,

my brow starts to furrow and I lose track of my breathing. “This little tune is
ruining my training session, I am not learning anything here” I thought, and
with each negative thought my brow furrow deepens.

This is turning swiftly into a real problem but one I cannot rectify. I try to let
go but the song keeps playing and deeper the furrow on my brow becomes. I
feel the muscles of my shoulders start to ache, my legs start to fatigue, my
breathing become more shallow and urgent. The more I try to get hold of this
situation the deeper I slip into tension. I wished for teacher to end the
session so that I could be released from this cycle of ever deepening
problems.

“Chris?” My teacher’s words pierce through my little imaginary hell like an

arrow shot from a bow. I am back in the field, back with the wind on my face,
“try to smile instead mate”. I looked into my teachers smiling face and

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realised how silly I must have looked, stood there in the park doing chi gung
with a big scowl on my face and a hunch as I tried to concentrate deeper! I let
out a chuckle and a smile and returned to the practice with a head shake.
Back to the practice with a clear mind.

Posture’s relation to the emotional & mental state.

The relationship between the emotional and mental state and the physical
posture of the individual is a well recorded and commonly observed one. This
relationship is largely regarded as a product of the evolution of our social
interaction. It represents a physical identifier for those around us as to the
approachability or the potential social outcomes of interaction. But in
modern times this acute ability to notice postural cues has been somewhat
lost or confused, and as people are now seen adopting strange positions,
when looking at mobile phones etc, it is increasingly difficult to actually
appreciate this relationship.

The relationship persists however, and can easily be observed in times of

‘extreme’ emotional state. The deeply grieving person may concave their
chest withdrawing into themselves inward, whereas the extremely angry
person on the edge of physical violence may push their chest out pulling their
shoulder back, standing tall. These physical responses are not conscious ones
and are automatic in nature. They are part of our DNA and the evolution of
the human animal but they can be tamed. Much like the emotion can affect
the posture of the individual, the posture can have a direct consequence on
the emotion. When we go about our day with an upright, balanced posture
for instance this can be reflected in our general mood, which may be more
balanced.

The link between posture and our emotions is an interesting one and one
that the Tai Chi masters of old understood very well. The forms and basic
trainings (jibengong) often involved ‘balancing’ the body to the front, back,
left and right. The training would define how being centred was one of the

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most important qualities and how we should not ‘let the Chi rise’ denoting
how anger can affect our position.

When we consider the origins of Tai Chi and many of the internal arts it is not
hard to see why this was of such importance. These practices were rooted in
fighting, in battle and in the body guarding or the protection of others. Taking
from my experience in the Royal Marines, an elite branch of the British
military, it is easy see how emotion affects those who undertake battle. Think
of the infantryman in an army for instance, they need to have forward
aggression and a willingness to run towards the enemy. Their job is largely
predicated on this willingness to run towards the danger!

This requires a certain emotional state and this state is fostered by the
training staff in their basic training. But now think of the Elite Marine or
Special Forces operative, someone cold, calm, and surgical in their approach.
To them the state of high anger and aggression could largely be a hindrance
as it will inhibit their ability to adapt and change with the ensuing chaos that
their role, by definition, creates.

This is similar to the Tai Chi fighter, where the name of the game is
‘sensitivity to change’. To truly be able to adapt and change to forces applied
we need to start from a centre point both physically and mentally.

But how does all this talk of fighting relate to health and wellness? Well the
same idea applies to a centred person in any aspect of life. The ability to
change, to roll with the punches or to adapt your outlook to suit the changing
environment is a quality that many strive for but seldom achieve. One of the
places we can look to address our emotional state and become centred is the
posture we adopt for the majority of the day.

Practices like Tai Chi will normally start from a position of equilibrium known
at the WuJi position. This posture is neither sinking nor rising, neither
forward nor back, it is the position of perfect centring. What the Chinese call
the ‘heaven, earth, man’ system. This is also where the practitioner will
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return to at the end of training, be it the form or the chi gung practices. This
movement from centred & balanced to motion and back to centred is an
extremely strong practice for the mind. We often hear that Tai Chi is a
moving meditation practice and this is true, but it is also very much a
standing meditation practice that helps the mind smoothly transition from
one thing to the next.

This changeability is very closely linked to emotion, for it is often a change in

situation that will cause emotions to rise up in us. It is the sudden
appearance of a problem, the sudden meeting of a person you love, the
sudden confrontation that will normally trigger our emotions to become
apparent and our mental state to change.

Of course this is completely natural and not to be avoided! But when you are
centred from Tai Chi training and familiar with the idea of going from nothing
to something, it is much easier to go back to the ‘nothing’, the body and mind
are used to it!

The minds ability to map its surroundings –proprioception and extended

proprioception.

One very interesting attribute of the mind is its ability to use the Fascia to
map the body. That is to understand the size, relative position and movement
of the body surfaces through space. This process is interesting in and of itself
but there is something else that is truly amazing about this attribute of the
mind, it can apply this mapping to the things we touch.

Take for instance when we drive a car. Our mind opens up to become the
extremities of the car. If we have trained this part of the mind or have a
natural capability we can treat the car like an extension of ourselves, moving
between or around objects at great speed with great accuracy. Our mind
actually maps the car and that is the extremity of the minds reach.

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This process of extending the mind is something that Tai Chi is extremely
focused on developing. Mainly through the use of its various weapons like
the Jian and Dao the Tai Chi practitioner will constantly work with extending
their awareness into the surrounding environment. For the martial artist it is
something that becomes unique and extremely effective in combat. We are
able to extend our minds into a space enclosing the opponent so that we can
navigate their attacks and movements as if they were part of our own bodies.

This is called, Extended Physiological proprioception, and it is most

commonly linked to phenomena such as 'phantom limb' syndrome in
amputees where people will continue to feel sensation, even when the limb
is missing.

I recently learned of an investigation into proprioception and extended

proprioception relating to people with body dysmorphia. Some researchers
believe that these problems are linked to an inability to map body position or
size due to lack of feedback from the body surfaces. They are attempting to
increase the minds ability to perceive these things with the use of
compression clothing, which squeezes the skin giving clear feedback on size
and position of the body. They are also using tools to help increase the minds
ability to map the body and the space around it.

But for the individual seeking health and wellness this process of body
awareness and extension of our awareness is closely linked to how ‘clumsy’
we are! I have seen people go from being called ‘clumsy’ to being graceful
and this change can be laid squarely at the feet of our minds ability to extend
into the environment around us.

During one session on the Chinese straight sword with my teacher we were
working on this very attribute. We would stand in a still position with the Jian
extended out in front of us like a magician’s wand. The goal was to extend
our awareness out to the tip o the sword initially, then beyond, aiming to

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extend all the way to the horizon. It was a highly demanding practice but one
that bore fruit for everyone in the room!

The effect of the form.

As we have discussed previously, Tai Chi is perhaps best recognised by its

long form. This is a series of movements strung together to create a long
flowing interplay of motions. But we can further break down these
movements into 2 basic actions, Open and Close. In Tai Chi the terms open
and close are used to describe a large number of different ideas, from the
action of yin and yang in the body, the action of the Kwa or hips to the
postures as they are performed in sequence.

Here we will look at the effect of open postures and closed postures on the
brain chemistry or the mental state. It is well known that a big open
stretching posture can have a lifting effect on the mood for instance and this
has been evidenced in several scientific papers researching the correlation
between posture and mood in the depressed.

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A study by Alison Woolery, MA, Hector Myers, PhD, Beth Sternlieb, BFA,
Lonnie Zeltzer, MD found that regular use of open posture in Yoga was a
useful intervention for young adults suffering from the symptoms of
depression. It is fair to say that as Tai Chi is a comparable physical endeavour
the effectiveness could be similar.

This is an extremely interesting topic and I recommend the reader heads to

TED to look at the very interesting talk by Psychologist Amy Cuddy on this
subject.

Amy Cuddy has researched how large body postures change brain and body
chemistry. When people sit or stand with their bodies taking up space, arms
expanded, legs open, they produce more testosterone and less stress
hormones. They are also more likely to take risks. For instance, in her
research she has subjects take large body postures for two minutes before
they do things like going for a job interview. The results are quite astounding
and performing a "large body" pose for two minutes resulted in different
behaviour, and therefore significant changes in their attitude.

This is a truly amazing finding and one that, when we relate it back to Tai Chi
practice, points towards how clever the ancient inventers were. Not only
were they focusing on the ‘open’ postures but also working with the closing
positions to balance the psychological effects of the training.

This two sided balance is at the heart of Tai Chi and creates the ideal
situation for the body chemistry and brain function to act like a ‘pump’ or like
a breath. The flow between opening and closing can be thought of as a type
or ‘workout’ for the link between the posture and the mind. The body/mind
unit is in a constant state of change and flow. It certainly would be interesting
to examine the brain wave pattern of the practitioner moving between open
and close postures!

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Occupying the mind.

There is an idea in meditation that the mind is a ‘crazy animal’ that must be
tamed. This is a concept that we see in several traditions, but the Taoists
often approach the mind from a different perspective. An idea that I think is
especially pertinent to Tai Chi practice is the concept of occupying the mind.

This concept is similar to the use of Mantra’s in some Buddhist training and it
is an idea that has been adopted by meditation practitioners worldwide. The
basic concept is that in order to calm the crazy directional, and erratic nature
of our everyday mind, we need to give it a job. The mind needs something to
focus on and to help guide it to a quieter place. As I mention, this is often
achieved in the form of an internal mantra or one spoken aloud but in Tai Chi
it is the act of moving slowly in a way that is so familiar it becomes automatic.
Obviously it takes some time to get to this position of unconscious
competence in our form work, but when we do the practice truly becomes a
‘moving meditation’.

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The mind is essentially occupied with the motions its muscles, Fascia, etc are
performing, the directions the arms are moving in and the steps that we are
making, it gets lost in the connection of itself to the movement and the net
result is a quieter more peaceful mental state.

Linked to this idea of occupying the mind is the concept of movement

complexities effect on mental chatter. There is evidence to suggest that as
we begin to move in more and more complex ways, the background mental
chatter decreases.

This idea is one that lends itself to the very complicated movement practices
like Taoist Ba Gua or some of the more complicated chi gung sets having
deep seeded impacts on the practitioner’s mental states. Ba Gua
practitioners for instance will often discuss the ‘light’ feeling they get from
practice or that practice just flies by with an hour seeming like a few minutes.
This is because the mind is dealing with the deeply complex movements and
the general chatter we normally have running in the background is turned
down to a minimum.

Proprioception and emotion

A recent study found that proprioception (covered earlier) has a direct effect
on the emotions. Poor proprioception will have a negative impact on
emotional state and the development of good prorpioception, via Tai Chi has
already been discussed, but I think it is worth highlighting that poor
proprioceptive impulses can have adverse effects on our minds.

In a study the following was found

Proprioceptive discharges contribute to the physiological processes underlying

the emotions in two ways: (a) by the setting of the hypothalamic balance
which, other conditions being equal, is determined by the posture of the body
through the total quantity of proprioceptive impulses impinging on the
posterior hypothalamus per unit of time; (b) through facial contraction
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patterns which lead to afferent discharges via the hypothalamiccortical
system and interact with cutaneous facial impulses in the cortex.

This idea has wide reaching consequences for the benefits of Tai Chi as a
bodywork and movement training practice that aids our emotional control.

A single unified whole.

It is very easy, especially when reading a book such as this to think of all of
these different aspects of the system as separate, individual and unique unto
themselves. But it is very important for us to recognise that in actuality the
body, mind, spirit unit is one single think which has no cracks, no breaks and
no separations in it.

For practice we can separate our aspects to focus on them and train them,
but the reality is that if we train one aspect, we train all aspect. It is
impossible to do otherwise. As the body moves through the Tai Chi form the
mind will be effected, as the mind centres in Wu ji the body will be effected
and as the breath flows in and out everything else will be effected. In
practice it is worth always bearing this simple and almost obvious point in
mind because sometimes we can get stuck in one part of our training and
forgets that if we spend too long in one place we will begin to take root!

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 Chapter 10

- The fun factor -

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For much of my time training the martial arts I have had the attitude that
pain is weakness leaving the body, or that you must ‘taste the bitter’ in order
to gain real skill. This is, of course true to a point. We need to commit to
methods and training that may be tedious, physically demanding or
downright painful at times if we are to force our body and mind to adapt and
truly change.

However, for the longest time I really didn’t have any idea why I was putting
myself through these things. Sure, in the beginning is may have been to fight
the bullies of my youth or to free myself from the fear of being physically
outmatched, but after a time these things seemed to fade away and I was
just training because, well, that was what I did!

For many years I would train several hours every day in a variety of methods,
honing and refining individual movements over many months. I would
struggle with my practice, trying to understand the essence and the lesson
behind the superficial. I would dive deeply into the little flick of the wrist in a
particular movement or examine the alignment of the fingers as I moved
through the form. I was (and still am) obsessed with these arts and methods.
It was almost as if they were part of me, part of my being and without these
practices I wouldn’t be me!

This deep practice has continued for years, but I distinctly remember the
moment when the practice changed entirely for me. You see, as martial
artists or movement practitioners there is a tendency for us to aim at some
undefined point of mastery. We like to endeavour to be like our teachers,
guides or senior fellow practitioners. We look at these strange things they
can do and want to do the same. I was very much in this position as, at our
first meeting, I grappled with my teacher and was thoroughly outclassed. My
black belt in JuJutsu didn’t make any difference. ‘Wow’ I thought ‘I need to
be like this guy!’.

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Years pass however, and as time moves on I realised that reaching to ‘be like’
someone else is a destructive endeavour. I can only be me, you can only be
you, and this is the nature of the universe.

This really sank in one day when I had been away on holiday for a weekend.
There was no opportunity for me to train during my time away and so I
hadn’t practiced my Tai Chi for maybe 3 or 4 days. I had overindulged in food
and wine, I had slept in on the mornings and lazily lumbered around during
the days. My body was crying out for some movement practice.

So I went out into the hills near my home, stood under a great old oak tree
and began to practice my ba gua and Tai Chi form movements. It was then
that realisation hit me. I was happy. I was truly and deeply enjoying these
movements. It was a sincere deep and all-encompassing feeling that filled me
to the brim with a light joyous energy.

I found myself chuckling out loud. Hearing the light breeze rustle through the
old oak tree, the sunlight shafts piercing through the branches down onto the
forest floor where I slowly moved through the Tai Chi form I was overjoyed.
The whole session was a wonderful experience, full of energy, happiness and
smooth perfect movement.

Wandering back down to the car park I was aware that I really felt different
after that practice when compared to the hard deeply concentrated sessions
I had undertook previously. The ‘fun’ of the session created a real and
quantifiably different sensation in my body and mind. Maybe there is
something to be said for the ‘fun factor’.

Enjoyment is no small point

Probably the most dismissed aspect of internal training and practices is

enjoyment. We train our bodies, hone our minds and polish our spirits but
rarely do we consider the enjoyment we get out of training and the knock on
effect that this enjoyment has on our emotions, mind and body. We can look
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at enjoyment as the fuel by which our desire to train is fired. Without
enjoyment it is very hard to get out of bed in the morning on a cold day to
work on your snake creeps down! But with enjoyment we will happily get up
and go down to the frosty garden to begin our practice.

The idea of training these arts often begins with a desire to get somewhere.
We see a great teacher who can hit like a truck or walks around with
boundless energy at the age of 80 and think I want the same as him! But after
a time we train for the training, we learn that the journey is what we really
enjoy about these arts.

The fun factor is something that I remind my students of a lot. We should be

smiling when we train! We should be happy and light as the practice unfolds,
even when physically hard or complicated. A smile can allow us to tap into
the higher reaches of our mind and un-stick some of our mental blockages.

Smiling changes our practice!

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile
can be the source of your joy." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

There is, in fact, a growing body of evidence that links the muscles associated
with smiling with the release of serotonin in the brain. This research is
showing that when we smile through joy or via a natural expression of
happiness, serotonin (the happy chemical) is released and we feel happiness.
However, it is also showing that if we ‘force’ a smile a similar pathway is
triggered and our mood is increased. (Merci, Colette.)

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So it is no surprise that the act of slightly smiling is a part of many Tai Chi
traditions. One teacher I know for instance would walk around the room
telling people to put on their happy face as they were trying to figure out
particularly complex motions or movements. It would make an almost
immediate difference as mental tensions were released and they would soon
get the movement down often making that smile even bigger!

Happiness and health.

If Tai Chi doesn’t make you happy ... don’t do it! This is the very best piece of
advice I have ever received from a teacher. The reason is much deeper than
simply the idea that we should only do things we like. The fact of the matter
is that happiness has a direct correlation to our health and wellbeing and we
should be careful to protect our happiness at all costs.

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There is a growing area of science that deals with the subject of ‘Subjective
wellbeing’. This area is studying the correlation between wellbeing or
happiness and, primarily, longevity. The findings are quite interesting and
show positive correlation between happiness and longevity. But perhaps
more importantly this means that if we spend our available time practicing
and studying something that we do not truly enjoy we may actually be
effecting our lifespan.

One study shows that happiness is also perceived to be directly related to the
health of the individual on a daily basis.

“Italian Province of Trento in March 2011. Based on probit regressions and

instrumental variables estimates, we find that happiness is strongly
correlated with perceived good health, after controlling for a number of
relevant socio-economic phenomena.”

This finding lends more credence to the enjoyment of Tai Chi being a strong
influencer on our overall health and wellness, both in physical expression but
also in our perception of our health.

So enjoy your practice my friends!

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 Final Thoughts

Thank you for taking the time to explore the health and wellness benefits of
Tai Chi and the internal arts with me. This art has been a large part of my life
for many years now and the research into its effectiveness in many areas
something of an obsession.

I am sure that as new information is released from the scientific community

some of the findings in this book will be expanded on, better understood or
able to be rejected, as is the way of a true researcher.

It is my hope that this book serves to inspire you to learn more about these
wonderful systems and will give you some depth to get others interested in
their practice.

I wish you all happy and joyful practices and good health.

C.N Davis

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 Further Reading
Much of the specific information in this work is expended upon or covered in
far greater detail in some specific works which I recommend below. Some are
papers and will need to be searched online. Others are books available from
retailers.

Training principles for fascial connective tissues: Scientific foundation and

suggested practical application.
By Robert Schleip

Anatomy trains; Myofascial Meridians for manual therepy

Thomas Myers

The Vital Psoas Muscle

Jo Ann Staugaard-Jones

The Art of Learning

Joshua Waitzkin

Shen Gong and Nei Dan in Da Xuan

by Dr Serge Augier

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 The Tai Chi Code

By C N Davis

For further information on the teachings and practices explained in this book,
please visit my website where you can find online courses and free training
information on my blog.

www.internalpowertraining.com

www.facebook.co.uk/internalpowertraining

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Additional notes on training

182
 Useful notes:
APPENDIX How to train
One of the questions I get asked the most by potential students or people I
coach is, ‘How long should I spend doing this?’

This is an understandable question to ask your coach or teacher and should

be met with clear guidance in all instances. However my answer is not quite
the same as the ones I most often got from my old teachers.

In the internal arts (in fact many arts!) there is an attitude of ‘just do the
work and things will come’ or of ‘just do as the teacher says and you will get
better’. These are two methods of learning that I followed for many years. I
was putting some of the responsibility for my progression on the teacher, the
lineage, the ‘quality’ and ‘authenticity’ of the material itself rather than ALL
of the responsibility on my own shoulders.

But since going it alone, so to speak, I feel that this old way, although very
good for some, can also wildly miss the mark of effective learning for others.
This is evidenced by the fact that we are not living in a world with millions of
IMA masters walking the streets.

So here I would like to outline my ideas on how to train for optimum results.

1) Set yourself Goals ... little goals.

It’s impossible to achieve something if you don’t know what you’re aiming at.
This is probably the most important basic idea to wrap your head around
when it comes to effectively achieving something through training.

Setting Goals for yourself is often thought of in a grand and large scale, with
long timeframes and airy and often non-descript ideals. This is precisely why
the majority of goals never seem fulfilled. It is no good to meet a great IMA
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master, then set your goal to ‘I want to be like him’. This could be a great
Ideal to strive for but how will that inform your training methods?

So start small and make it personal to you. For instance, you could set the
goal of being unmovable in push hands for at least 2 seconds. Even if you are
getting flung around by your senior every session, setting this little goal can
really help you to progress that initial contact and you’re rooting capability
on touch. Everything that you are is focused into how to become immovable
for those 2 seconds. After some time really aiming head on at that goal you
will find you have fast tracked the progression and (due to analysis which we
will cover in a moment) can change your goal for the next few weeks or
create sub goals to aid the primary goal.

Your goals can be any number of little ‘wins’. It could be smoothing out a
movement, increasing a range of motion in the hips, treading like a cat the
whole time ... even things like not allowing your middle finger to misalign!
(note ... you may get some funny looks in the park when waving your arm
around while constantly checking your finger and wrist alignments!)

2) Analysis ... The KEY to it all!

Ok so you have set some goals. And you’re working your way through your
goal list week to week, month to month, and year to year. That is your first
step to effectively learning your method and making it your own. But how
can we tell if we are truly being effective and what we should set as a goal
next? The answer lies in Analytics and testing.

Analytics are the gateway to supercharging your practice potential and

setting your goals along a path towards your overarching Ideal. We can use
feedback throughout our goal training to illicit active change in our training
schedules as we identify potential inefficiencies and problems.

Taking the example of the push hands guy above, it may well be that he is still
getting thrown about from touch by his superiors even after a few weeks of
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focusing on his training goal of 2 second stability. If he doesn’t recognise
WHY they are getting him and how he can change his training or goal in
accordance with that reason he may end up training towards that little goal
forever!

To understand why something isn’t working takes thought, deep thought and
analysis of the whys and wherefores. If you get REALLY stuck .. Ask the
teacher, but this should absolutely be your last resort if you want to lock in
what you are doing. Self-study and struggle with problems will make them
stick with you for life. Asking a teacher and being spoon fed an answer will
invariably go in one ear and out the other. It’s simply not how we were built
to learn vital skills.

So when analysing his method, our friend may decide that the reason they
keep getting him is that his shoulders are tense. Enter sub-goal one : Loosen
the shoulders every day and before training. Return to main goal and test to
see if loosening the shoulders has helped.

Let’s say it hasn’t after a week or so and Push hands man now thinks maybe
his ankles and legs are too tight. Enter sub goal 2: Loosen and strengthen the
legs through pulling Off he goes to work on his pulling in the legs. Re test ...
hey it worked!!

Ok so it probably wouldn’t happen quite that quick, but you see that from the
one little goal of 2 second stability, our friend identified and trained deeply
on 2 other related areas, due to Need and not just syllabus.

Sometimes you will have to devise unique ways of testing. Don’t beat
yourself up that you’re not doing the ‘Tai Chi testing’ or the ‘aikido testing’.
Invent and innovate to see if something is working out. For instance, I would
use young trees and tree branches to provide resistance to test connection
and contractile function in my pulling practices ... This is definitely not a
standard part of any system, I had to innovate and invent to test my solo

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training. I would identify a weak spot, adjust my training, train, then go back
and test. Repeat.

This struggle of analysis, test, analysis, test is something that will lock
information into your mind and body in a far more efficient and long term
way than simply ‘asking the teacher’.

It’s not as fast, but the guy who struggles through this process is far more
likely to come out the back of it with a real functional understanding of what
is required to stay rooted for two seconds against a more skilled opponent
than the man who got spoon fed by his teacher.

3) Keep it quiet!

To really get good feedback in two person training what do we need? Honest,
realistically acting partners! The easiest way to get a partner who will be
completely honest with you is for them not to know what you are trying to
achieve.

It is important to note at this point that your goals can fit in with all of the
training normally found in structured classes. It is not that you go off and do
your own thing. It is that you try to achieve your goal in everything in the
class.

In Brazilian JiuJitsu I train this way all the time and it fast tracks progress like
no other method I have encountered. For instance, I may have the goal of
escaping side control for a week or working on my framing capability. I let
people pass and freely give up positions that if rolling normally i would never
just give away.

But really they are helping me out by being completely genuine in their
action and reaction cycle. If i were to say ‘hey I want to train my side control

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escapes, can you jump into side control for me?’ the energy of the situation
would not be the same, and my training would suffer.

Similarly for our push hands man, If he were to tell everyone in his class “ hey
I have set a goal of not being uprooted for the first 2 seconds in push hands
can you guys help me out?” The focus of the partners would change entirely.

So keep your personally little goals to yourself, only letting them out when
you need guidance from the teacher.

4) Drop the ego!

Sometimes to focus on something you have to give something else away ... or
Loose! For instance in BJJ if I am training a side control escape, I will let
everyone pass into my side control, even brand new white belts. I
deliberately ‘loose’ to create the best opportunity for me to focus on my
learning goal.

“Invest in loss”

You have to just accept that you might hear rumblings of ‘Hey I bounced him
straight away!’ or ‘Hey i passed Chris’ guard 4 times in one roll he must be
having an off day!’. Just accept that this is actually a good thing, you are
working your method and no one else has any idea that you are refining
yourself with every session. When the Goal changes everyone will have a
shock!

5) Finally never stop the process

Sometimes it can be difficult to maintain a constant mindset of goal > test >
Analyse > sub goal > test > Analyse ... etc. But if you let go of it, it can take
some time to return. The mindset of how you train is as important as the
training itself so you need to view the two as all part of the whole picture.
Once you are in the flow and constantly striving you will notice that all of a
sudden your passing the level of previous peers, your advancement is being
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noticed by those around you, and you are getting questions of ‘hey what are
you doing at the moment, you’re on fire!’

Never stop the process ...

APPENDIX 2: Finding a Teacher.

Perhaps the most important thing that someone does when starting to learn
these arts is find a teacher. With thousands upon thousands of teachers of
Tai Chi around the world it is not as easy a task as it may seem and the road
can be fraught with charlatans or those will little to no real knowledge about
coaching or how to teach.

And this is perhaps the first most important point. A teacher should be a
good coach and should be able to past their skills clearly to their students.
Some of the best martial artists in the world are NOT the best coaches, and
similarly some of the best coaches are not the best martial artists. This is
simply the way of the world!

With that said however it is very important that your teacher knows their
subject and has spent a long time studying it. A long time doesn’t need to
mean 30 years, but they should have delved deeply into most aspects of the
art and be able to talk about them all with great confidence and guiding
wisdom. This understanding of the core of the art is what I look for in my
teachers. With that said my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Teacher for instance is 10 years
younger than me, and has been doing martial arts a quarter of the time! But
he is a master of his art and more importantly a superlative coach.

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Student skill shows you a lot more than the teachers skill!

Look to the teacher’s students before you look at the teacher themselves.
When you look around the room do you see a lot of people with good skills?
If you do, then it is a fairly safe bet that the teacher can do their stuff! If the
teacher is brilliant but none of the students are ... I would suggest you move
on!

LINEAGE!

This is a subject that permeates every aspect of the martial arts. This subject
holds an almost unrivalled level of importance in some people’s minds when
it comes to judging the merit and capability of a coach, sensei or instructor. It
is the subject of ‘lineage’.

Without exception, one of the most common questions I get asked as a coach
is, ‘where did you train?’ or ‘Who was your teacher?’ It is a very interesting
look into the world and mind of the Martial Artists in and of itself. I have
travelled to meet many of the big ‘names’ of the internal and external arts. In
all of my encounters I assessed them, not for their lineage or ‘credentials’,
but their abilities when they and more importantly their students placed their
hands on me. Can they do what people claim? Can they pass this onto their
students? Can I get something out of their method? Can I understand what
they are doing?

All of these questions come before ‘Who did they train with?’ Now this is not
to say that the question of who someone trained with does not have value. I
think in some situations it does. But it is certainly pretty far down the list of
priorities for me as a researcher of the methods. Progression in the internal
arts is not guaranteed, I have met many people who have trained 30 years
with big ‘names’ only to come to teachers and have to start again. So make
sure you ask the right questions first, they may answer all the others or even
make them irrelevant! Become your own Giant, then you won’t need to
stand on the shoulders of others!
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