David McCain's Vital Connections - T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Core Spirals with Stork Spreads Wings: The Basic Movement and Increasing Refinement

2014-05-23T19:23:54-04:00

Advanced Tai Chi Notes

By David McCain
Dragon's Pearl Tai Chi

February 4, 2013

Core Spirals with Stork Spreads Wings:
The Basic Movement and Increasing Refinement

Stork Spreads Wings is a Tai Chi move that presents obvious spiraling motions which can be conducted both mechanically and energetically. The move also presents a clear progression from simple execution in general application to an ever increasing internal development in advanced application. For some reading these notes the main interest may be in the five concentric rings and their respective spirals listed below.
The Basic Movement
In the Tung Lineage – Yang Style long form, Stork Spreads Wings comes right after Elbow Strike. With all of the weight on the right foot there is an exchange of hands from top to bottom. The right hand moves from a cupping position at the lower Tan T'ien (lower belly) to an overhead position. The left hand moves from a position at the left side of the head to a lower sweep of the left knee (The left leg is unweighted and has only the toe touching the floor.) In application both of these separate hand motions can act as blocks to incoming attacks.
Unlike most Tai Chi moves there is no weight shift with Stork Spreads Wings, and the movement of the hands produces one of the most graceful moves in Tai Chi. It's easy to visualize a stork gracefully extending its wings while standing and grounded in shallow water. For the Tai Chi practitioner the movement can flow with easy grace and uplifting energy. Stork Spreads Wings also becomes a powerful vertical extension of the central axis with the simultaneous application of Tai Chi's two basic movements of the spine, Turtle and Crane.
Variations
There are two basic types of Stork variations: (1) stationary, straight on standing and (2) turning and returning from side to side. In addition to this there are two types of hand exchanges: (1) hands never crossing the center line and (2) hands cross each other and the center line.
The simplest movement is to stand straight on (stationary) and exchange the hands with neither one crossing the centerline. This is probably the best movement of Stork Spreads Wings for beginners because of its simplicity.
A more complicated movement involves three segments based first on turning the body to the left, then turning to the right side and finally turning back to center. In coordination with this body turning, the exchange of hands crosses each other and the centerline with spiraling motions through the arms and hands.
Spirals Connected to the Central Axis
Stork Spreads Wings presents an excellent opportunity for focusing on the spiraling internal energy which is integrally connected to the central axis. The movements of the hands and body need to be closely connected with an internal spiral arc for effective coordination of Stork.
First, it is important to start with the central axis itself which can be considered as a line just in front of the spine that extends from the earth through the torso to the top of head. Internal energy spirals both up and down along this line, but because of our basic human anatomy and orientation, the upward spiral is generally the most useful to consider in Tai Chi practice—at least the upward spiral is most important in initiating a particular move.
In executing the Stork movement as in any Tai Chi movement, the size of a spiral arc is best related to the horizontal distance from the central axis. Imagine a series of concentric rings emanating out from the central axis to help determine the size of an arc. Starting with the central axis as a point at the level of the Tan T'ien, here are five potential concentric rings to use:
1. The first ring is only about a half inch radius around the point of the central axis. This dimension—inside the body—is probably the most useful in feeling and understanding a tight focus of the central axis.
2. The basic ring with the body and hands is about 18 to 21 inches from the central axis while standing. This focuses on the body and a tight space within easy hand reach and, of course, it extends for 360 degrees around the central axis.
3. The basic Tai Chi ring is about 4 to 5 feet from the central axis at any given time. This is the space that a Tai Chi practitioner can easily claim by stepping and moving the arms and hands.
4. A fourth ring claims an ordinary indoor room. This can be from 10 to 30 feet from the central axis. All the senses are needed for this "super awareness."
5. Finally, there is a rather natural, energetic ring about 100 feet or more from the central axis. It is quite possible to project the internal energy of the central axis to the outer reach of this ring.
The ring of only a half inch around the central axis the size of a vertical spiral arc is typically small and tight, i.e. over the length of the spine there may be seven revolutions (or even many more) of an individual spiral. With a ring at 100 feet from the central axis an individual vertical spiral may take as much as a quarter mile up into the air to complete a single revolution. It is important to note that spiraling motions can change arc size quickly. For instance a small tight spiral moving up the central axis can quickly expand outward to the basic Tai Chi ring of 4 or 5 feet with proper spiraling motions of the body and hands.

Simplest Execution
Above it was stated that "the simplest movement is to stand straight on (stationary) and exchange the hands with neither one crossing the centerline." A beginner may want to learn the exchange of hands without considering spirals or distances from the central axis. However, the first progression of refinement would be to use the basic body and hand ring of 18 to 21 inches from the central axis and make a partial connection up and down the torso as a reflection of the vertical spirals of the central axis. The hand motions at the end of the Stork move need to be tighter spirals projecting beyond the fingertips.
Standard Execution
Also above is the statement that "a more complicated movement involves three parts based first on turning the body to the left, then turning to the right side and finally turning back to center. In coordination with the body turning, the exchange of hands crosses each other and the centerline." This standard execution of Stork requires good diligence in the coordination of the body spirals of turning and returning around the central axis and the different spirals of the arms and hands.
Highest Refinement
The highest refinement of Stork Spreads Wings is accomplished with the greatest internalization of the turning and returning of the body. When the internalization of turning and returning is fully integrated into the tight spirals of the central axis, there may not be any noticeable movement (turning and returning) in the body. Of course, the arms and hands still exchange with this refinement, but the limbs are highly integrated with the central axis spirals.
When I practice extensively with Stork Spreads Wings, I can internalize the turning and returning to a good extent and catch the wave of unified energy, but I still find some outward mechanical turning and returning of the body as a necessary process. In my personal Tai Chi practice I'm generally pleased just to have a concrete sense and feel—a vision, if you will—of the great potential of a particular move. The work always continues.
Tai Chi Vessel
When working with (1) internal energies, (2) the natural spirals of body movement and (3) the projected presence of a person in space and the world, it is well to follow the Tai Chi principles of relaxed concentration, containment and proper extension. Together, body and mind form the vessel in which Tai Chi operates to balance all parts and effectively contain and direct the vessel's inherent powers. The Tai Chi practitioner must always watch for points of leakage and dissolution. However, in the few seconds it takes to do Stork Spreads Wings it is possible to feel mechanically and energetically the flow of the many parts which connect as a whole. Ultimately it can feel like a single wave in an expansive, yet grounded movement.

Feeling Earth Connections: Part I

2014-05-23T19:27:28-04:00

General Tai Chi Notes

By David McCain
Dragon's Pearl Tai Chi

December 4, 2012

Feeling Earth Connections:
Part I—The Earth and Harmony in Human Balance

Understanding physical balance is essential in Tai Chi movements. "Keeping your balance" is a commonly heard phrase that belies a rather static and limited view of balance typical in our culture. Tai Chi on the other hand seeks a dynamic balance that is always changing. Tai Chi alignment always starts with a clear connection to the earth and works this connection through the whole body.
The best approach to learning Tai Chi balance is through a self discovery process by feeling your way along. There are many things about the body's movements that give clues to achieving harmonious balance. It is most useful to feel these internal movements in order to make adjustments.
The Earth
Humans are the middle way between Heaven and Earth. Tai Chi deals with both heaven and earth, but the preponderance of Tai Chi work deals with connections to the earth. If there are Tai Chi projections into the heavens, then these projections are always grounded in some manner with earth connections. Always bringing upward moving energies in the body back down to the tan t'ien in the lower belly is a general rule in Tai Chi.
Gravity is the overriding reality for all of our movements. Tai Chi makes efficient and effective use of gravity by always working with a clear sense or feeling of connection to the earth. The feet and the tan t'ien (the body's center of gravity located in the lower belly) are especially important for connecting with the earth.
Our daily lives are frequently filled with many loose, scattered or conflicting thoughts which often seem to revolve around our heads. In a gentle way Tai Chi does not allow for this 'top heavy,' ego driven life style. Taking our thoughts to our feet and to the earth allows us to make simple, grounded connections with the earth. Moreover, our lives become easier and our mental thought processes become clearer when we practice Tai Chi with this sense of connectedness to the earth.
Visualization (in the mind's eye) of the earth and important earth centers can often be helpful in learning to feel earth connections. Exercise: First, visualize the center of the earth perhaps with its molten center and then move your body relative to this distant core. This simple awareness helps promote an earth connection.
Consider these aspects of connecting with the earth:
I. Centering and Grounding
Centering is the awareness and method of making internal connections to specific body centers relative to the environment—such as with the tan t'ien in the lower belly or bubbling springs in the feet related to the earth. Grounding is the general sense of bringing focus to your efforts and perhaps bringing unruly physical or mental conditions under control. Various applications of centering and grounding—even outside of Tai Chi—are very practical for our daily lives. Sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.
II. Earth Centers Outside the Body
1) Center of the Earth. (See the exercise above.)
2) Solid Ball or Mass Below the Floor. Exercise: Visualize a heavy iron ball of about 4 or 5 inches diameter located about 3 feet below the floor which relates to or "counterbalances" the tan t'ien in the lower belly. The "shadow body" below the floor can mirror the body above.
III. Earth Energy
There is an additional, inexplicable upward force coming from the earth contrary to the downward pull of gravity. Awareness of and connection to this upward energy through the feet to the top of the head is an important development in Tai Chi practice.
IV. Classic Movements of Tai Chi Alignment
Humans are vertically oriented between heaven and earth with only a few square inches of the feet touching the earth. Maintaining the integrity of the essentially vertical central axis is the main principle of Tai Chi. Two movements lengthen the spine for better alignment and integrity of the central axis:
1) Turtle—the pelvic tilt (which must be related and adjusted to all other parts of the leg system: feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back) provides a fine earth connection for the central axis. Turtle is basically a flattening of the lower back and thus 'supports' the central axis mechanically and energetically. The turtle alignment is cut off by sticking the buttocks out and curving the lower back forward.
2) Crane—the gentle moving up of the head and neck (like a puppet suspended on a string from its crown) provides a movement towards the heavens through the central axis. In a sense, crane is an antigravity movement by creating an easy and light feeling even as the body is well centered, balanced and grounded by the earth. The crane alignment is cut off by slumping.

David McCain's Vital Connections - T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Core Spirals with Stork Spreads Wings: The Basic Movement and Increasing Refinement

Core Spirals with Stork Spreads Wings:The Basic Movement and Increasing Refinement

Feeling Earth Connections: Part I

Feeling Earth Connections:Part I—The Earth and Harmony in Human Balance

Core Spirals with Stork Spreads Wings:
The Basic Movement and Increasing Refinement

Feeling Earth Connections:
Part I—The Earth and Harmony in Human Balance