The Ultimate 5 Principles Thread

[Psi Man]

Okay, everyone knows that in Zheng Manqing/Cheng Man-Ch'ing style Taijiquan there are FIVE basic principles.

These are:

(1) Fangsong (relax/let loose muscle tension)
(2) verticality
(3) waist is the commander
(4) separation of weight
(5) fair lady's wrist/hand

Here I am going to break down and lay out all the finer details I have come to understand on each principle. If this is too much information, if anything is wrong, if I missed anything, or you have anything to add -- post in the thread (or take it up with me in sanshou, ahahaha!).

[Psi Man]

(1) Fang-song (relaxation)

-Relax the major joints; the elbows tend to raise out with shoulder tension, and knees are stressed by hip tension. Thus, always drop the elbows when standing in zhan-zhuang or a ready push-hands or sanshou position (spelling?). The shoulders and hips are the primary source where tension first accumulates and the hardest to get completely rid of.

-Tuck the coccyx (tailbone) in, but don't force it. The coccyx should be tucked about 50% in from where it rests on a healthy person who is oblivious to their posture.

-Relax the perineum; let it rise and fall with the breath.

-Unclench the facial muscles, unclench the jaw and teeth (let the jaw naturally fall into place), put the tongue on the roof of the mouth and melt the muscle tension from the face, temples and head.

-Upper body should feel light, legs should be slightly bent and feel rooted, arms should be soft.

-Despite maintaining softness, maintain the mind-intent: do not let the hands or arms collapse, slightly stretch out the knee and elbow joints, but do not tense them at all. Shoulders should be relaxed and naturally remain in their sockets -- the joints should be like unstressed, well-oiled ball-bearings.

-After standing for a while, one should be able to feel the bones and sense the organs intimately.

-Qi and subtler intent cannot move efficiently until the muscle tension is gone.

[Psi Man]

(2) Verticality

--The head should be connected to the spine, as though "attached by a string"

--One can also imagine the head to be connected to, and rising from, the dantian (hat tip to Weakness with a Twisthttp://www.northstarmartialarts.com/blog1)

--Eyes should look ahead at eye-level, to keep from subtle slouching. The more the eyes drop, the more the posture droops forward.

--Keep the coccyx tucked, and always tucked in all postures, as though the spine were a stack of quarters.

--Fajing (springing energy) comes from vertical movement of the spine; do not lean.

--Never lean on the opponent/duifeng with hands or arms; never expand the hands past the knee when striking/pushing (found in the book, Tai Chi Ta Wen); never extend the knee past the top of its respective foot.

--Keep most of the weight on the "bubbling well" (balls) of the foot, not the heel.

--Do not "double-sink" one's weight (i.e. do not sink weight into the thigh or heel and/or break the tucked coccyx)

[Psi Man]

(3) Waist is the Commander

-movement always comes from the waist

-both (vertically symmetrical) sides of the body are always moving at the same time

-never overextend the joints, this breaks the connection to the waist

-never let the elbows move back behind the shoulders (as if reaching back behind the torso), towards the back; this breaks the connection to the waist

-elbows are connected (via intent) to the respective hips; outwardly raised elbows are often not connected to the waist

[Psi Man]

(4) Separation of Weight

-step empty, make sure the foot is empty of weight (intent?) before putting it on the ground

-weight transition is always a gradient, never stop when weighted 50% on each leg

-evasion and deflecting steps to the side always occur with the waist, don't drag the hip like a pivot step

-when kicking, intent remains rooted in the kicking leg

-always keep a little intent in the front leg when in a ready-position (such as for push-hands, sparring, etc.)

-maintain getaway room in every position

[Psi Man]

(5) Fair Lady's Wrist

-hands and fingers are relaxed, w/intent

-both hands are always "alive" (just like both sides of the body are always active and in motion)

-the closed fist is "soft" (can hold a caterpillar)

-generally: hand to the face/head, fist to the body, chop to nose/limbs/joints

-don't tense fingers or finger joints when striking

-keep the fingers together during strike (including the thumb -- don't let it hang down)

[Psi Man]

Unless otherwise noted, this is all stuff I picked up in class and personal practice. Obviously I left out some things that shouldn't be published on an internet forum, and feel free to moderate if I still did that here.

I'd be interested to hear anyone else's thoughts or experiences on the subject, or tips on the principles that I forgot. One reason I posted this is because of how we are all told at the beginning to chose a principle each week and incorporate it into our form. After several years of training at GRTC in DC, I'm finding that this kind of focused practice is only finally blossoming for me now, as before I didn't quite recognize some of the subtler aspects of the principles when practicing them alone, or just didn't have to personal discipline to see them.

[J HepworthYoung]

At the moment I can only stress one principal:
Relax like a giant boulder on an unbreakable thread.
It offers no resistance, but it never collapses.

[Linda Heenan]

I enjoy reading this type of thing because by doing so, I pick up information you guys hear naturally in your weekly classes.