Tai Chi Revelation
By Athos Antoniades
In my opinion, the Yang lu chan Tai chi (old) form is the ultimate fighting system ever invented.
Not however by applying the fighting applications inherent within the postures as logical pre arranged techniques, as fighting is totally illogical and we cannot apply logic to an illogical situation.
The postures are there to direct energy.
The main reason for learning Tai Chi's fighting applications came to me one morning whilst practicing my form at the 'Small Circle (frame) level'. However before divulging my revelation, lets first take a look at what makes Tai Chi such a formidable fighting art.
Diligent training in Tai Chi would eventually lead us to a state of SUNG (sinking), the most important aspect of our Tai Chi practice.
It enables us to achieve a state of 'no mind', by allowing the chi to sink to the lower Dan Tien, be refined to Jing, and rise up the back to the base of the skull, the doorway to the Reptilian brain, which is itself the doorway to the subconscious.
We would then have at our disposal the complete, integrated Dim Mak system, incorporating Reptile brain, Eagle vision, Fa Jing explosive speed and sobconscious reflex action, all of which would have been programmed into our subconscious throught our Tai Chi training.
As we progress to the Small Frame Level, our fighting ability rises to an even higher realm, as we achieve 'internal stillness', which is the 'crux' to any internal system. Maintaining this stillness throughout our form practice leads us to 'internal balance' by having an equal amount of Yin and Yang energies, which will achieve by attuning our physical (Yang) movements to the internal flow of chi (Yin).
The chi is in turn directed by our emotions. Attaining balance enables us to co-ordinate our energy with that of an potential attacker, enabling us to pre-empt, intercept and counter any attack reflexively, with the complete Dim Mak sytsem at our disposal.
As we further advance to the highest level of Small Frame, the 'mind level', only the thought ('subconscious intention') and the small physical movements remain, as most of the form is now done in the mind, and here lies the key to why we learn the applications.
At first, the postures are big, directing the enregy, whilst the chi moves in very small spirals, but, as we attune the body to the flow of chi, the postures become so small that at the mind level they are only visbile to the trained eye and are therefore no longer capable of directing the chi flow.
Howevre, by programming the subconscious with their applications through practice, the postures will always be there in our mind as large explosive movements, directing the energy, and causing it to go to all the right places, and to do what it is supposed to.
Athos Antoniades is a 9th Dan Black belt,and a Kenpo Taiji and Tai chi instructor. He holds classes in Finchley ,North London.
The only new student intake this year is on the 11th of September. Visit www.martialarts-London.Co.Uk for details.You can follow him on Twitter at @KenpoTaiji
E-mail address: Kenpo25@icloud.com
Follow him on twitter at Athos Antoniades@KenpoTaiji