| The Grand Ultimate Fist, Taiji Quan, but what | | | | hips. Power comes up the legs and the tan tien |
| makes it so superior? What makes Taiji superior | | | | doesn't explode, it churns out energy slowly and |
| is that it takes mental prowess to make work. | | | | carefully. Thus, there is a fine line between |
| This is not to insult other martial arts, but an | | | | emptiness of the body, and the power generation |
| examination of the principles necessary to Tai Chi | | | | of the legs, that must be mastered in Tai Chi. |
| that should convince most people of the truth of | | | | Third principle, and, again, there are many more |
| the art. | | | | things to learn, is the idea of slow motion. Many |
| I've selected three of the many concepts that a | | | | people move slowly, and they marvel at how |
| student must understand to get anywhere in the | | | | much their senses grow and how much more |
| Grand Ultimate Fist. The first concept is simply | | | | world they can take in. Unfortunately, most |
| emptiness. Most arts will take this concept only so | | | | people don't understand that Tai Chi is, at heart, |
| far as having the fist loose before impact, focus, | | | | meant for fighting. |
| but that is where the art begins. | | | | Thus, when people move slowly in Tai Chi Chuan, |
| To understand Tai Chi one must understand that | | | | they must not just relax and move slowly, they |
| the entire body must become loose and empty. | | | | must actively push energy from their tan tien and |
| By becoming loose and empty the body can | | | | fill up the body and direct it through their limbs. |
| better feel the various incoming energies, and so | | | | This is a point many people don't understand, but |
| handle them. This is easily understood if one | | | | which is crucial to the principle of enacting the |
| understands that light travels best through a | | | | imagination, and making the imagination actuate |
| vacuum, and in Tai Chi the body must become a | | | | the true powers of a student. The feeling should |
| vacuum so that senses can travel through it, and | | | | be like swimming and the air should feel like |
| emanate from it. | | | | molasses, but the waters are imagination, and the |
| The second principle deals with the making of | | | | resistance is very real, very worthwhile, and |
| power. In my base art, Karate, this was | | | | totally related to combat. |
| developed through taking stances hard and fast | | | | There is so much to learn, an infinite to learn, and |
| and causing the tan tien to explode with power. | | | | Matrix Tai Chi is a perfect tool to enable the |
| This is fine, except that tai chi relies on a slower | | | | learning process. The trick is to empty the mind |
| explosion of power from the Tan Tien. | | | | to the possibilities, the trick is to relax and let |
| To generate power in tai chi one must take the | | | | oneself learn. The trick is to realize that it is not |
| low stance and grind the motion back and forth | | | | just art we are talking about when we speak of |
| between the legs, and back and forth through the | | | | the Grand ultimate, but the very soul of a person. |