Ma Hong – Chen Style Tai Chi The Secret of Jin Release (2009)
This is a Tai Chi Kung Fu training DVD given by famed instructor Ma Hong.
Ma Hong was Chen Zhao Kui’s inner door pupil and the son of Chen Fa Ke. He began working with Chen in 1972, after having studied for eleven years. He quickly found himself digging further into the complexities of Chen style. His focused efforts not only yielded fruit in his performance, but also established a quality of teaching and understanding that has become synonymous with the man himself. His explanations are straightforward and refreshingly simple. He has the aplomb of a teacher who “tells you like it is” without hesitation. It is entirely up to you whether or not you find it beneficial.
Product description in brief
Ma Hong has produced two new works that expand on and supplement his previous works, Routine I 83 Postures (I-III) and Routine II 71 Postures. The emphasis in this series is on how to cultivate the release of the inner power, termed Fa Jin, while going through some of the motions in the previous two works. Fa Jin is a well-known component of all Chinese martial arts; without the ability to properly surpass your opponent’s strength or to use your explosive inner energy, all martial arts become an elaborate show of motions and are ineffectual in any practical application. It is worth noting that DVDs 1-6 are based on Routine I 83 Postures (I-III), whereas DVDs 7-8 are based on Routine II 71 Postures.
The following excerpt comes from.
Chen style Tai Chi and Master Ma Hong
Introduction
Master Ma Hong, a well-known Tai Chi master in China, is the nineteenth generation of Chen style Tai Chi practitioners. Chen Dao Kuei, the son of Chen Fah Ke, was his tutor (the seventeenth generation). According to Tai Chi Yin Yang, Tai Chi must be hard and soft; rapid and slow; insubstantial and substantial; open and close, and Master Ma Hong feels the Chen style taught by his master, Chen Dao Kuei, is precisely the ideal balance of hardness and tenderness. It must also have Yi, Qi, Li (spirit, breath, and strength), and all of these must be integrated in Tai Chi. While practicing Tai Chi, Master Ma Hong also discussed the link between close and open. He stated that being completely open is not beneficial, nor is being completely closed. In addition to health benefits, his teacher Chen Dao Kuei taught him not just each position, but also the function and martial application of each stance, because Tai Chi has martial value. For a few years, I followed Master Ma Hong to study Tai Chi; here, I will summarize various elements of the Chen style taught by my instructor and discuss them with other practitioners.
Hardness and suppleness
Because Tai Chi is a martial art rather than a gentle exercise, the Chen style Tai Chi emphasizes hardness and softness in rapid succession. For example, in Form 3 – Lazy About Trying Coat, the force from pressing two hands till the hip level is not a hard strength solely; it is a “soft” and flexible strength with penetration. It has the ability to be extended and constricted, giving it both strength and relaxed softness. Only in this manner can hardness and softness be measured. It is not Tai Chi movement if all movements are strong (full of power), and it is not Tai Chi movement if all movements are gentle (without hardness).
Lots of movement in the Chen style appears to be suddenly quick and suddenly sluggish; suddenly soft and suddenly hard; suddenly disappear and suddenly appear. They resemble soft water at times and hard ice at others. Furthermore, as the opponent’s movement softens, yours becomes harder than him; and as the opponent’s movement hardens, yours becomes harder than him. Your opponent cannot see your softness because it is inside your body, and your opponent cannot see your hardness since it is also inside your body. In this situation, the Chen style Tai Chi’s premium aim is that anytime you want to utilize gentle power, you can, and whenever you want to use strong strength, you can. The Chen style is a method in which softness and hardness can exist simultaneously.
Twining in a Spiral
Spiral-like twining may be accomplished by joints such as the legs, waists, shoulders, elbows, spine, and so on, with the flexibility of the entire body and perfect body dynamics. Spiral-like twining is a technique for alternately stretching and retracting, being tight and loose, and hard and soft. Even when the individual has to strike with the elbow or forearm, the spiral-like twining strength remains. The idea is to stretch all the way, like a spiral, and then release it. There is nothing in the entire forms that is empty since every action has its own underlying martial meaning. The waist is highly crucial in creating this type of spiral-like twining since it is the co-ordinator of body movement. Furthermore, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Qi comes from Diantian (2-3 cm below the umbilicus on the waist), and by executing the spiral-like twining, the Qi may be guided to spread throughout the entire body by mental exertion. As a result, such training leads to greater offensive and defensive force in the body and limbs, as well as enhanced explosiveness of force.
Arc-like Motion
In Chen style Tai Chi, each joint is linked to complete a wide range of arc movement. The arc movement aids in both pushing Qi circulation in the body’s main and collateral channels (network) and transmitting internal power to the extremities. On the other hand, the arc movement can improve stability because while performing an arc-like movement, the body moves along a low curve to improve stability for a certain step or posture. This necessitates a wide range of motion and powerful lower-limb muscles (more pressure on them). Because some persons have limited range of motion and weak muscles in their lower limbs, they cannot move much lower. As a result, they cannot do the arc-like movement, and their stability is lower than that of individuals who do. Arc-like movement creates Yin and Yang equilibrium throughout the body, keeping the person in his or her own center of gravity at all times. Only by controlling your center of gravity will you be able to have the greatest body structure and hence the most power over your opponent.
Opposite Motion
My teacher instructed me to memorize the following eight words: open and shut, empty and full, spiral and turn, and up and down. These phrases represent the Chen style’s opposing movement. In Form 21 – The Punch at the Elbow’s Bottom, for example, as soon as two hands go up, the body must descend down (up and down). In Form 19 – Push Both Hands, the trunk gently moves backwards while pushing both hands forward (forwards and backwards). This opposing movement not only generates opposing force but also maintains the center of gravity (balance) in the middle. This contrary movement is highly emphasized in Chen style Tai Chi. Another example: when pulling a heavy wagon, you must first pull backwards before pushing forwards – opposite force! When lifting something, you must first bend your knees to surrender opposite strength. As a result, every action in the Chen style has an opposing movement/power within the body. When a tiger chases a prey, she tightens her body and then abruptly stretches it to produce opposing strength to grab the victim.
When one item moves, everything moves.
The Chen style is the oldest and features the most martial material. Although it appears soft, it has quick toughness. Fah Jing (the procedures of releasing internal power) occurs when it is released. But, in order to do so, it is critical to understand how to convey internal power. My teacher taught me that if one item moves, everything other moves. The Chen style demands not only muscle but also bone, ligament, tendon, Qi, spiritual thinking, and so on. A competent practitioner is able to synchronize his various sections of his body and continuously moving them in order to accumulate his greatest internal power for issuing or diverting the opponent’s force in this manner. When one moves, everything moves, not just the hands or legs! As a result, a practitioner should be familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine (Jingluo theory), Anatomy, and the Yin and Yan theory. For example, when you employ power from your legs, you must know the meridian “San Yang”. Thus, the energy (Qi) will flow down the “San Yang (lateral meridian)” to the feet, and then return to the inner meridian “San Yin,” completing a tiny Yin and Yan cycle. As a result, when issuing energy, you must learn how to constantly moving all important joints in order to allow Qi to flow. Internal force may therefore be conveyed in a vibrant and springy manner through continual movement.
Summary
I just summarised a few characteristics of the Chen style I have learnt from my teacher. But, there are more features we need to identify and address, such as the techniques of how to borrow the opponent’s power; breathing techniques and so on. From my learning experience, in the beginning, the hardest thing is how to learn softness, in other word, how to relax muscles especially for the shoulder, elbow and wrist muscles. It does take a bit long time. After that, the next step is to improve strength by doing Solo single form, Push hand, Long pole, and Tai Chi ball. The last step is how to combine the softness and hardness together and transfer the internal power fluently and peacefully, like the wave of sea.
In short, the Chen style is a kind of martial arts with ‘a serene heart plus a concentrated mind’, which allows the nerve centre to rest, improving ability to coordinate the functions of the various organs of the body. Relaxation of the whole body, deep and natural breathing, smooth arm-like actions and it aims at conveying one’s inner force to tips of the limbs by mental exertion, resulting in harmony of the inside and outside body. It is most suitable for both physical fitness exercise and self-defence training.
Huang Xiaotong, Chen style Practitioner, Sydney
Note: There are unfortunately no English Subtitles for this video. Also, this isn’t for those with just a casual and passing interest in Tai Chi and particularly The Chen style. The instructor Ma Hong has mentioned in the video that the things taught here are advanced in nature and require lots of hard work in order to be mastered. However, for the serious practitioner or people who are not put off by this warning, the video comprises some of the most comprehensive instruction on Chen style Tai Chi, and Ma Hong is clear and no-nonsense about his instruction so it isn’t difficult to understand the movements. Whether you are looking to further your expertise in Chen’s style Tai Chi or to improve your fitness or to learn to be able to fight effectively, if you put in hard work I believe the video shouldn’t disappoint you with its authentic and honest material.
PS: I apologise that some of the videos in this series end abruptly, but it can be assured that at most a tiny part is being cut off (around 1-2 seconds). This is because during the Webrip processing there will be bound to have some minor flaws.
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