Are you erect?

[steve Rowe]

Explaining this in writing is not easy, so please bear with me.

The form is a vehicle for training and exploring various 'ideas' often taken from the exercises. The exercises outline the range of movement of the body to gain optimum power from a variety of sources, through expansion, contraction, twisting, rooting, loosening, waving, blocking and releasing energy throught the meridians.

Discussion in taiji often focuses on whether to lean or be erect, but why not use both? To fully 'weight' a leg (initially in movement) you need the head over the foot (horizontally and vertically) this means that it would look like you a had a straight line through the unweighted leg and body with the head over the weighted foot. To emit energy and complete the spiral you would fix the base of the spine, squaring the hips, spiralling the energy through the legs, up the body (as the upper body spirals upward, making it erect and the lower body spirals into the ground giving the root) emitting the energy through the arms (or whatever bodypart you are using) into whatever technique you are applying.

So the body has essentially gone from the line of the unweighted leg (leaning) to the line upward of the weighted foot up to the head (erect) rooting and emitting at the same time in the application of the movement.

[daftyman]

So, if you remain erect when issuing , why lean at all?

Personally, when I am trying to get people to put their entire weight on one leg I prefer to focus on the position of the hips, so that the line of foot, hips and head top are all in line

[steve Rowe]

Because it's part of the spiralling process and stretches and compresses the waist in another 2 directions increasing power, it gets the upper body to the point of contact faster and considerably enhances the upwards spiral for emitting.

[cloudz]

I was introduced to leaning about 4 months ago, I've noticed that it can facilitate a kind of waving of the spine. Spiralling too no doubt.. steve would that come also from the twisting of joints in combination?

I have to say I feel bringing the leaning in has enhanced my practice... not too sure if my original instructor would agree though..

[middleway]

:d

[steve Rowe]

Originally Posted by GEO

I was introduced to leaning about 4 months ago, I've noticed that it can facilitate a kind of waving of the spine. Spiralling too no doubt.. steve would that come also from the twisting of joints in combination?

It certainly would

[Taiji Butterfly]

I have introduced more leaning in my form and applications, I suspect from a similar source to Geo I find I tend to lean to do an and jie, but not so much to do peng usually and only sometimes on lu depending on whether I am just 'rolling' or pulling down as well. I tend to favour the more 'Wu' style these days, where the spine is straight put pivots at the tailbone and inguinal crease, creating a line from the back leg to the crown as you issue.
I also think that it probably depends how wide and/or long your forward stances are whether you will lean or not.

[steve Rowe]

Or you can look at it as just another way of practising the form, you can do every technique using this idea, beginners do it erect, then start work on accessing the legs, then using them with power, then start working on the body and this can be one 'exercise' way of gaining power from the waist, getting more immediate power to the weighted foot when transferring and adding root to the feet, then there are many layers to add in to it as you work, you can make it big and then make it smaller, you can use it or not use it...

There are many ways of using the form to practise, and I guess I do it different every time, this is one idea.

[tccstudent]

LOL! When I saw the title of this thread I got a good chuckle. I thought maybe this was one of those "dirty" threads.

I see both sides of the coin on this one, but I tend to use a more forward lean also, but not as in Wu style (my head maybe -over- my knee in transition, but no further - I try to keep the six harmonies in mind). I should say, that I try to practice with as much weight as I can on the weighted foot (more like 100/0) - with my torso squarred in the direction of the posture I am in, while also not letting my butt stick out too much. While moving from posture to posture, I tend to feel the root from the floor in my rear foot, and use this to "push" off into the following posture. This feeling in my form is even more enhanced lately, since I primarily practice the dynamic pushing hands method, which also gets you to understand the connection between your rear foot - thru the body - to the point of contact with your partner (at least on the physical level). At this point in my development this is what I'm doing. I seem to be getting stronger and stronger, so I assume I'm on the right track. Or, I'm just deluding myself - lol.

[steve Rowe]

"dirty thread"? Whay would that be?

Have you also tried accessing the forward foot on the 'dynamic' push and pushing backwards on it?

[Nomadwanders]

"whew" I thought this thread might be going somewhere else.

Which is probably why I had to open it

[tccstudent]

Originally Posted by steve Rowe

Have you also tried accessing the forward foot on the 'dynamic' push and pushing backwards on it?

Interesting question. I have not tried that, but I wonder.... if a partner is pushing on my arm or hands, wouldn't I be pushing myself backwards?

[steve Rowe]

No, because it's opposite force, most people are unable to access the forward leg on a push and therefore are more easily uprooted, work with the softening until you can access the forward foot and push backwards on it and maybe you'll find it more powerful.

[tccstudent]

I will try that tonight. I find that when I push with people who are not as strong as me, I can weight the forward foot, root, and bounce them out from that position. If I try that with a stronger person, they seem to uproot my front foot. I'll work on that.

[Sandus]

Originally Posted by steve Rowe

"dirty thread"? Whay would that be?

I almost changed the title, but I decided you'd get more views this way