| The Grand Ultimate Fist, Taiji Quan, but what makes | | | | forth between the legs, and round and round in the |
| it so superior? What makes Taiji superior is that it | | | | hips. Power comes up the legs and the tan tien |
| takes mental prowess to make work. This is not to | | | | churns out energy. Thus, there is a fine line between |
| insult other martial arts, but an examination of the | | | | emptiness of the body, and the power generation of |
| principles necessary to Tai Chi that should convince | | | | the legs. |
| most people of the truth of the art. | | | | Third principle, and, again, there are many more |
| I've selected three of the many principles that a | | | | principles, is the idea of slow motion. Many people |
| person should learn to get anywhere in the art of the | | | | move slowly, and they marvel at how much their |
| Grand Ultimate Fist. The first concept is nothing more | | | | senses expand. Unfortunately, most people don't |
| than nothing. Most arts will take this idea only so far | | | | understand that Tai Chi is, at heart, a fighting art. |
| as having the fist loose before impact, what is | | | | Thus, when people move slowly in Tai Chi Chuan, |
| commonly called focus, but that is where the true art | | | | they must not just relax and move slowly, they |
| really starts. | | | | must actively push energy with their limbs. This is a |
| To understand Tai Chi one must understand that the | | | | point many people miss, but which is crucial to the |
| entire body must become loose and empty. By | | | | principle of enacting the imagination, and making the |
| becoming loose and empty the body can better feel | | | | imagination actuate the true abilities of an individual. |
| the various incoming energies, and so handle them. | | | | The feeling should be like swimming, but the waters |
| This is easily understood if one understands that light | | | | are imagination, and the resistance is very real, very |
| travels best through a vacuum, and in Tai Chi the | | | | worthwhile, and very workable when it comes to |
| body must become a vacuum so that senses can | | | | combat. |
| travel through it, and emanate from it. | | | | There is so much to learn, an eternity to learn, and |
| The second principle deals with how one generates | | | | Matrix Tai Chi is a perfect art to enable the learning |
| energy. In my base art, Karate, this was developed | | | | process. The trick is to relax the mind and awaken |
| through taking stances hard and fast and making the | | | | the possibilities, the trick is to relax and let oneself |
| tan tien to explode. This is fine, except that tai chi | | | | absorb knowledge. The trick is to realize that it is not |
| the Tan Tien explode at a much slower rate. | | | | just art we are talking about when we speak of the |
| To make power in the Grand Ultimate Art one must | | | | Grand Ultimate, but the actual human spirit. |
| take the low stance and grind the motion back and | | | | |