Tai Chi's Hidden Gem: How 'Song' Relaxation Unlocks Incredible Strength 

Oh very good point! Thank you for adding to the discussion. I love how people can add to it like this and how helpful the comments and their discussions can be!

Greetings! Thank you for the comment and compliments! It's very nice to know that people find the explanations helpful. I like how you call it "all the streams of Taiji." A nice symbolism there. Cheers! 😃

Very true! And anyone that has experienced a really great massage may have some experience about the relationship between emotion and fascia too. I love science and its ability to systematize understanding and explain what we experience in life. And beyond science, we have enjoyed the warmth of the rising sun everyday before science explained how, and likewise, we can continue to enjoy the relaxation and benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong, until science fully explains it. I'm sure it will be very exciting when that happens and until then, cheers!

I'm very glad to hear you are understanding more! If you like, you can share your experience and we can help you reach that success.

Yes in a research on our body integrity, found that 30# of pressure can break the spine in nonliving tissue. But in a living person, we can support hundreds of pounds on our spine. Because our muscles and fascia create a network of pressure distribution that far exceeds what simple muscle pulleys and bone rigidity can accomplish. Our fascia doesn't perfectly form a perfectly sealed hydraulic system like in our machinery, or seen in insects. This is why insects have truly incredible power weight ratios letting grasshoppers jump so high and ants lift so much more than their body weight. But we can still access this hydraulic-like aspects of strength, which is classically called 整勁 (complete power, integrated power). Because what hydraulic systems do is utilize pumps to distribute pressure and convert force across liquids to create power and stability. And as you learn to integrate your body, which is 70% liquid, and coordinate the fascia and its pumps, you do begin to have this kind of benefit in your power generation! You can read too about Tensegrity to learn even more about biological pressure distribution systems. It's very fascinating how advanced, and capable, our body really is, when we truly access that potential we have inside, is it not? Thanks for watching and commenting! 😄

Internal martial arts are all about fascia. Learn how to feel the network and use it.

​@@KelGhuwell said!

Haha about personal confinement. And yes you're right to point out the benefit of using fascia as the relaxation target. Because I think many people are indeed relaxing for 'Song', and when they realize they can release even deeper into the fascia, they would discover a new level of comfort, strength, and Tai Chi joy!

I certainly have experienced more Tai Chi joy since learning from you. I'm very grateful. 🎉

Thank you for your comment! If your interest is in health then you're in the right place! Because it is the practice of 'Song' that provides a lot of the health benefits people get from Tai Chi practice. When it comes to application and punching like that, you're right to recognize that you can only receive and deliver a certain amount of force like that without injuring yourself. And that means when we punch like this we are delivering something aside from a ton of force. Like if I punch one of those punch power measuring machines that people play with at the arcade, I would not necessarily score very high. Beyond force, this relaxed state of Song let's you transmit something aside from kinetic energy, that allows you to affect their balance, coordination, and state of their body. On this channel I'm gradually sharing and building people's understanding of the inner practices of Tai Chi. Your intuition is good and asking about something that we'll be exploring soon! Welcome to the channel! 😀

Very good question and it shows you're on the right track! You noticed this video is all about biomechanics. Beyond that, you would be right to recognize that as you establish a foundation above the comfort and stability of physical 'Song', you can really relax and allow Qi to flow. And it is your Shen and Yi that organizes and causes your relaxed body to work the way you want it to. We focus on the physical elements because it is easier to establish. I can usually get new students to do this on their first day. Once they have that comfort and stability, it becomes easier to explore the more subtle elements of qi, shen, and Yi. In the advanced elements of Yang Tai Chi, it's quite focused on Yi. Just as you might say that when racing cars, it really comes down to the driver. But we definitely want to pair the driver with a well built car, with well inflated tires. That's where the physical 'Song' comes in. When the driver has a car that is a joy to drive, he will drive more and improve faster, will he not? In specific to creating force, your Yi generates a geometry that your Song supports, the force that is generated is indeed biomechanical. By that I mean you produce a physical force that is measurable with a scale or a dynamometer. There isn't some kind of invisible force field. However, your Yi and awareness of fascia interferes with your opponent's ability to generate their own force to resist. Your Qi and Shen creates a quality of experience that further disorganizes your opponent's capacity to resist. In this way, you can move 2000 kg with 4 ounce of force, or however that saying translates haha. And if you measure the force scientifically, it IS just 4 ounces. And when you have mastery of Yi, Qi, and Shen, you can do a lot with 4 ounces. Just as we see great skaters, skiers, dancers, by mastering their body, balance, and gravity, they can create amazing movement that seems so effortless and light. Thanks for the great question! I know you watched the explanation video on how Internal Power works ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8bBJxTAcaZQ.html So you have a sense of where this is building towards, from solid physical skills to subtle, less physical qualities. Enjoy your journey and keep asking questions! 🙌

@@phoenixmountaintaichi yet again, so grateful for the time and effort you put into explaining all of this! Thank you!

Hi Manuel, very interesting question! When it comes to training to develop 'Song' everywhere, different styles, schools, movement, and even students, may have their own sequence. What is the best sequence to release to become familiar with Song? In my opinion, it is whatever sequence is easiest for each individual. Suppose my student has a shoulder injury and has a hard time releasing tension there. I would observe him to determine, or ask him where he feels most at ease. Suppose it's his legs. Then I would deepen his sense of 'Song' in his legs with drills and get him to become aware of what that feels like. And then have him expand that experience to his hips, back, chest, arms, and then finally to his shoulders. Because when everything else feels at ease it can become easier to bring ease to where he is not ease. And suppose a student is too tense in his fist when he punches, I would train them to have song in pushing with palms first until that's comfortable and stable, and then to ask them to push with a relaxed fist, by releasing tension from body into hand, and also by initiating with a relaxed hand in contact with the target, and connecting that to the rest of their relaxed body parts. Whichever is easier. Until they are ready to have it all be relaxed the whole time. Training order, while schools may have their official usual procedure, I think can be more effective sometimes when adapted to the individual. Conversely I suspect some of what we now take as doctrine, were specialized training for specific students to help them with their particular obstacles. Aside from the method of training, in usage, it is more straightforward. Because the most functional order is that 'Song' is maintained throughout the body everywhere, all at once, and all the time. If you do it in a sequence, a chain, for a particular movement, you are limited in what movements or applications can happen in the next moment. When you maintain 'song' throughout, you can initiate a variety of movements without preparation, without telegraphing. In this sense 'Song' is like a physical state of 'Wuji' that can give rise to Yin and Yang and all other possibilities. Thank you for asking a brilliant question! It's clear you are quite knowledgeable and a true practitioner of internal arts. Welcome and thank you!

A sequence? The true Taichi skill is when everything becomes one. Therefore, the sequence can be anything, and actually should be everything. We need to master all sequence combinations because in a real fight, we'll never be in an ideal situation, yet, we need to be able to issue power in any positions.

​@@phoenixmountaintaichi Hi Sifu, certainly the simplified individual specific personalized approach leads to better results for the person and in a less stressful way for the mind. What is also certain is that we must get to the point where 'Song' is maintained throughout the body everywhere, all at once, and all the time. What I meant to say is that, in a non-personalised approach, one method can be more or less gradual or immediate, intuitive and functional compared to the other, also based on its own purposes, whether martial effectiveness or the health aspect. .. But at the beginning, there is a basic path to follow to learn how to set up and regulate the body internally and externally so that over time the student is able to regulate himself and solve stiffness problems on his own, even those caused by more or less serious injuries and later being able to maintain this state of Song. Without these bases it would not be an internal martial art, without them, both in practicing the form itself and in the application, the body would not succeed, it would be blocked and rigid in its movements and would not withstand an impact with the opponent without using force brute instead of using the taiji body. For example, if we tried to start moving or pushing someone by releasing the legs first but leaving the shoulders high and rigid and chest breathing, we would not be able to move fluidly, the body would not be connected and released, not rooted and very unstable. So for these reasons I was saying that, at the beginning, there are rules for learn how energy flows in the body without tension and performing Songs such as, in general, starting to release tensions from top to bottom, from inside to outside etc... let the energy descend to feel the rooting and push of the energy from the feet to the fascial/structural chain of the body......so at the beginning, not being able to maintain this body regulation constantly, it must be reset with each movement following the indications. Then when you reach a high level each style comes to the same awareness, certainly. Thank you as always Sifu for your helpfullness and dedication in clarifying our questions. Thanks again.

@@KelGhu" The true Taichi skill is when everything becomes one"-I agree with what you say, sometimes the structure of the body needs to be reorganized, you need to know how to master everything. Thank you.

Emphasize the relaxation, with just enough structure to not collapse. Slowly test with a partner and gradually speed up. Far beyond tensing force, let your body weight flow from back to forward, through your relaxed body and fist. There are some practices which help teach this flow of momentum: Pole shaking Spear training Cracking whips Throwing knives in no spin technique These all emphasize a relaxed quality of the body to transmit momentum. Does that help clarify the mechanism for you?

Knife throwing...yay! That is so fun and somehow I missed that it helps with practicing relaxation to reach song. 😊

@@InternalTaiChi fun and cool are good enough reasons to do it too 😁

😁🔪

Haha good question. You should look at the students of the school: 1. Are they showing that they are acquiring the skills you want? 2. Are they the type of people you want to be around? To be like? 3. Does the teacher communicate in a way that will be effective for you? That can give you some good ideas about the school. An authentic school will still want your money... But they should also help you get what you want. 😄