In this video, Master Chen demonstrated how dantian would rotate itself, and it would handle incoming force. This video was so important to me that I wrote two articles which main idea came from this video years later without realizing that until now.
Intent: http://practicalmethod.com/2019/11/intent/
Clarity: http://practicalmethod.com/2018/11/clarity/
See you online at 10 am on Saturday, May 9, 2020 at http://practicalmethod.com/2014/11/dantian-and-pivoting-online-video-trailer/.
Notes:
Welcome everyone to this video! I have provided the following guided reference. Please feel free to ask any questions related to the video.
1:12 It was very funny looking at myself in this video. My footing was fine at first. As I pushed Master Chen, I started to slide. What happened?
1:55 Master Chen explained using the analogy of a ball inside a cradle.
We train to have an open kua. If we succeed, this structure will be in place. When someone pushes the ball, the ball will just turn. The work is in the training, which happens before we come in contact with an opponent. If we try to do something at the time when an opponent pushes us, that's wrong.
3:59 The real intention is without intention. The true intention is made into the machine. Whatever that is suppsoed to happen won't deviate. It cannot do anything other than what it is made to do. We train out body to do what it is meant to do, and it will just do that.
As I re-watched this video to prepare for the class, I had a realization. I wrote an article about "intent" on Nov. 20, 2019: http://practicalmethod.com/2019/11/intent/. I cross checked what I wrote there with what Master Chen was saying in this video. In particular, I wrote the following:
Hugo mentioned water drop rolling down the window.
Shifu also mentioned before, “Real intent is no intent”.
My thinking at the moment is that it is about the inevitable consequence when something is done. Nothing needs to be forced by me.
If A is done, B must become the result, then A is an intent. However, there is a relationship between A and B that must be maintained, otherwise, A is not an intent. e.g. A is your push on a revolving door, B is the resolving door rotating and hitting you back. The relationship is that the solid door with a non-moving axis that it can rotate on. With that relationship, you know that when you do A, B must become the result (there is no other possibility). A is indirect with B.
At the time, when I wrote the article I didn't remember this video, but Master Chen had talked about intent in a number of occasions. My realization was that he planted the seed so long ago, but it took me 5 years to be able to write it back out. He is an amazing teacher.
5:50 Master Chen showed with two examples involving the floor.
1) The floor at his foot.
2) The floor at his shoulder.
He always teaches an idea (pinciple/rule/concept), we need to apply it in different situations without changing the original idea.
He used the example of teaching counting to young children. He would say 1 apple, 2 apples. The children would say they got it. The next day, he would say 1 pear, 2 pears. The children would ask what happened to the apples. The focus was on the apples, but Master Chen wanted to teach 1 and 2. Without the physical objects, it was hard to introduce the concept of 1 and 2, which would go on as fundamentals for other mathematical things, and are not limited to apples and pears.
In taiji, one of the most amazing things I admired in Master Chen was how he could see Yin and Yang in everything. I mentioned this before in an article titled "Clarity": http://practicalmethod.com/2018/11/clarity/
13:38 Our "party" syndrome is very strong meaning we cannot separate our body parts. They are linked together and would go the same way or do the same thing or are affected at the same time.
15:52 We must be factual. If we say that we are following a line, that use a physical device to guarantee that, and not just imagine it in our head. If we need to 100 times of something, we must do 100 times (5 sets of 20 times are ok too), but we can't allow ourselves to stop at 30 for whatever reason if we set the goal of 100.
17:11 Lastly, follow instructions.
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