The Hidden Depths of Tai Chi's First Move: From Qi to Yi, the Evolution of Power

[@LightsOnMultiMediaMindArts]

Clear explanation.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Glad you find it clear! 😃🙏

[@robertjordon1984]

Thanks Sifu this is really cool to understand that the 3 frames correspond to a more deeper level of internal awareness. When you speak about overcoming force, and lets say its really strong force, how would you make your zong-ding stable enough to not be overcome by such strong force,(so you can smile while using either one of two i.e. your Yi or incorporeal outside chi), Is it totally physical or is it a mixture or physical and spiritual or solely spiritual?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Great question! It’s primarily spiritual. Like a feeling of not being concerned if you are overcome or not, success or not. When you transcend this fear then your Zhongding becomes unshakeable. Some people achieve it through zen meditation. I think Japanese Samurai attain it through surviving countless duels. I have a student with fantastic Zhongding and she is an ER nurse who sees people die all too often. Whatever your path when you rise above this duality and egocentric fear you will have a new and deeper success. Physical matters too though. If you are very fragile and a bit of force will quickly damage your body then that will make it more difficult to execute your internal skill. So being physically strong and sturdy is a good insurance and foundation as well too. Plus when you know you are sturdy it’s easier to be fearless. Like Superman or Wolverine ha ha. Does that make sense? Thanks for asking the interesting question! 😃🙏

[@robertjordon1984]

​@@phoenixmountaintaichi Thanks Sifu. Yes it does make sense. It makes me feel desponden though as I have a injury from surgery many years ago which I mentioned briefly previously. This injury coming into my subconsious through taichi training, when previously it was but a scar, makes me realise that ones body is only as physically strong as the weakest link. I just hope I manage to overcome this injury, if it is even possible, but even It doesn't get resolved I'm grateful that I tapped into some little bit of taichi training that I could not just primariy for my health by also for defence. The zongding aspect really intrigues me and I do hope one day to attain that level. The ling-qi and Yi aspect you have demonstrated shows that you dont actually need to be overly powerful to use them, just very sensitive which I suppose entails many hours of practice still. With the ling-qi demonstration how does one know they are tapping into the incorporeal chi (to know the difference between using song or the yi method), is it like using 6 direction forces ..something similar, or something quite different? To me ling-qi seems to be like just using standard yang style which is akin to a medium frame style like the yang style of Yang Sau Chung (elder son of yang chen fu) whos video you have probably seen online. In my limited understanding ling-qi seems to be in a taichi context about giving and receiving and using six-direction forces, is that correct?

[@Linanjaya]

Is it possible if we manage to achieve yi mastery first, and havent mastered qi n neijin, sifu?

[@petertuongnguyen7999]

May I answer this please Shifu Chester, and correct me if I’m wrong please. Many of us want to cut corners, but this doesn’t work with Internal Taiji. Dear friend, if you haven’t mastered the tangible (what you can touch and feel) then how can you understand, let alone master, the invisible?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

It is sometimes possible, especially if you are a genius or super talent! Most of the time, the easiest journey is to go in sequence in the order that is intended to make each step a small and reasonable step. If you take two children, and have one child read calculus text book over and over until they master it, and the other child begin from the first arithmetic math book and in order all the way to calculus, most of the time, the second child will eventually succeed while the first one is still confused! Another good reason to master the earlier foundation skills is to understand fully, what is happening in your body, as well as what other people may be applying upon you. Practically, if you watch these videos of Yi, and you understand and can immediately do it, then the answer is Yes you can skip it all ha ha. Otherwise, the steps will likely be exactly what you're missing to get to where you really want to get to. 😃🙏

[@andrewearlwu554]

First 🤗 (261st view though)

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Caught everyone snoozing! 😃🙌

[@Bluedragon-co4kb]

It's Allgood, but what if his chi stops yours?

[@Bluedragon-co4kb]

Then you have to switch to something else, but what if he follows you the whole time your continously switching and is trying to beat you continuously? Lol 👋

[@Bluedragon-co4kb]

Just saying what it's like these days out there

[@Bluedragon-co4kb]

I know your only showing the bare minimum basics, but that's not what it's really like out there these days! In a Martial Arts Self defense aspect!

[@rojcewiczj]

that's a question of timing, it like asking a boxer what if they punch at the same time as you? Every skill has to be applied with appropriate timing/positioning to be effective. Internal power can be described as mastering your internal timing, as in the timing of your own movements relative to yourself. In a fight, you have to also apply that internal timing at the right time relative your opponent.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

@@rojcewiczjgood points! And also you have to master keeping your focus and not letting their resistance throw you off of your game plan. This is part of what is called Zhongding, Centering. And beyond this basic bare minimum I showed as Bluedragon points out, it is very much about mastering your Zhongding while overcoming theirs. Nice discussion you two. 😃🙌

[@batmonkey]

These videos are delightful and valuable, but may I respectfully suggest that previewing parts of such a short video before the titles just wastes time. The usual purpose of such previews would be to convince people to keep watching, but the initial preview segments here are not more impactful than the rest of the video, and could simply be omitted.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Thank you for the feedback! I’ll consider balancing the preview with the overall video some more especially when the video itself is shorter! 😃🙏

[@batmonkey]

@phoenixmountaintaichi I noticed that I found the previews confusing, like I'd started the video in the middle, then the titles would come, and very similar content would continue, so I wanted to let you know. Keep up the great work!