In our last blog we talked about the importance of recognizing breaks in one's awareness during practice and we mentioned that the San Ti practice of Xing Yi is a great way of achieving this goal. There are two basic components to San Ti practice-the physical part and the awareness part.

In terms of the physical structure San Ti's focus is on developing a sense of "whole body" power where every part of the physical body feels as though it is directly connected to every other part of the body. The first stage of this is developing a sense of the "Six Harmonies," key alignments that put the body into its most optimal state of balance and resilience. There are three internal and three external harmonies. The three external harmonies are hips aligned with shoulders, knees aligned with elbows and hands aligned with feet. The three internal harmonies (which isn't part of this article) are the heart aligned with intent, intent aligned with chi, and chi aligned with spirit.

In basic San Ti stance the weight is on the back leg, either 100% which is the ideal way for getting the maximum chi flow and developing the ability to step very quickly, or 70% which is a slower posture but develops the ability to root and "hold your ground" faster than the 100/0 method. The foot of the leg faces 45 degrees and the front foot points straight ahead, facing the same direction as your nose and bellybutton.

The arms in San Ti are similar to but not the same as the basic circle walking posture in Ba Gua Zhang. The bottom hand, which is the same side as your weighted leg, is at the height of your lower belly, palm facing the floor and thumb pointing at the lower Tan Tien. Keep it at least a fists distance away from the body. There should be as much emphasis on the lower hand as the upper one and remember to keep the elbows facing down and the armpits open.

The upper hand should be at a height that you are looking straight out through your index finger, directly in line with the center line of your body. The fingers should be open, extended, and relaxed and the finger tips should face the ceiling. There are other methods of holding the hand either flat or at a 45 degree angle which are primarily used to develop internal power for fighting. The vertical method develops a stronger energetic connection with the central channel with less of a tendency to cause people to become overly "Yang."
The head should be gently lifted off the spine and there is a constant sense of the back of the neck lifting. The more the head lifts the more the tailbone drops and has a sense of penetrating the legs into the floor. This stretches the spine and lengthens the whole body.

As the spine lifts and the chest drops, the shoulders sink and the midriff and back of the knee open. There should be an even bend in all your limbs. To get a sense of this stand in the San Ti posture and straighten all your limbs 100%. Then, as you sit into your kwa, bend all four limbs evenly so that there is a sense that each one has an equal connection to the spine.

Once the physical posture is stable San Ti becomes the shell for all of the 16-part Nei Gung components. Because the posture of San Ti comes from Pi Chuan, the metal element it first deals with the breath. The basic process is to inhale through your nose and follow the breath from your nose down your body into your belly and let it fill up the front, back, and sides of your lower abdomen. On the exhale you follow the same path and breathe out letting your intention extend forward, and your awareness expand around you. Like a sword maker folding the layers of a katana, the metal element within us must be worked and forged to develop the proper shape. 

As you continue to follow the breath notice where there are "gaps" in either the physical breath or in the awareness of the breath. The breath should be smooth and even like the blade of a fine sword with no breaks. Eventually there should be a sense that the spine also fills up with the inhale and returns to neutral on the exhale. The first phase of San Ti training is to bring your full attention to these gaps in awareness.  So if you wish to pursue San Ti, a few minutes per day of this practice can prove quite beneficial.
In terms of two-person work, San Ti practice is about overcoming the fear and anxiety that arises when faced with an aggressive opponent. For example, if in a sparring session you feel that you are getting frustrated with or angry at your partner, take a break and stand in San Ti for a few minutes until you feel the sense of frustration or anger subside. Then return to the practice with the goal of quieting the mind and becoming more stable when things heat up rather than "losing it" and getting upset. This ability to regain stability under pressure is at the core of spiritual martial arts and is a key element in moving past one's animal nature.

Next time we will continue with Part Two of our look at San Ti, happy practicing!