commencement differences

[Anonymous]

I attended the Old Yang Tai Chi in Chicago and the Commencement movement was done differently than month one video. In the conference peng was finished with palms up, while the EATC video peng is finished palms down; so why the difference? Does it matter?

[Anonymous]

It matters.
Commencement is the template for the whole form.
Study peng carefully.
Peng is the foundation in all moves.
But only you can find it.

The Classics say something like:
In Up there must be Down.
Up-Down
Although they are not different, they are not the same.

To raise hands Up, the lower body must have Down.
This is hard to find.

For the hands to have Up (and Out)
the elbows must have Down (and In).

As the elbows move Down and In,
the HANDS will follow and twist Out
(With palms facing down,
thumbs start pointing in to the center channel,
thumbs stay fixed in space,
little fingers start to rotate around the thumbs–
E.g. Right little finger rotates clockwise, down, then in towards the center, so now the palms begin to face Up)

It’s a continuum.

There’s even more in this.

Bruce’s Wu style commencement makes some of this more explicit
(but that’s another Course).

More important is the internal dynamics.
Twisting the hands origins in the feet.
Powered from the legs.
Directed by the waist ( kwa/ lower dantian).

Peng comes from the still center of the dantian and expands Up and Out from there.

Your hands just express the movement of this interna energy.

This is the pattern for every move in the Long Form.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Dana, I’m not sure if you resolved your question on this.. I hesitated chiming in my view when I saw this question first posted, as I didn’t attend the Chicago event (so I didn’t exper/learn what/how was presented there, or what commentary might have been given)

— my understanding would be that the “movements-shape” is to assist/support the int’l components (which are both the sensation that is produced, which gives a certain feeling
– Turning/twisting, as well as rising, also lengthening.. in this moves ex),
as well as a more direct “energetic”.. ie directly creating the sensation, vs “indirectly” through the movement.

Thus the movement begins palms facing back and fingers down, and then turns/twists as rises- which generates&supports that “feeling”… so one can have only a slightly turning (ie maybe finish the movement- at the top- with thumbs barely pointing up, mostly slight at each other.. say at 45 degrees- not thumbs pointing up), yet have the same sensation of “turning” (with the twistings, in&out, and assoc lenthening- etc)…
or -contrarily- one can have the turning be greater, so that one finishes thumbs up, palms facing (as on the videos), or perhaps thumbs point out to the sides (thumbs pting away from each other L&R), and palms facing up, “lifting” —-this would give a greater range of motion, and then movement could support a greater sensation in the movement (as well as a greater stretch, and the eveness required), thus working on the changed coordination..
(still evenly throughout the movement or rising- ie not all added at the top, so the level of where the palms are at as they turn where the thumbs pt at say 45 degrees up, or even thumbs straight up, (if they do) would be lower or higher relative to one’s centerline (and thus nose).
……..
I hope the above wasn’t too obvious and example and all clear… just to lay out there, and relative to what I believe are differences given as that variation can help 1) physically openup one’s system via the differences, but more so 2) changing results in isolating that “feeling” (which is something to move from indirectly being aware of, to direct contacting with that… thus then develop the ability to generate that “turning” feeling (even without moving the arm, or even not “in the arm”- just recall that and generate that “change” wherever..

I hope that adds- and did you even hear from anyone that was at the event, or answer this via your practice?

[Anonymous]

Hello Dana, and any others- did anyone that attended this event have insight in what was originally asked.. (I hadn’t seen in any of the videos something that might have matched what was referenced as shown at the event… except for Month 17 Heaven and Earth… (showing applications and relations of H&E movements to taichi…)
Bruce specifically mentions there are TaiChiChuan sets that go as high above the head, in commencement, as in H&E… (as well as the idea is to get it all “online”- so all for that flight-test checklist activation, in prep to actually begin).

Just curious as this is an interesting variation.. (it was Bruce himself that was showing that hand placement? or who/how was that shown.? -was it explicitly taught, or just seen?) anyway- luck in your practice

[Anonymous]

Greetings! Dana

It seems to me it is insignificant how the palm ends after the execution of peng. It only matters how effective the execution of the peng was from the beginning to the end. Since the effectiveness has been accomplished, how the final gesture was ended up is history.

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