Training tips and experiences

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  • #128961

    Anonymous
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    Hello everyone. I was thinking it would be useful if people posted what they are doing and some of the expereinces they are having. That would help us all learn! So here’s some of the things i’m doing to start:

    FIrst movements. Bring fist from waist to chin and then out.
    I repeat this movement many times at various speeds (slow to very fast). I vary by doing waist to chin, and then out. Then both in a smooth movement. The fist up draws up energy from the ground, the fist out further draw up energy but also projects out. As i keep doing this the feeling of power becomes very real…To the point that you almost don’t even have to make the movement. You just think of the flow that is created with the movement and you get the same power filling your body. Cross training with bagua circe walking – you not only get the spirals, but you get the spirals with power!

    One not so good observation: Power filling gives you an illusion of too much power? You get disconnected from the energy around you. I think it was maybe too quick of a change? It’s almost like an addictive “Darth vader” kind of feeling. To prevent this i had to take a break and go through some more “staying humble” gentle standing excercises and circle walking where i brough yin back into the system and focus on changing back and forth. As opposed to flloding my system with yang.

    #133877

    Anonymous
    Guest

    Hi my name is Erich and iam new to Hsing-Yi group and online martial arts as well !
    I like your suggestion … unfortunately iam stuck with 1st DVD I chuan the very first aspect …. the standing posture and how to gather release chi …. So far I get part of it , the confusion is with upper region and focal points.
    I wish BKF would put out e-book going step by step with diagram showing where we should focus are intent and chi !
    Best regards
    Erich

    #133878

    Anonymous
    Guest

    Hi, I’ve been working on San Ti for several months now and I thought that I’d share a few training experiences.

    Most of my practise has been holding the San Ti posture, but I usually finish a session with a few minutes of Pi Chuan just to get a different perspective on how everything is going and get the energy running. After I’ve stood for a decent amount of time (approx 30mins each side at the moment) doing pi chuan feels like running water through a high pressure hose, Santi literally won’t allow me to break an alignment that is starting to sink in to my body.

    Recently in Santi I’m beginning to get sensations of grounding and of the hips softening. The stronger the dropping sensation (front of body), the stronger the up (spine)and pressing through the palms and head becomes. I’ve also noticed a balance in the pressure of each hand, and for example, if the pressure doesn’t go as much to my lower hand then I can’t maintain the alignment on my front arm (the elbow starts to point outwards instead of down). Other things that I’ve noticed have been the spine strongly bracing the body, a sense of an outward and inward flow along the arms (and occasionally the legs) and a sense that its easier to maintain the rounding and ‘ko’ in the palms if you get the feet to do it simultaneously. I’m starting to get a stronger sense of breath too. Until recently, I had huge trouble holding my left arm out in front, but in the last week or two my breath has started to penetrate my left hand side(previously a numb, closed area of my body) and its starting to feel as if I can rest my upper arms on something solid, instead of there being a big void where my torso is collapsed/contracted.

    Opening and closing in Santi is starting to have have the sense of adjusting the emphasis on the inward or outward flow of a circulation of energy (thank you Bruce for your weekend in Auckland touching on the subject of opening and closing). Early on in my practise it felt more like an attempt to avoid being crushed as everything just contracted inwards (a pretty strong indication to change legs or wind up the session).

    Santi has the feeling for me of trying to hold a heap of shopping in my arms. At first its just too much, and several items fall to the floor, so you readjust and pick them up, and try again, and again….

    Gradually, you manage to get it so that you can pretty much always hold a few big items, but several others still drop, and you keep going…

    When I don’t feel ‘up for it’ , I go for an I Chuan posture, which is more like trying to carry fewer items, but really, really well! When I’m tired or a little frazzled I find I get a better session this way.

    Occasionally I do an I Chuan posture straight after Santi and this is interesting because the I Chuan is comparatively much easier than normal, my arms just rise and I hardly have to think about the set up at all because its already there so strongly!

    So santi is hard, and you drop heaps of shopping (alignments etc.), but I find that I still end up carrying more than if I only went for the I Chuan posture to begin.

    The hardest thing for me at the moment is keeping my awareness externally as well as holding everything together inside, I usually get it for a minute or two at best then realise that I’ve lost it while my attention goes to reopening my ankle joint, pressing the head or trying to keep a ‘ko’ on my shoulder.

    In summary though, I am finding Santi extremely efficient. These things do come together, and ARE coming together in ME! The more I do, the more I realise that it would be pointless to go through the five elements until the bulk of these connections are stable. For example in Tsuann Chuan (drilling fist), back to the hose analogy, it would be like running water through a kinked hose, little or none would make it to the end, and the hose – your body – would likely split where it was misaligned.
    I practise Tai Chi as well, but start my day with Hsing I. What I find is that I finish a session and immediately think ‘lets do things’. So far my biggest hurdle in the internal arts has been maintaining consistency and ‘following through’ with things, and Santi practise is addressing this issue. It’s worth noticing the big picture as well as all the little posture details. I have noticeably more energy, more focus and concentration and am also a fair bit harder to push over (and others are easier to push). Plus, I feel about two years younger

    Santi is Massive, and yet ridiculously simple and obvious! As Bruce says though. you’ve got to actually do it!

    I hope this actually makes sense to some of you, I’ve tried to give a sense of my learning process and observations rather than get into too much specific detail.
    Enjoy your practise,
    Chris

    #133879

    Anonymous
    Guest

    A full basketball court is about 1/20 th of a mile. After santi, I do pichuan around for 1/8 to a 1/2. In the beginning, I go very slowly, sometimes doing three breaths at each stopping point, and really emphasizing the waist turn. As I get going, it seems like I am just throwing chi forward, and end up feeling much looser, more powerful, and grounded (if sweat coveted).

    I also do pichuan for a circuit, then another fist, and pichuan again, and so on.

    #133880

    Anonymous
    Guest

    Hi Chris,

    Thanks for sharing, very inspiring. Yes I think you are right doing Santi first for a length of time before 5 elements makes great sense. I am also practicing another (hard/soft) martial arts and I guess doing Santi will give me a good foundation for both arts.

    All the best

    Steven

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