By Shelagh Grandpierre

In Tai Chi, why is the foundation important and what is it’s role?

Because we live in a physical world, everything about living in the physical is built on something solid, and that is around us all the time. Tai Chi energy is often described as water flowing like a river, and the shape of the low lying land is what gives water it’s shape. If you have water in a container, the container is the thing that grounds it so. It is what gives it shape as it is actually holding the water. The river is flowing, held in a channel, and that is what is providing some of its power.

When you practice Tai Chi, the way you use your body is what makes it possible to activate and express the internal energy. We start with building a strong foundation, strong like a tree. A tree will stands for a long time and it has two aspects. The part above the ground reaching up to the heavens is one aspect. Under the ground is the great root system, unseen, making it possible for the tree to remain standing through many years and all kinds of occurrences. The root system matches the size and range of the tree deeply embedded in the ground and the branches are able to bend in the wind. When we look at a tree we see the beauty of the tree and how straight and solid it is, and we marvel at how it bends in the wind yet remains deeply connected in it’s position.

The root system in Yang Style Tai Chi is in the feet and the legs. Energy is released from the feet through the legs to the waist and then out through the arms and hands. You have to place your body in certain way that will actually create a solid foundation for the energy to come out. All power comes from the ground up, so it is essential that you understand how to position your body to naturally tap into this power. Whether the force comes from the middle of the foot or from the heel, depends on the technique. When going forward, the strength comes from the centre of the foot. If an empty stance is involved, the weight is toward the back of the weighted foot and the strength of the heel. Generally, all energy comes from the feet and legs with the waist controlling where it goes and all parts of the body co-ordinated together.

A strong foundation depends on the feet being place in proportion to the hips and shoulders, creating a self-supporting power structure. Until you understand that you will tend to over step or under reach or step too broadly sideways. If the stances are too broad, too long, or not long enough, through misunderstanding, the true Tai Ch energy experience will be an illusive commodity. Power comes from the legs and the root is in the feet. The feeling of being rooted involves steadiness of the lower part of the body, and the position of the feet already takes care of that. Once you are steady in the legs you are rooted. If the lower parts of the body are unsteady due to the incorrect positioning, your upper body will be swinging, and you will easily be disturbed and taken off balance. Also you will be unable to sink the chi to the Dantien.

While the legs have to be steady to accomplish a good foundation, they do not have to develop big muscles because more than the legs are involved in executing postures. Whether we are talking about the legs or the torso or the upper body, it is the whole body that needs to be co-ordinated as a whole. It is not correct to just focus on the legs. If there is too much emphasis on the legs and if one is not agile and the legs cannot co-ordinate with the arms, that is not good. Equally if there is only emphasis on the hands and the upper body that is not accurate either. The practice should completely involve and synchronise the whole body. That way the postures and applications will be naturally strong.

Each person should know whether they are practising correctly or not, and have understood standards or points of clarity to measure themselves against, even though they might not meet them to an exact standard right away. With the help of a clear teacher, each person has to find out for him or herself.

There is much information available on Tai Chi and as we go through each stage in learning we are absorbing and integrating layers of information, which eventually becomes second nature.

Why is it important at all to be so concerned and specific when it comes to structural guidelines? The reason is that the mind needs the body, the Chi needs the body, and with the body lined up correctly, Chi development is so much easier and in fact will happen naturally. The mind can focus more efficiently because all of the body is likely to be in agreement. You are then not distracted by feelings of tightness and strain in your lower back or vague twinges in your knee or ankle.

Keeping the waist and hips loose also includes loosening the Kua, which is vital in order to sink energy into the legs and connect with the true foundation energy. This is an important point and is often omitted in Yang style training. Without the true power of the waist activating the Mingmen point in the lower back, the body will then over turn or swing round to the left and right. Staying loose while using a kind of elastic tension in the back of the waist and sinking into the legs creates a special dynamic and a great power coming from the ground up through the whole body.

During preparation at the very beginning of practice, take the time to adjust your body alignment and call everything into place. Ideally you should have all the awareness pulling in at that point, so that when you begin to move it is already in place and maintained throughout, whether you are practising Form, Sword, or Pushands.

Shelagh Grandpierre teaches seminars
on Traditional Yang Family Taijiquan
and Eternal Spring Qi Gong

Email: sbgrandpierre@aol.com
Website: www.taichialliance.co.uk