Chen Techniques for Rotating the Dantian By Martin Mellish Rotating the dantian connects inter- nal power to your external form. If you practice traditional Yang Style, you fo- ‘us primarily on rotating the dantian in ‘horizontal plane around a veetical axis, ‘One of the reasons for keeping the torso straight, for instance, isto ereate « vertical axis around which this rotation ‘ean occur. If you practice Chen style, you face the more complex challenge of rotating the dantian in all three dimensions. You rolate the dantian horizontally asin the Yang style and, in addition, circle it in two vertical planes, one facing forwards and one facing sideways. The following diagram shows the circles inthe three different planes, superimposed on the human body: Front Facing Circle Horizontal Circle The Horizontal Circle see eee ene ‘Martin Mellish teaches in the Seattle, WA, area. PAGE 16, Side Facing Circlo (On one level, the rotation ofthe dan- tian in a horizontal plane is core co cept of T’ai Chi, involving basic physi= cal actions such as pushing forward out of the back leg into the hip, folding i the opposite groin crease, and so on. Slightly more advanced practices use visualizations, such as imagining you have a stick coming out of the dantian just @ litle below the navel and are ‘sweeping objects off a table by moving that stick left or right using the dantian asa pivot. ‘A more subtle level of practice con- ccems the energy flow around the Belt ‘Meridian (Dai Mei). The ch'i (qi in this meridian flows around your body at about the height of the waistband of ‘your trousers. To feel this low, it helps if you wear loose trousers, or even robe, and keep the whole abdominal area extremely relaxed. ‘The flow in this meridian depends on the individual, but typically the chi will ‘low through 270 or 360 degrees in the ‘course of a movernent, even though the actual rotation ofthe Waist may be only 45 10 90 degrees. In Yang style right Brush Knee, for instance, if you visualize a stick coming ‘out ofthe dantian, that stick will start ‘out pointing right and then sweep left through 90 degrees until i is pointing, straight forward. “The ch’i flowing around the belt me- ridian, however, typically starts out just above the right hip, then flows all the ‘way across the front ofthe waist, around above the lef hip, and finishes at the mingmen point in the back, oppo- site the navel, This energy in the ming ‘men helps to ereate an equal and oppo- site reaction tothe forward thrust of the push, as flow pattems around the Belt Meridian often do. This use of the belt meridian feels ‘wonderful when it happens right. En- ‘courage it to happen by noticing your sensations inthe Waist area very Closely, but dant try to fore itor it won'thappen. ‘The Front Facing Circle” “The easiest way to visualize this cir- cle is to imagine a T’ai Chi diagram so- perimposed on your tummy. Imagine the two small dots within the diagram rotating, The rest ofthe pattem is uid “wake” left behind by the rotation of the two dots. The movement of the two dots in their vertical plane generally drives the motion of the hands, though not always as precisely as in the move~ ‘ment shoven in the figure belove (which shows part of the preparation for the Chen Style movement, Lazily Tucking in the Robe). Part_Donotjust imagine the whole me ise alts boot, A TASTE OF CHINA 1995 half bial, half whit, stirred by te mo- ee dese cet sere SPRING SWORD SEMINARS (April 7-9) eee a nis with Master He Weis and Mr. Nick Gracenin the abdominal rmsies Give slightly more of your atention ULS.A. ALL-TAIIQUAN CHAMPIONSHIPS July 1 & 2) Ce ee fd el ee Saath and ANNUAL TAIJIQUAN SEMINARS (June 29-30, July 3-4) Seda sat See “Form—Function—Spirit" treat the other datas a counterweight ‘hat balanes the main dot ‘This fe of vertical croing is very ‘common in the Chen Style and very rare in the Yang. The otly possible Tene etre! SSE AUTUMN QIGONG RETREAT (October 13-15) that follows Fan Through the Back in ‘most Yang Style forms, ATASTE OF CHINA: OLD AND NEW (Autumn 1995) Tho Side Facing Circle Group tour to study in China with Master Yang Zhen-duo ‘This circle is a vertical circle running id Yang J rate ts ty em bs ATaste ree China" toed in eg (alzong) and Chinese 1118 Shirley St maine excep that it resid 0 Winchester, VA 22601 the dantian area. telephone/ fax: 703-667-7595 ‘The energy in the vertical circle goes ‘rom Hiui Yin (the perineum) up through the coceyx and the lumbar area ‘with Master Jou Tsung-Hwa, Madame Wang Ju-rong, Dr. Wu Cheng-de, Masters Yu Cheng-hsiang, Daniel Lee, Liang Shou-yu, Yang Jwing-ming & Huang Wei-lun tothe Ming Men point (Gate of Life) on rallway. Among the elements that make _players use the Large ©: the back opposite the navel, then for it work are: ergy path that runs up the back of the ‘ward through the body and down the A slight tensing of the pubococey= body and down the front. When you Tron. goal muscle inthe perineum use the Large Orbit, your move- ‘The Chen Style movement Step ‘A slight lifting of the pelvic floor ments consist of Back and Wheel Asms and the corre- Breathing in using arising wave mo- ‘A Yin (Felaxation) phase in which sponding Yang Style movement Step tion that causes a wave of expansion t the gi retuens from the arms, drains jut of the heed, and runs down the Back and Repaise Monkey both use this move up the lower back type of citeling (see illustration) Allowing a wave of relaxation to front ofthe torgo and the legs into move down the front ofthe abdomen as _the ground, This relaxation phase is Yyou breathe out, from the navel downto _indispensable ifthe following expres- the pubic bone and then to the perineum, sion phase is to happen right. TThis movement exn be harmful un- ‘A“Yang" (expression) phase in less you do it in a natural and relaxed which the ch’i comes up from the ‘way, s0 you should practice it only un+ heels, up the backs ofthe legs, up der the guidance of a competent through the spine, and then spits at teacher. You may be able to master it the shoulder girdle to flow out ‘without personal instruction ifyou have through the arms and the fingertips. considerable experience with the Small (Micracosmic) Onbit. ~~ However, one difference from the Yong Phase Orbit is that yon have to imagine not a single energy going around the circuit bat rather ewo complementary energies, corresponding tothe two dots in the yen though the above figure refers tothe chen style movement, Step Back Ta Chi diagram. hase and Whes! Arms the same idea also eae aera whale ead luefl in Yang style Step Back and Re-— Energy pulse Monkey. Obviously, the circling ofthe dantian {not the only internal process going on jn T'ai Chi, For instance, some Tai Chi ‘This circle requires both relaxation and awareness if is to happen in a natu- PAGE 17The following diagram illustrates the process: "You can coordinate this Large Orbit flow withthe side facing circle in the antian, During the Yang phase, fee! the iin the dantian rising up the smnall of ‘your back; during the Yin phase, feel it sinking down from your navel to your perineum, Slanted circles Some movernents use a circle that slants at about a 45 degree angle. One example ig a move toward the end of the Chen form called, “Sink Waist with Elbow Down.” Tin this move, the right forearm rolls forward, down, and out, while the left arm comes a litle forward and diago- nally up. Ie sas ifthe two arms are holding a dise about 5 feet across and rolling it diagonally down to the right. “The corresponding cirle inthe dan- tian also slants by the same angle. An= other Chen Style example is Flash the Back. The following diagram illustrates the slanted circle in, “Sink Waist with Elbow Down.” The circle tps down not ‘only from front to back but also from Feftto right. Yang Style Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain (after Cross Hands) is good Sink Wisiat wih Ebow ‘Down. Side View Front View PAGE 18 example ofthis type of slanted circle, slanting from top left to bottom right. “The slanted circle is particularly clear the variant where the right hand remains palm up, which is also more effective from the applications point of view. Brush Knee is another example, slant- ing from top right to bottom left Independent Circling of the ‘Two Sides: As ifall this were not complex ‘enough, in some movements the left ‘and right halves of the dantian do differ- ‘ent circles. For instance, in Cloud Hinds th circles in the right and left S@ Double dantian rotation halves of the dantian drive the interlock= ing and opposing circles of the hands ‘and arms, as shown in the figure befow; Cloud Hands is the clearest examn- ples ofthis separate citcling ofthe two halves. This idea is most useful for movements where the relationships be- tween the arms are relatively complex. Practice with Commitment but not with Effort ‘Mastering this eieling requires fo- cus, body awareness, and much dedl- tated practice, Take my Ceacher, Mar ‘dame Gao Fu, as an example, Madame a0 isnot by any means aT'ai Chi her- rit, In fact, she is well known for out- partying her students But any time she is sitting in a car, ot people are holding « conversation in English that she doesn’t understand, she will start to focus inside and cirele the energy around the dantian. Ttisa spooky experience to sit next toher for a while thinking that she's just taking it easy, and then suddenly to notice the intensity of the internal proc- esses that are going 0 ‘Mastering this type of three-dimen- sional eireling requires awareness and practice, but except in the very begin~ ning it should NOT take physical effort. Mrs. Geo demonstrates this circling by having her students touch her belly and lower back ‘When she exaggerates the movement for clavty, it Feels as if a bagful of rest- Jess squirrels are running around in there. But when she practices for her- self, the movement is smooth, soft, and totally relaxed. ‘As in other aspects of T'ai Chi, the key to improving is not to use more ef fort but to systematically identify and let go of everything that is impeding the movement, When that is done, the movement happens all by itself with no ‘muscular effort or tension at al A Short Cut Rotating the dantian in three (or more) planes requires competent instruc tion and dedicated practice. On the ‘other hand, I’ve found that everything, flows fram the basic principles that all movements are circular and that the ‘outer body and the dantian are in har- mony. For me, the best way to practice these principles isto imagine that there is a tiny person a few inches high inside the dantian who is doing the move- ‘ments, and thatthe rest of my body is following that movement without my having to get involved. You ean visualize that tiny person in- side the dantian as being a‘T¥ai Chi mas- ter, or as a benevolent presence of some kind, your “fairy godmother” or some- one like that, of even yourself. Of course the visualization depends on that little person inside the dantian having some idea what the right circles are, s0 this Visualization is most useful ‘nee you have some feeling for the df= ferent circles.« Acknowledgements Madame Gao Fu, senior student of Feng Zhiqiang, tanght me this material. Some of the diagrams are based on illas- trations from Feng Zhiqiang’s book on hhis Chen 24 movement form. Andy Dale helped me clarify Gao Fu's teach- ing about the cireling around Dai Mei ‘When requesting information from TTALCHI or Wayfater Publications, please enclose a seladdressed, stamped envelope.* |