Power TaijiErle MontaigueWeb versionCopyright 2009 by Erle Montaigue, All rights reserved.Erle Montaigue expressly disclaims all warranties as to the contents of this publication including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, infringement, and makes no warranty as to the results that may be achieved by using the information con-tained in thispublication. Because this information can be used in a variety of ways to fit various purposes, Erle Montaigue will not be responsible for any damages(including, without limitations, indirect, consequential, special, or punitive damages)suffered or incurred by any person arising out of such persons use or reliance on this publication or the information contained herein.Reproduction or translation of any part of this work without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to Erle Montaigue.contentschapter oneQigong Theory and Practice chapter twoTaiji Long Formchapter threeBasics of Push-Hands and Related Methods chapter fourAdvanced Concepts: The Four Levels of Taijichapter fiveForm Applications and Self-Defense conclusion wa r n i n gSomeofthetechniquesdepictedinthisbookareextremelydangerous. Itisnottheintentoftheauthor,publisher,ordistributorsofthi sbook toencouragereaderstoattemptanyofthesetechni queswi thout properprofessionalsupervision andtraining. Attempting to do so can result insevereinjuryordeath. Do notattemptanyofthese techniqueswithoutthe supervision of a certified instructor.The author,publisher, and distributors of this book disclaim anyliability from anydamagesorinjuries ofanytype thata readeroruserofinforma-tioncontainedwithinthisbookmayencounterfromtheuseormisuseof said information. This book is presented for academic study only.f o r e w o r dMartial arts are a Chinese national sport. They are also to be treasured by all people of theworl d.Theyarenotgovernedbysex,age, location, seasons, orweapons.Because peopl esoftheworl darenowexchangi ngcul tures andmarti alarti stshavesi mi l arinterests, friendships of mutual benefit to all concerned arc being formed.The purposeofa martialartis totoughenyourbonesandmusclesfor self-defenseand to improve yourintelligence and mental attitude.Martialarts consistofbothattackanddefense,andthesemovementsneedtobe pl acedi nsequencet ocreat eastyl e.Taijiquanisonestyle ofmartial art.Thereare five different versions. The mostpopularversi onsi nChi naare theChenandYangst yl es.TheYangst yl ei sver yr el axed,smooth, and slow,withinternalstrength.Itis suitable forallpeople,including the old, the weak, or those suffering from illness.InMay1985,Erl eMontai guebroughtthe Australian Taijiquan Boxing As-sociation memberstovisitYinchuanCityinNingxia t oseet heAl l - Chi na Nat i onalWushuCompet i t i on.Mast erMont ai guegaveademonstra-tionofhisYang-styletaijiquan,whi chwasverywel lrecei vedbythe audi ence,andthelocalnewspapersandtelevisi onstati oni ntervi ewed hi m. He i s wel lremembered by the Chi nese peopl e si nce this time.IsawMasterMontaigue'sdemonstration.Histui-sau(push-hands),qi development,andstylewereveryprofessionalandcloseto perfection.I appreciatehisknowledge.IknowMasterMontaiguehasintroducedtai-jiquan to Australia and the Pacific region with excellent results.Iam one ofthedirectdescendants to inheritthe Yang-style taijiquan.I havewrittenabookof48techniques,andIamalsoaChinesetaijiquan champion.MasterMontaigueandIhavebuiltaverygoodfriendshipbe-cause ofourmutualloveoftaijiquanand thefactthatwe are close tothe same age [in terms ofexperience in taiji,notin literalyears Ed.]. Also, we both have beards and curly hair and have worked on films.Ourfriendshipisnotonlyonapersonalbasis,however;myhopeis thatitwillcementafriendshipbetweenAustraliaandChi naandgroup togethertoi mprovethe standard ofmarti alarts. I wish MasterMontaigue everysuccessinhis business,andI wishAustralianationalsuccessintai-jiquan. I send my special regards to martial arts devotees throughout the world.-MASTER WANG XIN-WUMaster Wang, of China, is the creator of the Peking 48 style of taijiquan.p r e f a c eTherearethreemainChineseinternalmartialarts:hsinyiquan,bag-wazhang,andtaijiquan(t'aichich'uan).Thelastisreputedtobethe mother, the original source, of the other two.Whatthese three have incommonwitheach other and with all great mar-tial arts are methodswherebythebodyandmi ndaremadestrongand coordi nated.Fromthi sperspective, qi (ch'i, or internal energy) cult i vat i oni s t hemost i mport ant aspect of one's taijiquan training.Qiisourlife force from conception,the verythingthatholds ourmole-culestogether, an internal bioelectrical force. It stands to reason that if we have littleofthisforce,oriftheflowofqiisimpeded,thenwearenottoo healthy.Taijiquanisatype ofmovingqigong(ch'ikung),whichmeans"inter-nalwork"andi nvol vesspeci f i cphysi calposturesandmovementsused i nconjuncti onwi thcertainbreathingtechniques.Usingtheseasde-scri bed i nthecomi ngchapters,we are abl e tobui l duponthe qiwe are bornwi th(prenatalqi )andthenmakei tf l owbenefi ci al l yduri ngour practi ce of the tai jiquan form.Oneofthepri maryai msofourtai j itrainingis to augmentourstore ofthisenergy so thatourorgans are literally bathed in life-giving qi. However, if we wish to then use qiforhealingormartialpurposes,thenwemustturnit into a refined form of energy called jing.Everytaijiquanposturecausesthe internalenergyto flowthroughits corresponding organ,and sothe whole traditionaltaiji form is made upof thesepostures,sequencedtoallowthisflowtohappenwithoutforcingit. Eachrepetitionofaform thatweperforminourtaijipracticecausesthis flow to take place three extra times throughout the body.Inaddition,eachposturerepresentsaparticularcombattacticwhose performancecausesthe qitogofromthelowertantien(apointabout3 inches belowthe navel) to the appropriate attacking portion ofone's body. Because ofthe nature ofthese movements,the qiflows through themain organsinordertoperform this work, and so from a warartwe have a healing art.Thi sheal i ngarti sbaseduponthewushu,orwararts,because the fighting arts have always been an essentialaspect of Chinese culture. I sup-poseiftaijiquanhadbeeninventedintheUnitedStates,wewouldhave movementsderivedfrom basketballor baseball to give us the appropriate flow of qi.InthishookIwillnotdiscussthemostdangerousareaoftaiji(i.e., dim-mak,ordeath-pointstriking),asIhavecovereditindetailinother bookspublishedbyPaladinPress.Itisenoughto tellaboutthe relationship that taiji has to dim-mak.Theori gi natoroftai j iwasChangSan-f eng,whowasaf amous acupuncturi standtradi ti onalChi nesedoctorbornaround1270A.D. Changwasalreadywellversedinthe hardboxingstylesindigenoustothe Shaolin Monastery but was not satisfied with the skills he had developed.Consequent l y,heandt woot herski l l edacupunct uri st sexperi-mentedonunwillingsubjectsobtainedfromthelocaljailtodiscoverthe most effective martialusages ofthe acupuncture poi nts!Theyi ncorporated al lofthestri kesthatcausedgreatdamageordeathintotheirtraining methods.Eventually,Changhadwhatheknewtohethemostdeadl y f i ghti ngsystemi nChinaone thatrequiredonlymedium forcetoimmo-bilize or kill an attacker.Chang,beingquiteconcernedthatotherswouldstealhisknowledge, devised a series of movements thatwould conceal his methodsfrom casualob-serversandthathecouldteachhispersonalstudents withouttheirkilling people.Thisformeventuallybecameknownastaijiquan.Nowadays,not manypeopleknowaboutthe deadlypartoftaiji,andthosewhodousu-ally do not teach it, except to a favored few.Forthosewhowishtotake taijiquanontoitssecondarylevelasasel f-defenseart(andadamnedgoodone),evenwi thoutdim-makthere are othertrainingmethodsandforms,fasterandmore explosive,thatteach us this aspect.However,theslow-movingtaijiquanformdoesgiveusthethreemain prerequisites foranyfightingart:perfectbalance,coordination, and, above all, timing. Once you have gained these prerequisites,you are able to go on to themoreadvancedtechniquesinthepauchui(cannonfist)form,push-hands, da-lu, sansau, and long har quan (dragon prawn boxing).In the firstfourchapters in this book I discuss qiand qigong;presentthe long,slowformfromtheYangstyleoftaijiquanatabasiclevel;discuss moreadvancedaspectsofform practice;anddescri betheessenti altwo-personexerci seoftui -sau(push-hands)aswellasrelatedbasicmartial exercises.Itismysincerewishthatthefollowingpageswillhelpyou gain some insights into your own martial training.ERLE MONTAIGUEchapter oneThewordqigong(ch' ikunginthosetextsusi ngtheol dWade-Gi l es systemoftranslatingChineseintoEnglish)literallymeans"internal work."Infact, anyphysicaland/ormentalacti onscombi nedwi thcertain breathingmethodsthatcauseaninternal flowof energy canbe considered qigong.In physicalterms,such"work"canbe done while reclining,sitting, standing, or moving in a prescribed manner.Tai j i quanf or mi sat ypeofmovi ngqi gongand,whendonecor-rect l y,i sanexcel l entmeansofi mprovi ngheal thandmartial skill. How-ever,initially,evenwithcompetentinstructionandeffort,itisdifficul tto trai ni nternal l ybecausethereareman\,physicalaspectsandtechnical detailstocoordi nate:rememberi ngtheposturesandsequence,proper breathing, yin-yang in the wrists and feet, and so on.Standi ngqi gongel i mi natesmanyofthesephysi caldetai l s,maki ng i teasi ertoconcentrateonbreathi nganddevel opi ngsung,whi chi s usual l y(thoughnotqui teaccurately)translatedasrelaxation.Chang Yi u-chun,mymai ni nst ruct ori nrecentyears, comparedsung to baking a cake.Youtakethecake outoftheovenandi thasani cehi ghtopon i t.Youturnawayf oramomentandi nthatti mei thasdroppedeven thoughyou have notseenitdrop. Thisis what sung ismoving without feeling themovement.Forexample,youareonthewaytounderstandingsung when,while performing the group ofposturesknown as Cloud Hands,you feelnotensionorchangesofstatefromyintoyang(orvice-versa)inthe wrists while doing the movements.Since standingis notas comfortableassitting,you mustconcentrateon the principles of relaxation and bodybalance todosuchexerciseevenon aphysicallevel.Asintaiji,theentirebodymustlearntouseonlythe appropriate muscles to do the "job" at handnot too much effort, not too little.The upperbodyin particularmustbe relaxed, and,although it'sdifficult, the mindmustbe encouragedtogive up itsobsessi onwi thendl essmen-tal"chatter."Payi ngattenti ontothebreathisonemethodofslowing down and eventually stopping mental restlessness.Therearehundredsofdifferenttypesofqigong,includingthosepos-turesfromthetaijiforms,etc.Butdon' tbealarmedand thinkthatyou will have to spend your whole life learning if you wish to pursue this activity!Therearesomanyvariationsbecausetheexpertsinthedifferent provi ncesofChi naeachsl i ghtl ymodi fi edwhattheylearnedtomake the exercise theirownwhile stillattaining the same effect.Mostprovinces have theirown"folkqigongs,"and,notsurprisingly, each claims that its is the best.ThereareevenqigongtournamentsheldinChinaeachyearinwhich practitionerscompetetoseehowmanybricks,supportedont hei rbare heads,canbecrushedbysl edgehammers.However, we are not concerned with such theatrical displays.Qigong has become a fashionable therapy in the Westin the pastdecade and continues to gain popularityin muchthe same way that taijiquan did in the70sand80s.Thisancienthealingartis,infact,idealforpeopleofall ages, affecting not only physical health but also psychological states.QI THEORYWithin the body, there are 12 main and eight extra acupuncture meridians or channels. It is said that a bioelectrical force called qi flows freely through these channels to all of our internal organs.Qi is to us as water is to the fish in the sea. They don't knowit's there until theyare taken outof itand they soon die. It's the same with us: block the flow of energy and we soon become sick and die.WearetoldthroughancientChinesetextsthatwhatevertheexternal bodydoes,sotoodoesthei nternalfl owofqitrytoemulate.Soit standstoreasonthatifweareperformingharsh,unnaturalmovements thatgo against the natural bodilyflow, so too will the internal flowof qi be im-peded.However,ifwe perform natural,flowingmovements, we canenhance the naturalinternalflowofqitoallpartsofthebody.Themanyvari at i ons ofst at i onaryorst andi ngqi gongaredesignedtobuildup ourprenatal qi,whileitisthe jobofthe taijiquanform,asa type ofmovingqigong,to cause this extra energy to flow freely to all parts of the body.Taijiquanisawaytobringourenergyflowbacktonormalandopen themeri di anssothatthefl owwi l lbeuni mpeded.Taijiquanisclosely relatedtoacupuncture.Acupunctureissaidtocurethei mmedi ateal i-ment,whi l etai ji quanheal stherootcauseandstopsitfromreturning. Everyposture fromtaijiquansendstheqitotheorganassociatedwitha particularacupuncturemeri di an.Someofthemovementsarerepeated because these belong to the most important organs.Withtimeandprogress,qiandbloodcirculationimprove,hel pi ng l owerhi ghbl oodpressureandmoveqidowntothel owerabdomen. Breathi ngbecomesnatural l ysl owerandi tsrhythm more even without your having forced it to do so.Can Qigong Be Harmful?Ifyouonlypracticethebasicqigongstancesandmovementswi thout overdoi ngthem,therecanbe no danger.Atthe veryworst, you will only be wasting yourtime and effortif you practice incorrectly. You cannotcreate a diseased state by not doing the exercises perfectly.However, as in anything, if you practice qigong to excess,there can he a harmful effect. This is where your teacher must gui de you through the basi cs and sl owl y up to the advanced forms. For i nstance, i f you are tol d not to attempt a certai n qigong stance because it is an advanced practice, then you simply must not practice it prematurely. Many, students are eager to learn or impatient, so they try to practice certain qigong stances long before they are ready, which leaves them open to a certain amount of harm. The danger lies in the fact that once we have established a certain flow by practicing a certain method, we are sometimes fooled into be-lieving that we are able to take much more than our bodies are physically ca-pable of at that time.When this happens we are literallyheld in place by the flowof qi, our mus-cles having given up long ago. If that flowis suddenly interrupted,perhaps bya telephone call, the conscious mind takes overagain.The great flowofenergy slows to the normal rate, and we go back to using ourphysical muscles again. Butourmuscles are useless because they have been overused, and we collapse. I experienced this phenomenon during myinitialtraining,and ithas since hap-penedto three ofmystudents.Why?Because we alldid something thatour teacherstoldusnotto.(Butthenwhatinquiringmindcanresistdoing somethingthatsomeonewarnsagainstbecauseitistoopowerful!)Thisis theonlydrawbackIhaveeverfoundin the practice of qigong forthe average person.However,ifa person hascertainserious ailments,such asbloodclots, kidneystones,etc.,thereissomerisk.Theqigongtriestorelease these blockages, and this can cause great pain and sometimesimmobility.Similarly,if apersonhassomementaldisorder,itisinadvisabletodoeventhebasic qigongforanylengthofti mewi thouthavi ngani nstructoronhand,as qi gong can cause the mentally ill to be more so.The Main Categories of QigongAlloftheqigongtechniquescanbesplitupintothree maincategories: those formedicaluse,thoseforself-healing,andthose forthemartialarts. Usually,theself-healingandthemartialartsaspects are ofmostinterestto those who practice taijiquan.Bystudying the self-healing qigongs, we can learn to use ourown bodies and mindstohealourselvesof disease.Whentaijiquani sperformedcor-rectl yand uses thefourmai nbreathi ng techniques (covered later), it also becomes a potent self-healing qigong practice.Whenwe practice the martialarts qigong,we make useof this internal worktogainpower,speed,andtimingforbasicself-defense.Atmoread-vancedlevels,welearnto"add"qitoanopponent' svi talpoi ntsto augment the damage caused by our physical strikes.Themoredifficult"medical"qigongisusedbyadoctorofqi gongto healothers.Thi sveryadvancedpracti cenotonl yinvolves the patient's learningandpracticingself-healingqigongbutalsothedoctor'sinterven-tiontoeitheraddorremove qito aidthe healingprocess.I am toldthat many,traditionaldoctorsinChinaarehavingahighsuccessratewith cancer and other deadly diseases.Taijiquan and Medical QigongA qigong healer is able to use the qigong stances to not only heal but also todiagnose anyproblems.First,onalargescale,the healeridentifiesthe affectedareaofthebodyanddetermineswhetherthe disease is"yindefi-cient" or "yang deficient."Ona verybasiclevel,the healeraccomplishes this by taking note of the positionofthepatient'spalmsaftersomeminutesofthepatient'shaving practiced hisorherownqigong stance.(The positionsofallofthelimbsis also takenintoaccount,asisthe positionof the fingers,butinthis bookI willonlydealwiththemoresimplepalmpositions.)If,forinstance,the rightpalm has droppedto alowerlevelthantheleftpalm,thisindicates thatthereisa yang deficiencyinthe rightsideofthe body.Onehas also totakeinto accountthepositionoftheotherlimbs to establish whetherthe upper or lower body is affected.Tofurtherpinpointtheproblem,thehealerhasthepatientassumea varietyofotherpostures, including some from the taijiquan form, to find out which ones cause pain orare comparatively more difficult than the others. If, for instance, the posture ofBrush Knee,TwistStep causes pain around the chestarea and is more diffi-cultthannormalforabeginnertoperform,thiswouldi ndi cateayang-defi ci entheartprobl em.Furtheranal ysi softongue, face, and skin condi-tion would confirm the diagnosis.The qigong doctorthen has to decide howto heal the ailment. He may use acupuncturetohealtheimmediateeffectofthepainandthenusesome qigongposturestoputsome yang energyintothe heart. Hemayalsoprac-ticehisownqigongbeforetreatingthepatient.Foraminorailmentthis mightbefor20minutes.Foramoreseriousailmenthemaypractice qigongforamuchlongerperiod andfast,exceptforfruit,overanumberof days.He willthen place his palms around the affected area or over the relevant acupuncture pointand directhisownyangenergyinto these points to fur-therthecure.Hisorherenergyisreleasedfromapointonthepalms calledLaogung(Pericardium8).Ifyoucloseyourfistandseewherethe longest finger points to, this is the point to which I am referring.Thedoctormayalsoprescribecertainqigongstocurethedisease. Thiswillsometimesbe a taijiposture,usuallythe same one thatwasused todiagnosethedisease.Itmaybeastaticpostureusedwithcertain breathingtechniqueseitheracleansingbreath(i nhal i ngthroughthe noseandexhal i ngthroughthemout h)orat oni cbreat h(i nhal i ng t hrought hemout handexhalingthroughthenose),usingaprenatalor postnatalreverseofnaturalbreathing(coveredlaterinthisbook)orit maybeamovingposture.Forinstance,tohealanailmentinvolvingthe joints,Single Whip maybeusedas astaticposture.This same postureis usedtohealthedigestivetract,theonlydifferencebeingthatitispre-ceded by the posture of Press Forward, as in the taijiquan form, and is held for a few minutes, then repeated.PRACTICINGBASICQIGONGFOR OVERALL GOOD HEALTHStand straight with your shoulders relaxed and gently rounded, neither hunched forward nor held stiffly. The feet should be al i ttl emorethan shoul der-width apart and parallel to each other. The arms should be hanging at both sides with fin-gers relaxed. Lift the arms in front with the palms facing each other, making sure not to lift or tense the shoulders.Slowly drawthe palms in toward the chest and starttobendyourknees.Theelbowsshould be bent no more than 90 degrees. You should feelas though you are holding a large ball in front of your torso (fig. 1).The knees should bend only to the point where there is a Figure 1vertical line between the second toe and the knee cap.The back should be straight with the buttocks tucked under as if you were sitting on the edge of a high chair. This is the naturalposition for the lowerback when the knees are partially bent. There should be no sway in the lower back.You can do no harm to your back or any other part of your body as long as you are doing the stance correctly, with the spine straightand verticalto the ground, with no swayin the lower-back orlumbarregion. After all, the backbone is being held in its natural position when your legs are bent. Our backbones naturally have a slight S shape. One person I knowof teaches qigong with the buttocks sticking out while the legs are bent. This will cause both physical pain and energy blockages.If you do feel pain, check yourposture. If it is correct, then the pain is probably because yourbackbone isoutofalignmentand the qigong istryingto healthe problem. In such a case, only perform qigong for shortperiods until the pain goes away.The chin should be pulled inslightlybutnotso much asto pullthe head down. This tends to straighten the backbone. Your eves should be looking straight ahead, but not staring. They can be half-closed but not shut.Pressthetonguel i ghtl yupwardagai nstthehardpal atebehindthe frontteeth,asifsaving the letterL,in ordertojoin the yinandyang acu-puncturemeridianssothattheqicanflowfreelyintheupperheavenly circulation.Thisoccursviaamostimportantpathway,whichbeginsata pointcalledtheConceptorVessel1(Cv1),situatednexttotheanus.The flowthrough this path, which is called the Governor's Vessel and is yang, con-tinues upthebackbone withthe inhalation,overthe skull,down the front of the forehead, and into the top of the hard palate. The qit hencont i nues downvi at het onguet omeetwi t ht he' i nConceptorVesselatthe base ofthetongue,where itcontinuesdownthefrontofthebodyto the tan-tien.Witheachinhalation,theqitravelsuptheyangmeridian,and with each exhalation, it travels down the yin meridian.Youmustbreathe like a child.As you inhale,the area justbelow\'our chestmustexpand.Ifyouaretotallyrelaxed,especiallytheshoulders and chestarea,thenthisis the onlywaythatyoucanbreathe.Justallow yourstomachtostickoutwhenyouinhale.Asyouexhale,theareathat has filled up with air must obviously contract, and so the stomach area goes in.Manypeople have difficultywiththis.Itistensionthatcausesus to lift the chestwhen we breathe. The qi rises up into your chest,and you become tenseandtop-heavy.Breatheslowlybutnaturallyandonlyasvoteown rhythm dictates.Don'tforceyourbreath; onlyinhale untilitstopsnaturally andthenwaituntilyouwanttoexhalenaturally.Thereshouldbeaslight pause between the in and out breaths.Thef i ngersshoul dbehel dl i ghtl yapartandturnedoutsl i ghtl y. Thereshoul dbeastrai ghtl i neofski nbetweenthethumb and forefinger, as shown in Figure 2.Thi sact i vat esani mpor t antacupunct ur epoi ntcal l edCol on4(Co 4),justwherethe thumband forefi ngermeetatthe back of the hand. (Ap-plying firm pressure to this point is verygoodf orheal i ngheadachesi nt he f rontoft hehead.However,don'tstimulateitduringpregnancy,asit cancausecontractionsinthewomb.)Holdingthepalmsthiswaycauses the thumb to become "yang" whi l e the fi ngers become "yi n." This is said to "bring the large circleinto the palm" (causinga concentrationofen-ergyinthe whole body)andismostimportantfordevel opi ngbothheal-i ngand,i nparti cul ar,marti alskills,asitconcentratestheenergyinthe palms.Thetoesshoul dbehel dsl i ghtl yconcavesothatanotheri mportant poi ntonthebottomofthefooti sacti vated.Thi spoi nt,cal l edKi dney 1(K1),i scal l edthe`Bubbl i ngWel l ,"fromwhi chtheqii ssai dto spri ng.(Fortheconfi gurati onofthefootandthel ocati onofKi dney1 poi nt,seefi gs.3and4.)Theqimustbebroughtfromthel owertan-ti endowntothi spoi nti nordertobeused.Hol di ngthefootsothati t i ssl i ghtl yconcavecausesKi dney1tobecomeyi n,whi l etheoutside ofthe footbecomesyang,whichattractsyangenergydowntothepoi nt so that we can uti l i ze i t i n the marti alarts or for healing.The elbows should be held as if you have a tennis ball under each arm. This is good for the flow of qi and allows the shoulder to relax more. The stomach should be held totally relaxed and the anal sphincter held lightly closed.Figure 3Figure 2Tryto"si t"i ntothepostureandfeeltheperfectbal ancethati t bri ngs.Donotl eani nanydi recti on.Aful l -l engthmi rrorcanbeuseful forcheckingthis.TheTaoistbasisofqigongsuggestsmuscleenergyisa necessarycatalystfortheprocessofconvertingqitojing.Instanding qigong,thisisbroughtaboutbybendingtheknees,whichcreates energy/heatinthe lowertan-ti en.Thi s,i n turn,bri ngsaboutthechemi-calchangesi nthe bodythatare needed forthe conversion. It's like light-ingaf i reunderacaul drontoheatthewateri ni t.Theresul ti ng steam,apuri fi ed,condensedformofwater,ri sesandcanbeused as an energy source.Quite often you will experience the "shakes"ortremblingin vari ouspart ofthebodywhendoi ngstandi ngqi gong.Thi si sbecausetheqif l ows downtotheBubbl i ngWel leasi l ybutencounters tension caused bysome blockage on the wayback.As the obstructionclears,the shakeswillgo and you willbe able to feel things. (I am purposelyvague in saying "things,"be-cause if I tell you what to expect then you will look forthatparticularfeeling. One ofmymainteacherstoldmethatqiis likea veryshyperson;ifyou stareatit,itwillleave andwon'tbe seenagainforsometi me.Thebest waytoexperi encesomethi ngi snottoexpect anything in particular, just let itcome!)Beawareofyourl egssomet i mest heysl owl ycreepupward andt hekneesstraightenwithout'ourevenknowingit.Thisisthecase when people say that they do not experience any vibration or shakes.Forthe firstfewtimesthatyouare standing in thispositionandtryi ng tofol l owal lofthesedi recti ons,youmaywonder,"Whyam I doing this?" Persevere and you will discoverthe greatbenefits of this practice. If you feel tension, just breathe it away with each exhalation.Asyoustandinthisoranyqigongpostures,thinkofbeautifulthings andimaginethatastringisholdingyouupfrom the crownofyourhead. Have a slight smile on yourface and "think under" (i.e., think about the under-side of your arms or legs).Figure 4Thi s wi l lcause your l i mbs to feel heavy and cause the subconsci ous mi ndtof ocusonthe lower tan-tien. End your qi gong sessi on by dropping your arms slowly unti lthey are roughl y i n l i ne with your navel with the palms up, as shown in Figure 5.Hold this posture forabout one-thi rdofthetotalti meofeach qigong ses-sion. Finally, as you inhale, bring both arms up andoutt oyoursi deswi t h relaxed wrists (fig. 6).Then,asshowninFigure7,the armscontinueacrossinf rontoft he chestandpushdownwardtothesidesasyouexhale and straighten your legs.Do not make anysudden movementsorhaveanythingcold to drink forat least five minutes. Just walk around slowly.Therearefourhandpositions thatcan be used to cause differentenergy activationstotake place when doingthis basicqigong.Forinstance,holding the palms as was just described, in what is called the "mother" position, sends 60 percent of activated qi to the legs, with the restgoing to the hands.Thisisthe position normally used for overall self-healing.I ft hepal msar ef aci nga wa yf r o my o uwi t ht h ethumbs poi nti ngdownward,cal l edthe"father"posi ti on,more qi is activated in the legs, and one bui l ds strength, particularly in the upper body.If the palms are facing downward(withoutchangingthe relative position of the arms andbody),calledthe"daughter"position,moreqiisactivatedin thearmsandhands.This is good foranyforearm or hand ailments such as RSI (repetitive strain injury).When the palms are held facing eachotherwith the thumbs pointing upward, called the "son"position, more qi is activated in the spine as wellas the lungs and internal organs, so it is good for breathing ailments, etc.Figure 6Figure 5ADVANCED STANDING QIGONGTherei samoreadvancedf ormof qi gongi nwhi chtheweight is placed fully onto one leg. You should not attempt this until you can hold the basic qigong for at least 20 minutes.Asshownin Figure 8,the arms are held asif holding a baby(frontpalm cradlingthehead,rearpalmholdingthebum),andonefootisplaced, emptyofweight,infrontoftheother.Allother aspects are the same as for the basic qigong.You must recognize the following three signs while performing this more advanced qigong:1) You will feel as if you just can't stand there for an-other second, andt hi s canhappenaf t er onl y about one minute. You must recognize a pain in the standing leg as if a hot needle is being stuck into your thigh.2)Ifyouareabl et ostandthi sfora l i ttl el onger,youwi l lfeelt hi sheatdi s-si pat e,bri ngi ngrel i efandawarm feeling that rolls over your thigh.3)Yourlegwillshake,andwhenthishappensyous houl dc hangel egs anddot heposture on the other side.Figure 8Figure 7Youwillnotice thatyou are nowable tostandfora little longer on the otherside; this is because the qi has begun to flow.When you switch back to the first leg you will again find that you are able to stand for a longer period, and so on.Atfirstyoushould trystandingthiswayforonlyaboutoneanda half minutesoneachleg;thiswillbeenough.Astheqiisbuiltupinthe legs, you will be able to increase this time. Butyou mustlook forthe three signs, which will be your best indication as to how long to stand on each leg.BREATHING TECHNIQUES FOR QIGONGTherearefourmai nbreathi ngtechni questhatshoul dbeusedwith qigong:1)naturalbreath,whichwasdescribedpreviously;2)reverse breath,inwhichtheabdomenissuckedinwith each inhalation and relaxed withthe subsequentexhalat i on;3)pr enat albr eat h,i nwhi char ol l i ng act i onoft heabdomenoccurs(thel owerabdomeni ssuckedi nwi th thei nhal ati onwhi l etheupperabdomeni spushedout,thenthel ower abdomeni spushedoutont heexhal at i onwhi l et heupperabdomen i ssuckedi n) ;and4)t or t oi sebr eat h,anadvanced prenatalbreathin which we hold theinhalation forseven seconds.Tortoise breath gives the twoenergiesinnerandouterachancetomi xatthe"border"(the di aphragm).Whenweexhal e,thei nnerqi(bel owthe di aphragm)takes alittleofthe outerqi(theinhaledair)withittothe lowertan-tien, thus increasing our store of internal energy.THE TAIJI POSTURES FOR SELF-HEALINGTaijiquanwasn'tworkedoutinahaphazardwaybysuccessive genera-tions ofmasters whohoped thatthese exercises wouldwork upontheinter-nalorganssomehowtogivethepractitionergreathealth.Rather,each posture wascreateddeliberatelytostretchthe correctmuscle groups and tendonsandactupon the acupuncture meridians associatedwiththatarea in accordance with the theories of Chinese traditional medicine (CTM).The Japanese healing massage method calledshiatsuuses the same prin-ciplesandactivatesthepointswithfingerpressuretobeneficiallyaffect the acupuncture points.Shiatsu,ofcourse,came from the Chinese healing science of acupuncture, to which taijiquan is related and concomitant.Accordi ngtoCTM,thequal i tyandquanti tyofi nternalenergyfl ow-i ngthroughthemeri di ansconstantl ywaxesandwanesasinfluenced by a variety of factors,including ourfitness levels,the weather,emotion,diet, and environment(i.e.,pollution).Whenqiisdistributed evenlyand atthe optimum levels, we are healthy and able to resist disease.Taiji,asapotentformofmovingqigong,usesthevariousposturesin theformtosendthisbioelectricalenergytovariouspartsofthebody. Tai jiformi smai nl yusedasanexcel l entmethod of preventative medicine; each posture is said to activate one of the 12 meridians, thus giving the whole bodyaninternaland externalworkout.In addition,however,these postures can be usedasstaticormoping qigong.Each individualposture canalso be used as a static posture in a qigong stance to heal the associated organ. Some-times we have to take a couple of the movements on either side of a posture, movinginandoutofthe posturetohealcertainorgans.Interestingly,this sameposture,whenusedasastaticqigong, mayheala completelydifferent organ.NOTE: Treating specific ailments in an acute or severe chronic state is best accomplished in conjunction with a qualified expert.Itisimportantto rememberthatthe seriouslyillin Chinaare treatedby experts whousuallycombine qigong withtraditionalhealingmethods (i.e., massage,herbalmedicine,acupuncture)orWesternmedicinetobenefit thepatient.Apatientmaydohoursofmovingand/orstaticqigongeach dayformanyweeksaspartof his orhertreatment.Suchpracticeis carefully monitored. Self-diagnosisandtreatmentbyamateursisusuallyfoolishand maybe fatalinthe caseoflife-threateningillness.Using thewrong pos-tureforyourparticularhealth needs won'taggravatethe existing condition orcreatenewones;however,youwillhavewastedyourtimeandeffortin termsofhealingthemaincondition,which,ifitis acute,couldhave serious ramifications.When doing a posture that requires you to hold the end of itas a standing meditation,remembertodoitonbothsidesofthebody(i.e.,mirrorim-age).Thisisparticularlyimportantwhenyoudoseveralrepetitionssoyou avoid overstraining the muscles of one leg. Aside from the mechanical stress this causes, it is important to remember that muscle tension is said to block qi flow.Belowisthecompletelistoforganshealedbythedifferentpostures. Thesehavebeenworked outscientificallyoverthe generationsbythevari-ous taijiquan masters who were,forthe mostpart,also doctorsofChinese traditionalmedicine.Ihavealsoworkedwithprominentacupuncturists andshiatsuexpertsto verify these postures and the meridians upon which they work.ORGAN POSTURES STATE CONDITIONColon Use Grasp Birds Tail up to push. Repeat 10 timesYang For a yin disease such as diarrhea, use this qigong only.Colon Use this qigong for the lungs,i.e., Fishes in eight. Go into it 10 times and hold as qigong for one minute.Yin Use this as well as the above if the state is yang, such as constipation.Lungs Fishes in eight. Yang Use by itself if a yang condition, like inflam-mation, etc. But OK for all lung ailments.Lungs Grasp Birds Tail as above. Yang Use if fluid in the lungs, etc., along w/fishes in eightor as an adjunct to it.Spleen High pat on horse. Use as static qigong, holding five minutes on each side. Or use Horses mane as moving qigong.Yin Use if too much yang in spleen.Lungs/ColonPulling the bow, plus lift hands to heaven(that whole section that in-volves those two). Repeat five times.___ Use if overall toning needed in both these areas.Lungs/spleenIn general, use Stoking the horses mane. Be sure to swivel on heels. Repeat five times, holding for three minutes.___ Use when spleen or lungs are malfunction-ing. A general toner for these organs.Stomach Tan Pien(single whip). Use as static qigong to aid digestion. Or wave hands like clouds to balance out the energy.Yang Use Tan Pien for all stomach ailments or if too little stomach activity,i.e., too yin. Use wave hands to balance chi.Stomach Golden cock stands on one leg. Use as static qigong for three minutes on each leg.___ Overall stomach problems.Stomach Hold Brush knee twist step(BKTS) as static qigong on each side for five minutes.Repeat three times.___ Same as above.Stomach Play guitar. Go into this from BKTS. Hold five minutes and repeat five times.___ Aids in digestion.Stomach Wave hands like clouds. Yang Use if not enough stomach activity. Good qigong for stomach overall.Stomach Horses mane, use w/wave hands. Yin Use if too yang in stomach.Stomach Perform from Push to apparent close-up and hold at end for one minute. Repeat 10 times.___ Use for general gastric troubles.Stomach Wave hands like clouds. Generally repeat 10x4 steps, but do as many as you like.___ Same as above.Spleen Wave hands like clouds. Yin Use w/the main one of Tan Pien if stomach activity too yang,i.e., heartburn,etc.Spleen/StomachWave hands like clouds. Yang Use w/the above if too little spleen activity,i.e., too yinLiver Step back and repulse monkey. Yang Use w/the above if a yin condition exists, e.g., dull and listless, etc.Gall Bladder/LiverStep back and repulse monkey, Yang Cheng-fu.Yang If too Yin, not enough bile, etc., or gall blad-der is not working well. If bad lower back pain, especially in mornings, repeat five times, but also use for overall gall bladder.Gall Bladder/LiverLift hands from flying into it and hold for five minutes on both sides.Yin Use if too much bile or activity too Yang. Usew/the above.ORGAN POSTURES STATE CONDITIONGall Bladder/LiverLift Hands as static qigong. Yin Use by itself for all liver ailments, but in particular if too angry (red face,etc.),i.e., too Yang.Heart Brush knee twist step. Moving qigong.Yin Use for all heart states, but in particular if too much fire in heart, cant sleep,etc. Also for pre-ejaculation.SmallIntestineFan through back. Hold the static qigong for five minutes.Yang Use by itself for general small intestine con-dition, but in particular if too little activity in small intestine,i.e., too yin.Small Intestine/HeartFan through back. Yang Use if too much sleep, not enough sexual urge, etc.Small Intestine/HeartBrush knee twist step. Yin Use w/fan through back if too much small intestine activity,i.e., too yang.Kidneys Spin around and kick, Yang Cheng-fu styleYin Use if too fearful.Kidneys Snake creeps down. Repeat and hold three times on each side for three minutes if possible, less if not.___ Use if kidneys need toning in general.Bladder Mailed fist and tan-tien pushing, from Old Yang, plus bit from end when fist comes over face and around, bending backwards,etc.Yang Use for great sorrow.Bladder Spin around and Kick. Use w/the above.Yin Unbalanced emotions.Kidneys/Bladder(use w/the above.)Mailed Fist, old Yang, as well as tan-tien pushing and bit from end as above.Yang Use if too fearful.Triple WarmerIn general, start w/three warmer qigong exercise.___ This organ, generally not know about in Western medicine, is used for irregularity in other organs and if amount of yin and yang energy is unbalanced.Gate of life organUse the Opening of the Gates for this one.___ Use for too little semen production in males and menstrual problems in females. Use if regenerative energy is irregular or if person is depressed. Again, this organ is generally unknown in the west.All of the internal organsGo into embrace tiger, Return to mountains from cross hands. Repeat 10 times.___ Use if organs are in need of rejuvenation in general.Central Nervous SystemShoulder press. Go into it from Pull back and hold for five minutes, then go into Stork spreads wings and hold for five minutes.___ Acts upon the cerebrum, making it more alert. Good for exams,etc.Spinal ColumnUse Lift hands as moving static qigong.___ Use to make spinal column more elastic. Also for dry or wrinkled skin, to maintain more youthful appearance.GlandsStep forward, Parry and punch, from BKTS to punch. Hold at end for three minutes, repeat five times.___ Use if glands are not functioning optimally.Joints Move into Tan Pien from fishes in eight nad hold for three minutes on each leg.___ Use for joint ailments.BloodCirculationGeneral step forward to seven stars. Hold as static qigong for three min-utes on each leg. Repeat three times.___ Use for bad circulation.ORGAN POSTURES STATE CONDITION___ From Old Yang style use Fist under elbow as many times as you like. Also use Lotus Kick.___ Use if overweight.___ Turn around and chop with fist, Yang cheng-fu style.___ Use if overweight.___ Use fist under elbow from Yang cheng-fu form and hold as qigong for five minutes each side.___ Use if underweight.___ Needle at Sea bottom. Go into this one from BKTS, hold for one minute, then slowly come up and repeat on other side.___ Use to increase the life force to the spine, especially when used w/lotus kick, Yang cheng-fu style.___ Separation of right and left foot, Yang cheng-fu style.Yin Use if person is too yang, angry, red in face,etc.___ Separation of left and right foot, old yang style.Yang Use if person is too yin,too laid back. Lack of energy.___ Sitting like a duck posture. Go into it from standing if possible. Hold for three minutes on each side. Not good for older people who are ar-thritic,etc.___ Body in need of rejuvenation.Qigong Theory and PracticeYin Organs Yang Organs ImplicationsThese yin organs store energy for later use:These yang organs activate energy,i.e., cause storage organs to release it to perform some function:An imbalance of yin or yang energy in these main organs causes disease, so we try to balance the yin and yang energy using the above postures as qigongs.LiverHeartSpleenLungsKidneysGall BladderSmall IntestineStomachLarge Intestine/ColonBladderchapter twoLearningtaijiform isacomplex taskformany'modernpeoplebecause theyhavelosttheabilitytolearnnewskillsinvolvingbothphysicaland mentalactivity.Regainingtheabilitytolearnislargelyamatterofself-discipline,broughtaboutbythedesireto experiencethelessonsthattaiji can teach. This can be encouraged in the following ways:Createawrittentrainingscheduleandsetsomegoals.Keepadaily trainingdiary,evenforthose daysthatyoudon' ttrai n.(Studyi ng thereasonsthatyoudidn'tpracticeonanygiven daymayhelpyou identify behavioral patterns that are counterproductive to your training).Expectset backs.Acceptt heinevitablemissedclassesandminor aches and pains orinjuries as delays, notas signs thatyou should give up your practice.Give yourself credit when it's appropri ate.Executi ngadi ffi cul tphysi-calmoveorhavi ngasuddeni nsi ghti ntosomeaspectofyour trai ni ngshoul dbeacknowl edgedwith pride.Justremembertokeep "self-congratulation"inperspective.Itisalsoimportanttoremember that progress in an aspectoflearning taiji usually occurs aspartofa cumul ati veandchal l engi ngprocessratherthanasudden breakthrough.Whileitis truethata minority of gifted students seem to have one intuitive breakthrough afteranotherin theirtraining,mostof uswillplodalong,creatinganinternalunderstandingofourselves and our martial art one piece at a time.Thef ol l owi ngl ong,sl owf ormcomesto usf romYangCh'eng-fu,the lastgrandmasteroftheYangstyle,throughhiseldestson,thelateYang Sau-chung, who taughtin HongKong untilhis death inMay1985.Ch'eng-fucontinuedtomodifyhisformduringhisteachingcareer,andthere wereatleastthree"official"versions.Sau-chunglearned and continued to teach his father'soriginalmodificationofthe old Yang style,dating back to the early 1920s.GENERAL RULES FOR PRACTICETheheadshoul dnotturni ndependentl yofthetorsoletoureves do the looking,keeping yournosecentered overyournavel .Even whenyouhavet ol ook,f orinstance,to thefrontwhile you turn yourwaisttothesi de,youshoul dl ookoutofthecornersofyour eyes rather than turning your head prematurely.Theheadshoul dnotbobupanddownwhenyouaretaking steps.Bykeepingyourkneesbent,youshouldbe able toavoid this. Besurethatyouhavethemajorityofyourwei ghtononel egbe-fore you move or pi vot the other.Neverletthekneesextendpastthetipsofthetoes.(Beawareof the factthatwhen youlook down atyourtoes,there is a slightpar-allax visual error that distorts your perception.)Startoutwithahighposture:thekneesbendonlyalittleandthe steps are not too long. There are three levels of posturehi gh,medi um, andl ow.Thel owl evel ,i nwhichthe stance islongandtheknees well-bent,should only be attempted aftermany years ofpractice, and only when you are able to do it without creating tension.Largestancesshouldnotinvolveextendingthekneespastthetoes; the stancebecomeslongertocompensate forthis.Asyou progress evenfurtherandtheformbecomesmoreinternalthanphysical,the step will rise again, so that you perform the form at a more natural stance.Theshouldersareroundedandtheelbowsdroppedandrelaxed. Keepingtheelbows,ingeneral,pointingdownwardencouragesthe shoulders to relax. However, this is one ofthe mostdifficult aspects of taiji for beginners to achieve.Thefi ngersshoul dbestrai ghtbutnotsti ff.Thepal msarcrelaxed and slightly hollowed while holding the Tile Palm Hand.Thebackboneshouldbe,ingeneral,verticalinrelationtothe ground,butthere are some postures thatrequire a slight forward lean. Never hunch the back.Wal kl i ke a cat,steppi ngcareful l yandsoftl y,sothati fthere were dangeryouwouldbeableto take thatfootback instantly.Landon the heelwhen stepping forward and on the ball of the foot when stepping to the rear.Avoi dbei ng" doubl e-wei ght ed"( i . e.,havi ngyourweight equallydistributed between both feet).Be aware of which legisyang (weighted)andwhichisyin(non-weighted). Only at the very beginning and the end of theform shouldthe weightbeevenlydistributed.There must,ofcourse,beatimeineachpostureduringwhichyouare double-weightedas youshiftfrom one leg to theother, but this should be only momentary. Never have equal strength in your palms, as this is also a variation of being double-weighted.Maintainaphysicalandpsychologicalsenseofequilibriumi nrel a-t i ont ot heeart h(i . e.,asenseofbei ng"grounded");never commityourselffullyalwayshave inmindthe possibilityofretreat-ing if you advance or of advancing if you retreat. In lifting up or pulling hack, inhale; in pushing forward or stepping downward, exhale.Thecl assi cssayt hatt heqispri ngsf romt hef eet ,i sdirected by thewaist,andismanifestedinthefingers.However,theqireally comes from the lower tan-tien.Yourheadshouldbeheld asifsuspended fromabove bystring.This will pull your backbone up and sink the qi to the lower tan-tien.Trynottostopattheendofeachpostureonceyoustartfeeling comfortable withthem.The movementsshouldflowtogether in a slow and even rhythm.WHEN AND HOW TO TRAINIrecommendthatateachpracticesessionyoudotheformthree times:onceforthebones,muscles,andsinews;onceforthemind;and onceforthe spirit.Thefirsttimeshouldbedonei nabout10or15mi n-utes, the second i n about 20 to 30 mi nutes, and the last in about 40 minutes.The classical times to practice were said to be as follows:Dawnwhen you are coming out of vin and entering yang. Mid-daywhen you are in extreme yang.Duskwhen you are coming out of yang and entering vin. Midnightwhen you are in extreme yin.In traditionalterms, following this schedule would give youa completely balancedpracticestructure.However,mostofusare doing verywellifwe practice at dawn and dusk.The length and frequencyofeachofyourtraining sessions depends on yourl evelofi nterest,physi calabi l i ty,ti meconst rai nt s,andt herec-ommendat i onsofyouri nst ruct or.Fewmodernteachers,muchl ess thei rstudents,practi cewi ththei nt ensi tyt hatt heol dmast ers broughtt ot hei rt rai ni ng.Ofcourse,inthosedaysthe latterhad tobe skilledatavarietyofmethodsandweapons,becausetheyneverknew whentheywould bechallengedbya rival.Inaddition,instructorshadto bereadyforchallengesthatfrequentlyledtosevere injuryordeathand had to train at a level of intensity that is alien to most of us.These days, fewof us with families oroccupations can match such training regimens,butregularpractice remainsessentialto makingprogressespe-ciallyifyourinterestgoesbeyonddoingforms.Itis difficulttobe patient withthosetaijipractitionersandinstructorswhoobviouslybelievethat doing a form oncea daysomehowmakesthem superiortoa votinghard-stylist who practices one or two hours a day.Interestingly, modern researchhas shownthatthetraditionalists were in-tuitivelyon track with regard to times of the day to practice.According to Dr. David W.HilloftheUniversityofNorthTexasatDenton,asreported in Red book (Sept. 1993),studieshave shownthatpeople aremore inclinedtoskip scheduledexercise inthe afternoon because offatigue orbusyschedules. How-ever, high intensityactivity,(like fastorfast/slowforms)thatrequireshort burstsofenergyarebestdone lateintheday.You'llfeelstronger,perform more skillfully,and getmore outofyourworkout.Forslower, steadier exer-cise (such as slowform), you'll reap the same benefits whether it's early orlate in the day.Itshoul dbesel f-evi dentto anyonewhosefeetare ontheground(in itselfa prerequisite fortheinternalarts)thathardwork and sweatmust enter into your study of the effortless arts, especially for the first few years.THE "ORIGINAL" YANG CH'ENG-FU FORM:PART ONEFor the purposes of footwork, refer to the direction that you are facing ini-tially as north.PreparationStandwi thyourf eetparal l el andshoul der-wi dthapart.The palms are at your sides andsl i ghtl yf l exed, butnote nought o c r e a t e t e ns i on( f i g . 9) . T hi s i s c a l l e d a"yang"pal m(asopposedtoa "vi n" pal m, whi ch i s total l y r e l a x e d ) . T h e e l b o wsshoul dbehel dsl i ght l yout f romt he body, asi f youarehol di ngat enni sbal lundere a c h a r m. T h e e n e r g y i s sunk t ot hel ower t an-t i en, par t l yas ar es ul t of your si mpl ypayi ngat t ent i ont othat part of the body.Raise ArmsSl owl yanddel i berat el yraise your arms in front of you asi f ropesare pul l i ngbothhands up and away from your body. There should he a slight forward rocki ng of the body t omaket hearmsri se. Thewrists relax as you inhale. The armsareasi f youaresl eepwal ki ng(f i g. 10), wi t ht hepalms about six inches apart. Do not bend the el bows any morethanthey werebef oreyou began the movement.As you exhale slowly, your bodyrocksslightlybackward andthearms arcbackdownalongtheiroriginalpath.Thewrists change state gradu-Figure 10Figure 9ally, returning to a flexed position. Thewr i st scanbebr oughti nwar d sl i ght l y,butdonotmakeal argeci rcl e.Donotbendyourknees at this point. Your palms end up where they started, as in Figure 9.Push LeftOnceagain,slowlychangethewriststo dropped(limp)posi ti on,and,asyoui n-hal e,bringbotharmsupandacrossyour bodytothenortheasti nanarc(fig.11). Thepalmsstaythesamedistanceapart. Keept hel ef twri statyourcent erand awayfromyourbody.Conti nuetheci rcl e backovertoyournorthwestcornerat aboutf acehei ght,and,asyourl eft pal mstartstocomedown,flexthewrist andexhale(f i g.12).Ther i ghtwr i sti s r el axedandatyourcent er.Theleft fingersarenohigherthanshoulder height,andtheCo4poi nt sment i oned i nChapter 1 are in line.Block to the RightOnt hatl astexhal at i on,br i ngyourl ef t pal mdownandacrossyourbodyt oend upunder neat hyourr i ghtpalm (fig.13). Asyoudothis,bendt heknees,pl aci ng 70percentofyourwei ghtontot hel ef t l eg.Yourri ghtf ootswivelsontheheelso thatthet oespoi ntt ot henor t heastcor-ner.Yourevesar est i l ll ooki ngtothe north, but the body has turned.NOT E :Un l e s ss t a t e dot her wi s e, yourwei ghti sal waysdi stri buted70per-cent on one leg and 30 percent on the other.P'engShi ft your wei ght to your right leg as you inhale. Take a step with your left foot to the north, touching down on the heel and maintaining a shoulder-width stance. Make sure that your stance doesn't end up too "skinny." Just extend your foot where it wants to go naturally but in line with its previous po-sition. The foot should remain "weightless" unti lyou consci ousl y shi ft onto it.As youturnyourshoulders tothe north,you bring 70percentofyour wei ghtonto yourleftleg and exhale. The left arm comes up rounded in front of thesolarplexus,andtherightpalmgoesbackdowntoyourrightside,as shown in Figure 14. You are now facing the north.Figure 12 Figure 11 Block to the LeftThree movements happen simultaneously, as shown in Fi gure15.Rel axthe ri ghtpalm and bring it under the left. The left palm has turned down to meet it. Pick up the right heel and look to the east. Turnyourtorsoto the northeastand inhale.Double P'engPick up your right foota n d p l a c e t h e h e e l d o wn al mosti nthesame spotbutwith the toes facing cast. Shift your wei ght ont ot her i ghtfoot as the ri ght pal m comes up in front of your left palm, which does not Figure 13Figure 14Figure 15 Figure 16move but only flexes. The two palms are as if you are holding a small ball on yourcenterl i neataboutthehei ght of yoursol arpl exus(fig. 16).Youarenowf aci ngt heeast ,andasyoushi f t edf orwar dyou dr aggedourl ef ttoesaround45degreestofacethenortheast.Your weight is now on your right leg. Exhale.Lu or Pull BackTur nbot hpa l msove r (pausi ngthebreath)so thattherightisdownand thelefti sf aci ngup.The f i ngersoft hel ef thand shoul dpoi nti nt ot he t humboft heri ghthand ( f i g.17) .Pul lbot hpalms downtoyourlefthipasyour bodyturnstothenorth-east.Inhale.Yourweightis all on the left leg.Chee or Squeeze ForwardThispostureisoftenmis-translatedasPress.Place theheel ofthe leftpalm onto theinsideoftherightwrist, whicht urnsovert of ace you(f i g.18).Don' tl i ft yourpal msupandthen thrustthemforward,but ratherbringbothpalmsup graduallyasyoushiftfor-wa r dt ot h ee a s t . S q u e e z ey o u rel bow slightlyinwardandturnback to face the eastas you finish the movement. Exhale.Sit BackBr us ht het opofyour righthandwithyourleft palmandextendourf i n-gerswi thpal msdownward. Asshowni nFi gur e19,si t backont oyourl eftl eg wi thyourtrunksl i ghtl yto yourl eftandfol dbot h pal msi nt owar dyourbody asyouinhale.Keepthe back vertical.Figure 17Figure 18Press ForwardThispostureisoftenmis-transl atedasPush.From thepreviousposture,lower yourstanceslightly,flexboth palms,andexhaleasyou turnbacktofacetheeast andpressyourpal msf or-war dandupwar dwhile shiftingontoyourrightleg (fig. 20).NOTE: With any palm movement, imagine that you are exhaling out of your palms from the lower tan-tien.Sit Back, ReadyShifttheweightbackonto yourrearl egasyoui n-hal e.Droptheri ghtwri st backtot hes amepos i-t i onhel di nFigure19.As showninFigure21,dr op t heot herar mt ocross yourchestwi ththefi ngers ofyourlefthandpointing intoyourrightelbow.You are still facing the east.Fishes in EightWi ththewei ghtonyour leftleg,swingbothpalms outtothenorthwestwith theleftpalm leading and both palmsflexedawayfromthe movementasifthewindis blowingt hef i nger sbac k-war d.Asshowni nFi gure 22,swi velaround90de-greesontheheelofyour ri ghtf ootsot hati tfaces north.Theleftfootisstillfac-ingnorthwest.Asourleft pal mandbodyc ome aroundtopointnorthwest, yourrightpalmcomesover to pointintoyourleftelbow. This is part of your exhalation.Thenexthalfofthis move-ment(fig.23)usestherest Figure 19Figure 20Figure 21oft hatexhal at i on.Bri ng bot hpal msi nt owardyour chest ,keepi ngthepal ms thesamedi stanceapartas yousl owl ystarttochange yourwei ght.Tu r ny o u r b o d yi n t ot h enortheast withtheweightnowonthe rightfoot.The positionof the feet has not changed.Thispostureistheexact oppositeofwhatisshown inFigure22.Youhavenow performedacounterclock-wiselateralcirclewithboth palms.Single WhipMakeacounterclockwise hookingactionwiththe righthand.Asshown inFig-ure24,allthefingers shouldbebents l i ght l y, s ur r oundi ngt het humb andpoi nt i ngdownward. Theri ghtarmstrai ghtens outandpoi nt st ot he northeast.(Thi si sthe onl ytimeastraightarmis usedintaijiquan.)Yourleft palm turnsin toward you,and thefingersalmosttouchthe inside ofyourrightelbow. In-hale.Li f tyourl ef tf ootand, leavingtherightarmwhere iti s ,t ur nyourwhol e bodyaround,taki ngyour l eftarmwithyouinthe s amec onf i gur at i onas showninFigure24,theleft wrist aligned with yourcent er. Pl aceyourl ef theeldown tothewestsothattherei s ashoul der-wi dthdi stance betweenyourheel sl ater-al l yandtheleftfootisto thewestasfarasitwillgo without overreaching.Thebreathhasbeenheld naturally.Justbeforethe Figure 22Figure 23Figure 24ri ghtheelt ouchest he ground,youshouldliftyour leftelbowanddoasmall inward turning circl e,push-i ngsl i ght l yt ot hewest asyourwei ghtcomes downonto the leftleg(fig,25). Yo u rr i g h tt o e sa r e draggedar oundt opoi nt t othenorthwestbythe turni ngofthewai stonce yourbodywei ghti sf i rml y ont hel ef t leg. Exhale.Lift HandsAllowbothpalmstoflex s l i g h t l ya st h e ya r e moveddown aboutsix inches as ifthe arms are wings.Now, ontheinhalation,liftboth palmsupagainaboutsix inchesandturnyourl ef t toes45degreestopoint to the northwest(fig.26).Thisis a weighted turn on the heel of the left foot.NOTE: Whenever doing a weighted turn, it is essential toturn thelegas aunit,withthe movementbei ngi ni ti atedi n thehi psocket,notthe knee.Ourhi psa r ede-s i g n e dt or ot at eand shoul dbeusedtoinitiate all weighted turns.F l e xb o t hh a n d s downwar dagai nandbr i ng t hemdownintwoarcsto thefrontofyourbody.The l ef tpal mi sp o i nt i ngt o y o urr i g htel bow.Li ftboth pal msupasi fspl ashi ng waterontoyourface,sti l l wi ththel eftpal m nearyour rightelbow.Asthepal ms comeup,youshoul dl i f t upyourri ghtf oot.Thi si s al lhappeni ngontheexha-l at i on.Asyoul oweryour pal msi nt opos i t i on,your r i g h th e e lt o u c h e st h e Figure 25Figure 26Figure 27groundwi thnowei ghtoni t ( f i g .2 7 ) .T h ed i s t a n c e betweentheheel sshoul d be half of shoulder width.Pull DownFrom the lastposition, push bothpalmsoutslightlytothe northwestasyoushiftasmall amount of weight onto the right heel(about10percent). AsshowninFigure28,turn bothpalmsover,rightdown and leftup, and, as you inhale, pulldowntoyourl eftsi de asyourbodyturnstothe northwest.Shoulder PressFr omt hel astpost ur e, taketheleftpalmupina circleandplaceitnearyour righttri ceps.Asthi shap-pens,therightfoottakesa smallsteptot henor t heast wi t ht het oespointingto thenorthtomakeyour s t a n c es h o u l d e rwi d t h a g a i n .Yo u rb o d yi ss t i l l turnedtothenorthwest. Shifto n t oy o u rr i g h t f o o ta n dattackwi thyour shoul derasyouexhale. Yourrightshouldershould beoveryourrightkneeand yourbackshouldbeverti-cal ,asshowni nFi gure29. At this point your eves are look-ingtothenorthbutyour headis in its correctposition andfacesthesamedi rec-ti on as the body.Stork Spreads WingsTu r ny o u rb o d yo n l y sl i ght l yt ot hewestas yourri ghtarmcomesup wi ththewristatyourcen-ter,palmfaci ngyou(f i g. 30).Yourl ef tpalmconies downtoyourleftside.The rightpalmconesuptochest Figure 28Figure 29Figure 30heightas partofyourlast ex-halation.Asyoui nhal e, cont i nuet heci rcl eoft he ri ghtpal muntilitcomes overyourhead,andt ur n yourbodyt ot hewest.As showninFigure31,your l eftfootl i ftsupandi s p l a c e dd o w ni na" t o e stance,"wi thonl ythebal l oft hef oott ouchi ngt he f l oor(noweightisplaced onto it).Asyouturntothe westandexhale,yourright palm turns up, as if saluting.Brush Knee, Twist Step(Left Foot Forward)Dr opyourr i ghtpa l m downtoyourri ghthi p, turningittofaceupwardas you doso.Don' tal l owyour pal mtogoouttothesi de i nacl ockwise arc;justcas-cadeitdown.Asthishap-pens,theleftpalmrelaxes and lifts above the rightpal m, asi fbothhandswere holdingalargeball(fig. 32).Inhale.Yourbodyhas turned to the northwest.Thel ef tpal mconti nues thatsameclockwisecircle, d o wnwa r da n da c r o s s t hetorso,andtouches yourl ef tknee,whichhas liftedtomeeti t(fi g.33). Asthi shappens,yourright palmhas liftedupand out to theheightofther i ghtear. Ther i ghtpal mshouldnot makealargecirclet ot he nort heastbutshoul dstart comingforwardwiththefin-gersrelaxed.Thebreathat thi spoi nti shel dnatu-ral l y, ready for the exhalation.Af t eryouhavebrushed yourleftknee,yourleft heelst epst ot hesout h-westwi t hthetoespoi nti ng Figure 31Figure 32Figure 33tothewestt oi ni t i at ea f or war dbows t a n c e .As t h ewe i g h ti sr ol l edont o -yourl ef tf oot ,theri ght pal mshoul dcomet ot he wes twi t ht hebodyand, atthel ast,shoul df l exas t hewei ghtcomesdown ont ot hel ef tf oot(f i g. 34).Ther eart oesar e dr aggedar ound45de-gr eest of acet h en o r t h-we s t .T h er i g h ti ndex f i ngeri si nl i newi t hthe nose. Exhale.NOTE:Thi si sast ri ke, nota pushing action.Apush s t a r t so u tw i t ht h e p a l malready flexed, while the strike usesaflicking,driving movement of the wrist.Play GuitarBendi ngt heknee,l i f t y o u rr i g h tf o o to f ft h e groundaboutsixinchesand place itexactlywhere itwas. Someteacherspreferto bringthefootforwardatthis point,b u tt h i si sn o t c o r r e c t ,becausethemar-ti alval ueofthe"f al se step"i sl ost.Thepurpose ofl i fti ngthefooti st o c a u s et h el e f tl e gt o becometotallyyangfor maximum backward thrust.Asshowni nFi gure35, l i f tthepal msasyoui n-hal eanddropthemi nto posi ti onasyouexhal e, br i ngi ngt hel ef theel acr osssl i ght l yt of or ma "heelst ance. "Thi spos-tureisthemirrorimageof LiftHands(figs.26and 27),butthetwopostures have different applications.Figure 34Figure 35Figure 36Brush Knee, Twist Step (Left Foot Forward)Fr omt hepr ec edi ng posture,wenowrepeat exactl ywhatwedi daf ter theStorkSpreadsWi ngs posture(fi g.32):dropthe ri ghtpal mandbr i ngt he l ef tpal movert oyour ri ghtcornertohol dthe ball asyouinhale.Nowrepeat BrushKnee,TwistStepex-actlyasyoudiditpreviously (figs.33and34).Theonl y di f f erence is thatyoudo not have to dr agt her i ghtt oe ar oundbecausei twas pl aceddownfacingthe northwest.Brush Knee, Twist Step (Right Foot Forward)Thisisthemirror-imageof whatyoujustdid.Doa weightedturn oftheleftleg sothatthe lefttoes point45 degreestothesouthwest. Remembertoinitiatethe turninthehipsocket,not theknee.AsshowninFig-ure36,holdtheballtoour leftcorner,rightpalmon the top as you inhale.Asyoust ept ot hewest wi t hy o u rr i g h tf o o t , t h eri ghtpal mcomes downandbr us hest he r i ghtkneeasyourl ef t pal mcomesupt oyour l eftcar.Pl ace the ri ghtfoot downtothewestand,as yourol lontoi t,stri ke wi thyourl eftpal masbe-fore and exhale (fig. 37).Brush Knee, Twist Step(Left Foot Forward)Turnyourrighttoestothe nort hwest ,wei ght edon yourheel,andholdtheball as you inhale (fig. 38).Figure 36Figure 37Figure 38Now,asi nFi gur e34, brushtheleftkneeasit stepst ot hewestandat-t ackwi t hyour right palm.Play GuitarRepeat t hemovement s depicted in Figure 35.Brush Knee, Twist Step(Left Foot Forward)Re p e a tt h emo v e-ment sthat followed Play Gui-tar, as in Figure 34.NOT E:Yo uhav ep e r-formed one BrushKnee,Twist Stepfol l owedbyPl ayGui-tarandthenthreeBrush Knee,TwistStepsinarow (thefirstofwhichattacks with the right palm, the second withtheleft,andthethird withtheright),followedby PlayGuitarandthenafinal BrushKnee,TwistStepat-tackingwiththe rightpalm. Whenyouareattacking with the rightpalm,theleft tootisforward,andwhen youareattackingwiththe leftpalm, the rightfoot is for-ward.Step Forward, Parry, and PunchWi ththewei ghtonyour leftfoot,youturnyourleft toes45degreestofacethe southwest.Atthesame ti me,theri ghtpal mmakes atai jifi st(looselyheldwith the thumb pressinglightlyinto thesecondorthirdboneof the firstfinger,asi nfi g.39) andturnspal mdown.As youdothis,theleftpalm turns upward (fig. 40).Inhaleandtake yourright fistdownacrosstotheleft sideofyourbodyinanarc sothatthe fingersof the left palmare nowpoi nt i ngi nt o Figure 39Figure 40Figure 41t hehol et hatyourr i ght f i stmakes.Now,asi n Fi gure41,bot hpalmslift up to earheight;the left palm hasturnedtofacedownward, and the rightfoothas lifted to step to the west.Blockdownwardwiththe back ofyourrightarmpalm up,sti l lhol di ngafi stand steptothewestwiththe toesoft her i ghtf oot poi nt i ngslightlynorthwest. As shownin Figure42,bring yourrightfi sttoyourri ght hi pand,ast hewei ght changest oyourri ghtl eg, exhal eandstri kewithyour left palm.Nowtakeastepwith yourleftfootto the westand inhale.Astheweightmoves ontothel ef tf oot ,exhal e andpunchwith\'ourright fist to the west. Youarenow i nal eft"bow"stance(fig. 43).Yourleftpalm hascome backtotheinsideofy o u r r i g h tf o r e a r m .T h e knucklesoftherightfist andtheti psofyourl ef t f i ngersshouldbeinline with the center of your torso.Sit Back and Push ForwardSlideyourleftpalmun-deryourrightforearmwhile turningtherightpalmup. Theleftpalmisdown.The rightelbowisontheleft wrist.Leaveyourleftarm whereitisandsitbackonto yourrightleg.Thiswill dragyourri ghtpal mback toYourrighthipasitturns over to palm up (fig. 44).Yourbodyi sturned slightlytothenorthwest. Figure 42Figure 43Figure 44Circletheri ghtpal mupto thel eveloftheleftpalm, whichhasturnedoutaway f r omyouasyourtorso turnsbacktofacewest. Now,asshowninFigure 45,pushf or war dand s queezeourelbowsin slightlyasyoushiftforward and bend the left knee. Exhale.Apparent Close-UpHolding the palms as they are, lift your elbows slightly as yousi t backontoyour ri ghtleg and inhale (fig. 46). Turn your left toes 90 degrees to the nor t h, and t ur nt hewhol ebody to face north.Shi ftthe wei ghtbackto theleftlegandmovethe armstomaketwol arge ci rcl esi nfrontofvou.The ri ghtpal mtracesaclock-wisecirclewhiletheleft tracesacounterclockwise circle.Asthisishappening, pulltherightfootbackso thati ti sparal l eltothe l ef tf oot .Asyourarms crossi nf r o n to fy o u r c h e s t ,y o uchangeyour wei ghttoyourright leg (fig. 47). Exhale.Figure 45Figure 46Figure 47THE "ORIGINAL" YANGCH'ENG-FU FORM:PART TWOEmbrace Tiger, Return to MountainWithyourweightstillon yourrightfoot,turnyour lefttoes45degreestothe righttopoi ntnor t heast . Shi f tyourwei ghtonto yourl ef tl egasyourl ef t pal mdr opsunderyour righttoholdalargeball (fig. 48). Inhale.Nowperformtherightfoot forward version of Brush Knee, Twi stStepexactl yasyou di dearl i er,theonl ydi f fer-encebeingthatyourright f ootstepsri ghtaround i ntotheSoutheast(fi g. 49).Youbr us ht her i ght kneewi t hyourr i ght t humbandt hewei ghti s nowonyourri ghtleg.Ex-hale.Grasping Swallow's TailSomeofthepostures doneinthefirstsectionare duplicatedhere.First,raise yourrightpal mupi nfront of your l eft palm and inhale.Pull BackRepeat the movements in Fi gure 17, onl y faci ng southeast (fig. 50).CheeR e p e a tt h emo v e-ment sshowninFigure18, only facing southeast.Sit BackR e p e a tt h emo v e-ment sshowninFigure19, only facing southeast.Figure 48Figure 49Figure 50Press ForwardR e p e a tt h emo v e-ment sshowni nFi gure20 onl y facing southeast.Sit Back, ReadyR e p e a tt h emo v e-ment sshowninFigure21, only facing southeast.Fishes in EightRepeatthemovementsin Fi gures22and23;how-ever,thedirectionforeach turnisfi rsttothenorth and then to the east.Push to the NorthwestHoldingthe palmsinthe FishesinEightconfigura-tion,younowtakeastep with yourl e f tf o o ta r o und i nt ot henorthwestcorner while inhaling.Roll yourweight forwardontoyourleftfoot andbringthe leftpalm,which was pointingin tothe rightel-bow,upbesidetherightpalm toperf o r map us hi ng movementinto the northwest corner(fig.51).The back toes comearound45degreesto point to the north. Exhale.Fist Under ElbowBring yourright footup par-alleltov-ourleft;thefeet shouldbeshoulder-widthdis-tanceapart.Youshouldnow bestandingonasouthwestto northeastdiagonalandfac-ingtothenorthwestwiththe weight on your left foot. Inhale.As you shift your weight onto yourleftleg,makeafistwith yourrighthandandmoveit across yourbodyina shall ow arcsothati tendsupunder yourleftelbow.Thetipofthe leftelbowsitsinthe"cup" Figure 51Figure 52Figure 53created bythe fistbeing loosely held.Atthesametimeyou shouldturnyourbodytothe westandmakeaheel stance,emptyofweight,with the leftfootas youexhale (fig. 52).Theleftindexfingeris aligned with the nose.Step Back, Repulse MonkeyOpenbothpal mssothat theyfaceup.Inhaleasyou takeyourri ghtpal mback tothenortheastcorner, pal mdown(fig.53).Your bodyturnstotheri ght sl i ghtl ysothatyouareable toseetherightpalmoutof the corners of your eyes.Takeastepbehindtothe southeastwi thyourl eft footandpl acei tsot hat t het oet ouchesf i r st . ( Whe nwe i g ht e d ,t h a t f oot ' st oesshoul dpoi ntto thesouthwest.)Asyousi t backonthel ef tl eg,t he r i ghtpal mcomespast yourearastheleftpalm doesanarcdowntoyour lefthip.Thepalmspass eachotherinthefrontof yourbodyasyousitback. Exhaleandturnyourr i ght t oest ot hewestonce there is no longeranyweight ont her i ghtl eg.Thewr i st remainsrelaxeduntilthefinal movementwhenitstrikesand flexes (fig. 54).Next, turn yourrightpalm overandnowt akeyour l ef tpalmbackinthesame wayasyou didwiththe right one and inhale (fig. 55).Takeas t epwi t hyour ri ghtfoottotherear,and asthe weight goes back onto it t hel ef tpal mst r i kesas t herightpalm blocks inthe samewayasbef ore,onl y Figure 54Figure 55Figure 56reversed(fig. 56). Exhale.Tur nt hel ef tpal mover andrepeatt hi sont he ri ghtsi deagai nsot hat t her i ghtpal mi sstri ki ng, asi nFi gure54.Repeat agai nont hel ef tsi deso t hatt hel ef tpal mi s s t r i k i ng,a si nF i gur e s 55and 56.Onel astti me,repeat ont heri ghtandf i ni shup wi t htherightpalmstriking andtheri ghtfootforward sti l lfaci ngto the west,as in Figure 54.Youhavenowperformed fiverepetitionsofthispos-ture:right,left,right,left, right.Stroking Horse's ManeWi ththewei ghtonyourl ef tl eg,droptheri ghtpal mdownand bringtheleftpalmupont opa si fhol di ngal argebal latthetop andbottom,sti l lfaci ngtothewest.Swing yourleg around to the nor t h-eastcor nerwi t hyourr i ghtheelandpl acei ti nt ot hatcor ner.Now swi velonyourhe e l sa syouc ha ngeyourwei ghtont ot her i ght f oot , andsweepyour r i ght arm to point to the northeastas your left arm goes back down to your left side (fig. 57). Your right heel and your left toes should he in line. Inhale when you hold the ball and ex-hale as you sweep the right arm.Lift HandsRepeatthe movementsinFigure 27,exceptthatyouare facing a differ-entdirectioninthebeginning.Asyouliftbothpalmsupasifyourarms were wings, inhale and turn yourleft toes 45 degreesso thattheypointto thenorthwest.Asyouplaceyourweightonto the leftleg,liftyourpalms in front of you as before and exhale as you finish.Pull DownRepeat the movements in Figure 28.Shoulder PressRepeat the movements in Figure 29.Stork Spreads WingsRepeat the movements in Figures 30 and 31.Hold the BallRepeat the movements in Figure 32.Figure 57Brush Knee, Twist Step (Left Foot Forward) Repeat the movements in Figures 33 and 34.Golden Needle at Sea BottomPick up the rightfootand putitdownonthesame spotin a "false step," as you didinthe firstsectioninthe postureofStorkSpreads Wings.Shifttheweightback ontotherightleg.Asyou inhale,theleftfooti s draggedslightlytotheright togaina"toestance,"as thetorsobendsdownward sothatthefi ngersofthe ri ghtpal mpointtothe ground(fig.58).Exhale.Do not curve the back.Theeyesl ookst r ai ght aheadandnotatt he f l oor.Yourletpalm doesnot move.Fan through the BackI n h a l ea sy o u strai ghtenupagain.This alsoliftsyourrightpalm up toalateralpositi on.The pal mstartstoturnoverso thatitisfacingdownward (fig. 59).Take a stepwithyourleft footdi agonal l yandforward tothewest(tothesame positionasforBrushKnee, Twi stS t e p ) .A sy o u r we i g hti splacedontoyour leftfoot,therightpalm pullsback,facinga wa y f r o my o u rr i g h te a r whi l et hel ef tf i nger spoke upward (fig. 601. Exhale.TurnAroundand Chopwith FistUsi ngawei ght edt ur n, thelefttoesturn90degrees tof acethenorth.Atthe Figure 58Figure 59Figure 60sametime, make a fist with the right handandbri ngi tdown i nacl ockwi seci r cl eunt i l t hethumbispointingto the solarplexus(fig.61).Theleft palm moves over yourhead in a wardi ng-of facti onwi ththe palm facing out. Inhale.Bri ngtheri ghtfi stupto behi ndthel ef tpal m;at thesametimeswingthe right leg aroundtotheeastand shi f tf orwardont ot hebent ri ghtknee.Chopdown-wardwi t hthe rightfistuntil itarrivesatyourri ghthi p whi l ethel eftpalmattacks to the east (fig. 62). Inhale.Upper Cut, Step For-ward, Parry, and PunchTherightfistnowpunches straightupwardasifpunching underthechin.(Pauseinyour breathing.)Thefistnowturns downastheleftpalmturns up (fig. 63).Inhale asbothpalmscome downtoourleftsideand thenrise again up to yourleft ear, asyourrightfootpicksup andisplaceddownagainin frontontheheel.Thetoes of thatfootshould he turned 45degreestothesoutheast. Thisis the same postureas at the end of the firstsection (fig. 42).Theleftpalmisattacking forwardwhi l etheri ghti s atyourr i ghthi p.Now,as i nFigure43,youshould steptot heeastand,as t hewei ghtcomesdown ont oyourl ef tleg,perform a straight punch.Diagonal P'engFr omt hel astpost ur e, yourl ef tpal msl i desun-deryourri ghtforearm, onl ythi st i mebot hpal ms aref aci ngdown.Keepi ng Figure 61Figure 62Figure 63t hewei ghtonyourl ef t l eg,t ur nyourlefttoesto thenortheastandsl i de yourl ef tpal moutt othat corneri nawardi ng-of fac-t i on,asi nFi gur e64.I n-hal easyousl i deyour ar munderandexhal eas you perform P'eng.Grasping Swallow's TailNowrepeatthesame posturesweperformedinthe first section.First,bringthe rightpalmunderyourleft palmandi nhal e(fi g.65). Nowsteptotheeastwi th yourri ghtfootandper-f orm:Doubl eWard-Off,as inFigure 16;PullBack,asi n Fi gure17;Chee,asi n Fi gur e18;Si tBack,as i nFigure19;andPress Forward as in Figure 20.Sit Back, ReadyRepeat t hemovement s depicted in Figure 21.Fishes in EightRepeatthemovementsde-picted in Figure 22 ad 23.Single WhipRepeat the movements in Figures 24 and 25.NOTE:Youarenowfacing west.Therei sonl yoneoc-casionwhenSingleWhip pointstoadi recti onother thanthewest,and thatis at thebeginning of the third sec-tion.Wave Hands Like CloudsUsi ngawei ght edt ur n, turntheleftfoot90degrees totherighttopointtothe north.Inhale.Atthesame tine,bringtheleftpalm acrossinfrontofyourf or e-headandi nt ot henorth-westcorner.Also,atthe Figure 64Figure 65Figure 66sametime,flexyourright palmandbringitdownand acrossinanarcdirectlyun-der the left palm (fig. 66).Push the l eft pal m down on the outside of the right one wi t ht hepal mf aci ngdown war dwhi l et her i ght one comes up the inside as if rubbing your stomach (fig. 67). Simultaneously, the right foot is dragged hack, parallel to the l eft foot as you ex-hal e. Your body still faces the northwest. Tur nyour t or s o t ot henor t heast and changeyour wei ght t o your r i ght l eg. Reverse the hand movements you j ust di d, i . e., t her i ght palm pushes down as the left pal mr ubst hest om-ach, asyou inhale and take a double shoul der-wi dthstep toyourleft (fig. 68).NOTE:Thi si syour secondst ep,count i ngt he f i rsttimeyoupulledthe rightfootback.Thereare ninestepsandpalmchanges to make.Tur nYourt or sot ot he nor t hwestcor ner,hol d-i ngYourpalmsinthat samepositi on,l eftupand ri ghtdown.No,c h a n g e y o u rp a l msagain,left downandrightupasyou dragyourrightfootupto si ngl eshoul der-wi dthas youexhal e(fi g.69).Thi s i syourt hi rdst ep.Your ri ght palm is now on the top.F r omhe r eyour e pe a t t het ur nt ot heno r t h-e a s ta n dt h ec h a n g e wi t ht h estep,asinFig-ure68.Thisisyourfourth step.Figure 67Figure 68Figure 69Tur nt ot henor t hwest , step,andchange,asinFig-ure 69. This is your fifth step.Tur nt ot henor t heas t , step,andchange,asinFig-ure 68. This is your sixth step.Tur nt ot henor t hwest , step,andchange,asinFig-ure69.Thisisyourseventh step.Tur nt ot henor t heas t , step,andchange,asinFigure 68.Thisisyoureighthstep. Tur nt ot henor t hwest , stepandchange,asinFigure 69.Thi si syourni nt hand final step.Asi nFi gure 70,younow t ur nbackt ot henor t h-eastwi t hyourri ghtpal m ont hetopandbri ngyour l eftpal mupwi ththefi n-gerspoi nti ngt ot hei nsi de of your r i ght elbow. Inhale.Single WhipRepeat t he movement s shown in Figure 25.Lift Up the HeavensAsi nFi gure71,si tback ontoyourri ghtl egand turnbothpal msupasi f hol di ngtwo plates. Inhale.High Pat on HorseTherightpalm pushespast yourrighteartowardthe westwi t ht hef i nger s poi nt i ngtowardthehead. Atthesamet i me,t hel ef t pal mdoesaclockwisearc downthefrontofyourbody toendupatFourlefthip (fig.72).Theleftfootis draggedbackandmakesa Figure 70Figure 71Figure 72toestance,noweighton that leg, as you exhale.Drawing the Bow (Right)Crossyourrightpalmover yourl ef tf orearm.The ri ghtpalmisfacingdown while the left is up. The circle continuesasthel eftpal m crossesoverthei nsi deof yourri ghtforearm(fi g. 73).Asthi si shappeni ng t hel ef tf oott akesastep tothesouthwestcorneras youinhale.Asy o ut r a n s-f e ry o u rweighttoyour leftfoot,pulltheleftpalm backtoyourleftc aras y o ua t t a c ki n t ot h e nor t hwes tc or nerwi t h t herightpalm as ifyouarc drawingahow(fig.74).Ex-hale.SeparationofRightLeg (Right Instep Kick)Moveyourr i ghtpal m downi nanarcacross v,ourbodyandupt o c r os sove ry o u rl e f t f o r e a r m,p a l mstoward you.(Ifyoukickwiththe rightfoot,the rightpalm i s ont heout s i de ;t hi si s reversedfortheleftfoot.) Asyourarmscomeupto cross,yourr i ghtf oot comesupasyou inhale (fig. 75).Asshowni nFi gure 76,t urnyourpal msout-wardasyoupus ht hem outt ot hesouthand northwest.Straightenyour leftlegasthishappensand exhale.Figure 73Figure 74Figure 75As soonasyourarmsare inpositionandyourleftlegis strai ght,youki ckyour ri ghtfootouttothenorth-westcorneras you inhale (fig. 77).Thef ootandhand s houl dnotreachoutto-gether,norshouldtherebea longwaitbeforethefoot kicks.Thefootreachesits goalaspl i tsecondafter the right palm is in position.Drawing the Bow (Left)Fr omt hel astposi t i on, turnyourrightpalmover and,asyousteptothe northwestcorner, circle your leftpalmint ot oucht he i nsi deofyourrightelbow. Thishappensast her i ght heelt ouchest heground. Nowtheleftpalmcircl es out,asi nFi gure78,to f ormt heDrawi ngBow post ureexact l yasbef ore, onl yreversed.Exhaleon thedowns t e pa ndupt o t hee ndof"holding"the bow.Separation of Left Leg (Left Instep Kick)Reversi ngt heprevi ous posture,crossthearmsin frontofyouandopenthe palmsoutt ot hesout hwest andt ot henorth, as shown in Figure 79.Per f or mt heki ck wi t ht heinstepoftheleft foot. Inhale.Onc ompl et i onoft hi s kick,bring theleftfootback i nt ot her i ghtknee, whi chhasbentdownwar d agai n.The arms are as they were for the kick.Spin Around and Kick with HeelYoumustnowusethe swingingmomentumofyour Figure 76Figure 77Figure 78l ef tf oott ospi nyour sel f aroundonyourrightheelso thatthe toes on thatfootpoint t ot hesout h.Yourar ms crossedatthewristswiththe naturalflowofthemovement. Thel ef tt oesar eof ft he ground,and yourbodyis facing to the southeast (fig. 80).Aspartofthatexhalation, l i f tyourl ef tkneeasyour palms open and push out as be-fore.(Allofthe kicks startthe same way.)AsshowninFigure81, inhaleasyoukickwithyour left heel to the east.Fi ni shbybendi ngyour rightlegandlayingyour leftelbowacrossyourleft knee,as showninFigure82. Therightpal mrel axes. Thi si spartofyourexhala-tion.Brush Knee, Twist Step(Left Foot Forward)Brushyourleftknee with yourleftpalmasyoustepto theeastwithyourleftfoot. Strikewi t hyourr i ght pal masyouexhale(fig. 83).Yourrighttoescome around by 45 degrees.Brush Knee, Twist Step (Right Foot Forward)Thisisarepetitionofthe weightedturnvariationofthis postureyoudidinthefirst sectionoftheform.Turnthe leftf ootout45degr ees t ot henortheastandhold theballontheleftwiththe rightpalmonthetop.As showni nFi gure84,brush yourrightkneeandstep Figure 79Figure 80Figure 81wi ththeri ghtl egtothe eastasyouattackwi th yourleft palm.Strike the Triple Warmer PointsSomet eacherscal lt hi s posturePunchto Knee.Turn yourrightfoot,weighted, 45degreestothesouth-east,andplace yourfistonto yourrightknee(fig.85).You mustbendsl i ght l yf ort hi s, butdonotcurveyourback. Bring the left pal moverasi f hol di ngt heball. Inhale.Steptotheeastwithyour l ef tf ootand,astheknee comesthrough,brushitas youwoul di nBrushKnee, Twi s tSt ep.Ast hebody weightshifts onto the leftfoot, therightfistnaturallyswings forward (fig. 86). Exhale.Turn Around and Chop with FistRepeatthemovementsin Figure61,exceptyourfinalac-tionistothewest,attacking withyourleftpalmandright foot forward as in Figure 62.Uppercut, Step Forward, Parry, and PunchRepeatthemovements showninFigure63,except thedirectionistothewest. Punchupwardandturnthe leftpalmoverwiththeright fist down.Pul ldowntoyourl eft,bring bothpalmsuptoyourear,and punchdownwi thyourri ght fi stacrossyourbodyasyou Figure 82Figure 83Figure 84strikewith'ourleftpalmtothe west, as in Figure 42.Stepthroughtothewest withyourleftfootandpunch wi thyourri ghtf i st,asi n Figure 43.Diagonal P'engThi si st hesameast he oneperf ormedearl i er,onl y tothesouthwest.Sl i de yourl ef tpal munderyour r i ghtwr i s ta n dp ' e n g i n t ot h esouthwestcorner asyourleftfootswivelsto thesouthwest.Theri ght pal mcomesdowntoyour right side.The onlydi f f erence t hi st i mei st hatyounow l ookatyourri ghtpalm as it strikes (fig. 87).Right Heel KickCircleyourrightarm backuptobeacrossthe l eftforearmasf oranyof theki cks.Inhale.Pushthe palmsouttot henort hwest andsout hasyou kick to the northwestwithyourr i ght heel( f i g.88) .Exhaleas youpushyourpalmsoutand inhale as you kick.Attack to the RightExhale as you putthe right footdownexactlyparallel tot hel ef tf ootandpoi nt t heri ghtt humbt oyour breast bone(fig.89).Leave theleftpalm asitwas atthe endofthekick.Youarenow facing to the sout hwestcor-nerandyourf eetareon thesoutheasttonorthwest diagonal.Continuetoexhaleas youpushtherightpalmto Figure 85Figure 86Figure 87thewestandchangethe wei ghttotheri ghtf oot (f i g.90).Thel ef tpalm comesacrossyourchestto replace the right.Hit Tiger, LeftTur nt hel ef tpal m overandsteptothe southeastcornerwi ththe l ef tf ootasyoui nhal e.As thewei ghtrol l sontothe l eftfoot,bri ngthel eft pal macrossyourbodyto thel eftandform fi stswi th bothpal ms.Exhal easyou punch.Theleftfistisup-permostanddi rectl yabove theri ghtf i st.Bothhands areal i gnedwi ththecen-terofthetorso.Pul lt h e r i g h tf o o ta r o u n d4 5 degrees(pivotingonthe heel)sothatthetoes poi nttothesouth (fig. 91).Hit Tiger, RightUsi ngawei ght edt ur n, turnthe lefttoes90 degrees tot hesout hwestandopen t her i g h tp a l m,wh i c h f a c e supward.Asshown i nFi gure92,t hel ef tpal m si mul t aneouslywardsoffat the left temple. Inhale.Liftthe rightfootand put i tdowni nt ot henor t h-westc or ner.Asyous hi f t y o u rwe i ghtont oi t , br i ngyourri ghtpal m downandacrossyour bodyasbef ore.When yourrightpalmisparallel to the ground,form twofists andstrikeasbefore,only therightfistisontop(fig. 93). Exhale.Figure 88Figure 89Figure 90Phoenix Punch and TurnAspartofthelastexha-lat i on,br i ngt hel ef tf i st upbeside therightas yousi-multaneouslyturnyourleft foottot hesout hand changeyourwei ghtonto i tasyouswi veltheri ght f ootaroundontheheelso thatthetoespoi nttothe southwest (fig. 94).Kick with Right HeelOpenbothpal msand ci rcle them outanddown as youinhale.Bring bothpalms backuptocrossinfrontas foralloftheki cks,ri ght pal montheoutsi de.Push theri ghtpal mouttothe vestandtheleftouttothe southeast,andkickwith yourri ghtheeltothe west.(Thisisthesameas Figure 88, only to the west.)Double Wind Goes through EarsFrom thatl astki ck,turn bothpalmsoverandlet themf al landbrushbot h si desofyourrightknee (fig. 95).Figure 91Figure 92Figure 93Figure 94Exhal e asyoustepdown intothenorthwestcornerand p e r f o r mt hi sp o s t ur e . Bot hpal mssweepdown-wardandcircle back up (fig. 96).Dragthe leftfootaround 90degr eest opoi ntt o t hewest.Therightfoot pointstot henor t hwes t . Openbot hpalms andcircle them to cross l ef toverri ght readyf ortheki ck.Asbe-f or e,pushbot hpalmsout andkickwithyourleftheel to the west (fig. 97).Spin Around and KickUsetheswingingmo-mentum ofyourleftleg as a levertocauseyoutospin aroundont hebal lofyour ri ghtf oot .Yourl eftfoot l andswi t ht heFrei ght placedtotherearandthe toespointingtothesouth-west.You are still facing to the westasyourpal mscross i nf rontofyou,ri ghtover l ef t(fig. 98).Figure 95Figure 96Figure 97Figure 98Right Heel KickOpenbothpalmsasbefore andkick tothe northwestwith yourrightheelasyouin-hale (fig. 99).Step Forward, Parry, and PunchPerformthi sexactl yas youdidattheendofthefirst sectionoftheform.Fromthe l astki ck,pl aceyourri ght elbowontoyourrightknee (fig. 100).Exhaleasyoucircleyour rightfistuptoyourleftear andrepeatthemovementsin Figure42.Stepthroughand punch with your right fist, as in Figure 43.Sit Back and Push ForwardRepeat the movements depicted in Figures 44 and 45.Apparent Close-UpRepeat the movements shown in Figures 46 and 47.Figure 99Figure 100THE "ORIGINAL" YANG CH'ENG-FU FORM:PART THREEEmbraceTiger,Returnto MountainThis isexactlythe sane as atthebeginningofthesec-ondsection (figs.48and49), except}youare goingtoward thesoutheastandnottothe east.Sit Back, ReadyRepeat the movements in Fig-ure 50.Pull BackRepeat the movements in Figure 17.CheeRepeat the movements in Figure 18.Sit Back and Press ForwardRepeat the movements in Figures 19 and 20.Sit Back, ReadyRepeat the movements in Figure 21.Fishes in EightRepeat the actions as in the be-ginning of the second section (fig. 22), except first to the north and then to the east.Diagonal Single WhipFr omFi shesi nEi ght ,younow per f or mSi ngl eWhi p(insteadof Pushtothe Northwest,as inthe sec-ondsection),asinFigures 24and 25, ending up to the northwest.Slant Flying (Right Leg Forward)Turnourl ef tl ega wei ghtedturn-90degrees topoi ntnortheast. At the same time, hold a ball with 'our right palm underneath (fig. 101). Inhale.Figure 102Figure 101Takeastepintothe southeastcor nerwi t hyour r i ghtfoot, the toes pointing to thesouthwest.Asyouchange yourwei ghtont ot her i ght l eg,exhaleasyoucutup withyourr i ghtpal mand pushdownwithyourleft palm(fig.102).Yourright wristisinyourcenter,and yourri ghtel bowi sover yourright knee. Yourlefttoes turn to the east.Slant Flying (Left Foot Forward)Fr omt hel astposi t i on, t ur nyourr i ghtt oest o t hesout hi nawei ght ed t urnasyoui nhal eand hol dthebal lwi t hyour ri ghtpal mont hetop (fig. 103).Now,asbef or e,onl y t otheoppositedirection, step to the northeastcorner with yourleft foot, and, as the weightist ransf er r edont o yourr i ghtfoot,sl antup-wardwi th' ourl ef tpal m asyourri ghtonegoes backdowntoyourright side(fig.104).Yourright toesar edr aggedar ound t ot heeast. Exhale.Slant Flying (Right Foot Forward)As before (fig.102),hold theballwithyourleftpalm onthetopandturnyourleft foot, weighted,tothenorth asyoui nhal e.Steptothe sout heastc or nerwi t h yourri ghtf ootandrepeat thepostureasyoufirstdid it.Figure 103Figure 104Figure 105Sit Back and BlockFr omt hel astposi t i on, si tbackont oyourl ef t f ootandbl oc kwhi l ei n-hal i ng(fig. 105).Tur nyourr i ghtt oes90 degreestothenortheast andthenputyourweight onto thatleg so thatyouare nowfacing to thenortheast. Takeastepwithyourleft foottothenorthandper-formP' engexactlyasyou diditatthebeginningof the form (fig. 106).Grasp Swallow's TailRepeatthemovementsin Fi gures15,16,17,18, 19, and 20.Sit Back, ReadyRepeat the movements in Figure 21.Fishes in EightRepeat the movements in Figures 22 and 23.Single WhipRepeat the movements in Figures 24 and 25.Fair Lady Works at ShuttlesDoawei ght edt ur non yourl ef theelsot hat yourt oespoi ntt ot he nor t h.Asyoudothi s, hol dabal lwi thyourl ef t pal munde r ne at h(fig. 107). Inhale.As yourwristscross(palms upward),pi ckupYour ri ghtfootandplaceit downagainwi ththetoes poi nti ngtotheeast(fig. 108).Figure 106Figure 107Figure 108Pl aceyourwei ghtont o yourrightfootandtake yourrightpalm back to your righthi pasyourl ef tpal m r i sesupward (fig. 109).Takeasteptothe northeastcornerwithyour leftfootand,asyour wei ghtmovesontoi t,your l ef tpal mturnsoutward while your right palm circles upward to striketothenortheastnear your left palm. (fig. 110).Fromhereyouhaveto repeatt hi spost urei nt o t henorthwestcorner.First, pushdownwar dwi t hyour r i ghtpalmasyourleftleg swivelsinawei ghtedturn ri ghtaroundtopointtothe south.Inhaleasyouholda ballwiththerightpalm un-derneath (fig. 111).Crossyourwristsasbefore onl ywi ththeri ghtunder andstepintothenorthwest corner,asyourleftpalm comesdownto yourleftside andyourrightpalm wards off (fig. 112).Figure 109Figure 110Figure 111Figure 112AsinFigure113,rollyour weightontoyourrightfoot asyourleftpalmstrikes (weightstillonyourright leg).Hol dabal l , l ef t pal m underneath (fig. 114).Cr ossFour wr i st sas before, left under right, and step into the southwest corner wi th your l eft foot, as your ri ght pal m comes down to your right side and your left palm wards off. Roll onto your left leg as you strike with your right palm to the southwest (fig. 115).Nowyoumustr epeat exactlythesamemovements asinFigures110,111,and 112.Youhavenowper-formedthispostureintothe fourcorners,startingwith t henor t heas t ,t hent he northwest,thesouthwest, and the southeast.Thel as ts etofmove-mentswentfromthesouth-westcornerintothesouth-eastcorner,butthephotos aret hesameasf romt he northeastcornertothenorth-westcorner.You finish up as in Figure 116.Sit Back and BlockRepeat the movements in Figures 105 and 106.Grasp Swallow's TailRepeatthemovementsin Figures15,16,17,18,19, and 20.Sit Back, ReadyRepeat the movements in Figure 21.Figure 113Figure 114Figure 115Fishes in EightRepeat the movements in Figures 22 and 23.Single WhipRepeat the movements in Figures 24 and 25.Wave Hands Like CloudsRepeat the movements in Figures 66, 67, 68, 69, and 70.Single WhipRepeat the movements in Figure 25.Snake Creeps DownManyinstructorscallthis postureSquatti ngSi ngl e Whip.Turnyourrighttoes tothenortheast,thenturn outtheheelsot hatt he t oes poi nt t ot henorthwest. Then turn the toesagai nnort heastsot hat youhaveshuffledyourfootto the rearandareinamuch ,eiderstance.Dropdown onto yourri ghtl egsothat thekneeofthe rightlegis overtherighttoes.The left foothasadjusteditselfso thatthetoespointtothe northwest.Bothfeetare flat on the ground.Inhaleasyoushuffle backwardandandexhaleas yousquatdown.Theright palm stays as forSingle Whip whiletheleftdrops.Keepthe back straight (fi g. 117).GoldenCockStandson Left LegAsyoushiftyourweight f orwardont oyourl ef tl eg, t ur nyourl ef tt oesout 9 0d e g r e e st op o i n t Figure 116Figure 117Figure 118southwest.Dragthetoesof the right foot forwardsothat theypoi nttothenorthwest. Theleftpalmispokingfor-wardwhile thefingers of the right palm open up (fig. 118).Cont i nui ng,br i ngyour ri ghtpal mdownwardi nan arc,and,asi tsubse-quentl yrises,standup in one sweepingmovement .Don' t dr agt hetoesonthe gr ound;t her i ghtf oot shoul dturnasmuchas possibletoallowforthis.Asin Fi gure119,bri ngyour ri ghtel bowto' ourri ght kneeandyourl eftpal m backdowntoyourleftside. Inhale.Golden Cock Stands on Right LegTakeasmallsteptothe rearwithyourrightfootand takeyourrightpalmdownto yourrightside,thenbring yourl ef tkneeandpal m upward as in Figure 120, so that yourl eftel bowi snowon yourleftkneethe exactoppo-siteofthepreviouspost ur e. Exhal easyoust epdown andinhaleasyouliftyour knee.Step Back, Repulse MonkeyRepeatthesamegroupof movementsperformedinthe secondsection.Bringyour rightpalm upwardsothatitis nearyourleftelbowandturn both palms up as youfinish the last exhalation (fig. 121).Take yourr