Bob Hubbard
01-07-2007, 05:04 PM
COMMENCE!
by Phillip "Pete" Starr
Excerpted from "The Making Of A Butterfly"
"You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit."
-Demosthenes
I had stayed after class so that my sifu could critique my Xingyichuan form. The basement of his home which served as our training hall was empty except for the two of us. With his arms folded across his chest, Master Chen sat on his "throne"; an old wooden chair from which he would often observe class. I walked into the middle of the floor and stood with my feet together while I concentrated on relaxing my entire body. I inhaled deeply and as I exhaled I imagined all of the tensions of the day pouring out of my body through the soles of my feet.
When I felt adequately relaxed, I began the form with what Chen called commencement which consisted of several preparatory movements. I turned forty-five degrees to the right and raised my arms to the sides with the palms turned upwards. Folding my elbows and turning my palms down, I brought my hands level with my eyebrows and pressed them down in front of my lower abdomen as I bent my knees and exhaled. Lightly rolling my hands into fists, I brought them to the familiar palm-up positions just above my hips.
Just as I began to execute the first actual posture of the form, Chen shook his head and called out to me, "Stop! Begin again."
Did I make a mistake? If I did, I sure didn't notice it. Oh, well...
I began again, being especially mindful of my movements but just as I completed the commencement, Chen stopped me. "No!," he said sternly. "Do it again."
I darned well know I didn't forget anything! Okay, maybe it's my breathing...
I stood quietly and relaxed for a few seconds before starting anew. This time, I didn't even finish the opening of the set before Chen told me to stop. I was confused and frustrated. Chen motioned for me to approach him.
"The beginning of your set is wrong," he said. "The movements are okay, but your mind and heart are all wrong."
My mind and heart? What on earth...
"You are thinking about what comes after the beginning; of what movement comes next. Your yi (mind, intention) is all wrong. You must focus on what you are doing in each moment! Don't let your mind jump ahead of you!"
"I don't want to make any mistakes, sifu," I replied. "So I kind of check myself before each movement."
Chen frowned. "I know. Stop doing that! It scatters your chi (intrinsic energy) and makes your movements unstable."
Chen stood up and walked out onto the training floor. Standing straight but without rigidity, he demonstrated the beginning of the form; the first posture known as quiet standing or wuji.
"This is actually the first movement of the set," Chen explained as he stood motionless. "It is the posture of life; movement without movement. The real movement is inside. You body is quiet and relaxed. Your mind is aware but not thinking. If you begin to think of what you should be thinking or doing, you move your yi and your chi scatters."
"So I just stand there," I muttered. "I don't really do anything."
Chen nodded. "Yes, exactly! You just are, you see? You just exist."
I guess so. This'd be tough to do if I didn't exist...
"When you gather your chi to your dantien (the area of the lower abdomen)," Chen said, "You begin to move. Inhale and draw it in, then exhale and bring it down (to the lower belly). Fill yourself. Don't worry about what movement comes next; just gather your chi and root your legs to the ground so that you stand like a tree."
Stand like a tree...
"And a tree is strong because of its roots," Chen said. "It drinks from its roots and that gives it strength. You also drink from your root, but your root draws in chi instead of water."
Huh! I never looked at it that way!
Chen demonstrated the movements of commencement and ended by bending his knees and drawing his fists quickly to his hips. Looking straight ahead, his eyes opened fully like those of a tiger just before it attacks its prey. His body seemed relaxed, but I wouldn't have wanted to be standing in front of those eyes! Although I was standing off to one side and he wasn't looking at me, I could feel his eyes; his spirit. Surely his countenance would drain the strength of any aggressor who dared consider attacking him. And then all at once, he relaxed and smiled at me.
"And that is the ending of the commencement," Chen explained. "You are aware of the enemy and ready to move; to fight. It takes some practice to really feel it. Your heart and chi must extend through your eyes and into your enemy. If he is frightened, then the fight is over. He is already defeated."
by Phillip "Pete" Starr
Excerpted from "The Making Of A Butterfly"
"You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit."
-Demosthenes
I had stayed after class so that my sifu could critique my Xingyichuan form. The basement of his home which served as our training hall was empty except for the two of us. With his arms folded across his chest, Master Chen sat on his "throne"; an old wooden chair from which he would often observe class. I walked into the middle of the floor and stood with my feet together while I concentrated on relaxing my entire body. I inhaled deeply and as I exhaled I imagined all of the tensions of the day pouring out of my body through the soles of my feet.
When I felt adequately relaxed, I began the form with what Chen called commencement which consisted of several preparatory movements. I turned forty-five degrees to the right and raised my arms to the sides with the palms turned upwards. Folding my elbows and turning my palms down, I brought my hands level with my eyebrows and pressed them down in front of my lower abdomen as I bent my knees and exhaled. Lightly rolling my hands into fists, I brought them to the familiar palm-up positions just above my hips.
Just as I began to execute the first actual posture of the form, Chen shook his head and called out to me, "Stop! Begin again."
Did I make a mistake? If I did, I sure didn't notice it. Oh, well...
I began again, being especially mindful of my movements but just as I completed the commencement, Chen stopped me. "No!," he said sternly. "Do it again."
I darned well know I didn't forget anything! Okay, maybe it's my breathing...
I stood quietly and relaxed for a few seconds before starting anew. This time, I didn't even finish the opening of the set before Chen told me to stop. I was confused and frustrated. Chen motioned for me to approach him.
"The beginning of your set is wrong," he said. "The movements are okay, but your mind and heart are all wrong."
My mind and heart? What on earth...
"You are thinking about what comes after the beginning; of what movement comes next. Your yi (mind, intention) is all wrong. You must focus on what you are doing in each moment! Don't let your mind jump ahead of you!"
"I don't want to make any mistakes, sifu," I replied. "So I kind of check myself before each movement."
Chen frowned. "I know. Stop doing that! It scatters your chi (intrinsic energy) and makes your movements unstable."
Chen stood up and walked out onto the training floor. Standing straight but without rigidity, he demonstrated the beginning of the form; the first posture known as quiet standing or wuji.
"This is actually the first movement of the set," Chen explained as he stood motionless. "It is the posture of life; movement without movement. The real movement is inside. You body is quiet and relaxed. Your mind is aware but not thinking. If you begin to think of what you should be thinking or doing, you move your yi and your chi scatters."
"So I just stand there," I muttered. "I don't really do anything."
Chen nodded. "Yes, exactly! You just are, you see? You just exist."
I guess so. This'd be tough to do if I didn't exist...
"When you gather your chi to your dantien (the area of the lower abdomen)," Chen said, "You begin to move. Inhale and draw it in, then exhale and bring it down (to the lower belly). Fill yourself. Don't worry about what movement comes next; just gather your chi and root your legs to the ground so that you stand like a tree."
Stand like a tree...
"And a tree is strong because of its roots," Chen said. "It drinks from its roots and that gives it strength. You also drink from your root, but your root draws in chi instead of water."
Huh! I never looked at it that way!
Chen demonstrated the movements of commencement and ended by bending his knees and drawing his fists quickly to his hips. Looking straight ahead, his eyes opened fully like those of a tiger just before it attacks its prey. His body seemed relaxed, but I wouldn't have wanted to be standing in front of those eyes! Although I was standing off to one side and he wasn't looking at me, I could feel his eyes; his spirit. Surely his countenance would drain the strength of any aggressor who dared consider attacking him. And then all at once, he relaxed and smiled at me.
"And that is the ending of the commencement," Chen explained. "You are aware of the enemy and ready to move; to fight. It takes some practice to really feel it. Your heart and chi must extend through your eyes and into your enemy. If he is frightened, then the fight is over. He is already defeated."