Appledog44
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Here's a video clearly discussing sinking with reference to the shenzhong point. Master Chen says, "it's this point going in," and asks "Can you see I'm supposed to go in, but i'm actually also going down?"
The interesting takeaway here is that in some schools of Tai Chi the danzhong point is, in fact, directly part of the training. Misunderstanding over this is natural because most sources use shanzhong as a common term. There's no shame in it, but the confusion here is over the word è» in è»äž. shÄn is the ordinary dictionary reading (ârank / goat-like odorâ) used by most people. However, the correct pronunciation is dĂ n; the reading used when è»äž is the name of the chest region point in TCM. Many Chinese medical dictionaries list the point as dĂ n zhĆng.
I have no particular pride here, but it saddens me that there has been an incredible bait and switch in the Taiji world over the past 80-90-100 years and that so few people have seen it. Open your eyes -- many people in the know have lamented that kungfu is becoming lost -- does anyone here really think they are special and that they have it all figured out? The wu de of humility can serve you well by allowing you to keep an open mind. Analects 2.17: âYu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, hold that you know it; when you do not know a thing, allow that you do not know it: that is knowledge.â This is the wu de of intellectual humility, not âknowledge or pride.â Pride (jiao éȘ / ao ćČ) is treated as a vice of the small person; the junzi is modest in speech and ready to learn from anyone, including inferiors.
In our lineage we have similar but different ways to train the same thing as in this video. It's a common thing which is trained in internal styles. Yet looking at what Master Chen is doing here to train the point is, frankly, amazing. I am always impressed with his videos!
The interesting takeaway here is that in some schools of Tai Chi the danzhong point is, in fact, directly part of the training. Misunderstanding over this is natural because most sources use shanzhong as a common term. There's no shame in it, but the confusion here is over the word è» in è»äž. shÄn is the ordinary dictionary reading (ârank / goat-like odorâ) used by most people. However, the correct pronunciation is dĂ n; the reading used when è»äž is the name of the chest region point in TCM. Many Chinese medical dictionaries list the point as dĂ n zhĆng.
I have no particular pride here, but it saddens me that there has been an incredible bait and switch in the Taiji world over the past 80-90-100 years and that so few people have seen it. Open your eyes -- many people in the know have lamented that kungfu is becoming lost -- does anyone here really think they are special and that they have it all figured out? The wu de of humility can serve you well by allowing you to keep an open mind. Analects 2.17: âYu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, hold that you know it; when you do not know a thing, allow that you do not know it: that is knowledge.â This is the wu de of intellectual humility, not âknowledge or pride.â Pride (jiao éȘ / ao ćČ) is treated as a vice of the small person; the junzi is modest in speech and ready to learn from anyone, including inferiors.
In our lineage we have similar but different ways to train the same thing as in this video. It's a common thing which is trained in internal styles. Yet looking at what Master Chen is doing here to train the point is, frankly, amazing. I am always impressed with his videos!
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