Sifu Says Archives - Martial Art of Awareness

The Five Platforms of Zhong Xin Dao Learning Approach : What, Why, and How

The Five Platforms are about learning how to learn. Understanding the characteristics and functions of nature; of things as they are. Recognizing that there are two types of truth: relative and absolute. How to approach things from the right viewpoint to see down to the base of their origins.

KNOWLEDGE
- Knowledge from others
- Knowledge from own thinking
- Knowledge from direct experience
NATURE
- The characteristics of nature are change
  (Tao) and impermanence (Zen)
- No one-solid entity
- Taoism concept of 1-2-3
KNOWING
- What is knowing?
- How can we know?
- Knowing is based on what reference?
ATTENTION
- Recognizing & stabilizing the attention
- Yi 意 / Qi 气 / Li 力
- Concentration, stillness, clarity
CONTACT
- Point of contact is established with object, subject, consciousness
- Six sense of contact
- Being a receiver

3 Knowledges – Learning from others, going to school, listening to others. This is 2^nd hand knowledge—it’s very important but you need to know how to listen to it in a way to get the right information—the right concepts and principles. It’s still ‘second hand’ because it’s not yours yet. But it helps us try to understand, contemplate, etc. But it’s still gathered from outside. Yet, you NEED that knowledge to ‘point’—this pointing helps in training to see things through DIRECT experience, direct knowing, first-hand. If you can connect, can you HOLD on the connection enough to SEE? (you might get a little ‘taste’ of present, but then fall back to the past experience to judge it. The challenge is: how to know if you are ‘holding’ on? If our mind runs away, some people don’t yet know it runs awy—that’s why there must be the quality of awareness. Only through ‘direct’ (being in the moment) is their WISDOM! It has a specific quality that you have to recognize. It’s first through recognizing attention and awareness so you can process the awareness. (That’s why I say we must define the concept first—if you haven’t stabilized this awareness yet, you haven’t focused yet). Direct has mental and physical.

Understand what is the characteristic of Nature Itself. You must know this to maintain direct. First, in Tao, the characteristic is change; in Zen it’s called ‘impermanent.” To understand how thing form, understand 1, 2, 3 (one must have two, two must have three). There’s no 1 “solid” entity: every comes from conditions that come in an form. From this forming of “ONE”, in Tao there is Wu Ji to Tai Ji to yin and yang (it keeps on splitting while remaining complementary). To have complementarity, it must unification AND separation. Look into this platform in order to understand CONSTANT CHANGE. To maintain this clearly, we realize that we must keep on changing WITH the change in order not to change—to be WITH the balancing point. That means we can’t interfere or add and we can’t back-off. The balance point is the present: and we need to SEE from HERE. THIS is direct! The moment of connecting. But how widely can you connect, how widely can you connect and “see”? This is based on both stability and how far. This is where the 3 Engagements come in: Circle with Center, Center-to-Center, and Center with a Cross come in. All these (90/45, connections/reflections, how to feel the return energy, the cycle energy in action—all these are tools to help you see the moment and “know” the moment.

The KNOWING QUALITY – What is knowing, How can you know, and Knowing based on what reference? Knowing is seeing the difference. (Difference is not comparing, it’s not judging—it’s just a difference). It’s hard to hold onto the difference of seeing the change—we often jump to our past experience to compare [the present has difference, the past has difference—in the past it’s the component of judgement]. Seeing what’s happening in the moment means seeing the cause-and-consequences, the balance. Tao talks about ‘balancing in every action. Zen talks more about “causes and consequences.” From GM Sam’s approach, we must have the balanced actions a balanced cause to have a balanced effect. (a ‘wrong’ move is just a cause that isn’t balanced. Balance the cause and you will balance the effect; so understanding the qwualit itself of balance-ing and relationship of cause and consequence. By direct holding, can you recognize that you’re seeing the moment of change (or are you falling back to a past reference).

The Awareness-Understanding the Mind itself. Recognizing your attention. Can you see it itself? Can you direct your intentions? If not, how do you know? We need to be able to hold to MEET there—if you’re not ‘present’ there to meet, you won’t be able to see/feel—you won’t be able to MATCH to see the difference to know. Matching is to see the difference. Match to know. [Example of looking at single finger—the lines…sometimes they blur. But keep on balancing your eyes to see the lines, so they don’t blur—keep on constantly adjusting. If you can’t keep adjusting, you can’t keep on ‘holding’, ‘keep on how you stretch,’ on how you hold, stretch and rotate—joint to joint, center to center. Understand that in the same time and same space, the mind can only work on 1 thing at 1 time—without grasping this, you’ll be using the mind incorrectly. The training is to HOLD ONTO 1 NEUTRAL REFERENCE TO SEE ALL. It’s from 1 point of rotation to split off and see all: can you hold onto 1 with attention to see how it connects to all? It requires attention to hold onto rotation to produce forking/splitting attention (it’s a split because it’s a balancing point—the FUNCTION is about the energy going out equally and coming back equally. In order to have equal direction out and in is ONLY THROUGH ROTATION that can spike off in all directions. That’s why the training, in spinning, is about whether YOUR MIND IS WATCHING AND HOLDING (center and circumference—is your MIND recognizing and watching it, that’s conscious training. If you are just ‘doing’ a habit of moving and the mind isn’t there, you aren’t doing it correctly.

[Focusing is balancing also… a kind of clarity…]

Point of Contact – only 1 can occupy. [First there’s 2 spaces, then we break/penetrate the space: 2 become 1—you merge and occupy the space]. The most important part of Point of Contact is that everything happens there—it’s the 6 senses Point of Contact (listening, seeing, mouth, mind, etc.). “Listening IS learning.” Knowing how to listen –the words that we talk with must be soooo clear—even giving instructions must be clear. Our faculties inform any point of contact: subject, object, consciousness. Our faculties are as a RECEIVER: we see everything INSIDE (smell, taste, hearing, etc.—all is within, internal; if you aren’t clear, you’ll put your attention outside). If you can’t understand this faculty, your training is all wrong. So, you must know how you function. You need to see these to know how to pay attention and how to USE these faculties. Can you See your attention and MONITOR IT? Can you use it to see things clearly as ONE thing!?

Under these 5 platforms we approach under the philosophy of 1 balance point and 1 line.

GM SAM F.S. CHIN zoom talk 9/2/23 on the “ZXD Learning Approach : The Five Platforms”, transcribed by Dr. Nancy Watterson

Abandoning : The “How” of ZXD Approach

“Abandon concepts, realize all. Encompass Emptiness, and dissolve all duality.” That was the message at the end of the 2^nd edition of the System Guide and placed at the start of the 3^rd edition of the System Guide.

It was also a subject of discussion on one of the recent Instructors’ zoom session (26 February 2022). Instructors shared some of their interpretations of the message and its intent. There seems to still be some confusion. Some said it is part of our philosophy and some said it’s a mental state—part of the process of our training. Others brought up that the message is like the Buddha’s raft parable. While these ideas are not wrong, they are incomplete.

Zhong Xin Dao transcends that very message: it is the HOW of our Approach. The ever-changing present moment, the balancing moment, IS the abandoning moment. The action of balancing itself will solve this puzzle!

Reflection—the direct experience of the changing moment, or seeing what is happening as it happens—IS the kind of “knowing” that in our art we call Being WITH. This kind of ‘being’ IS the ‘action’ of the moment—it is the very process of abandoning.

So, ‘knowing the moment’ is through direct experiencing of it, In CONNECTING (meeting and matching, linking), there is no more ‘conceptualizing,’ no naming, labeling, thinking. Connecting, meeting, matching, linking are all aspects of being with.

“Abandoning,” in Eastern philosophy, doesn’t mean like dumping something away (it’s not that you don’t like it and get rid of it); and “embracing” doesn’t mean you grab it and hug it because you like it—that’s still the 2 dualities. *You can only abandon by balancing, using the neutral approach from within— by connecting, linking, stretching you are encompassing.

This is our APPROACH—the foundation of Zhong Xin Dao—Being with the balancing point, the present point, means encompassing and seeing/sensing the conditions as One.

— Transcribed by Dr. Nancy Watterson

Understanding the Approach

SEEING DOWN TO THE VERY BASE OF ORIGIN IN YOUR TRAINING

Selected points about excerpted from GM Sam Chin (and instructor Yen Chin’s) online session:
Spinning Hands – Part 10
Sat. Sept. 25, 2021

If you cannot see down to the base of origin, your actions will not be flowing enough. Because everything for the Mechanism of movement is based on Absorb Project, Condense Expand, and Open close and under the three planes with Concave and Convex–this is the is 5 Mechanisms that we have been talking about in movement. But with that movement, with all this movement, they come from ONE point; they all come back down to one point of rotation or one point on the pivot point: the pivot point and the rotations. So, with one point we must be able to see 1, 2, 3. That means on one point you must able clearly see the reference: the center reference and the Yin and Yang–the interchange of Yin Yang. So, the change of Yin Yang you can say is Open Close from the rotation So, when we say “rotation”, it’s what? It’s clockwise or counterclockwise. From clockwise or counterclockwise then you can say that from Yang to Yin or Yin to Yang, with that rotation. With clockwise counterclockwise we also could be saying open close right? So, movement is all about Open Close. Within open close you can produce what?–pull push, absorb project, condense expand, concave convex. All these move through the space of 3 dimensions with the 6 directions. This is the format that the students must obey with. They follow this progressions from one point of rotation to see that separation and unification. So, if you can bring your attention down to that one point to see Open Close from the rotations, and understanding the change here from Yin to Yang or Yang to YIn or Open to Close, Close to Open, Condense to Expand, Expand to Condense, or Absorb to Project, Project to Absorb or Concave to Convex, Convex to Concave.

So, WITHIN this change we have been covering that EVERY time there is changing from one side to another side, and because of the different energy, how at the change in the center there must be a Loop. In training the Basic Exercises, we say when you Project, you must Expand to Absorb. From Absorb to Project then we must Condense to Expand–so there is a loop. From the beginning, we have been training all these basic concepts, the Foundations: of going through vertical line, horizontal line, and also the sagittal line, right? Horizontal, vertical, sagittal–the 3 dimensions of changing. You can see is from forward to backward, up to down, down to up, or left to right, or right to left. That PROCESSS, from one side to another site is always our Loop: that means for Open to Close or Close to Open. That is the WINDING energy –some would say that is a “grinding” energy to release. That you grind to wind or grind to release–sometimes we use the words of a “loop” or a “spike.” All movement is based on this and fajin, which is releasing power, must come from here also! That means to be able to release in this way, you are releasing ALL the unifications, from section to section. You LINK all the sections and with that Open Close with Winding, and release the power. So, in action, the movement is the same, and the only thing that is different is now, when releasing power, there is more of we talk about in our System as Loose, Soft, Elastic–that kind of pressure–of how you are pressurizing and releasing. Apart from here, all movement must obey the macro-cosmic energy flow.

In our System, we talk about Structure, Relaxation and Energy—that all movement must obey the macro-cosmic energy flow. When we talk about macrocosmic energy flow that means all Yin to dantian and all Yang to Ming men to complete the cycle. If you obey that flow, you observe it always goes through from dantien (from the fingertip to dantien for the Yin) and for the Yang from the ming-men it goes to the fingernails and the toenails–that macro cosmic energy flow. So for all that movement, do you clearly see the flow WITHIN this action? If you cannot, you need to adjust this flow as only then is your action appropriate.

See all movements down to this level of awareness. I’ve been trying for all this long period of time to guide students to SEE (feel) the fundamental things. The fundamentals work in 3 Processes: first we say, understand the foundation. Then, with the foundation, there is a movement that you can use to try to understand the applications — how to use it. Then, with these two, the last step is that you need to condition it. Normally, we put it like this: first we train under the foundations, we have applications, and then when you work more on it turns into some kind of “jin”–a kind of being purified or you have been transforming the energy into more kind of Chinese call it ‘jin’ but it’s more like it’s been “cultivated”–the movement has been cultivated and made clear and conscious about it. So you’re able to be conscious about it. And you are able to coordinate and harmonize it, so that you can work with attention–that means YI, CHI, and LI. The Yi and Chi and Li as One.

REFLECTIONS ON WHAT IT MEANS TO TRAIN FA JIN (Fa 發 Jin 勁)

If you know how to fajin, I don’t care, if your fajin isn’t according to these principles. You must work with these principles until your understanding gets down to the base of origin and is very simple. Then, in just one move here, you can fajin already, because it’s just open and close. Right? It’s nothing much. It’s not that it has any special kind of movement. It is only the rotation and open close! You must be able to produce the power in this way. If you cannot do that, Ah, then what’s the point—if when it comes to at point of contact, you cannot do it in one instant? When you want to do it, it is too late already. You must be able to do it on initial touch!

THE CENTER WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO DO

The center will tell you what to do because when you hold the center, you cannot leave the center. Once you leave the center, if your actions leave the center that means your action is wrong. So the connection is very important — that’s why you must able to hold the connections. The connections is where the balance point is — that tells you are you moving correctly or moving wrongly. If you’re moving correctly, that means you’re holding that center to wind or to move. If you’re moving away from that center that means it’s wrong or you are using too much force on the center, but if something is not happening so you could do something, that means it’s still wrong because you are not balancing the point .That means your conscious attention of the balance point must be must be clear – can you see: is your attention there or not? Later on, it all comes down to feeling connections to the balance point, no other thing. Who is going to tell what is right, what is wrong, what is too much or what’s too little? It’s all based on connection and balance point. Are you holding it or are you leaving the point? We keep on saying that you always hold on to your center to do the yin and do the yang, but at the same time you’re also holding opponent’s center to see which direction to do the movement —-because the center is the reference point of seeing the difference. If you cannot connect it, then you will not be able to see the reference and you cannot use that as a reference to see the difference. Then you will be guessing how to do it based on your habit or based on your past experience, If I can hold on, then I just need to hold on to see the difference; this is where the power of the moment is.

This is the top secrets–it’s simple but it’s not easy. Because if your attention is not there you cannot do it and it comes down to why it that your attention is not there? Are you trustworthy enough or are you trustworthy and honest enough to yourself and to others? If you’re not honest enough, there’s too many problems within your mind, too many thoughts that come to disturb you, then concentration cannot be there. That’s why we always talk the precepts: we talk about to be to trustworthy first; to be honest enough to yourself first. If you try to play, fool around, try to cheat, you’ll i never ever reach that level. No one blocks you; it’s only a matter of you blocking yourself because tall different views will come up. Where does the view come from? It’s all your thoughts –that view comes out– to block you. That means you cannot have a direct connection and experiential feel, because you can’t even hold there for a split second. If you can’t hold there for a split second, how can you observe the moment? If you cannot observe the moment you cannot see the difference. This is what our Zhong Xin Dao is about. That’s what the skill is about. That’s why I say that I’m not afraid of teaching you — are you are right person or not? Are you a grateful person? ARE YOU honest within yourself or with everyone, you see? If you cannot, sorry. It’s not that someone blocking you; it’s you yourself that blocks yourself. That’s why we talk about training this art is not about just training how to defend yourself. It’s training on how to better yourself to understand yourself and your surroundings. It is also geared towards the cultivations.

Sifu Says – The Candle’s Light

Teaching Moments With GM Sam Chin

“Keep on adjusting” means keep adjusting to connect. If the variation is too much, you cannot connect.

Everything is about the center—the center that is strong enough to go out and come back. The center must be strong. Sometimes I talk about using the candle light—these last few talks I have been talking about the example of the candle light.

If the flame is shaky, if the wind is making it keep on flickering, then you cannot see things clearly. If there is no wind or anything to come to disturb the candle light, then the candle light is so steady—then you can see things clearly.

This is about the center—that means if the center is shaky, there is no precise direction. Also, if the candlelight is too dim, you also cannot see the bigger view. You only see a little thing. If the candle light is bright, then you can see a bigger view more clearly.

To have a center is the same. If the center is stable, it must be holding very stable to give precise direction and precise separation. So, the center, to be strong, is balanced by directions, at the same time. But when you rock to give different directions, it is only through one point that you rotate can you give all directions. That is, only by spinning can you get all directions.

By using the Spinning Force, you get the directions – forward/backward, up/ down — and if you go up and down by rotating up and down, then, at the same time have forward backward left and right. If you aren’t rotating but only use the rocking to shift, then you only have one at one time.

Simultaneously, at the same time, to have all directions is by rotation

That is why the spinning force with one point of rotation is the only way you can get the balance point, hold the balance point, and hold the point not to move. That is why the primary movement is from one point of rotation. But when you rock on 3 points (forward backward and neutral) that is to understand the difference: to see from one point—yin, another yang and the neutral). That kind of recognizing is just by using three points, but after recognizing three points, then to get the three together all at one time comes only from rotation.

That is why we talk about the six directions as the main characteristic, then the three dimensions, and then it expands to the to five elements. The 6 directions have a center to give you the directional.

Sifu Says – Training Is To Know Yourself

sifu says banner - train to know yourself

For the whole year, lately, I’ve been trying to keep on talking about the principles of the way to train — to get the very basic foundation first—how to use ourselves to know ourselves practically speaking.

I have been emphasizing structure, relaxation, and energy.

These have to come from the skeleton (bones), ligaments, yin yang muscles, tissue and the skin. All these –structure, relaxation, energy—have to relate to these. If you are not working from each of these, you won’t be able to know the structure, relaxation, and energy: they’re all interrelated.

The skeleton is the ‘hardware’; how to use it to have movement is the ‘software.’ That means you have to stick to the principle, not of the ‘how’ to do the movement, but instead of understanding the principle of the hardware function.

Start From One Point

The function requires us to understand that all things happen from one still point, from one steady point. That one steady point is the point that is a connecting point, a unifying point, a pivot point.

In tai chi it classics it says that a point that once it moves, it’s still and steady (wuji to taiji to yin/yang). But the split comes from the unifying point.

As you saw, Nancy posted up the Chuang Tzu quote about this Taoist concept on Facebook:

“When there is no more separation between ‘this’ and ‘that’, it is called the still-point of the Tao. At the still point in the center of the circle, one can see the infinite in all things.”
~Chuang-Tzu/Zhuangzi; from the Taoist classics, Inner Chapters

When separation and unification come together, a.k.a. unification–that is the still point. But from one still point, in order to have a function of a still point, you can only do it through rotations and pivot: a pivot point.

Rotation Is Pivoting

Rotation is also pivoting. [GM demonstrates: we pivot center axis, pivot whole arm, pivot at wrist point of contact]. The problem is, if we start with the name, some say ‘rotation isn’t pivot—it’s just ‘rotation’; but it is of course pivoting!

Practically, rotation is a pivot—it pivots in a horizontal way!

So, do not get stuck into labeling. That is why we call rotation is a pivot point. In terms of the characteristics of the pivot point, the most important characteristic is to hold it so it does not move to shift off. It is holding there to do things!

This means we need to connect with what we are holding.

That means there is connection and separation. So, in order to do things correctly you must keep on balancing with what you should be doing: so, we are balancing with the flow: we keep on changing with the flow.

GM Sam Chin in lLondon — GM Sam Chin demonstrates in UK workshop

Balancing With The Floor

So, we start training the one point with the skeleton (balancing with the floor). Then the ligaments and tendons are connected to the yin yang muscles. So, now there is a cycle—you can extend joint-to-joint and section-to-section.

On the body rotation (the skeleton and yin yang muscles…) This training is what we need to recognize. That is why we train just to go up and down with the skeleton, ligaments, and tendons, feeling the yin yang muscles.

But within the joint, when we are flipping it back and forth, then we are doing open-close. (yin/yang) The yin yang is condensing/expanding. We were saying yesterday on the Saturday zoom session, we condense and expand on the bone first.

Stretch the joint first—to the ligaments and tendons…then, muscles. If I’m condensing the bone, I am drawing from the fingertips here—the yin. Then, stretch the bone, the ligaments and tendons—then the yang tissue and the skin to the fingernails. [Demonstrates: stretching the yin, the yang]. Then, stretch and rotate. [Demonstrates “grabbing” with the yin, then grabbing with the yang—like throwing a punch]; then it’s ‘pulling/pushing’.

Training With Nature | Sifu Says

Why Our Training Must Be Direct, Must Be With Nature

[This excerpt comes from the viewpoint talk, “Food for Thought: Philosophy, Concepts, Principles” presented by GM Sam Chin 21 March 2020. The full talk is available in our on-demand video subscription library.]

Overview of The System

Let me give an overview of what the system is. Our system of Martial Art of Awareness (and Zhong Xin Dao approach to the I Liq Chuan curriculum) is based on the philosophy of Zen and Tao and given the Chinese acupuncture meridian points; it talks about the nature of things and about trying to understand what nature itself is. That is the philosophy we want to talk about.

What Is Nature?

First of all, to understand nature, what is the characteristic of nature?

The first is change–how nature itself is always changing. From this philosophy of understanding change, you must see what is happening, you must change with the change. The important thing here is how can you change with the change? You must be able to understand that to “be with” nature is “being with” the moment of change.

In Tao, yin and yang here must have one neutral point or line that both combines the two and separates the two. So the balance of the yin and yang is a complementary balance—it’s not balancing two of the same.

How To Change

We talk about ‘keep on changing,” yes, but HOW can we do that? We say ‘keep on balancing with the moment’—in order not to change.

Do you understand this concept: “Change with the change to maintain not to change?” This is the moment. The present point. That means you’re continually changing [puts his 2 index fingers together and moves them around in space together]. We are moving, but the point where they meet–here–that doesn’t change. It maintains the same here even as it keeps on changing.

So, maintaining is connecting, being with the moment. So—all training is about connection. To connect, to be together, then can we get the right information, to listen to what is happening.

Sometimes we talk about this as DIRECT KNOWING.

Just to ‘know’ must come from this directness. When we talk about knowing we have two references: know from the past or know from the present. Our training must be direct—knowing the moment. But the hardest part is how can you know the moment when it keeps on changing?

You must be able to change with the change—to flow along with it. But, first of all, how can you flow along with it?

“You must be able to understand that to be with nature is being with the moment of change.”
~GM Sam Chin

Knowing From The Tao: Standing On Top of Change

The flowing along means it always has the point of contact. The point of contact—you must keep on balancing it. That means you keep on balancing it with the flow: Balancing the point that you meet, balancing the pressure that you hold. But in order to do the balancing, you need attention to be there first—that means you need concentration to be there: to meet, to hold over there first—to maintain there.

“Maintain” means you have to change with the change to maintain.

To hold, you have to change with the change to hold. From the training, you always have to stand on top of the very base of change first—to maintain not to change. That means you have to keep on balancing, every moment, every second, constant balancing to be the same. Here is the present moment. And with that point, it turns into a stillness point—the stillness point is a steady point, constantly adjusting.

Stillness As The Reference

With this stillness point as a reference, you’ll see the difference.

But what is the difference? Under the Tao, we can observe difference as just “difference” without labeling it. If you label the things, “ok—the difference is because it’s red or black, etc.”—that means you’ve already gone beyond the difference—that means you’ve gone into the difference of judgment. That means you’re going beyond that difference to reference past experience.

That is not the Tao. The Tao, we say ‘it cannot be named.’ But then how can you know? It’s only knowing through the difference; through observing difference you can see the relationship—it has a change; the cause and effect. Knowing here is one, two, and three: because of separations and unifications—they have differences.

Our training is based on this kind of attention and the skill to connect.

When we talk about “connecting”, the reference has to be using the center point! If you say a ‘center’, what is the characteristic and quality, and function of that one center point?

A center must have up-down, left-right, forward, and backward. It must have all these that go out from the center to the circumference and come back to the center in order for it to be considered as a center point, so one center point is able to manifest this directional energy. To understand this concept of “center” directly, you must understand six directions and three dimensions.

Of course, the first center point must come from the feet, gravity, then the mass, then the alignment that has the six directions and three dimensions.

Sifu Says – Natural Power

Selections transcribed from “Refinement of Basic Exercises”

presented by GM Sam Chin with Instructor Rich Kelly
21 November 2020; online

One kind of knowing is a direct knowing and another kind of knowing is from our memory–our past knowing.

In the moment of action, of responding, we want to have a direct knowing: a direct knowing of the moment itself. The direct moment itself is based on spacing and timing. When we talk about spacing and timing that means you must be able to move freely, move efficiently, and move with ease and also with power.

The right power means they’ve got to do it with the right angle of movement, but sometimes we just phrase it through the reference of being ‘relaxed.’

So, “relaxed” must have all these conditions, the advantage of movement. Practically you can say that it’s all about power, limits, understanding limits, or understanding power based on the timing, spacing, and angles of movement.

But overall there must be one reference that is the most important part and that is about the center of gravity and the center of mass. This is the main reference for where the power comes from and where the balance comes from.

“In the moment of action, of responding: we want to have a direct knowing; a direct knowing of the moment itself.”
~GM Sam Chin

Gravity Power & “Natural Power”

When we talk about the center of mass and the center of gravity that is called the gravity power: that means how to hold on to the gravity power. There are certain kinds of power: gravity power is the first one, but there is also the point of contact power.

The point of contact power we sometimes call it the “natural power “and natural power means that on point of contact it has “the circle with center” of 90 degrees. Now, the center of mass and the center of gravity is also 90 degrees–that is the center of gravity power.

That 90 degree doesn’t change; it always must be maintained in order to be with the center of gravity. The natural power and point of contact, do change – from different angles–as long as the point of contact is 90 degrees.

Hold on to the point with that 90 degrees in order to connect; this is the first main point. To review: all movements must be based on these two things: One is the center of gravity power and one is natural power on point of contact that is 90 degrees.

Do you understand what I’m saying here?

You see, now, when we have these angles, or any slight change of angle, as long as it’s 90 degrees to the point of contact, that is the natural power of 90 degrees. Later on, that mass has a relationship with the center of gravity.

Balancing To Connect

In order to have that center of gravity, that one line, and also the natural power in different angles, there is a lot of balancing to connect because there is a lot of separation and unification.

So, through our joints, from our ankle, knee, the hip, the spine, the shoulder, elbow, and the wrist–all these joints. Here, itself, is how we need to balance in order to meet the 90 degrees. That is one thing.

Another thing of movement — that movement of angles– sometimes we call it Shun Li Bei Li (順力背力), that is, “accordingly”, it’s natural. [Shun Li refers to going along the (path/flow of the natural) power; Be Li – going against the (path/flow of that) power.]

But there are also forces that are against–when you use more force to do one little thing, that is called ‘against.’ Shun Li means that you use a minimum force and have the things done–that is called appropriate force. That kind of knowledge is based on understanding the body structure, how your ligaments, tendons, and muscles work: recognizing how it works so that you create power.

Listening To The Point – Part 4

References, Rotation, and Relationship of Theory to Training

GM Sam F.S. Chin Viewpoint Talks
Arizona/ USA
May 2019

What I teach may be hard to understand for those not completely familiar with the Martial Arts of Awareness curriculum. No doubt yesterday I taught the ‘real thing’: it’s the real thing because that’s what you’re looking for—knowing from direct. Direct is what you can ‘see’ and ‘know’ when you are connected to see in that way, in the present moment. It’s not about falling back to past experiences or judging from the past.

When you’re in Neutral Offense, you can strike any time. When we train, you are on the Neutral Defense or on the Neutral Offense: if you’re already on the offensive side of the line, you can whack the opponent. When it comes to control, you cannot control from on DEFENSE; defense is 50/50. Offense is because I understand I’ve already crossed the half line. Offense means I can get you, but you can’t get me. If you don’t have neutral offense, the opponent can get you—when you cross, he can cross, too. Because if you hold on to the neutral to do the close close or open open, then he cannot get you.

As I’ve said before, holding the space—the same time and the same space—means only 1 can occupy. If I sit here, you can’t sit here. So if I get the space, you cannot, unless it’s a different space, then it’ll be under a different time. So, you can say that in the beginning of Flow, you try to stay on neutral, but you can also try, at first, to learn with Neutral Defense: then you know the limits.

Flow has the Idea of Doing Things within Limits

If you only have neutral, it’s sometimes hard to detect the limits. But with Neutral Defense—there’s 2 points there, so it’s able to give you a better sense of whether you’re still within the limits or not. Flow has the idea of you doing things within the limits also. If you go out of the limits that means you’re following. Flow will turn into following, you see? So when it comes to CONTROL, we must be in Neutral OFFENSE; you can’t control in Neutral DEFENSE: you can only PREVENT in Neutral Defense. For control, you must be one step ahead. That means, if the opponent wants to come into you, he needs to neutralize your defense first, so that’s one step. So, with Offense, that means you have to be able to cross the half line, but I don’t strike you—I still maintain Neutral Offense. At Level 7, then, on control, there will be a moment when Upper Hand can strike. Then,[ to assess your level of awareness and skill], that means I go in to strike, but on your part, you want to show you can maintain control over there. So, the training of the procedure must be very clear. You can’t control on defense. That’s why neutral Offense and neutral Defense must be very clear: that means the half line. There’s a 3-dimensional half line.

Primordial Energy, the Beginning of Energy, the Balance Energy

So, yesterday, we approached the topic first from One point: the One-point Approach means one point of movement and that one point is a rotation… you can say that is also spiral energy. You have to hold onto one point; and if you understand one point, and how that one point has 6 directions, 3 dimensions, then you can understand the beginning of energy, the balanced energy. That means it must come from the balance point and balance must come from the center. We train to understand that a center has conditions to be a center, as the neutral point.

The Path of Wisdom – Part 6

Discerning Power Takes Practice To Develop

In the beginning, for students sometimes it’s very hard because at first they can’t get any information there. They don’t know what…Alright. Don’t give up. If you give up from here that means you fall back to your experience of what you like or don’t like. You need to put that aside. To go from this end. This end is from knowing the moment. You have to have enough attention to hold until it turns clear. See, when you hold your attention can be there enough to let things speak for themselves—that means things start to get clear. The clear comes from the center. The center is a cross. The cross is a junction that separates things. That means to see the difference. If you see the difference that means seeing the separation: the outlines, the lines [points to all the body lines, etc.] the features are a separation, yes? How do the features come? Because they have different controls—there is a separation. A curve, why do you call it a curve—because there’s a separation and a curve. How you see it, then you know the difference from here.

But that needs concentration. How high your concentration is and how well can you keep your concentration to connect one center with another center—how many centers can you connect? How many centers can you stretch? The more centers you can stretch the more past, present future inside this one present. Understand? I see the center here—this past, present, future is one present. How well can you directly connect? The further I connect, I see more. Like I said before when just you drive a car and only see the car in front of you and emergency light comes on, if they hit the brake, you have a sudden reaction. But if you see ahead another 3 or 4 cars ahead of you, if that car makes a brake, you’ll already be ready here because you see more centers. So you are prepared, you can prepare, you can be ready—then there’s no more sudden. So close so sudden. If I can see longer—then I’m waiting for you to come. This is how your attention stretches and spreads. This is what we call discerning power. In Zen, this is what you call attention, awareness, being mindful. This is what we keep on looking at.

Back to training this concept physically:
Go up and down feeling the joints, stretching the joints, feeling from point-to-point: Feet pressure to crown pressure–two ends of the pressure—should be the same in order to be connected. Or else they can’t be connected. This is the philosophy and concepts that connect the training approach to the exercises.

Ex: Horizontal Plane – For more senior students, it’s not only the horizontal quality. Horizontal quality has what? [Side-to-side Forward backward] Side-to-side, yes, but it holds the horizontal. You hold the plane. The action is not only this way…actually, you hold the plane—that means try to see. The movement is this but the energy is up and down. Because it’s the grinding energy: that means I’m holding this horizontal plane. This holding of the horizontal press. If I press, he can go down; if I don’t hold, you can come in.

“The more centers you can stretch the more past, present future inside this one present.”
~GM Sam Chin

Understanding Three Dimensions & Six Direction Energy

There’s a plane you need to hold. This is the energy of holding. The training of the grinding/wiping is left right forward backward but you wipe this plane. There’s a frontal plane and a sagittal plane. All planes have grinding. The misunderstanding is used by other southern martial arts, like Praying Mantis. Other martial arts talk about grinding energy. But how can you do it? Grinding energy means it’s not press to grind. You must have 2 energies to grind and it must be equal energy. You must have enough energy to go down and to go forward—to hold. But then to be right there must be 3 energies: forward backward up and down energy (already has left right). All direction energy. If you press too hard you can’t grind; if too light, you can’t grind. For the beginning student it’s okay just to get the movement; but we train to get structure, then relaxation (to see the yin yang), then the energy. Point of Contact—then, with this directional energy, on this point of contact you call this a balance point: constant changing, constant maintaining, that’s the balance point. (minimum 2 direction energy: down and up).
That means the balance point doesn’t change; you’re using 2-direction or 4-direction energy to maintain NOT to change. At least remember the concepts and the theory first! Remember the theory of HOW to get into this quality, right. You need to have this theory to understand what to look for in order to get the right energy. Because as you go higher, you need to put in the qualities.

Two energies at the same time (down and up) is from rotation. Keep on rotating: rotation, rotation! That’s why I call it skimming—but skimming on the point. Try to rotate as centered as possible on the point. The more centered on the point, then the splitting of the directional energy will be more clear! See, this rotation, if you push forward too much, you lose the direction. You hold and pivot/rotate on the point. With that energy first, then directional movement comes from there. Understand what I said? See now: That’s why we say circle-with-a center first: one that goes down here to rotation, equally—then you can move. 90 has 2 first. 90 is the quality. A lot of people can’t understand the skim—and go just forward or just backward—it’s not the right action and it’s not really precise. See, it needs to be 90° here! That means equal—rotating equally here, I can have one energy forward and one back, see? Like layers: first 90°, then 2 equal. Another layer, I’m going left and right, but to do that I’m doing this down up 90 first: center with yin, center with yang. That’s why I say you never leave the center!

-FIN-

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The Path of Wisdom – Part 5

How To Pay Attention To The Center Reference To Use It

Q: When you’re talking about aligning the centers, if you were to keep them perfectly centered (center to center) that would be very good?

A: Yes

Q:Now, what you’re saying is each center there’s a certain variance where you’re still on the center but you’re to the right side, say, but slightly off, and if I understand what you’re saying, the next center you need to balance with the previous center but also with the yin and yang…

Yes, but at first, just think of one center: one center and then the 2nd center. The more centers you can hold give you more of a difference to see: more centers then you can adjust.

For instance, like when people do surveying—like looking from one center to see other centers—or they do the measuring, then you know where it goes. But the thing is that maintaining the centers isn’t just ‘one’—it’s because there are different components to maintaining, to maintain it.

So because that’s why we talk about Tai Chi—tai chi is balance. Tai chi, when action comes, it turns into yin and yang so it starts to pivot. When it starts to pivot, you go to yin or yang, right? So that’s where the open close, full and empty come in. But when you start to pivot on movement, you never leave the center. That’s why we talk about ‘from center to yin’ or ‘from center to yang.’ Center with left, center with right, center with up, center with down. All the centers. You can not leave the centers, because center is the reference for you to know.

Center is the cross, it’s the junction point, it’s the fullness point for you to know. For you as a reference to change, to change to know. Once you leave the center, you have no more reference. So your reference won’t be precise and you’ll fall back into experience. Using your experience means you are judging the moment; you aren’t really acting “with” the moment. So this is how you have to pay attention and use it.

That’s why in the first place, it’s the feet with the gravity, then it’s alignment—holding this alignment. Then, also, to enhance the centers, the action of the centers is only through rotation, so you can do open and close, through rotation to hold. Because holding the centers is only clockwise and counter-clockwise, not to get away from the centers. Holding on the centers, then there’s no other movement you can do: only forward backward, up down, left right.

Only that movement. If you try to do any other movement from here that means you are wrong. That means you are not connecting. Then, if you lose the connections, then you are not direct. This is some of the diagnostic list also that you should be able to use. So your training is only here. Don’t do any other thing! If your attention goes to any other thing, that means you are not basing it on the reference. So that means your mind will tell you to do something else and that means you’re wrong already. So, how well can you hold? Now, all the actions, first, are 1, 2, 3. One thing. First in the center, and then the Yin and Yang. Everything starts from here.

“We train to be direct. Direct needs to connect.”
~GM Sam Chin

Let’s go back exploring this through training.

Stand here and feel the joints. Stretch the joint. The ankle, the knee, the hip—everything: stretch it out. Stretch the joint: release. Feel the joint and how it stretches. To feel the bone is from stretching the joint first. So, if you can’t feel the joint, it’s very hard to do action.

Feel the fingers, wrist, the elbow, shoulder, the spine, the hip, everything. Start to raise from feet to the fingertip: stretch it out, and release. Keep on stretching and feeling: how well can you stretch and hold? Then, from the joint you have movement. Only do the joint first. Then you can do part-by-part. Stretch until you feel that the joint has really stretched. Then you’ll feel the ligaments and tendons, then the muscles, up to the skin. From here, absorb the Yin muscles on the front with the joint. Stretch the joint and muscles from the back (ming-men) and you have the project. You must have 3 things here: now with this quality—center of feet, yin and yang quality, you can proceed.

From here you have to FEEL there’s a macro-cosmic cycle: absorb here and project here. First you separate to recognize and feel each. Then, later, you absorb here but still feel the yang expand: it’s a complementary cycle here. The yin grab (initiated with the yin) it’s like this [shows difference]. The yang grab, initiated by yang (project), it’s this. Understand here? It’s a matter of your attention—and how you can see it.

The Feel of Rotation

What is the feel of rotation? Don’t think about words. Feel the sensation of rotation. What is the characteristic, what are the qualities in order to rotate? You want to look into here. If you look into here only then will you know how to approach the training. What conditions are needed for you to rotate? Everything we talk about conditions: conditions must be there in order for things to happen.

Rotate the centers. You must be balanced in order to be balanced in order to rotate. If not balanced, you can’t rotate. Venerable Jiru was talking [at MABA] about the spinning top (child’s toy).

When we play with it, the triangle cone must be balanced to spin—equal on all sides (equal on four-direction sides) in order to do the spinning. If not equal, you cannot spin. Yes? That means you need equal direction energy to hold the center to spin. So when you do a spiral, it has that quality. Consider: why is it that you can’t maintain the spin? Or, if you spin, is it balanced?

All this is the training process to look into. Then the training is only about keep on adjusting, keep on maintaining and keep on balancing. No other thing than here, understand. If the mind tries to say do another thing, you’re already wrong. Why would you do another thing? Your job is only to balance. From balance is action itself. That action is only the correct action. The correct action is only from balance and harmony. If you do more from here, you are doing wrong things already and you are already wasting your energy on things that aren’t necessary.

Because we talk about maintaining and doing it correctly, things manifest. Then how well can you start to connect and how wide can you stretch? That’s only the thing. I just want you guys paying in mind—that is all.

If you think you want something, no—that’s wanting.

You must hold this reference very strongly—that out from here you must be able to go return back. This is the core principles, all the core concepts. That’s why I say in my Path, I say there’s nothing to learn, because slowly as you train you’ll see there’s no extra here. Because to be balanced, to see the thing as it is, it’s just there: to maintain. It’s nothing to create. When you want to say ‘create’ that means examine how do you create—from where? Your creation comes from where? Then if it comes from center it’s not ‘creation’—it’s already there. What is there for you to create? Because it’s already there already.

If you come from the right perspective, there’s nothing new—it’s there. But when you hold over there, you do there, you see there, you know from there, it’s the most balanced—that’s what you call right. Practically, there’s no ‘right or wrong’; then you can say ‘appropriate.’ Appropriate movement, appropriate actions. Because it’s direct from here that nature speaks itself here. Here is where we talk about Wisdom. If you fall back to your past experience that’s accumulations—then you call it ‘knowledge.’ I won’t say knowledge is bad—knowledge is very powerful, as long as you know it’s ‘knowledge’, it’s accumulations and when you use it on other things it’s only ‘judging.’

You judge on it and use it to see if other things fit or not. But we are training not from that perspective. We train to be direct. Direct needs to connect.

Teaching Moments With GM Sam Chin

Start From One Point

Rotation Is Pivoting

Balancing With The Floor

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Why Our Training Must Be Direct, Must Be With Nature

Overview of The System

What Is Nature?

How To Change

Knowing From The Tao: Standing On Top of Change

Stillness As The Reference

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Selections transcribed from “Refinement of Basic Exercises”

Gravity Power & “Natural Power”

Balancing To Connect

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References, Rotation, and Relationship of Theory to Training

Flow has the Idea of Doing Things within Limits

Primordial Energy, the Beginning of Energy, the Balance Energy

Discerning Power Takes Practice To Develop

Understanding Three Dimensions & Six Direction Energy

How To Pay Attention To The Center Reference To Use It

The Feel of Rotation