Wiki Tag: Spinning Hands

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.