Tuesday, November 9, 2021

 The Four Energies


Our International Tai chi Alliance has been doing a hybrid form possibly called “The Four Energies.” I asked if there was a source video for this. There was, once upon a time, on a Turkish web site no longer inexistence, I guess. For me, it is an interesting as a way of concentrating on some of the essentials without the distraction of learning the whole form…even abbreviated versions like Yang 8. However, I have to keep asking myself, why not just practice getting “Grasp the sparrow’s Tail” right. All these “energies” are in it except a shoulder strike (which follows in Yang forms such as the Long Form or the Short Form. The Four Energies are Peng (ward off), Lu (roll back), Ji (press), and An (push). There is also Kao (shoulder strike). Yes, I know, that’s five, but ward off happens in this form as part of roll back and press. As I said before, Grasping the Sparrow’s Tail has most of this but in a sequence: ward off, roll back, press, push. The Four Energies separates each energy as individual moves and adds lateral movements between each, turning the person 180 degrees in a square. Sorry I can’t point you toward a video of this. I did find a nice explanation of the Thirteen Postures (8 energies and 5 steps) on Cathryn Lai’s Tai Chi & Qi Gong Studio web posting: http://cathrynlai.com/pdf/13%20Tai%20Chi%20Essentials.pdf

Of ward off Lai says, “the nature of this movement is expansive. It seeks to occupy space and bounce off obstacles.” Concerning roll back we learn from her that, “It creates a vacuum or an absence. It can draw the opponent in, or with very little effort, parry, yield and disappear from the opponent’s attack.” With press, “It is best used close in, as a way to gain some space from an opponent who is smothering you.” And, “ ‘Push’ grants you more physical space than press, often resulting in your opponent hurtling out of your space while losing his or her footing....It also reminds you to yield in the midst of tension, so that you can neutralize negative energy and turn it around for your betterment.” Of the shoulder strike Lai says, “It is the energetic pair of the ‘elbow’ gate. It is used for the tightest of spaces, when you have no room to chamber for a hand strike or kick.”

More of interest on the energies can be found on Tim Cartmell’s Shen Wu Martial Arts web site, http://shenwu.com/taichi.htm. Quoting him on the energies of the Eight Techniques: ward off, roll back, press, push, pluck, split, elbow and body stroke (peng, lu, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou, kao), we read that:

“In its broadest sense, ward off energy can he applied to the whole body. It is the energy resulting from proper alignment and relaxation which gives the Tai Ji Quan fighter the elasticity and springiness necessary to fight. In a stricter, technical sense, ward off is the energy which supplies buoyancy and supports weight (as soft and flexible water is able to support a massive ship). Roll back is energy which moves incoming force past one's body toward the rear (as a revolving door gives way and pivots around its center). Press is the force which rebounds from the ground up in a pulse and bounces the opponent away from the body (as a rock bounces off the taught head of a drum). Push is a force which puts pressure downward (like the force used when you lift your body out of a pool by pressing the palms down on the outside deck).”

Of Kao (shoulder strike) Cartmell says, “Body stroke is whole body ward off power channeled through some part of the torso, usually the shoulder (think of breaking a door down by leaning into it with your shoulder).”

That is what I have found in writing about the Four Energies as we practice in this hybrid form. Perhaps we will move on to practice cai, lie, zhou,  and kao in a further version.


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