Taijiquan and Golden Bell

[DarkCosmoz]

Does a master in Taijiquan have some sort of Golden Bell? There was a story about how Yang Lu Chan took blows to his body, but because his body was as soft as cotton on the outside and like steel inside, his body abosrbed the attacks with no damage.

Best wishes,
Stephen

Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa

[Antonius]

Yes. If you practice Zhan Zhuang long enough, you will naturally develop a kind of Golden Bell.

[DarkCosmoz]

Thanks very much Antonius.

[subclock]

Hi Stephen ,

My Sifu and my Sigung both have something very similar to Golden Bell ,where they can withstand extreme attacks to their bodies without getting injured . They said that they developed this mainly with Three Circle Stance , Grasping The Sparrow's Tail , Lifting Water , and " that thing I can't remember the name of where you twist at the waist and let your arms slap naturally against your body " .

Best Wishes ,
Kevin

[Mike B]

Re: Taijiquan and Golden Bell

Originally posted by DarkCosmoz
Does a master in Taijiquan have some sort of Golden Bell?

DC

Well I am not sure of the technical definitions but in Wutan Tai Chi the nei-gung exercises are inter alia to help withstand blows.

I myself have trained in that way and then had a 15st bloke jump on my stomach a couple of times from a modest height. I have also seen a more advanced student have a large guy jump on his stomach from the top of a piano!

So one way or another there are certainly related disciplines even if not technically the same (eg as I recall there are different exerciese for training different body parts - eg there is a picture of Dan Docherty being simultaneously kicked on both sides of the throat ).

rgds

Mike

[DarkCosmoz]

Thank you all very much Kevin and Mike. That's all very interesting and motivating to practice qigong diligently (and correctly of course)

[Mike B]

Originally posted by DarkCosmoz
[B]practice qigong diligently (and correctly of course)

Indeed. The punchline of my story is that after the second time I was 'tested' I ended up feeling like I had a cracked rib for 3mts

[KungFuJoe]

This thread came up a while ago and I pointed out two things...

1) Master Wong said that adbanced tai chi students hit themselves forcefully with granules to condition themselves to take blows.

2) He also said that lifting water was the first step to golden bell training.

Does anyone know what the other steps to golden bell training are? Does lifting water and body conditioning constitute golden bell?

Maybe tai chi chuan has the other exercises as well...

Joe

[Antonius]

I don't know the answers, but I do know that Zhan Zhuang will do it naturally. There may be a more "forceful" method, like Golden Bell, but Zhan Zhuang will do it eventually. (Forceful here means targeted training, as opposed to general, holistic training like Zhan Zhuang.)

On a side note, this is why I love deep arts like Zhan Zhuang. You can train the forceful Small Universe to open the Ren Du circuit, or you can just do Zhan Zhuang and let it open naturally. You can practice Iron Shirt or Golden Bell and develop a protective covering, or you can just let Zhan Zhuang do it naturally. You can practice Iron Fist or Cosmos Palm and develop powerful strikes, or you can let Zhan Zhuang do it naturally.

I like that when you're practicing an art like Zhan Zhuang (correctly!), you know you're on the right path.

[yasminejade]

Hi Antonius,

Is the Zhan Zhuang means Golden Bridge, or Horse Stance ?

I notice that in Wahnam School, it seems that (I could be wrong) Golden Bridge is emphasized more than Horse Stance (with hands at waist).

Jason

[Antonius]

Zhan Zhuang is a general term for static martial qigong. Golden Bridge, Horse Riding Stance, Three Cirlce Stance (Taijiquan), and San Ti (Xingyiquan) are all examples of Zhan Zhuang.

[KungFuJoe]

Zhan Zhuang will do it naturally

This really emphasizes the importance of practicing 3-4 internal force building exercises everyday for a long period rather than trying do do many more things and achieving much less.

Perhaps one of the advantages of Tai Chi Chuan is that you can get such tremendous benefits from the Tai Chi Stance, Lifting Water and Grasping the Bird's Tail.

[Kalai]

Antonius, thanks for explaining what the chinese meant, I was reading that going "It's something important, pity I have no idea what it is."

And yes, I've found that internal energy building gradually makes you more powerful without dedicated exercises. I like some of the 18 Lohan in particular (Push Mountains, and um... damn I forgot their actual names, Have I said enough times yet that when it comes to names I'm terrible?)

Can someone describe what Three Circle Stance is? Not what it does, 'cause I probably know it under another name. (For instance it's -that one- *then demonstrates and shows everyone* And because this is a moderated forum, I won't tell you the name Ken (effectively my Sifu) calls Goat Stance. (It's dirty, politically Incorrect, offensive, funny and remarkably accurate. Problem is I automatically call it that now as well.))

[Antonius]

The "Three Circle Stance" is a goat stance with the arms held as if holding a ball or hugging a tree. In fact, it's sometimes called "Hugging A Tree" or "Holding a Ball."

[Kalai]

Yup, I know it. We actually do call it "Hugging a Tree" rather than Three Circle. That's what I thought it was, I just wasn't sure.

It's actually my favourite way of force training. I can really rela into it and stay there for hours. By the end of it, I'm just so full of energy I'm so languid that sometimes people mistake my voice for me being stoned, (I drawl terribly afterwards, not to be mistaken with drooling) But it just feels soo gooooood.

Anyway. Yes, Great stance, know exactly what you're talking about now, so I'll be able to take that into account in future posts of you guys.