Tai Chi: Embodying the Four Primary Energies (Part 2 of 2)
Part Two
In Part One, I discussed the value of understanding the intrinsic nature and modus operandi of the four primary energies of tai chi. I also introduced peng, the mother of all energies. Now we’ll look at ji, lu and an, and how the four energies circulate qi throughout the body.
Ji: Projecting & Piercing Energy
Once a practitioner has gained the ability to bring up energy from the earth using peng, ji has the job of projecting it out of the body, through the hands and fingers and into the etheric field. Ji is a pure yang movement as everything opens up and extends. This may sound very similar to opening peng, but they are radically different.
Opening peng is a growing sphere and can produce force everywhere in the body and in certain applications — all at once. Ji takes all that expanding energy and focuses it into a narrow beam. Pure ji is executed at various points in the form, where the left and right sides of the body come together (i.e. two pengs unify) to produce a single, forwards-driving stream of qi/force. This is usually achieved by either the fingers of one hand connecting at the wrist of the other, the heel of one palm connecting to the heel of the other, or the energy of one palm reinforcing the opposite hand or fist. This energy can then be applied to striking, uprooting and sending an opponent away from you. This is why ji is commonly translated into English as "Press Forward", but it is much more than that.
Ji can be applied to any angle or direction in a similar way that you would aim a gun and pull the trigger. However, when first learning and in many applications in the form, ji is either straight forwards or forwards with a steady upwards incline through its application.
Martially, ji can be used both in a compassionate sense to push someone away from you, warning them of potential harm (for if you can send them flying backwards, you could surely do more); and in the instant karmic way of returning an aggressor's force with strikes of the fist, open hand or fingers, causing pain and damage.
Tai chi’s stance on fighting can be summed up in a single phrase:
Do not move before your opponent. But when they move, you move first.
This basically means that you respond to an aggressor’s attack appropriately: if they don’t attack, you do nothing; if they come at you with great force, you return that force to them.
Ji can also be used offensively by cutting through an attacking force and not bothering with the need to yield-absorb-return.
Lu: Absorbing & Yielding Energy
Lu is tai chi's specialty and takes care of several jobs at hand, including:
Pulling back the qi you extended out of the body on an open.
Drawing in more qi from the environment.
Returning blood back from the extremities to the organs.
Momentarily banking the qi that is circulating.
Developing the ability to yield.
Drawing qi from an opponent during contact to neutralise their force.
Releasing the nervous system.
Developing a sung body and mind.
The potential of lu is great. Peng is the mother energy of tai chi from the perspective of learning the form and establishing your practice, but lu is the mother when it comes to operating and applying tai chi's technology. This is because first you must create space in the body (via peng), and then you can use that space to great effect through lu by closing and absorbing. (See my post on Creating Space.)
Study of any tai chi form will reveal many uses of lu, especially linking the opening movements together because, after the body has extended open, it must return via a close. That closing/connecting piece is usually lu and therefore the form is riddled with applications of lu: the primary absorption technique of tai chi. It is true that closing peng has an element of absorption to it, but it remains predominantly yang. Whereas lu is pure yin and is all about absorption, like a dry sponge soaks up spilled water.
In fact, lu has two aspects that run simultaneously:
Lu takes the energy around and inside of you, and sends it downwards and into the ground, which is applied in martial arts like the matador's cape; when the bull makes contact, he finds there is nothing behind it.
Lu sucks the qi of either a) the environment when practising forms, or b) an opponent, e.g. during Tui Shou (“Push Hands”), and pulls it into your core. This aspect allows you to charge up your batteries when practising forms and neutralise incoming forces in interactive practices.
The mind of the practitioner ultimately determines how much of each of the two aspects is involved in any particular move — from a balanced 50-50 to a little of one and a lot of the other. It all depends upon the goal of the move and how much skill the practitioner has embodied.
An: Rooting & Compressing Energy
An is the last of the primary four energies and is responsible for taking energy back down into the earth, from where it came.
Peng brings energy up;
Ji projects energy out;
Lu draws energy back in; and
An sends the energy back down.
An sinks the energy downwards, which can be generated by a closing or opening action. The energy is not defined by the close or open, as in the case of peng, since both closing and opening peng are yang. Whereas an is yin, as the qi of the body is descending and that descending energy exits the feet and generates the root.
Closing an compresses the qi down the body and anchors the feet into the earth. Opening an sinks the qi through the body and makes the body heavy. Compression is one of the main qualities of an and even when the body opens, there is a sense of the shoulders and the internal anatomy of the body sinking down into the legs. How much a practitioner can compress depends upon the degree to which their body is open, again through the expanding energy of peng, but also the opening energy of ji. Water Method training advocates staying within two-thirds of your ability considering all factors so as not to restrict blood and qi flow, put undue pressure on the joints and organs, or injure yourself trying to get healthy!
The compressing force of an develops the root, enables access to deeper layers of tension in the body and sends waves of massaging pressure throughout the insides – organs, blood vessels and nerve roots to name but a few – without any negative side effects. An always has a sense of down, even when applied forwards, always a component of compressing, and is described as “Push Downwards”. But again, the English translation does not do the deed justice.
When an is applied martially, the sinking energy can bolt an opponent to the floor while the compressing energy penetrates to their core. This application of an sends a force deep into an opponent, which at least makes them feel very uncomfortable. Application of an can break joints, damage organs, blood vessels or any other part of the receiver’s anatomy to which the sender’s focused intent is directed.
Circulating QI
As you can see, peng initiates the expansion of the body; ji combines two pengs into a single, projecting force; lu uses the space created by peng to close and absorb; and an compresses and sinks qi downwards — again, using the internal space developed through peng. Together, the four energies create a cycling of qi throughout the body, and when done in different combinations, yield different qi flow patterns which have been carefully designed and tested through neigong training over millennia. Whether your interest is in health and healing, martial arts, true spiritual awakening or some combination thereof, embodying the four energies can profoundly give shape to your development — in body, mind and qi.
Study the Energies of Tai Chi with Me – Live and Online
In my tai chi programme, I’ll show you how to manifest the energies of peng, ji, lu and an, how they link together in the Yang style form, and how they intertwine in profound and otherwise seemingly paradoxical ways to open your body and mind, lull your nervous system into a state of letting go, and create the space for awakening mind-body-qi integration and consciousness.
Yang Style Tai Chi: The Four Energies
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The most in-depth Yang tai chi course I’ve offered to-date, live or online
Yang Style Tai Chi
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