The explosive force of nimble loosing and elasticizing is the essence of Chen style Tai Chi Quan and crucial conditions of differentiating it form the others.

Many Tai Chi Quan lovers intend to be interested in setting out the energy. A few people can practice Tai Chi Quan very well because they can not thoroughly understand the main points. It is easy to practice Tai Chi Quan well if you master the rules of setting out the energy of Chen Style Tai Chi Quan. The author following Grand Master Chen devotes himself into studying the profound meaning of Tai Chi Quan for many years. Now I make some comments of personal understanding.

When you practice Tai Chi Quan ,You must change the stiff energy into the gentle and relax your entire body. Then you will freely sent out the force of nimble loosing and elasticizing from the different angles and regions through persevering to exercise in according to the rules that the energy is from your feet and move to legs and dominate it in your waist and sent out on the end of points.

Relaxation is the premier of setting out the energy. The firm can reach the limit if the gentle being extremely. You will send out the energy only by relaxing whole body

and get rid of the stiff energy. You can gather the energy of entire body reach the top point and send out the power instantly after relaxing the bone joint and muscles of the entire body. Relaxing the bone joint and muscles is for reduce the resistance of muscles and the power can not be weaken. Moreover, the time of tight belts of muscles must be short. You must keep high tensions at the same time the energy reached the point and to be sent out, then relaxing the body quickly. That is to say, the time is shorter and the energy sent out faster and the more power.

Thought and Qi is the soul of Tai Chi chuan .If you want to reach a higher level, they must combine thought and Qi into one and use the thought to lead the Qi make the Qi to move in whole body. Qi reach the point at the same time the power also. The entire body is moved by the thought. Following the rules of the setting out energy, you successively make the power to quickly reach the point that you want to attack. Your muscles is high tense when the power reach the point. You will set out the buffeting and springing energy if you make you belly part firm and fall the Qi into Dan Tian point combining the exhalation and sound production, The power has not only rich spring but also strong. The making action is like loin shake body. The key to practice the buffeting and springing energy well is well-coordinated with waist and groin. Turning waist and keeping groin inward you can do the actions fiercely and quickly and make the power reach the point. When you practice the rotating energy, you use waist as axis. You turn to body side quickly to bring the centrifugal force. According to the theory of mechanics, each point of circle may be set out the energy. The power will set out along the direction of tangent of circle. You particular pay attention to with the coordination on all sides, at the same time, keep strength symmetrical when practices sent out the strength into the point. If practices do that, it may avoid producing the phenomenon of weightlessness caused by falling to make a hit to keep the balance.

We will judge and measure a Tai Chi master from the three aspects explosive force of practices: first is the master make the energy is set out from the foot or not. The power will not produce not only the promoting force but also the great general energy. Secondly, the master use the rotation power of waist and groin. On the basis of the relaxation, the buffeting and springing force is produced through turning the waist and closing the groin quickly. Thirdly, make the energy point or not. It means to concentrate the energy of entire body on one point. If not, it will not have the killing force. In a word, we can draw a conclusion that If you want to practice Tai Chi Quan well only to obey the rules above the three Indispensable points.

We will take “Cover Hands and Strike With Arm” as example. We will explain the key points of the movement in details, based on the rules of exerting the energy.

Prepare form: keep the center of gravity onto the right legs, the toe of the right foot turned inward. Change the right hand into a first backward to the right side of the chest, the center of the palm facing upward. Put the left foot in the front. Put the left palm in the forward-left. Relax the left hip and close the groin. Eyes look straight ahead naturally. Keep the both shoulders relax and level. Keep the upper body erect and comfortable. Keep the head erect. Reserve the energy naturally, ready to be sent out that is like the way of shooting a bow. Before exerting the force, require the entire body to process five bows. The entire bodies all close the energy, relax the muscles, and keep the body erect. When setting out the energy, shift the center of gravity from the right leg to the left leg, at the same time, quickly the energy transport the fist through the ways of treading on the ground by the right leg, turning the knee and the waist, closing the groin. Turn the entire body to the left. The left elbow exerts the force backward quickly when setting out the fist, which just form symmetrical pulling force with the right fist. So it may not only

Keep the body balance but also keep the shoulders longer. Setting out the energy, it avoids losing the center of gravity caused by the forward of the body. In the fighting, it avoids losing the weight after pulled by the partners and help with exerting the force of the right fist. Drive the speed of exerting the rights fist after the left elbow is pulled forward quickly, which content the force of the entire body on the fists. This is the centrifugal force of mechanics. In addition, muscles add the speed of the energy quickly and keep high tensions at the moment that the energy to point and make the energy send out thoroughly, if practices keep the body as possible as the relaxation before exerting the force. At the same time, it may help with making sure the region in order to produce the controlling force then to relax quickly.

Such is my personal understanding. “Boxing method is very flexible “, as long as we obey the basic rules of the energy and the main point, you can practice the explosive force out in order to reach the high fairy that “ you can punch the other partners whatever they buffet in the body”, passing trough the more practices and summarization.

The Chen Family Tai Chi Quan is the cream of Chinese Martial Arts and the precious traditional cultural heritage of China. It is famed the Wushu circles because of it’s unique style and form of movement. The master of past ages has accumulated a series of systematic strict training ways during the process of its development and hand down. Now I will make a brief introduction of the systematic training of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan combining experience of teaching and training.

The systematic training of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan has six stages: studying posture, correcting posture, standardizing actions, harmonizing actions, clearing actions’ use, finalizing posture. During exercising you need clear your studying content and your problem. You need understand you have reached the level. You will lay the solid foundation of Tai Chi Quan for further improvement.

The first stage: studying posture (understand the law and know the routine). The stage is primary stage of learning Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. During the stage, you must master the simple basic movements. The basic movements are including to the fixed-stance and moving-stance with Chan Si Jin (reeling silk power). Through the exercise you will preliminary understand the requirement of hands and stance, and you will clear the basic style and characters of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. You will easily study the whole routine when you master the law and understand the style and characters. If you are beginner, you need clear why and how do the movements and understand the basic requirements, and you need know the actions’ direction and angle. You need master the changing of body-weight. So you will have a good beginning and lay solid foundation. It said that studying is easy and changing is difficult. You will correct the unwell actions is very difficult if you formed the unwell actions form from beginning. As the old saying goes: more haste, less speed. So training Chen Family Tai Chi Quan need conscientiously study every action. After learned the whole routine, you need exercise again and again to remember all actions. Finished this you do the actions skillful and natural. So you will pass the stage.

The stage: correcting posture (master the main points and show the characters). During the stage, you need be roughly corrected your obvious and easily making mistakes according to the requirements of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. The actions you exercise can show the basic characters of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. During the stage the generality mistakes are body not straight, Qi not smooth, shoulder and elbow not relaxation, bend waist and up buttocks etc. How to settle the mistakes? Starting with the relaxation. The aim of relaxation is rid of the stiff energy and make actions harmony. Then you can strengthen leg’s supporting power. It can cause many mistakes, such as body not straight, shoulder and elbow not relaxation, bend waist etc. if your legs have no enough supporting power. Every mistake has relation each other. If one action is wrong will cause other mistakes. So these requirements ask you need master harmony and coordination, relation and measure of every action, for example, the relation of relaxing shoulders and closing inward chest. You need master the right requirement of every action. If relaxation is over will lose energy; closing inward is over will become arch your back. Besides the points above, you also need clear the body-weight and true or false of actions and the hands’ changing coordinating direction and angle etc. You exercise will show the basic characters of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan, such as, harmony with energetic and gentle, chequered with quickly and slow, the explosive force of nimble and elasticity, spiraling and twining etc. When you can show the characters you will pass the stage.

The third stage: standardizing actions (regulate posture and make it exact). During the stage your every action in whole routine need be made exact according to the requirements of every body’s parts of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. Your every body’s parts can according with the demands and can do every action exactly. For example, close chest and draw the back of body, relax shoulders and down elbow, relax hip and bend knees etc. you make these actions exactly and moderately according with the requirement. In the stage the requirements of fixed posture are extended and poised, straight and natural body hands exactly and moderate. Like the saying in On Quan, said that three-combined strength will be run through all postures. Three-combined are the force of hand and feet, elbows and knees, shoulder and hip. You can feel every part of body is exact and moderate with the method of standing pile. You can make internal energy to the ends of body in thought. You can strength your legs’ power through the exercise of static energy, and make your lower body firmly and steadily. After regulate posture, your actions are extended and poised, harmony closing and opening. The Qi will run through the whole body and the energy can reach the ends of body. The upper limbs are light and nimble. The lower limbs are relaxation and steadily. You will pass the stage if you reach the degree.

The forth stage: harmonizing actions (cohere postures and project style). In the stage, all actions of the whole routine will be harmonized and cohere according to the requirement of natural and smooth. Doing actions are harmonized is like floating clouds and flowing water. In the stage, all posture have fixed in third stage will be cohered on the requirement in On Quan, that are the energy is raised from feet, moved in legs, dominated in waist and reached to the ends of body. You can naturally and exactly make every movement relaxation when you do the movements. You can make Qi run through whole body and reach ends by relaxing shoulders, sinking elbows and body when you do the actions. You do not make pause in moving energy when you cohere. If you cannot control the Qi you need make the thought connecting. During the stage, the exercising style of actions is quick not disorder, slow not out of joint, light not float, stead not stiff. The doing actions is conform to the Quan theory of following with the upper and lower limbs, making waist as axis and successively running through whole body. Through harmonizing actions you will combine the external action with internal Qi. When exercising you make your thought to lead the internal Qi and make the internal Qi to do actions. Your movements are natural and smooth.

The fifth stage: clearing actions’ use (clearing actions’ use and freely changing). After the four stages, you have reached the standard level in your Tai Chi Quan. Then you will come to the sixth stage---clearing actions’ use. In the stage every action will be analyzed on the basis of the postures are neatly, action is standard and the basic of kung-fu is strong. You will know not only the intention and changing, but also the use of every action. In fact you will analyzed Tai Chi Quan from the angle of the art of attack and defense, and make yourself to know more thing of Tai Chi Quan, including to the Tai Chi push-hands (tui shou) and Tai Chi San Shou. In the stage you need know the use of every action, and begin antagonistic training. You first begin to train the push-hands (tui shou), and master the skill of defense and attack through probing power and changing each other. Then you will select some main use method and train again and again. You will improve your ability of actual combat. At last you can make the best use of the situation, stay clear of the opponent’s main force and strike at his weak points adept yourself to changing conditions and subdue your opponent.

The sixth stage: finalizing posture. Through the training step by step, you have systematically, standard and thoroughly mastered the postures of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan, and you will finalize you postures. You will remember and standardize the postures and freely exercise according to the requirement of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. You can combine thought with breath and actions. You basis master the internal and external requirement and moving law of Chen Family Tai Chi Quan. When you have the abilities of self-correct, you can adjust your legs and waist for smooth your actions.