The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands A Gateway to Advanced T'ai Chi Practice

by Tangora, Robert; Gelb, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9781583944486
• ISBN10: 1583944486
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-06-12
• Publisher: Blue Snake Books

Summary

The Internal Structure of Cloud Handsoffers readers an in-depth look into the art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan via the practice of Cloud Hands, a foundational exercise common to all schools of this popular martial art. Part theoretical treatise, part training manual, this book facilitates a deeper understanding of "internal" movement and training for students of T'ai Chi and other internal martial arts. Step-by-step exercises help to bring the theoretical into concrete practice and application. Author Robert E. Tangora, an accomplished practitioner and teacher of several different styles of T'ai Chi, places a heavy emphasis on the development of internal structure and building a solid foundation in the art's most basic movements. Intermediate and advanced practitioners will discover a deeply interconnected world of practice; beginning students will learn basic training methods that can help them bypass years of incomplete training and erase incorrect habits already formed. Tangora also stresses the importance of meditation and its crucial relationship to the art's health and martial aspects, as well as how to use the spine to integrate movements-especially important for practitioners with back problems who wish to learn how to move without inducing pain. Readers will learn to: Cultivate internal power Discover the inner workings of Tai Chi Ch'uan Understand the meaning of the T'ai Chi classics Move without injury Relieve back pain

Author Biography

Robert E. Tangora has studied the internal martial arts since 1974, having trained under such notable masters as Fu Zhong Wen (the nephew of Yang Cheng Fu), Tok Seng Gim, Bruce Frantzis, and Wang Hao Da. During the early 1980s, Tangora taught T'ai Chi Ch'uan at Shr Jung, the school founded by Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing. Since 1989 he has taught T'ai Chi and related arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why Cloud Hands?	p. 1
Be Still Like a Mountain, Flow Like a River	p. 6
A Study of Commencement in T'ai Chi Ch'uan	p. 11
Center to Periphery Ch'i Kung	p. 17
Earth to Heaven and Heaven to Earth Ch'i Kung	p. 21
The Components of Internal Power and Health	p. 25
Cross-Body Turning Power	p. 26
Left-Right Alignment Power	p. 28
Zhong Ding Power	p. 32
Zhong Ding Gathering Exercise	p. 33
The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands	p. 37
Cross-Body Power in Cloud Hands	p. 41
T'ai Chi Classics: The Defect Lies in the Legs and Waist	p. 50
Bouncing Initiates the Vertical Component of Cross-Body Power	p. 54
T'ai Chi Classics: The Waist Is the Commander	p. 55
The Basic Zhong Ding Stepping Method	p. 63
Left and Right Alignment Power in Cloud Hands	p. 65
Health Benefits from Opening and Closing	p. 67
Opening and Closing and the Four Primary Chin	p. 68
Changing Chin in Cloud Hands	p. 69
Changing Chin with Weight Shirting	p. 72
Internal Chin in Fixed Step Push Hands	p. 76
Harmonizing Cross-Body and Left-Right Alignment Power	p. 77
Partner Practice Using Brush Knee	p. 77
Generating Left-Right Twisting and Spirals	p. 79
Pulling Silk to Harmonize Power	p. 81
Opening and Closing Your Lower Body and Stepping	p. 85
Bend the Bow and Shoot the Arrow	p. 87
The Internal Practice of Rooting	p. 93
Rolling Ball Cloud Hands	p. 97
Zhong Ding Power in Cloud Hands	p. 101
The Alignment of Your Spine, Lower Tan Tien, and Zhong Ding	p. 103
Joining the Internal Ellipses in Cloud Hands	p. 107
Song	p. 109
The Internal Separation of Yin and Yang	p. 115
Harmonizing the Three Components of Internal Power in Cloud Hands	p. 119
Storing and Projecting Unified Power	p. 121
A Practice Method for Training the Three Components of Internal Power in Cloud Hands	p. 125
Moving Your Mind on Your Zhong Ding	p. 131
The Four Chin and the I Ching	p. 135
Select Bibliography	p. 137
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