As I have said before, taijiquan experts rely on the force from the attack of the opponent and more importantly, the force of gravity to defend themselves and to strike the opponent in a combat. They do not use any of their own muscular power. Furthermore, they should be able to make use of these two forces in a way that the more forceful the opponent’s attack is, the more forceful will be the counter-attack, and that if they can maximize the use of the force of gravity, they would be more powerful in their attack.
The force of gravity enables the weight of the body to bounce back to the body and arms after the weight has come into contact with the ground. But how can the use of the force of gravity be maximized and how can the bouncing effect be also maximized so as to make the attack more effective and more powerful?
First of all, the force of gravity is constant no matter where you are. You cannot ask for more, neither can you produce more. All you can do is maximize its effect so as to make your attack more powerful. The most important technique is to let every cell in your body swell so that you can feel that you are taller and bigger. You should also feel that every cell is farther apart from one another and that all the cells are very heavy. You are held upright by your head floating upwards. In order to let every cell in your body come into contact with the force of gravity, no part of your body should be stiff. You should use your mind to make every part of your body elastic as if your whole body is like a balloon filled up with water. After you have developed this feeling, then imagine that there is water flowing from your head through the body down the pelvis bone and then through the legs until the water reaches the feet. The weight of every cell is carried by the water downwards. In order to obtain the best bouncing effect, you should imagine that the water flows through the feet onto a hole in the ground with a downward swirl (see previous chapter).
Some people mistakenly believe that the bouncing effect is obtained by pressing the feet on the ground. While to a certain extent this can be achieved, the bouncing effect thus obtained is greatly discounted and may not be fully elastic. As you have been imagining using water to aid you to release the body weight onto the ground, you should keep on using water to obtain the bouncing effect.
Therefore instead of trying to obtain the bouncing effect by pressing the feet on the ground, you should, after the feet has come into contact with the ground, let the water continue to flow through the feet into a hole in the ground and there should be a swirl in the flow. No sooner has the water “flowed into the hole” than your body weight bounces upwards, also in a swirl but in the opposite direction.
The bouncing effect does not actually push your feet above and off the ground like a ball bouncing from the ground. The bouncing effect is just like a kind of upward pressure from the ground that expands our legs, our body and arms. What is important is that you should direct the pressure with your mind to reach your head so that your head and your upper body become lighter and float even higher up. While you feel that your head and upper body become lighter, your feet, your legs and your abdomen become heavier.
When you try to develop the bouncing effect in practice, you should try to alternate the use of both legs. For example, you may first let the water, carrying your weight, flow from the head, through the shoulder down the body and left leg and then through the left foot in an anti-clockwise downward swirl. When the water reaches the ground and splashes back, you should have a feeling that there is ‘steam’ pressure rising from the ground in a clockwise upward swirl. The upward spiralling pressure rises through the left leg up the body and reaches your arms and head, thus making your whole body swell. You should then let the water flow from your head through the body down the right leg to the right foot. When the water flows downwards through the right foot and reaches the ground in a clockwise swirl, you again feel that there is ‘steam’ pressure rising from the ground in an anti-clock direction up the right leg through the body to your head. You then repeat the whole process in the practice.
My experience is that if you can time the flow of the water from the head to reach the ground at the same time as your foot touches the ground, you will achieve the optimal bouncing effect.
Do NOT assist the bouncing effect by either raising your body or by stretching your legs. You will only destroy the upward flow of the bouncing effect.
I make no apology for repeating some of the points already made in previous chapters. This is necessary because there are so many things we should do even in one single movement and I need to put emphasis on different points separately so that readers can concentrate on different issues at different times.
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