Ken Gullette's Internal Martial Arts

What Are the Six Harmonies in Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua?

A member of the online school asked a question on the discussion board and I thought it would also make for a good post here on the blog.

What are the Six Harmonies and what does it mean? Does it mean the hands move with the feet, the elbows move with the knees and the shoulders with the hips?

Some people say the Six Harmonies are:

1. Shoulders

2. Hips

3. Elbows

4. Knees

5. Hands

6. Feet

So the shoulders move with the hips, the elbows with the knees, the hands with the feet.

That isn't the complete story, however. These three groups of two (hips/shoulders, elbows/knees, hands/feet) make up the THREE EXTERNAL HARMONIES. The other three harmonies that make up the six harmonies would include Spirit (Shen), Yi (Mind/Intent) and Chi. These are known as the Three Internal Harmonies.

You must have a strong spirit in order to do the internal arts properly, and in a self-defense situation to do effective techniques. Your mind and intention must be clear and focused, and then your energy will be up to the task at hand. All three of these must act in harmony.

Let's go back to the original list of six above (the Three External Harmonies). For these parts to move in harmony, there must be a connection. So if you're doing any particular movement, your feet are connected through the hands, your hips through the shoulders, and your knees through the elbows.

This is another way of talking about whole-body movement and silk-reeling. Each part can move separately -- on it's own -- and yet the movement is not effective and not internal if the other parts are not moving in harmony. A strike with the hand must also use the feet (ground) and it spirals up through the knees, waist (dan t'ien), shoulders, and elbows.

Think about this the next time you're practicing a movement -- use Buddha's Warrior or Lazy about Tying the Coat. You notice that at the beginning of Lazy About Tying the Coat, you step out with your right leg but your right elbow isn't really over the knee and the right hand isn't over the foot, so the idea that the elbow must be over the knee or the hand over the foot isn't really accurate.

However, when you are doing the movement, you are connected. Even at the end of the movement when you are "relaxing," your elbow is spiraling as you sink and your knee should be spiraling, too. At this point also, your elbow is over the knee and the hand is over the foot.

I'm feeling a lot better so I'll do a video about this soon for the online school.

Ninja Assassin - Looks Like a Fun Time at the Movies

We're getting our local kung-fu friends here in the Quad Cities to go see Ninja Assassin next Saturday, December 5th. 

It starts tomorrow -- of course nothing says Thanksgiving like a good martial arts movie with a lot of blood and mayhem.

This one looks like fun -- it appears to be well-made.

Check out the movie trailer here.

Highlight Reel of Internal Arts DVDs

I put this video together to show brief highlights from my internal arts DVDs. I produced it for another website (www.kungfu4u.com). It isn't easy trying to decide on a clip from an entire DVD to try to give an idea of the content.

Learning the Internal Arts Online - the Beauty of Video Coaching

Another member of my online internal arts school opted for personal coaching last week. He shot some video demonstrating a couple of silk-reeling movements and standing stake. In a move that I thought was very creative, he put the video clips on Facebook so that only I could see them.

I watched the video clips -- each one was between 3 and 5 minutes long -- and was able to make comments right there on his Facebook page. 

Whether we are enrolled in a regular school or the online school, most of us make the same mistakes when we're beginning. The most important thing for the student is to have a teacher who can identify errors and clearly explain them.

I shot a reply video for this person, showing him how he was turning his hips too much, and other tips just for him. Turning the hips is one of the most common mistakes people make early in their training. It's very hard for people to separate their waist/dan t'ien area and the hips. When you tell people to turn the waist, too often they turn the hips and it throws their posture all off. 

Another common mistake in silk-reeling is the "dead spiral." You'll put your hand in a position and move it across without spiraling it. He was doing this, too, along with performing at too fast a speed. You really need to slow silk-reeling down and feel the spiraling through the body -- feel the connection with the ground, peng, and whole-body movement as you spiral from the ground to the hand. These are skills you need for any internal art, whether it's Chen tai chi, Hsing-I Chuan or Baguazhang.

Another common mistake is with the elbow. The elbow should not be higher than the hand, especially when spiraling the hand across the front, as in single-hand reeling. 

I posted my coaching video to a private page on the web. I sent him the link. His reply was "Wow!" He said the video really made him see what he was doing wrong. He's going to practice a little and then shoot another video for coaching.

There are a lot of folks out there who don't understand how technology has improved. They say "you can't learn this art through the Internet."  I believe you can, and for a lot of people who don't have access to good teachers, it's a great option. When I work with people and see them inspired, and see them take steps forward, it's a great feeling.

New Bruce Lee Book - Wisdom for the Way

Okay, I'm a sucker for Bruce Lee books. I bought The Tao of Jeet Kune Do when it first came out in hardback back in the mid-70's and since then, most of the books that have hit the market have made it into my library.

I don't always buy books about Bruce that are written by others, depending on whether the author was an original student or not.

The newest book in my Bruce Lee library is a very small book titled "Wisdom for the Way." It contains a lot of photos - none of them really new -- and snippets of philosophy compiled by his daughter Shannon from Bruce's writings, interviews, and books. You won't run into anything that will make you go, "Wow, I've never read that before." Most of it is familiar

This would make a great stocking stuffer or holiday gift for the Bruce Lee fan on your list. A sample bit of philosophy from the book -- "Defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality."

People who know me understand that I've had my share of ups and downs in my life -- losing a daughter, sometimes losing jobs, and in the past 11 months, fighting to push through a challenging illness. The philosophy reflected in this book has guided me through my life.

As Shannon says in her introduction, this book is meant to be simple. Pick it up, look through it for a moment, and walk away inspired.

After all, that's what Bruce did for most of us, right? He has inspired me for nearly four decades, and with the release of this book, he continues to do so.

Some Tai Chi Folks with the Right Attitude - Martial Tai Chi

One of the members of the online school found a group in the United Kingdom that focuses like pit bulls on a subject near and dear to my heart -- putting the martial art back into Tai Chi.

Take a look at this site for more information.

Joanna Zorya is the organizer, and she seems to have a clear-headed, no BS view of Tai Chi.

With more people like this, maybe eventually we'll get the message across that Tai Chi is a powerful and effective martial art.

Tai Chi and a Positive Impact on Osteoarthritis - Study from Tufts University

You know me -- I believe any activity for adults and seniors that involves movement and flexibility has a tremendous positive impact on bone strength, muscle strength, balance, flexibility, etc. Especially as opposed to being inactive.

And if you read this blog regularly, you know that I wonder why they pick Tai Chi out as an example for these studies.

Here's a report on a new study from Tufts University.

In the new documentary on the Chen Village, one master says they teach foreigners different than Chinese students because foreigners look at Tai Chi as more of a health thing and can't handle the intense training. So I put research like this on my blog for informational purposes, almost under protest, because there's nothing magic about Tai Chi. Someone with osteoarthritis could also probably pretend to play softball and do it in slow-motion and get the same benefit if they're doing the slow and soft "health" version of Tai Chi.

A Review of New Documentary DVD - Chen Village

The new documentary by Jon Braeley, Chen Village, is a beautiful and fascinating journey inside the birthplace of Tai Chi. I bought the DVD through amazon.com and eagerly watched it a few nights ago when it arrived. 

Shot in high definition, the documentary includes interviews with westerners who have traveled to Chen Village to study, and it shows a disciple ceremony in which Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang accepts new disciples.

Chen Village (Chenjiagou) is located in Henan Province. It's a very poor village with 3,000 residents. It's estimated that 2,500 of them practice tai chi, and 85% of them have the Chen surname. You see parts of the village here that you haven't seen before. When you think of the birthplace of Tai Chi, you might think of beautiful Chinese buildings, and there are a few that meet the description, but Chenjiagou is a dirt-poor farming community. It just happens that they are the best in the world at their art.

The documentary features Chen Xiaowang, his brother and principle of the Chenjiagou tai chi school Chen Xiaoxing, Chen Ziqiang (son of Xiaoxing) and Chen Bing (a nephew of Xiaowang and Xiaoxing). It's exciting to watch, considering I have met and trained with three of the four, and Chen Xiaoxing stayed in our home for a week. It's also fascinating to see the school since I received a certificate in 2005 as a recognized instructor connected to the school.

I didn't know until seeing this DVD that Chen Bing now runs his own school, and he has built it with foreign students in mind. Some students have been reluctant in the past to travel to Chen Village because living conditions are not very good compared with our standards. 

I was disappointed but not surprised to hear Chen Bing say that foreign students are usually trained differently than the Chinese -- not as tough because they can't take it, and most of them, he says, are interested in the health aspects more than the martial aspects. Are you listening, people? They don't consider us to be very serious because we focus on the wrong things.

Chen Ziqiang is interviewed, talking about how only one in a hundred students -- even those from the Chen Village -- are able to persist long enough to become really good at tai chi. I've been teaching now for a dozen years and that is something that becomes clear very quickly when you teach -- the fact that for every 100 people that come through the door, only one has the determination and passion to achieve their goals.

The interviews with the western students are very interesting. They find themselves in a very simple environment when they stay at the Chen Village -- a much slower and far less technological lifestyle. A few of the comments go a little over-the-top, as you can imagine from people who are dedicated enough to spend a year or two living there. One student actually breaks down and cries when he speaks about his devotion to Chen Xiaowang. I understand the devotion, but I tend to look at these masters as people who are the best at what they do -- like Tiger Woods, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan, all worthy of tremendous respect. I don't look at them as gods. Nancy watched the documentary with me and strongly objected to the disciple ceremony where the disciples were kneeling and bowing in worship before Grandmaster Chen. I didn't react as strongly because I understand why they're doing it, but it was fascinating to see a ceremony like this after hearing about it. When you become a disciple it's a very serious relationship, supposedly like being admitted to the family, and yet there is a master/student relationship that is very strict, and let's face it, the culture is not what we are accustomed to. Americans by nature don't like to kneel and prostrate themselves before anyone (we reserve that behavior for our relationship with invisible beings), but in the context of the situation and the culture, it's something that you do.

Chen Bing is shown at his school demonstrating a form, and as usual, he's breathtakingly impressive. There is a little video of Chen Xiaoxing practicing with some students, and Chen Xiaowang does a short demo, too.

As I heal from the lung problem that has plagued me this year, I have one goal -- to travel to Chen Village and give it my best effort to train like the Chinese. I've taken a week off of practicing as I gear up for this medical procedure at the Cleveland Clinic next week, but watching this documentary made me want to bounce off the walls. I just can't wait to get over this thing and start building my strength and practice HARD again. It's nice that Jon Braeley has produced such an inspirational film.

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone with an interest in Tai Chi. 

The Connection Between Stress and Fat - Chi Kung Can Help

Stress is a killer. It can also make you fat. There's an interesting article on a website that outlines the chemical connection between stress and poor health. Read it by clicking this link.

One of the main reasons to do chi kung is for stress relief. Most of us don't train our bodies and minds to relax. From the moment we wake up, we're on the go. 

Through chi kung, you teach yourself to react to stress by calming the mind and body. It takes practice, like any other skill. Eventually, with practice, you will achieve a more relaxed state of mind. At that point, the health benefits will already start to accrue, even if you haven't yet made the connection between your new ability to handle stress and your improved health.

Why Your Tai Chi Skills Are So Weak

There is an article on the Internet by a tai chi instructor based in Los Angeles. It outlines the 10 most important concepts you should remember when practicing Tai Chi. And it's the reason most Tai Chi being practiced in America is so weak.

This isn't a personal attack. I don't intend to insult this teacher or his group. I'm sure they're completely sincere, so I won't bring this guy's name into the discussion, but he's typical of so many Tai Chi folks I've met who focus on the wrong things, thinking they're doing Tai Chi. They do this because their teacher taught them a weak version of this art, and they believed he or she knew what they were talking about. It happens everywhere. The result -- you meet their students and see quickly that they have no concept of body mechanics.

Here--briefly--is his list of top ten important things to focus on:

Concept 1: Tai Chi is done with an emphasis on every movement. The fashion of every pattern must be connected with one another.

Concept 2: Maintain your shoulders dropped so that any tension will be eliminated.

Concept 3: Your wrists should be straight in order to maintain strength and a good flow of energy.

Concept 4: Learning to move ever more slowly is one path is increased cultivation.

Concept 5: Never let any hindrances stop you from being connected. In case you get disconnected, keep up with the motions.

Concept 6: In practicing Tai Chi, your knees must always be bent. Also you need to maintain your balance for your height not to bob up and down.

Concept 7: Power of Tai Chi will start from the feet going up to the legs, controlling the shoulders and will be expressed by the fingers and hands.

Concept 8: Your head must be maintained as if it was suspended on air.

Concept 9: Your chest must be depressed and your back should be raised but this must be done effortlessly.

Concept 10: Keep your breath to your body's center of gravity, the dan tien; again this must be done effortlessly.

My Response to these Concepts

Most of these concepts are things that you need to know and do -- but they are FAR from the top ten concepts you need. These are--in my opinion--add-ons; things to think of after you begin focusing on the top concepts that you need to know.

Concepts 1 and 10 I can buy into. You must be connected through the body. As you progress, you should focus on the breathing with the dan t'ien, but that is NOT done effortlessly at first. It takes practice and focus.

Concepts 2 and three are just silly. Yes, you should relax your shoulders and "drop" them, and usually you try to keep the wrists straight. But to list these specifically as the number two and three concepts is surprising. Rather than focus on the shoulders as this guy does, I encourage students to drop their weight -- "sink their chi" -- and relax everything, including the shoulders while you maintain ground and peng (see below for my list of concepts).

Concept 4 is just wrong. Learning to move ever more slowly is the key? Actually, you move slowly in the beginning to get the body mechanics, calming, sinking, relaxing, and learning to connect the whole-body movement in conjunction with the body mechanics that I will discuss below. After you learn to move properly in slow motion, you move faster and faster, learning fa-jing and how to apply the movements in self-defense. The more advanced you get, the more you enjoy--and are able to do the forms properly at both slow and combat speeds. Yes, I said combat. Tai Chi is a martial art, first and foremost.

Concept 5 is a distraction. Don't get distracted? Well of course. That also applies to reading a book.

Concept 6 tells you to keep your knees bent. This is another way to say relax and sink. It's difficult to move properly if your knees are locked. But one of the top ten concepts? It's part of a concept but not a stand-alone.

He almost nails Concept 7. Power does start in the ground, travels through the legs -- but he ignores the key concept that it is guided by the dan t'ien and then is expressed through the hands (or whatever part of the body is striking). Inserting the shoulders here is goofy. The power has to go through the shoulders but they are conduits for internal strength and should be kept out of play as much as possible except in certain circumstances involving kou energy.

Concepts 8 and 9 are pieces of advice told to all Tai Chi students. Yes, you keep your head up and balanced. The chest is slightly hollowed and the back slightly rounded but this is part of the whole body connection.

The Real Concepts You Must Focus on in Tai Chi

1. Establish and Maintain the Ground Path: All strength and power originates in the ground. You must maintain the ground connection throughout every movement, even the movements that some people call "transitions" (there are no transitions in Tai Chi, there are only fighting applications). You can learn ground path exercises through my online school and Internal Strength DVD.

2. The Most Important Energy is Peng Energy and it Must Be Maintained At All Times: Peng requires the ground connection. It's an expansive force, as if your body is inflated like a balloon. When you try to push a basketball or beach ball into a pool of water, peng is the feeling you get that -- even though the ball is going into the water, pressure is building for it to spring back. Peng and the ground path must be connected through all movement. If it isn't, you aren't doing Tai Chi. Peng is involved in every "energy" in Tai Chi. Yes, you must remain relaxed, but relaxation without peng and the ground is weak, collapsing when it meets opposing strength.

3. All Movement Must Be Connected Through the Body: Whole-body movement is crucial. Power should flow like a ribbon from the ground, connected. All I have to do is ask another Tai Chi person to grab me with both hands and pull me down. It becomes quickly obvious that they have no concept of whole-body movement. Chen Tai Chi players don't usually have this problem.

4. Silk-Reeling is a Key Component of Tai Chi: It's amazing how poorly this skill is taught, when it is one of the founding principles of Tai Chi. Yang LuChan would have learned it in the Chen Village before he created Yang style, but it has been lost. Some teachers actually say that silk-reeling happens when you "imagine" chi spiralling from the ground through the attacking hand. That's wrong, too. Silk-reeling is a way of spiraling and moving power in a connected way through the body. It relies on the first three concepts (ground, peng and whole-body movement) plus the next two. If you're not familiar with this concept, check out my Silk-Reeling DVD set.

5. Dan Tien Rotation: Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang says Tai Chi is "One Principle, Three Techniques." The main principle is "Dan Tien guides all movement and when one part moves, all parts move." The three techniques are "dan tien rotating side to side; dan t'ien rotating over and back; dan t'ien rotating in a combination of these directions. Dan t'ien rotation must be involved in every movement.

6. Opening and Closing the Kua: Some past Tai Chi masters have said that "to understand the kua is to understand Tai Chi." But I see Tai Chi players all the time who couldn't find their kua with both hands because they've never been taught this concept. Every movement in Tai Chi involves opening one kua and closing the other in some way. Dan t'ien rotation is key to this skill.

7. Maintain a Centered Stance: I saw a video recently of a guy teaching Yang tai chi and he began Grasp The Swallow's Tail. His right hip suddenly stuck out to the right and it appeared that the slightest push would send him off-balance. In Chen tai chi, standing stake is used to help you relax, sink, develop peng, build leg strength, tuck the hips slightly and remain centered -- but then almost every movement in the form is performed to maintain a centered stance. This is one reason early Chen students are made to hold stances while they are corrected until their legs give out and they fall on the floor. It takes a lot of strength to hold a centered stance. The better the stance, the harder it is to hold. And this is one reason you see such powerful legs on Chen masters. If you think pain is not involved in Tai Chi practice, you are not studying Tai Chi. 

Those are my top concepts of internal movement. You add to this little things like keeping the head up, hollow the chest, keep the knees slightly bent, and the small things that help refine your Tai Chi. 

Americans are prone to self-delusion. If a guy tells us he's a master, we believe it and everything he says is the truth and it can't be denied. And by golly if my master tells me I'm learning Tai Chi, then I'm learning Tai Chi.

Put these "masters" in front of the real deal and they crumble like a house of cards. In the meantime, they're teaching Americans the wrong things, having them "cultivate chi" instead of learn to move properly. They focus on the trees -- keeping the wrists straight and the shoulders sunk--and they ignore (or don't know) the forest, where the real skills are. Perhaps they think Americans are only capable of so much because we're busy and can't spend the time to get really good at this. Or maybe they're deluded about their own abilities and knowledge.

The best you can do for yourself is to NOT believe everything an authority figure tells you, but to investigate and research and read, watch videos and compare, and don't close your mind to the possibility that you just might be learning pretty poor quality Tai Chi.

Want to learn more about these key concepts? Sign up for a 10-part Free Video Course at my online school -- http://www.internalfightingarts.com.