Silk-Reeling Exercise for Tai Chi, Bagua, Hsing-I

Sifu Ken Gullette teaches silk-reeling exercise #1. This is a clip from his new online internal arts school -- www.internalfightingarts.com. Visit the site, try a month (money-back guarantee) and receive a FREE DVD from Sifu Gullette.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• silk-reeling
• reeling
• silk
• spiralling
• spiraling
• taiji
• taijiquan
• tai
• chi
• hsing-i
• xingyi
• bagua
• baguazhang
• pakua

[GordBulgarin]

This reminds me to "Cloud hands" but not the whole movement. Both hands take part in it. We keep elbows near to the torso. We use it in Bagua and in Xing Yi.

[kungfukennyg]

@GordBulgarin Yes, the principles of this movement are part of Cloud Hands. This exercise isolates the single hand to teach the principles of silk-reeling.

[griqs]

@kungfukennyg What style of Buguazhang is this?

[kungfukennyg]

@griqs This is silk-reeling as taught to me by members of the Chen family and their disciples. It's critical for any style of Tai Chi and Bagua. In Tai Chi, the Chen style uses it most obviously, but most Tai Chi players in America who are not in Chen style have sort of lost it over the years. All styles of Bagua should use this spiraling movement.

[arahim1231987]

I noticed that you keep your center of gravity in your dantien and elbows. for the longest time i could not put my finger on it, but it really does help to use that mental intention to keep low and balanced. bravo!

[paguaplayer]

Nice explanation of the 'energy' and how the power is produced.

This is the lao jia silk reeling I learned from Gaofei Yan. You explain it very well.

[kungfukennyg]

@munchichi8 It's actually just the way we work. If you're playing baseball and the pitcher throws the ball, you must have the intent to swing the bat at the ball. Before he pitches, you have no mental intent to swing the bat. This process is no different in tai chi, but some people want to make it very complex and mysterious, as if the mental and physical processes are different. They're not.

[munchichi8]

@ChenStyleJohn

"Yi leading the qi" means the mind has to imagine qi in an area before it manifest. It is the same concept of an artist visualizing the picture before he can draw it. If you can't visualize it, then qi doesn't manifest. It is not mysticism but the fact that your mind has more potential then one can understand.

[Allen2saint]

I think it's important to point out, before we dismiss the original teachers and their terms, is that these traditions existed and perpetuated this art for a long, long time before we came into it with our utilitarian approach to martial arts. The terms of "energy" and "powers" are extensions of the Chinese language which has an entirely different character than English.

[chentaichiacademy]

Ken keep up the good work, I wish you all the best. Thomas, Chen Tai Chi Academy