Let’s examine the concept of Sung which is spelled Song in Pinyin transliteration from a practical perspective. The word Song in the Chinese dictionary has numerous definitions the first of which is surprisingly enough: A pine tree. [song 1] pine; loose; slack; loosen; relax; slacken; not hard. The second definition refers to a state in which a thing becomes relaxed, without excess tension.
It is important to remember at this point that the Chinese written language is comprised of symbols thatdo not always indicate precise concrete things as in English. Chinese characters often have layers of meaning that represents feelings and ideas.At first glance it is not so easy to see what a pine tree has to do with being relaxed, yet this is exactly the image that conveys the concept of what true Song is all about. The doggerel about the ancient pine and the snow by my teacher Li Long-dao at the opening of this article was the way he explained Song to me as a young boy.
The pine is an ancient Daoist symbol of longevity and eternal youth, as the tree remains green and flexible no matter what the season. Its roots are deep and strong and the limbs are long and can support great weight. As in the poem, when there is an outside force applied to the limbs, they do not resist or become rigid. The limb bows slightly under the weight of the snow, allowing the weighty mass to slide off. The pine tree is not limp or flaccid. It has just the right balance of firm, flexible resistance without rigidity to sustain itself though all types of weather. It is in this same way that I believe we should view the concept of Song in Baguazhang.
“Before there is Yang-jin the Yin-jin must manifest itself” (Baguazhang Classics).
Yin-jin is that quality of energy that is relaxed before it can become Yang-jin or firm in nature. So before there is hard power there must first be relaxed or soft power.
What this really means is that if we want to deliver great power in striking we must first learn to relax the muscles of the torso and limbs. Beginning any strike with tensed muscles will only inhibit the action because the antagonistic muscles will be flexed thereby reducing the speed and power generated by the agonistic (flexors) during the strike.” The form or style is not important. What is important is what the mind does during the movement and that the body alignments are correct for the specific movements intended purpose.”
I feel in the case of Song, feeling Qi arises as the by-product of correct mental and physical activity. To feel the qi in your Baguazhang, what you must do is carefully examine in slow motion each action you make; feeling the muscles flexing, stretching, and relaxing harmoniously. When you consciously work to slowly and deliberately control the actions of your body in sequence, you learn to relax the muscles not needed in a specific action. As this happens your autonomic nervous system will dilate blood vessels activated through your mental desire to “feel”. The nerves will become more sensitive and you will experience these sensations as qi flows. This feeling of qi is the end result of a proper release of musculo-skeletal tension. The goal is to learn to feel all of this happening and to gain control over your body in action.
That Certain Feeling
Song training has two major parts. Mind/body coordination and rooting skills. In the beginning, to train Song we embark upon a process of consciously finding and relieving unintentional tension in the body in order to facilitate more freedom of movement and articulation of the joint structures. In short, becoming aware of the unnecessary and excessive tonus in our flexors and extensors and letting go of any tension that is unnecessary. Once we can do this we can let the body “settle” in with gravity and develop a dynamic stability called rooting energy.We must not collapse to learn Song. We strive for a harmonic but dynamic balance of flexion in the protagonist muscles, coupled with an equal release and extension in the opposing antagonistic muscle structures. When correct kinetic equilibrium is achieved, the antagonistic muscles will be releasing tension in a balanced, dynamic action with the flexors of the protagonist muscles. There will be achieved a true Baguazhang flow state in the action. The relaxing muscles will act like yin flowing smoothly in harmony with the flexing muscles, yang; just as in the Chinese philosophical principle of the Taiji symbolism.
The first part of Song is mental and physical. You learn to feel these changes at all levels of muscular activity during your movements. This is no small feat, because Baguazhang is a dynamic and moving exercise and the muscles are constantly changing, relaxing, stretching, and flexing. This is one of the reasons for doing the form slowly. You have the time to use your mind to scan the body for areas where you are holding muscles (not used in the present action) that contain non-essential tension and to release it. To attain Song the mind must be disciplined. It is necessary to be fully present in the now moment. To be aware of each and every action you are making as you do the form. There must be, especially for the beginner, no distracting thoughts that bring on anxiety or tension.
My Five Enemies of Song:
1. Tension in the antagonistic muscles. Muscles not directly used in the action must be as relaxed as possible, so as not to pull against those muscles creating the motion. For example, the biceps (protagonist) must flex when lifting the palm, while the triceps (antagonist) must relax and stretch. All skeletal muscles are paired in this way and they must act in this manner to function smoothly.
2. Tension in the protagonist muscles. Muscles used in the actions must not be unduly tensed until the moment of use. To have full energy, a muscle must relax and stretch slightly and then contract. Excess tension in the protagonist muscle will inhibit sensory awareness.
3. Out of sequence entrainment. To have any part move out of sequence interrupts the flow or proper sequence of concentration. This will reduce or negate the mental sensitivity in proportion to the power of the out of phase action.
4. Lack of proper stability.If there is no solid foundation (stance) from which to launch the motion, the sensitivity will be unstable. Instability distracts the mind from it’s goal of feeling the actions.
5. Emotional tension, competing, or thinking of an opponent. Mental anxiety, the desire to win or succeed, can lead to excessive muscular tension in the beginning stages. For the beginner, a student who has learned the form and is now trying to do the internal sensing work of releasing excessive tension, thinking of an opponent or practicing applications of push hands will only retard his progress and lead to the use of excessive muscular force. This is because thinking of anything exciting or dangerous naturally produces a state of excitation in the nervous system, which is reflected in the musculature.
Bottom Line
To develop Song is to use your mind to learn to feel and adjust the way you use your body machinery. This awareness teaches us to clearly differentiate between the necessary and unnecessary use of your muscles as you move. In this way you eliminate the excessive tension of antagonistic muscle groups in any particular action. You learn to balance the body with the force of gravity. Your learn conservation of motion and develop a high level of stability. The release of conflicting muscle traction between protagonist and antagonistic muscle groups will result in greater blood circulation, joint flexibility, and fluidity of motion. You will also improve your kinetic alignments and potential for generating speed and power in martial applications.There is more to it than just these ideas but I hope this will get you started.
Hope this is of some benefit.
John P. Painter
