Silk reeling
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Silk reeling (pinyin chánsīgōng, Wade-Giles ch'an2 ssu1 kung1 纏絲功), also called "Winding Silk Power" (chansijing) (纏絲勁), as well as "Foundational Training"(jibengong), refers to a set of neigong exercises frequently used by the Chen style, Wu style and some other styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. The name derives from the metaphorical principle of "reeling the silk from a silk worm's cocoon". In order to draw out the silk successfully the action must be smooth and consistent without jerking or changing direction sharply. Too fast, the silk breaks, too slow, it sticks to itself and becomes tangled. Hence, the silk reeling movements are continuous, cyclic patterns performed at constant speed with the "light touch" of drawing silk.
In common with all qigong exercises, the patterns are performed in a concentrated, meditative state with an emphasis on relaxation. However, rather than being isolated exercises purely for health benefits, the focus is on strengthening and training the whole body coordination (nei jin) and grounded body alignment that is used in the Tai Chi form and pushing hands. Silk reeling is commonly used in Chen style as a warmup before commencing Tai Chi form practice, but its body mechanics are also a requirement of Chen Style Tai Chi throughout the forms. In other styles, silk reeling is only introduced to advanced levels. Many schools, especially those not associated with the orthodox Tai Chi families, don't train it at all.
Chen style silk reeling movements originate from the dantian and trace a "Yin Yang symbol" pattern Starting first with the outside circle and then adding the "Tear shapes" (to quickly change direction while maintaining a smooth motion) while shifting the weight from leg to leg; this motion in turn drives the rest of the joints of the body in a fluid, spiraling motion.
Some of the most common silk reeling exercises are:
- Single and double hand front silk reeling (Stationary Cloud Hands)
- Single and double hand side silk reeling
- Peng Lu Ji An
- Dragon Lands like a sparrow left and right
- Lean with the back left and right
[edit] See also
[edit] Reference
- Wu Gongzao. Wu Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan (吳家太極拳), Hong Kong, 1980.
[edit] External links
- Article at Chenstyle.com (Chen style website)
- Article & Video Clip Double Hand Silk Reeling (by Malisa Ng, disciple Grandmaster Zhu Tian Cai)
- Pictures - Double Hand Silk Reeling (by Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang)
- Various Resources at Egreenway.com (Michael Garofalo's website)
