太极拳松功论

太极拳其根在脚，发于腿，主宰于腰，形于手指。由脚而腿而腰，总要完整一气，向前退后，乃能得机得势，有不得机得势处，身必散乱，其病必由腰腿求之。    
The root of Taiji is in the feet, "force" from the leg, control by the waist, and the form take shape in the fingers (that is the chi reaches all the way to the fingers). From the feet to the leg to the waist, it must be a single continuous flow of chi. This will allow you to find the opportunity and get the upper hand. If you cannot find the opportunity and lose the upper hand, the problem is always in the waist and leg.


凡此皆是意，不在外面，意欲向上，即寓下意，有前即有后，有左即有右，此太极拳通论，人所共知也。然何能至此，迄未言之，此予松功论之所由作也。


    夫人犹植树然，根深则蒂固，木固则枝荣。树之所以经大风而不倾折者，在根深而本固也，太极拳之所以推挽不移者，亦如是也。于是乎松功尚焉。虽然，予创此松 功，乃由多年体会，多年实践所得之结论，并未集思广益，难免闭门造车之弊，深望广大太极拳爱好者，不吝嘉言，共促祖国医学太极拳能在普及基础上有所提高， 则幸甚矣。


    凡练习太极拳者，皆知松，沉为太极拳主要之条件，而于练法与原理，则未见其著述。因此不揣愚陋，略为论述，并创上肢松功，躯干松功，下肢松功，全体松功，凡十五式，大胆尝试，作为抛砖引玉而已耳，亦即言者无罪，听者有戒之义也。


    松者，蓬松也；宽而不紧也；轻松也；放开也；轻松畅快也；不坚凝也；含有小孔以容其他物质之特性也。凡此种种，皆明示松之意义也。功者，劳绩也；成效也； 事物之效用也；行为之效用，所生之作用也；对事物所显著之功用与力量也；生理器官之本能，如关节之转动也；锻炼所费之时间也。凡此种种莫不皆明示功之意义 也。
(松) is fluffy, is wide but not tight, is relax, is open and carefree, is not fix. It is like having small holes that can contains other matters. 

    松功锻炼过程，常有各个关节动作不如已意之感，精进不已。渐觉略感随意，久而久之，方感动作裕如，随心所欲，处处灵活。此时方知各个关节听我所用，周身随 意肌方能随意也。不然，我之周身并不听我所用，活人乎？病人乎？实难言也。故祖国医学太极拳对人体慢性病与病后恢复期能起显著疗效者，良以此也。


    松功之要，首在提举，提举愈高，下落愈速。有人不解提举之理，以为非松功也，殊不知向上提举有如扛鼎，不能上，安能下？向上不松，下安能松？学者宜深切体 会之，方自得也。松功如高举珠，倏然而段，有如断线珍珠，粒粒下落，如珠走盘，圆活异常，节节贯串，鱼贯而下，方显活泼而不迟滞，动作自然，顺乎规律，发 育身心自然之条件，合乎生理自然之能力，证之科学亦无不合也。
The body is like pearls string up. Each pearl is like a joint/connection of the body. When moving, each pearl is move one after another. This is nature.

    松功之效，以树为例，大风吹柳，枝条摇动，呼啸有声，任其摇摆而根不拔者，以其柔韧而顺遂也。风吹白杨，枝叶作响而本不动者，以其枝叶抖擞也，风吹松柏， 寂然不动而体气和平者，以其应物自然也。人身通过练习松功之后，走如风，站如钉，立如松，坐如钟，卧如弓。周身无一处不轻灵，无一处不坚韧，无一处不沉 固，无一处不顺遂，通体贯串，丝毫无间。一处受警，该处立即反射以应之，其他各处不受牵连，周身如点，均能反射，亦即处处是手，不单靠两手，两足也。其便 利为何如哉！在生理方面，畅运血脉，活动筋骨，身心发育，应物自然，方显圆活之趣，而无迟重之虞，气遍周身，强身健体，自在其中矣。且松功练习即久，上下 左右前后均能松展裕如。有如常山之蛇，击其首则尾应，击其尾则首应，击其中则首尾俱应。呼应灵活，动作自然，有返其天真之妙，对于人体预防抻伤，扭伤，脱 臼以及畸形发育，均有莫大之裨益，中老年练习者，能推迟人体之衰老，或预防关节之硬化。此为太极拳松功之特点。学者如能持之以恒，坚持不懈，自能收强身健 体之效，学者不可不知也。
With practice, you will be like a tree. When the wind blows, the leaves and branches flow with the wind and yet the trunk and root is firm and stable. You will be able to react instantly to external force, every part of your body is a points, you no longer have only two hands and feet, but your whole body. After long practice, you will be like a snake. When attack on the head, the tail will react. When attack on the tail, the head will react. When attack on the center, both head and tail will react.

    在练习松功之初，首先宜注意姿势之是否正确，动作之能否自然。初练之时，往往有动作不从心之感，是未松开之现象，关节不能柔韧之表现，筋骨不活，血脉运行 不畅，未能顺乎生理机能之所致。须耐心冲过此一关，然后自然有成，不可灰心而辍也。 祖国医学太极拳之松功，自有其科学上之根据，盖人体生存于地球之上，莫不受地心之吸引，因此下降愈速则愈显沉。沉者，坠也。下降愈松则沉之愈重。故松功之 松与沉，可同时收效，此宇宙自然之理也。学者宜探讨之。 祖国医学之太极拳，通过松功之锻炼。对于太极拳之形与势亦有莫大之效益。
In the initial state of practicing, the main points to pay attention to is whether the form is accurate and if it is natural.

    形者，若决积水于千仞之溪，水之性，避高而趋下，决之赴深溪，因湍浚而莫之御也。太极拳松功，能乘敌之不备，掩敌之不意，避实而击虚，亦莫之制也。势者， 坂上走丸，言其易也，松功即熟，有如转圆石于千仞之山者，势也。势如破竹，迎刃而解。故太极拳松功即成，则能本乎人生天然优美之发育，顺先天自然之能力， 使全体得充分之发展，谋一生永久之健康，意在斯乎！意在斯乎！此予松功之所由作，良以此也。祖国医学向主不治已病治未病，西医亦以防治为主，医疗为辅，此 中西之通论如此也。而太极拳之松功，则使人体各个关节即轻松畅快，又异常灵活，既坚韧柔和，又宽而不紧，既无松懈乏力，又无坚凝不舒。通过锻炼，养成骨节 灵敏，韧带柔韧，肌肉灵活，屈伸自由。如持之以恒，能推迟衰老，与其得病而牵引，倘若未病练松功。久而久之，推，拉，挽，转不能稍移，抻，扭，撮气，无由 而生，顺其生理之机能，维护功能之永保。在技击方面，人不能到而已能到。    语曰： “不怕力大一石，只怕筋长一分”。即此义也。在锻炼每章中已说明者，不再重述。学者如能前后精读，细究，反复琢磨，参透其中深意，则强身健体，健康长寿，自在其中矣，学者幸勿以予言为河汉也，是为论。

陈式太极功 verse

世传陈式太极功，体用兼备妙无穷
(Shìchuán chén shì tàijí gōng, Tǐ yòng jiānbèi miào wúqióng)
The Chen style Taiji Quan pass down from generations,
Usage of the body in the art was magnificent and boundless.

折叠缠绕内外旋，开合堤抽回转灵
(Zhédié chánrào nèiwài xuán, kāi hé dī chōu huízhuǎn líng)
Folding and winding, spining from within and with-out,
Open and close, extend and withdraw, the change must be smooth and agile.

word for word translation
 

折  - fold
叠 - stack/pie
缠 - tangle
绕 - bypass/skirt around "something"
旋 - spin/coil
堤 - embankment
抽 - draw

敛神用意随手视，进退转换提擦轻
(Liǎn shén yòngyì suíshǒu shì, jìntuì zhuǎnhuàn tí cā qīng)
Focus the intention and it will be seen from the hand,
Movement of the leg should be light.

敛 - gather
提 - lift (as in 提手 )
擦 - rub ( does not know how this "rub" come applies in Taiji)

So I am guessing that "进退转换提擦轻" means when you are moving, either lifting

your leg or sliding, it should be done lightly. Inorder to do that, you need to differentiate the substantial and in-substantial.

 

刚柔快慢蓄发劲，内气潜转趣意浓
(Gāng róu kuàimàn xù fā jìn, nèi qì qián zhuǎn qùyì nóng)
The changing of state (hard/soft, fast/slow) will accumulate jin,
The understanding of the qi in the body is an immerse knowledge.

《乱环诀》

乱环术法最难通，上下随合妙无穷。陷敌深入乱环内，四两千斤着法成。
手脚齐到横坚找，掌中乱环落不空。欲知环中法何在，发落点对即成功。

双环一套十字生，十字四端皆弧形；唯有当中是实点，还要围绕环边行；
十字交点一错位，四两千斤亦可乘；掌中乱环横竖找，乱环法术在于通。

Secret #11 - Relax (松), Real and False

Relax (松 - sung), what you understand by this?

Master Chow had always try to drill into us, real sung (松) in Taiji is to relax - lengthen the tendon. This is exactly what Master Chow say. It is relaxing the tendon, not the muscle. It is the tendon that stores the "potential" energy for your body acting as the bow.

無根樹 - 張三豐

 一
無根樹，花正幽，貪戀榮華誰肯休？浮生事，苦海舟，蕩去飄來不自由。
無岸無邊難泊繫，長在魚龍險處游。肯回首，是岸頭，莫待風波壞了舟。

二
無根樹，花正微，樹老重新接嫩枝。梅寄柳，桑接梨，傳與修真作樣兒。
自古神仙栽接法，人老原來有藥醫。訪名師，問方兒，下手速修猶太遲。

三
無根樹，花正青，花酒神仙古到今。煙花寨，酒肉林，不斷葷腥不犯淫。
犯淫喪失長生寶，酒肉穿腸道在心。打開門，說與君，無花無酒道不成。

四
無根樹，花正孤，借問陰陽得類無？雌雞蛋，難抱雛，背了陰陽造化爐。
女子無夫為怨女，男子無妻是曠夫。嘆迷徒，太模糊，靜坐孤修氣轉枯。

五
無根樹，花正偏，離了陰陽道不全。金隔木，汞離鉛，陽寡陰孤各一邊。
世上陰陽男配女，生子生孫代代傳。順為凡，逆為仙，只在中間顛倒顛。

六
無根樹，花正新，產在坤方坤是人。摘花戴，採花心，花蕊層層艷麗春。
時人不達花中理，一訣天機值萬金。借花名，作花身，句句敲爻說得真。

七
無根樹，花正繁，美貌嬌容賽粉團。防猿馬，劣更頑，掛起娘生鐵面顏。
提出青龍真寶劍，摘盡牆頭朵朵鮮。趁風帆，滿載還，怎肯空行過寶山。

八
無根樹，花正飛，謝了重開有定期。鉛花現，揆盡時，依舊西園花滿枝。
對月才經收拾去，又向朝陽掛衲衣。這玄機，世罕知，須共神仙仔細推。

九
無根樹，花正開，偃月爐中摘下來。延年壽，減病災，好結良朋備法財。
從茲可成天上寶，一任群迷笑我呆。勸賢才，休賣乖，不遇名師莫強猜。

十
無根樹，花正圓，結果收成滋味全。如朱橘，似彈丸，護守堤防莫放閑。
學些草木收頭法，復命歸根返本元。選靈地，結道庵，會合先天了大還。

十一
無根樹，花正亨，說到無根卻有根。三寸竅，二五精，天地交時萬物生，
日月交時寒暑順，男女交時孕始成。甚分明，說與君，猶恐相逢認不真。

十二
無根樹，花正佳，對景忘情玩月華。金精旺，耀眼花，莫在園中錯撿瓜。
五金八石皆為假，萬草千方總是差。金蛤蟆，玉老鴉，認得真時是作家。

十三
無根樹，花正多，遍地開時隔愛河。難攀折，怎奈何，步步行行龍虎窩。
採得黃花歸洞去，紫府提名永不磨。笑呵呵，白雲阿，準備天梯上大羅。

十四
無根樹，花正香，鉛鼎溫溫現寶光。金橋上，望曲江，月裡分明見太陽。
吞服烏肝並兔髓，換盡塵埃舊肚腸。名利場，恩愛鄉，再不回頭空自忙。

十五
無根樹，花正鮮，符火相煎汞與鉛。臨爐際，景現前，採取全憑度法鉛。
匠手高強牢把舵，一任洪波海底翻。過三關，透泥丸，早把通身九竅穿。

十六
無根樹，花正濃。任取真鉛正祖宗。精氣神，一鼎烹，女轉成男老變童。
欲向西方擒白虎，先往東家伏青龍。類相同，好用功，外藥通時內藥通。

十七
無根樹，花正嬌，天應星兮地應潮。屠龍劍，縛虎條，運轉天罡斡斗杓。
鍛鍊一爐真日月，掃盡三千六百條。步雲霄，任逍遙，罪垢凡塵一筆消。

十八
無根樹，花正高，海浪滔天月弄潮。銀河路，透九霄，搓影橫空泊斗梢。
摸著織女織機石，踏遍牛郎駕鵲橋。入仙曹，膽氣豪，盜得瑤池王母桃。

十九
無根樹，花正雙，龍虎登壇戰一場。鉛投汞，配陰陽，法象玄珠無價償。
此是家園真種子，返老還童壽命長。上天堂，極樂方，免得輪迴見閻王。

二十
無根樹，花正奇，月裡栽培片晌時。拿雲手，步雲梯，採取先天第一枝。
飲酒載花神氣爽，笑煞仙翁醉似泥。扥心知，謹護持，唯恐爐中火候飛。

二十一
無根樹，花正黃，產在中央戊己鄉。東家女，西舍郎，配合夫妻入洞房。
黃婆勸飲醍醐酒，每日薰蒸醉一場。這仙方，返魂漿，起死回生是藥王。

二十二
無根樹，花正明，月魄天心逼日魂。金烏髓，玉兔精，二物擒來一處烹。
陽火陰符分子午，沐浴加臨卯酉門。守黃庭，養谷神，男子懷胎笑煞人。

二十三
無根樹，花正紅，摘盡紅花一樹空。空即色，色即空，識破真空在色中。
了了真空色相滅，法相長存不落空。號圓通，稱大雄，九祖超生上九重。

二十四
無根樹，花正無，無相無形難畫圖。無名姓，卻聽呼，擒入中間造化爐。
運起舟天三昧火，鍛鍊真空返太無。謁仙都，受天符，才是男兒大丈夫。

Secret #10 - Keep your feet alive during pushing hand

We learned that when practicing Taiji, we need to differentiate the substantial and in-substantial (虚实分明). However, when we come to practice pushing hand, we always like to root out feet into the ground, giving us a sense of firmness.

Master Chow had explained to us during one of the session that rooting ourselves during pushing hand actually reduce our flexibility and restrict our reaction to opponent's force.

This require very quick changing of weight between the two legs, and at the same time, does not allow the chi to float up. (ie center of gravity remains low). All these can only be accomplished if you put in effort in the practicing the fundamentals.

Master Chow followup by demonstrating by moving a small step back or forward can bring absorb the opponent force or fa-jin. Timing is crucial, as a wrong timing means that you are giving the opponent the opening too. 

Secret #9 - Let go the ego

Let go the EGO

What is the EGO, the ego in this case is "not to lose". This is the natural instinct to use force against force. This is the instinct that tells you not to let other take advantage of you, or not to be push into a disadvantage position.

In the progress in learning Taiji, the most difficult part to archive is to let go of my ego, and no, I had not reach that stage yet. You may think that you had let go, but sub-consciously you had not, because this is the natural body behavior. 

As Master Chow, and many other Taiji masters, had mentioned, learn to lose.

Lose your strength and lose your ego. When you lose them, your real strength will come.