Master Tse’s Tàijí Fist 121

Shùn and Nì Chán Sī Jìn 順與逆纏絲勁 – Part 12 Turn Waist轉腰 – One Shùn, One Nì 順逆

Stand in a medium horse stance, with the feet two shoulder widths apart, back straight, hands resting in front of the Dāntian 丹田 and the palms facing down.

Start to turn to the right, but do not shift your weight, keep your weight at the centre. The two hands start to create two different circles. The right hand creates a Shùn 順 circle and the left and Nì 逆 circle. Both hands rise up from the Dāntián to chest height, and then circle behind. We then begin to turn to the left and the hands continue to circle back down and in towards the Dāntián. When the hands pass the Dāntián, the body turns to the left and the hands continue to circle, but this time the right hand is Nì and the left hand is Shùn. We circle both hands from the Dantian up to the face high at the front, continue circling the hands to the back of the body, until the hands come back down from behind, then move in front of the Dāntián and the body is now facing the front.  We can now repeat the movements as many times as we like from the right to the left.

In this exercise, both hands basically form a figure of eight. On the right side, the right hand makes a Shùn circle and the left hand a Nì circle. On the left side, the right hand makes a Nì circle and the left hand a Shùn circle. All the movements come from the waist turning and this is what creates both Shùn and Nì Chán Sī Jìn in a figure of eight.