Wáng Zōng Yuè’s Tàijíquán Poem 王宗岳太極拳論 Part 2

In Wáng Zōng Yuè’s Tàijíquán Poem 王宗岳太極拳論 he says, “虚領頂勁,氣沉丹田 For posture we need to relax the head and shoulders, with the Qì supporting the whole body. The Qì sinks to the Dāntián 丹田 and there is no leaning to either side.”

In his poem he does not describe the position, but obviously he is mentioning the posture should feel. We need to relax the head and shoulders, with the Qì supporting the whole body. This is what the first four Chinese characters say. Ordinary people, and even beginners of Taijiquan, will not understand them and so it is the Sīfu’s job to explain it to the students. When we relax, we need to get the right posture. This means the back straight and the feet shoulder width apart. Then everything can follow what the first eight characters say. Coming to the second four characters, these talk about the Qì sinking to the Dāntián. Again, ordinary people and beginners will not understand this and ask “What is the Dāntián?”  Once we are in a good posture and relaxed, the Qì will automatically sink to the Dāntián. The Dāntián is the centre of the body and also the centre of gravity of the body. It’s position is one thumb width below the navel, but inside the body, so on the same level, and between, the Qìhǎi Point 氣海穴 on the front of the body and the Mìngmén Point 命門穴 on the back.

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