Stage 8: Discharge of Power into the Opponent

Stage 8: Discharge of Power into the Opponent

The spark or bang is now ignited. It makes itself known with a different sensation—a shiver or a spiral in the lower back. The whole structure is impregnated with this force; it is like a sneeze or an orgasm, shaking the back like a dog shakes water from its body. There is no friction or impedance to this force, because the pathway has been laid open by the prior stages of practice, and by the bathing and expansion of the body with Primordial Chi.

The arms find the “straight via the curve,” as in the Tao Yin postures of Bow and Arrow and Dragon Tucks in its Tail and Stretches its Claws. The arm tendons rotate in a particular pattern that follows the jin as it travels through the spine. In the standard Two-Hand Push, C7 goes back, the scapulas rotate medially from their inferior portion as well as spreading out laterally, the elbows drop, and the hands rotate laterally.

Just as the adept’s body is prepared for this final jin, so too is the opponent’s. He has been trapped, his structure is broken, and he is on the point of imbalance. The force or jin connects, and he is thrown 

*The kua are the ligaments connecting the sacrum to the pelvis posteriorly and from the pelvic wings to the symphysis pubis anteriorly.

Stage 7: Passage of Chi/Jin Through the Structure while Preparing Application

Stage 7: Passage of Chi/Jin Through the Structure while Preparing Application

In the fundamental form of Tai Chi Chi Kung, students learn to release the power from the earth or the opponent in an effortless and structured manner. This power is stored in the earth and the lower tan tien, then released through the body in a specific pattern. The first pattern we learn is a release through the spine in the classic Push,

or in a Two-Hand Push . The jin or power ascends from the feet via the legs, which are kept in their rooted form. Chang San-Feng says, “The motion should be rooted to the feet, released through the

legs, controlled by the waist.” This means that the legs are lengthened because the kua has been opened in a way that allows the coccyx to be tucked under and the front kua to open.* Power is released via the spine’s sacral, lumbar, thoracic, and cervical vertebrae. The arms are connected to the power via C7 and the rounded scapulae. As Wu says, “In moving the chi, it sticks to the back and permeates the spine.” If the adept has a broken structure, then the final jin force cannot be discharged freely. Chang San-Feng reminds us that “. . . All parts of the body must be light, nimble, and strung together.”

The whole structure is now prepared for the final climax. It is fully bathed in Primordial Chi and awaiting the final spark. The opponent is also now at the zenith of imbalance, and those proverbial “four ounces” are now all that is needed to throw him.

Stage 6: Expansion of the Lower Tan Tien

Stage 6: Expansion of the Lower Tan Tien

The rush of Primordial Chi comes from the earth and passes up through the legs to the lower tan tien, inflating it .

 The kidneys separate from the navel. 

For a moment the chi/jin is stored in the lower tan tien.

Stage 5: Jin Appears from the Earth

Stage 5: Jin Appears from the Earth

From the stillness an initial force appears. This initial force feels like silky Ching Chi or Earth Chi, but is theoretically Primordial Chi, because the yin and yang chi have been merged. This Primordial Chi

prepares root in the legs, sacrum, and waist, and is the foundation for the ultimate release of Fa Jin.

This foundation loosens the structure and creates an environment for the spark or Big Bang to appear.

Stage 4: Rotations and Taking Aim

Stage 4: Rotations and Taking Aim

While jin power is in its undifferentiated or quiescent form, the adept can begin preparing to send it in the chosen direction. This is more easily achieved if the adept has opened the Central Thrusting Channel (Chong Mai). The body can rotate around it while maintaining Iron Shirt structure. Development of the Central Thrusting Channel in Push Hands means that even in the backward posture, there is strength. The central axis is used in the central and forward positions, and also enables power to be released left or right 

Stage 3: Transformation

Stage 3: Transformation

The transformation stage embodies the mystique of discharge power. At this level, forces are taken to a still point deep in the earth and lower tan tien, where they are magically transformed . This highlights the essence of the Tai Chi symbol and even the cosmological theory of the Tao. Yang from the opponent is courted by the yin of the adept into stillness.

If Fa Jin is viewed from an alchemical and cosmological perspective, this process can be seen as the return to unity—to the Tao—via the coupling of yin and yang. It is a reversal of the Taoist creation theory, enabling a return to the One. From unity, the Big Bang occurs with an explosion that can be correlated to the discharge power of Fa Jin.

Stage 2: Yin Formation of Iron Shirt Structure

Stage 2: Yin Formation of Iron Shirt Structure

Stage 2 correlates to the yin stage of Iron Shirt training, where an opponent’s force is used to open and lengthen the adept’s structure.* This yin stage can also be described as activating the empty force— the extra power that is generated at the end of exhalation with the sucking in of the Ren channel. This yin stage is separate from the yang stage, which involves inflation of the lower tan tien and packing of the structure. This division of Iron Shirt structure into yin and yang aspects is not described in the original Iron Shirt text but is a key element of discharge power.

The fundamental characteristic of this yin aspect of Iron Shirt is relaxation, called fang sung in pinyin. As the opponent’s force enters into the body, relaxation and sinking must match this force exactly. Yang energy from the opponent is guided down to the earth with the sinking of the mind’s awareness. This relaxation includes the elongation of muscles, rather than just becoming like a dead fish. It allows the arms, neck, and legs to lengthen.

In other words, the body relaxes within the specified structure. To sink does not mean to simply bend the knees, but means to sink by opening the kua and the Ming Men while tucking in the coccyx. Along with these changes, the shoulder blades round, the sternum sinks, the neck becomes long, and the Crown Point (Ba Hui) is lifted. Wu Yu-Hsiang tells us that “this is called the suspended head top.” Throughout the body, the muscles are elongated to their optimum length. There is a sense of fullness and openness that is obtained through relaxation by allowing the whole body to be filled with chi.

In many respects, this yin stage of Fa Jin is just an extension of Iron Shirt training and pushing. The incoming force is borrowed and utilized to lengthen the spine, open the channels, and connect with the empty force. Often but not always, the breath is also emptied and ceases for a moment.