It
occurs to me this morning that the previous post on “the Post” needs a little
more information. Some of you reading that post will not be familiar with Tai
chi, Bagua or have read the relevant parts of my book. If you are only familiar
with hard, external interpretations of martial arts you may find the seemingly
simple movements of the Cross stepping post surprisingly difficult.
The
essence of the Cross stepping post is the cultivation of stability and balance.
Your upper body needs to be relaxed and your weight down in your pelvis. Since
we are not performing the arm movements at this stage your arms should hang
down by your sides, relaxed like hanging vines. If you are used to putting lots
of muscular tension into you stances this will probably be one of your first
problems in performing the Post.
From Tai
chi we have the advice:
1.
Sinking of shoulders and dropping of elbows.
2.
Relaxing of chest and rounding of back.
When you attempt the
movements of the Post your upper body should be as relaxed as possible, having
a slightly hunched shoulders look that comes from a lack of tension.
The other useful thing to
remember is that in martial arts movement generally comes from the waist. Don’t
attempt those kick-like foot movements just by moving your leg. You will need
to rotate your waist/hips to swing them around.
I hope that helps. Persevere
and I will post some more information on the exercise soon.
