Читать книгу Chinese Internal Boxing. Techniques of Hsing-I and Pa-Kua онлайн

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Hsing-i enlivens your muscles by expansion and contraction, strengthens the ligaments and tendons, eases the circulation of both the blood and ch'i, and produces rapid, effortless movement. The muscles and sinews are made more elastic and lively while being strengthened in a process similar to that of the refining of raw iron into steel. Open your body: become familiar with the pull of gravity and with a precise, straight posture. Relax your shoulders: become aware of the position of the shoulder blades. Bend your legs: become aware of the way you hold the pelvis. Hold your neck straight: keep the head erect, as though it were being pulled up with a string, and look directly ahead. Relax your buttocks, holding the sacrum naturally straight.

These training principles bearing on the muscles are important, but if you pay attention only to the external musculature, the blood and ch'i will not be able to circulate freely—and ch'i is the foundation of the art. It must be sunk to the tan-t'ien, whence it circulates throughout the body. The ancients said that the original ch'i (yuan ch'i)—"the power that keeps the sky blue and the earth calm and also makes for achievement in man"—must be maintained. Besides cultivating your ch'i, you must also rid yourself of bad habits and thoughts, calm your heart, and thus attain sincerity.