Action Martial Arts Magazine
"Martial Arts Talk"
Jung Shee Lacy
October 3, 2002

Happy Fall Action readers! In this column I want to share a simple but profound standing moving meditation. There are 16 photos, so I will limit the verbiage of this column to just thumbnails and a description of how to learn the meditation right from this article. (Please click on the thumbnails for enlargement of photos.)

Assume the posture in photo 1. Right hand is on top with thumbs touching. Your knees are slightly bent, feet a little wider than shoulder length apart. Your toes are pointing forward. Your pelvis is forward, back straight and eyes closed with tongue on the roof of the mouth to create saliva. Shoulders are relaxed. From this photo 1 posture, take three relaxed breaths through the nose with the mouth closed. Next, take a breath and let 50% out. Take a full breath from that point and let it all out. The "50%" is merely a value judgment in the moment. Breathe then normally for 5 minutes. After five minutes of normal breathing in through the nose and out through the nose, lower your hands as in photo 2.

Now you start to flow from moves 3 to 15. The speed of the 'flow' will be such that it looks much slower than Tai Chi Chuan. Rather than inhaling with transition and exhaling upon the block/strike, instead; breathe in and out normally so as to accomplish the slowness needed. Remember that chi circulates the body every 24 hours; therefore these Daoist meditations (forerunner of Tai Chi Chuan) are designed to move slower so that the 'feeling' of the chi will be greater.

Photo 3: The right hand moves to the centerline in a willow leaf palm.
Photo 4: Once the palm gets to centerline it turns palm forward and pushes out.
Photo 5: The right hand returns to the right side as the left hand starts to come up.
Photo 6: The left hand goes to the centerline in the willow leaf palm position.
Photo 7: The palm turns forward and pushes out.
Photo 8: The fingers lower and circle counterclockwise in preparation for an outward twisting lay block that will trap an incoming appendage with an eagle claw.
Photo 9: Photo 9 shows the transition to the intent of photo 8.
Photo 10: The left hand is grabbing the appendage and the right hand is guarding the vulnerable nerve point in the left armpit, palm facing down.
Photo 11: Notice the left hand releases the appendage and the palm turns up. Also notice the right hand guarding the left armpit has also gone from palm down to palm up.
Photo 12: The left palm down-windmill blocks to the groin while simultaneously the right palm strikes out (fingers up) to the diagonal line.
Photo 13: The left palm continues to sweep across the centerline while the right hand palm low block sweeps down, across the lower body and back to the right side.
Photo 14: The right hand and left hand finish their path to the body's sides.
Photo 15: From the last posture, be sure and take three full breaths before coming out of the meditation to open your eyes and move around.

Conclusion:

Try to use the photos along with my captions to memorize the forms movements. Memorize the moves and then practice for real at the correct pace. It should take five more minutes to do these hand movements depicted in photos 2 through 15. A bit of dit da jow rubbed into the hands before the standing moving meditation will help pull the chi to the hands for greater sensitivity. This is meditation number three of eighteen that are for chi cultivation and mental clarity.

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