So, so tired of all of the "sink the qi" talk....

[Trick]

Agree 100% with Appledog (maybe the only time).
It's a literal instruction in every "classic". they tell you to do this first. Nobody says anywhere that's all you should do. I don't think that constitutes a lot of talk.

Haha, yes that Appledog Post I liked too

[Trick]

What is frustrating is the inflation of these terms. They are used too lightly, sometimes used for physical power, sometimes used to explain mystical mumbo jumbo and Shaolin Monk parlor tricks. When I started practicing, people didn't speak so lightly about things. That someone had developed Qi was a sign of a very long time dedicated practice. It's like the word "professor" here. When my father taught in the University, very few could become professor, it was really a high status title. But nowadays, anyone who has taught a certain amount of years can call themselves "Professor". The title has no value today. The term "Qi" and other terms also have very little value as lightly and broadly they are used nowadays.
.

When you started practicing TJQ there where not at all many TJQ teachers around in Sweden, now there might be more....The more teachers there are the more of the Qi word you will hear, you yourself seem to like to spread the Qi word, but the more people that spread it the lesser yours will sound. About university professors of today. Today the professor and a non university average joe have access to deeper knowledge of any field, maybe that why professor title seem average today....I can understand if one has worked hard in hope to reach(and maybe have)a certain status and then only to see the younger generation speeding ahead and getting all the attention could be a frustrating experience for some.

[Bao]

The meaning and value of words changes. There can be different reasons, but when there’s inflation of value, very often we lose a certain knowledge as well. Soon everyone will believe that punching some in the face however you do it is the same sinking the qi and every internal principle will be forgotten .

[Trick]

If you truly believe in this (true)TJQ fading away scenario and really don’t like it, then the mission is yours to make it survive ? But the mission will probably not be successful if part of it is to downplay other teachers teaching

[Bao]

Would love to get on that mission. But I have another time consuming mission ahead.

[Giles]

Tai chi teaching is not one slogan
I might tell someone to sink on one time and something else the next
Instruction is verbal pushing
It is complex and suits the situation and what the student requires

+1

Appeal to proprioception, appeal to the imagination, appeal to mechanics, appeal to tradition, appeal to something you first thought of 10 seconds ago, appeal to emotions, appeal to logic, appeal to "zen" (just be empty, don't wish for anything, just do it), appeal to the sense of humour, etc. etc.
Being flexible and intuitive this way is part of the art of teaching.

[Peacedog]

I'd say that a lot of the problem is a lack of universally accepted definitions for various phenomena. Since so much of IMAs is based off of sensation that is largely unquantifiable at this time, it makes holding to a given definition difficult.

It is also not the easiest thing to take Chinese influenced practices, and systems, and to translate them into English in a way that is coherent given the issues I just mentioned. Keep in mind this is also an issue even amongst the Chinese due to they language lacking specificity and using context to define many terms accurately.

So regarding the sinking the chi problem, most people are trying to describe something that is happening, but may not be able to define it in a way that is consistent or easily transmitted to others.

[aiasthewall]

So, how does one do it?

[everything]

I'm going to take your question as a real question and not a troll question. first forget about all the other crap talk (maybe what Bao's rant is about). empty your cup. have beginner's mind. do standing with your palms facing together holding a "ball" until you feel, well, the energy, there. that could take a day, weeks, months, years. circle your palms up and down until you feel the energy going down with this movement. put your palms at dantian. only use yi to sink. that is all pretty much literal and no bullshit talk. if you (general you) interpret that as mechanics or whatever bullshit is in your head, you failed step 1.

[johnwang]

"You need to sink the qi"...

If a topic has nothing to do with combat, usually I'm not interested in it. Am I the only person who thinks that RSF discussion lately concentrates too much in theory and not enough in reality?

When was the last time that we have discussion about "how to land your fist on your opponent's face?"

[everything]

this topic has to do with taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang according to people like Sun Lutang. whether those are have to do with punching someone's face ...

[aiasthewall]

I'm going to take your question as a real question and not a troll question. first forget about all the other crap talk (maybe what Bao's rant is about). empty your cup. have beginner's mind. do standing with your palms facing together holding a "ball" until you feel, well, the energy, there. that could take a day, weeks, months, years. circle your palms up and down until you feel the energy going down with this movement. put your palms at dantian. only use yi to sink. that is all pretty much literal and no bullshit talk. if you (general you) interpret that as mechanics or whatever bullshit is in your head, you failed step 1.

Thanks! It was a serious question, thank you for the serious reply.

[GrahamB]

But how do you do it everything?

Your explanation is missing the "how to" part.

[wiesiek]

continually ...

[Trick]

But how do you do it everything?

Your explanation is missing the "how to" part.

He do mention the “holding the ball” visualization which is a rudimentary visualization, there are other to follow