origami_itto wrote:There is research that shows the mental intention someone has when they perform a movement affects a great deal of what they actually do in that movement, even when it looks for all intents and purposes the same. The example I used of the arc is just one simple way something can look the same but be completely different. One is far more powerful than the other. Try it yourself. Make an arc, use your shoulder like a hinge to press it against something, use it like a hook to push into the arc driving it down, completely different, mainly due to intention. Looks the same on the outside.
So you are using your shoulder. Then use it. Intent is not necessary to use it, just implement it in the movement and actually use it. I know those and many similar "tricks". I could teach you far more powerful stuff, but you would probably disappointed as no intent is necessary.
To be honest, I don't like discussing intent. It makes people's mind tense. Instead of using muscular force, they try forcing their minds. Intent = "intense". In Tai Chi the mind should be relaxed, calm and empty. "Yi" is only an "idea" that shapes your body standard. When it's shaped, yi and body standard (an aspect of shenfa) are the same.
Tai Chi movement is about awareness of yourself and what you are doing. A surgeon operating does not put his mind ahead of the scalpel, that would make him lose control of what he is doing. Instead, he must be extremely focused on exactly where he is. The same goes for much arts, handicraft etc. You need to have a great focus on what you are doing in the moment you are doing it. All this "put your yi in front of your movements" or visualize stuff is just nonsense. Tai Chi movement is subtle and delicate, you need to be aware of what you are doing.
Franky said, it's weird so many tai chi people try to put their minds outside of themselves and don't understand that intent must be directed inwards and kept internally. What they do lead them in the completely wrong direction and makes their progress harder.
