Dai Zhi Qiang wrote: Sorry I have to disagree with you on this point about the dan tian not being able to be physically developed. I know about TCM's theory and Qi Gong's explanation about the dan tian, but in Dai Xin Yi Quan we can develop this area and it is VERY visible on a expert such as my teacher (Yan Long Chang).
But the question of definition is still if it is the area around, or the dantian itself which is developed. We can surely both discuss TCM and semantics, and there will be different answers. For you, your own understanding of your practice should definitively be more important than the exact definition of dantian.
As for the other comment about concentrating on this spot while you are training, this is also something we do not do. Power flows from this spot and is in our case coordinated and directed to all of the other parts to the body naturally, not with conscious thought.
I think this is a good and the correct approach.
ors wrote:Dear Bao!
To tell the truth Andy is right. In the chen family gongfu, we usually call the the mentioned area as dantian. It is quite a common name in the chinese MA community for this part. If you remeber Jarek's interview with the famous bagua practioner Ma Chuanxu, he talk about the dantian in the same way. "Dai" Jon in his article about the squatting monkey stance of the dai family mentioned the dantian again the same way. So you can't say that we use this term in a wrong way, just because how we use this is not the same as yours.
Oh dear, now I have to "dear" everybody!
Ok then - Dear Ors,
The "trouble" here as I said is a cultural context. If chinese in China use a term like the dantian to point to something else, or use the term instead of something else, or use the dantian in a practical sense - a chinese would still understand what was meant, because they understand the use of their own language and the original meaning of the term. Chinese is a contextual language which means that sometimes, how you use a word can decide or change the meaning. This is like using numbers in China - one hundred can mean one hundred, but it can also mean "many". It depends on how, why and where you use it. Or "five", like in the five phases, five colors can mean something else than five.
Now, I will not say that you use "dantian" wrong, because you use it in a practical way, in a way you can use a practical function. But at the same time, if you only use the term in a practical sense and at the same time not careful about the original definition, you will have trouble in your communication. People will misunderstand things and you will delay their progress. If you do that, it is not only unecessary, but disrespectful to both the students trying to learn something of value, and also toward your own teaching. Therefore I think you should always respect the original meanings of words and be very careful about how you use specific terms.
