Bao wrote:Charles, just out of curiosity... Do you believe that dantian rotation have a place in these exercises and how would you describe the dantian rotation you would suggest practicing?
That's a tough question to answer.
I've never had a teacher who used the terminology "dan tian rotation" (or its equivalent in Chinese). I've had numerous teachers who demonstrate movement of the dan tian in various ways in solo exercises, forms, push hands and applications.
I suspect that many people using the term "rotation" envision a ball spinning 360 degrees about an axis. That isn't the motion of which the abdomen (dan tian) is capable. For example, one can't make the forward-facing part of the abdomen face one's back, spinning about a vertical axis.
Instead, I prefer to think of motion of the abdomen (dan tian) in general, rather than being restricted to circular motions. You can move it linearly forward and back, right and left, up and down. You can combine these to move it in more complex and combined actions, rather than just linearly. These motions can be circular, elliptical, etc. The specific shape, in and of itself, is irrelevant.
In Chen style, specifically, the fundamental concept is whole-body motion. Whole-body motion can - and is - implemented differently depending upon the Chen sub-style. Regardless of sub-style, the basic principle is, "When one part moves, all parts move", or Chen-specific, "When the dan tian moves, the whole body moves". If one adheres to that basic principle, than all movement starts and finishes with movement of the dan tian. It is central to the style. CXW
explicitly teaches that there are three techniques for achieving that basic principle. These are Technique 1, moving the dan tian left and right, Technique 2, moving the dan tian front and back and Technique 3, a combination of the first two. Collectively, this method of achieving whole-body motion is referred to as "silk reeling" (chan si). (Feng's style doesn't explicitly teach this but is filled with exercises that demonstrate and reinforce this. Hong's style approaches it quite differently, beyond this discussion and what's on my video.) In answer to your question, every single movement in Chen style Taijiquan involves the use of the dan tian. It's use should be part of the practice of any aspect of Chen Taijiquan. One often hears that the dan tian is the "engine" that drives the rest of the body, or that the body is likened to a gear train where the driving gear is the dan tian: when the dan tian moves, the whole body moves. This is the core of Chen style Taijiquan.
Solo exercises, often called silk reeling exercises (chan si gong), are usually individual actions extracted from forms that allow students to learn and focus on specific actions that form the foundations of the body method.
Beginning students have no physical concept of "dan tian", what it is or how to move it, or move from it. One can start with circular type motions, or one can start with something simpler and more accessible, such as just moving it back and forth in one linear direction. In my experience, the dan tian is something that each student must "find" for him or herself. A simple, explicitly chosen exercise that is well explained and demonstrated provides the student with an environment in which the student can be lead towards finding a specific thing the exercise was intended to help the student find or experience.
As I state in Volume 2, the challenge in teaching this stuff to beginners/those new to it, is that few have any physical awareness of the abdomen/dan tian and how it is used in (Chen) Taijiquan. One approach is to have them work specifically on the actions of the dan tian. Another approach is to have them work on other actions that, if practiced sufficiently, will lead them to an awareness of and involvement of the dan tian. When that occurs, students often find a break-through reversal - an action that had an influence on the dan tian, becomes an action driven by the dan tian. For total beginners, I prefer the second approach, and is what I've used in Volume 1.
Given that everything in Chen style is driven by the dan tian, nearly any action or exercise can be practiced over, and over and over again to gain and reinforce the use of the dan tian. I suggest that the simpler the action, the easier it is to understand and progress. For example, any action that involves the vertical circle is a good one, with ruler, sphere or empty hands. The choreography matters less than the foundational core being worked on. That is, the same basics underly a wide variety of motions. It isn't the choreography that matters, it is what drives the choreography.
Most Chen teachers I've met start students with either forms or silk reeling arm circles. (Many also include standing, a different subject.) That is starting in the middle and, it seems, relatively few students figure out the underlying foundation - opening/closing, rotation, translation. The focus of my Volume 1 video is an attempt to provide some of that foundation. What I've presented there, is what I would use as the starting point for beginners and provides a good foundation for use of the dan tian . The traditional "arm waving" circles I present in Volume 2 would be presented later.
It is important to understand that there is more to coordinated whole-body motion than simply moving one's abdomen around - stirring one's breakfast, as one teacher used to say. Each part of the body has a role in it and needs to be trained to do so. This includes the spine, the chest, the upper back, the hips... A gear train that consists only of one gear is of little practical value.