Yi leading Qi

Nei Jia: the Qigong and Taijiquan Forum Taijiquan and the Internal Martial Arts
1

Regarding the Yi leading the Qi….

As I understand Yi, it is the intent or the thought, and it must be used to lead the Qi. When practicing the form, I do Yang Style, what is the relationship between the eyes and the Yi? Example, “Cloud Hands”, Shifu has said that the “eyes must lead the hands”. Lead the hands, but not look at the hands.

Question: When your “eyes lead the hands” what are you thinking about? What is your Yi focused on? Are your mentally tracing a path for the hands to follow? Or are you concentrating on a more precise location in space, right in front of the hands?
As for my experience, very limited, I find that when I simple turn my head slightly leading my hands, my mind more easily wanders. When I focus very precisely on my hands I am able to concentrate more and even have a much greater sense of what I at this point identify as a symptom of Qi. My hands become warm, sweaty and tingly. But, I feel I have a tendency to stare at my hands. Which, as a side comment, I find changes my sense of balance.

Secondly, as to marshal applications, do you believe that it is this development of the relationship between Yi, Qi, and the motion of the body that is the goal? Through Gong Fu it only takes a thought or intent or Yi, to respond to an incoming force of aggression. It no longer will take thought process of “here comes a punch, I must adhere, guide, and then respond.”

I ask these questions knowing that as experience grows so does the depth of understanding of these kinds of ideas. For those with many years of experience try to relate your evolution of understanding this idea of Yi leading the Qi and how you have found its applicable to your marshal art.

To all, if any of the premises of my questions are incorrect. Please correct. I pose these questions, again with limited knowledge.

2

I hear the same a lot, with the eyes leading the hands, but soemtimes when seniors or sifu tell me that, I’m merely looking down to turn off that sense, vision, and am trying to feel what I’m doing in a deeper more important place.

I lead my intention with my inner eye, or that place inside my head, like I turn and point my brain, who I really am, towards my focus.

Where as if I was attcked on my right. Immediately I go into Tiger hands, or a X-tyoe of shield to vover my head while focusing my Yi there – they are there, and my chin burried, before my eyes get there. So to me, sometimes I like to train that way, more just feeling the connections, flowing, and for that I will soemtimes wonder off externally, looking down or to the side, becayse I’m listening very carfeully, getting that muscle memory down, ect.

3

“I hear the same a lot, with the eyes leading the hands, but sometimes when seniors or sifu tell me that, I’m merely looking down to turn off that sense, vision, and am trying to feel what I’m doing in a deeper more important place.”

I would suggest that this will lead to some very bad habits please be careful.

This idea has to do with training the intent and will. No time or way to explain it here.

TBT, would probably have some good things to say on this. what starts out, as an idea becomes real, in the sense that normaly we don’t train these things in such a direct way.

The best example that I could give would be driving a car avoiding an accident that you saw but didn’t see. Who / what was it that avoided it?

This process is what your training.

4

The best advice I can mention from my own experience, is to continue with postures that involve no movement ie. Qi-gong. With Qi-gong you start to move the awareness, or mental connectivity to your chi in the dantien. But when you move this becomes obscured because the mind can be focused on the movement. I am told that in later stages of training you can integrate the feeling of cultivating the energy in the dantien with the forms to manifest the power in the hands, but I am as far away from that level as Arnold Swarchenegger (probably spelled wrong) is becoming the next US president.

The thing to focus on if you want to cultivate chi is to focus on your breath, throughout the whole day everyday with pre-natal breathing. Focu on the breath when at work, when you are walking, when you are watching TV. The 1st stage is with reverse breathing when you breath in, the chest should not expand but the belly inflates. Pre natal breathing involves the top half of the abdomen pushing out on the in-breath while the lower part of the abdomen is sucked in, this is reversed on the out breath, but do NOT FORCE IT. Keep it up and you will feel a definate warmth in your belly that becomes more and more tangible. The mind is the key to this as you need to feel a real awareness in your body, by literally putting your mind in your belly. For me it has helped improve my health ten fold. I had an accident at work about 7 years ago where I have ripped all the ligaments around my collar bone, I am an arborist and was working 40ft up with a chainsaw when I lost my footing and the rope I was attached to it acted as a pendulm and swung me into the trunk which caused the damage. But since doing IMA for 10yrs I can say it causes me no trouble.

5

your ‘yi’ rides on the ‘qi’. (I sound like a bad case of broken records again), and for the most part, people cannot keep their minds still. So it is always scattered.

On the other hand, for the most part, the ‘shen’ is weak because it is mostly poisoned by negative thoughts, greed, hate, anger that sorts.

So if your mind is supposed to be in your arms, then you should be able to “watch” your body from you arms point of view. Easier said, but so hard to do. Maybe that is what your sifu meant by your ‘eyes’.

I hope this isnt too ‘mystifying’.

6

“what is the relationship between the eyes and the Yi?”
None of my teachers focused all that much on the eyes. My teachers have supported ‘eagle vision’, basically you see everything equally well – not focused on anything specific. Can’t read something, but you can see movement very well and strikes can be placed accurately. However, in the old Yang style I learned, you never turn your head but you move your eyes towards the direction you are striking. As for the eyes and Yi connection, ever hear of the concept you attack with your eyes. It may give a clue or avenue to research.
What are you focused on, what are thinking about, etc, etc. You are dispersing your energy by doing and thinking about too many things I suspect. You don’t want to divide your energies and power. It is like trying lift a heavy object while looking at and focusing on your feet. You will be weaker than if you looked up and focused on the ceiling. The object is to unify mind, body, and spirit and have all of ones energy and power going in the same direction in harmony and efficiency. To maximize one’s strength. One of the keys to doing this is not thinking too much or about too many things. Abstraction is a key. What are you trying to do in Cloud Hands? You have to have the end in mind and let the body do it. Have the entire mind, body, and soul behind the movements – without strain, tension, or forcing it.

7

I was pretty much going to respond with what miscjinx did.

I have one thing to add, about looking down…don’t. Your eyes should look to the horizon, not down. Even during a movement like Needle at Sea Bottom. Your body should move around your eyes, so that your eyes move to the direction you are focused in, and then your body catches up. Going from P’eng to Double P’eng, your eyes first move to look to the right, and then your body moves to face that direction. In Needle at Sea Bottom, when you bend downward, your eyes should look into the direction you are facing, which means they should look “upward.”

8

I think it means that at end of each movement and the beginning of the next movement the focus shifts to the dantien.

As far as the eyes go , I think your eyes are supposed to be relaxed, as though you are looking at something far away. You definitley don’t want to look AT your hands. But you want to look in the direction of your hands.

The head should face the direction of the torso.

There is a saying “There are no arms and legs in Taijiquan.”