The magic of Taiji 太极的神奇

有没有想过为什么太极拳如此神奇,尤其是在真正的大师手中? 我第一次领略到这种神奇是在2012年七月一个温暖的夜晚第一次遇到陈中华师傅的时候。从那时起,我的心里就产生了一种执着,希望弄清这神奇是如何产生的 – 陈中华师傅可以在每一次展示中都呈现这种神奇,而你无法将这种神奇与创造这种神奇的人进行进行分离

坦率地讲,我遇到过很多太极拳练习者,包括一些被称为大师的人,以我浅薄的见识看来他们没有一个人能够真正掌握这种神奇,并且相差甚远。所以,是什么使得陈师傅如此与众不同?这种神奇是什么,它是如何产生的?下是我的一些思考: 这种神奇是师傅通过意念使能量流或着或是运用能量,大多数人很容易理解这一

然而,难以解答的问题是什么创造了这种神奇? 在这神奇开始出现之前需要足什么条件? 而这就是我将重阐释的内容。 这个问题也许可以用被称为“突现”的现象来回答 – 它通常由复杂的结构展现出来。 那么,这是什么突现呢? 复杂的事物例如恒星,行星或人类等生物是由各种组成部分融合成大型结构组成。这些结构以非常准确的方式被模式化。你需要拿很多的组成部分然后将它们组合在一起形成1特定的结构。复杂事物还有另外一个不太明显的特征。

各种成分组成的结构组会显示出独特的“突现”属性:这些属性在构成它们的各个成分中并不存在,仅当把这些组成部分以特定方式结合在一起时才会出现。可以用下的例子进行解释:你可以研究氢的性质和氧的性质,但却无法预测水的性质,水仅是在2个氢原子与1个氧原子以非常特定的方式结合在一起时才会有的产物。水的性质就是突现的性质。它原本并不在于各个组成部分中,但却由于它们结合而出现。它们产生于那些原子的特定排列组合。你可以对它们的进行不同的排列组合,使他们产生不同的属性。

这些复杂系统的共同的组成要素是什么? 建楼的砖瓦比较简单,但是当把它们放在一起时,它们就会显示出突现的特征:低等级的规律产生高等级的复杂性,或者说复杂系统产生于相对简单的相互作用。这听起来难道跟太极拳不像吗? 突现结构的单个组成部分非常简单和/或笨拙,而这也是使用1和0的二进制系统构建计算机的方式。

太极的组成部分是否遵循相同的规则呢? 我们都听过陈师傅用二进制来解释太极拳的作,不是吗? 如果各个组成部分太聪明,它们可能会开始做出自己的决定,从而引发系统崩溃 — 这不是大多数太极拳练习者中最常见的错误吗?“您太聪明了所以学不了太极拳”这句话听上去是不是很耳熟? 突现有两种形式:突现行为和突现结构。 行为描述了一系列个人的行为(在太极中是指身的各部位),而结构则是指实际的模式。

希望你能明白之前所阐释的道理。我认为从技术角度考虑,整上太极的突现的特性在其各个部分中并不明显。但是从全局的角度上理解太极拳时,这种行为和特性非常明显。师傅所教的一切最终都回到其整理论,但是每一个单独的部分看起来又离这很远。

并不是每个部分从一开始看起来就像太极拳,但是把它们放在一起就是太极拳。只是从概念上理解它是一回事,而实际掌握它是另一回事。这便是陈中华师傅的过人之处。他不仅能够理解并最终掌握,而且还具有能力和意愿将太极真正的突现特质展现出来,成为其他学习者的明灯。

师傅通常不会用突现来解释太极的这种特质,而是以汽车为例。汽车具有许多不同的系统,例如电气系统,液压系统,发机等,它们都执行各自设计的目的,但是当以特定方式组装在一起时,它们会产生与单个组件完全不同的结果。汽车作为一个单一的整具有那些零部件没有的属性。仅当这些零部件以非常特定且准确的方式相互作用时,这些属性或行为才会出现。同样,在太极的作中也需要遵循非常准确和特定的方式。

一组控制不同身部位行为的简单规则之间的相互作用所产生的整效果大于其各个部位单独行为加总之和。但是,突现取决于非常特定的和精确的交互作用,而不是偶然的。偶然的交互作用是我们大多数人的常规做法,也是阻挡我们这些练习者不能取得进步最常见的问题。这就是为什么太极拳的要求如此严格,以至于没有任何误差的余地留给错误的练习。

太极拳的练习标准非常明确,但困难在于我所说的 – 实现规范一致性。通常,我们会被自己的想法欺骗,以为我们所做的任何作都是符合规范的。每次有这种感觉时,我都会在脑海中听到一个声音:“孩子,你还没有练到那种程度,你只是在为练习太极拳做准备!”。

只有无需再进行内在重构,在不同身部位之间建立正确联系,按照太极拳所讲述的正确方式进行准确的相互作用和移(或不动)时,才能成为这个领域中高水平的练习者,成为最好的练习者。所以没有什么灵光乍现和魔法! 附言 – 在这里我并不是鼓吹一些关于太极拳的童话故事或贬低其他艺术,我写下这些主要是想把我一段时间以来思考的一些串联起来。 这个想法正在帮助我作为一名太极拳练习者获得融入太极拳这个艺术的理论框架。

翻译: 杨春辉

Ever wondered why Taiji is so magical especially at the hands of true masters?

I first experienced that magic when I met Master Zhonghua Chen in Daqingshan on a warm July evening of 2012. Ever since that moment I have developed a fixation of sort to figure out what is behind that magic – it is so ever present in everything Master Chen does, it is impossible to differentiate between the magic and the magician! With no disrespect meant, I have seen and met many Taiji practitioners including some who claim to be masters but not one in my humble view truly possesses that magic, not even remotely. So, what is it that sets him apart? What’s that magic and what’s behind that magic? Here’s what I think:

The magic is the energy flow or energy manipulation that the master brings to play at will, something that most people perhaps figure out without much difficulty. The difficult question however has been what creates that magic? What conditions are needed to be met before the magic starts to appear? This is what I am attempting to focus in this piece.

The answer to that question perhaps lie in the phenomenon known as “Emergence” – often displayed by complex structures. So, what is this Emergence?

Complex things like stars, planets or living organisms like human beings consist of diverse components bound into large structures. Those structures are patterned in very precise ways. You take a lot of components and put them together in a particular structure. There is also a second but slightly less obvious feature of complex things. These structures that bring together diverse components display distinct “emergent” properties: features that are not present in the components from which they are constructed but appear only when these components are assembled in specific ways. Here is an illustration: You could study the properties of hydrogen and properties of oxygen as long as you like without being able to predict the properties of water, which is what you get when you combine 2 hydrogen atoms with 1 oxygen atom in a very specific way. The properties of water are emergent properties. They exist not intrinsically in the components but because of the way those components are arranged. They arise from a particular arrangement of those atoms. You arrange them differently and you get different properties.

What is the common element in these complex systems? The building blocks are relatively simple, but when they mass together, they display the characteristics of Emergence: Low-level rules lead to high-level sophistication, or the rise of complex systems out of relatively simple interactions. Doesn’t this sound like Taiji?

The individual components of an emergent structure are fairly simple and/or stupid, the way computers are built using the binary system of ones and zeros. Don’t the building blocks of Taiji follow the same rules? We have heard Master Chen talking about binary while explaining Taiji movements, haven’t we? If the components are too smart, they might begin to make their own decisions, throwing the system out of whack – isn’t this the most common error amongst most practitioners? Does the remark “you are too smart to learn Taiji” ring a bell?

Emergence comes in two forms: emergent behaviours and emergent structures. Behaviours describe the actions of a group of individuals (body parts in our case), while structures are the actual patterns.

Hope you are getting the drift. Technically I would therefore argue that when considered holistically, Taiji displays emergent properties which are not evident in its components. This behaviour and property are very much evident when you look at the bigger picture of Taiji. Everything the Master teaches will ultimately go back to the whole theory, but every piece appears to be very far from it. Not every part from day one looks like Taiji, together it is Taiji. But here is the thing – it is one thing to understand this conceptually but another thing to achieve it physically. This is where Chen Zhonghua comes into the picture. He not only has the understanding and the ultimate physical mastery but also the ability and willingness to bring out the true emergent nature of Taiji and hold it under clear light for others to learn.

Without calling it Emergence, the Master often explains this property by giving the example of a car. A car has many diverse systems like the electrical system, the hydraulics, the engine etc., all performing what they are individually designed for, but when arranged in a specific way they come together to produce a result that is completely different from the individual components. The car as an entity has properties the parts do not have on their own. These properties or behaviour emerge only when the parts interact in a very specific and precise way. Similarly, the movements in Taiji are bounded in very precise and specific ways. The interaction between a set of simple rules that govern the behaviour of the different body parts yields a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Emergence however depends on very specific and precise interactions and not haphazard interactions. Haphazard interaction, the default action of most of us is often the most common problem that prevents us practitioners from making progress in Taiji. That’s why the requirements of PM Taiji are so stringent that there is no margin of error to allow for any contravention. Specifications of Taiji are very clear but the difficulty lies in what I say – achieving code compliance. Often, we are tricked by our own mind into believing that whatever we are doing is compliant with the codes. Every time I get that feeling, I hear a voice in my head saying ‘son, you are not there yet, you are merely preparing to be ready to do Taiji!!’.

One can be highly skilled in the art, be a champion yet as long as one cannot re-configure the internals, establish the correct relationship between different body parts, interact and move (or don’t move) in the precise way as prescribed in the Taiji code book, there is no Emergence hence no magic!

P.S. – This is not to say I am trying to advocate some airy-fairy stuff regarding Taiji and/or demean other arts, I penned this mainly to connect a few dots that I happen to be dwelling on for quite some time. The idea is helping me as a Taiji practitioner in getting a framework with which to approach the art.

原文出处:http://practicalmethod.com/2020/04/the-magic-of-taiji/

关于 Bhargav Khaund 巴嘎夫・卡翁达

Bhargav Khaund I am an engineer by training, and I work in an energy and chemical company in a senior managerial role within the Supply Chain and business development function covering the Asian region. I am a keen follower of science, philosophy, current realities etc. and read a lot to keep myself updated. Besides that, I am a dedicated Taiji practitioner. My tryst with Taiji began in late 2010 when I signed up for a basic level Taiji course. My curiosity and hunger to learn more about the art led me to Master Chen Zhonghua. From 2012 I started learning Practical Method Taiji and in 2015 I was accepted as one of his disciples, being the first from the land of yoga. I am also a part time teacher of Taiji. What started off as a quest for a fitness hobby, Taiji has become an inseparable part of my life. Curiosity makes me explore the vast depths of Taiji and my passion makes me take out time to pursue and teach.
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The magic of Taiji 太极的神奇》上有 5 条评论

  1. 根据我近5年的练习会,我写不出这么深的感悟。我可以猜测到,这位外国朋友练拳更用力,更用心。学好太极不分肤色,关键要按规矩去练丶练丶练。我要向他学习。

  2. It is interesting that the method takes all the differences in between people all at once and leads to the goal indicated by the master.
    Control of the growth process. In order not to overlook pure things.
    I feel like I finally understood what my father was saying.
    I was trying to escape that control all the time. . . . after the an ego that only seeks my unplanned freedom.

    I will repeat myself in the future
    “son, you are not there yet, you are merely preparing to be ready to do Taiji!! “

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