Stillness of Movement

by
Will Tracy

How can there be movement and yet be stillness? And, if one is still,
how can there be movement? The answer is not found in words or
precepts, but rather in the experience. What path one takes in seeking
the Way is of no consequene as when a correct path is taken it will
merge at a central point where all other paths meet, which is neither the
Void (Wu Chi) nor the physical and is that state known in Taoism as the
Grand Ultimate or Tai Chi. Every person who has entered or come close to the Way will understand
this, while those who seek, but do not arive at that state will believe they understand, but they do
not. There is stillness of movement when the mind leads intention, and one's intention is to have no
intention and it is at this point that one exists on the threshold or the Way.
I'm speaking of the stillness of motion, which is different from those who wrongly interpret Dong
thong Qiu jing to mean "seek stillness in movement," or, "seek tranquility in motion," or
"tranquility in movement," or "movement meditation." Each is a different process or state, and each
is usually experienced in progression to the Way, or Wu Chi. Yet there are few in Kenpo who aspire
to let alone attain even the lowest state, of "tranquility in motion."
This may be due in part to Kenpo being a hard (as opposed to soft) external system, but Hung
Gar is also an external system, and it moves are more hard than Kenpo. Yet Hung Gar masters
like John Leong exhibit Chi more powerfully than any Kenpo master. The answer therefore,
most likely, lies in the mental state (or lack thereof) of Kenpo training. Too often the
meditative state gives way to force and movement within the techniques. As one progresses,
some Kenpo students feel something is missing and turn to Yoga for meditation. This was the
direction James Mitose took when he stopped teaching, but while Yoga opens the joints, leads
to relaxation, and can lead to the Way, it is basically static. That is, the movements are
limited, with a beginning, a meditative state and ending, which of course is diametrically
opposite of Tai Chi which is continuous without interruption.
Fortunately, there's no need to practice sitting or static meditation to learn movement
meditation. To the contrary, for the beginning student, Yoga and other static meditation
practices may hinder progress in movement. What Yoga teaches, however, is breath control,
and breath control is the most important aspect of training. It is also the most recognizable
difference between different martial arts styles. Taoist breathing (sometimes called reverse
breathing) is employed by Kenpo, where the abdomen expands when you exhale. Buddhist
breathing (sometimes called natural breathing) is deeper, diaphragm breathing, where the
abdomen expands on the aspiration and exhaling is controlled not be the lungs, but by the
abdomen and diaphragm.
One can attain tranquility in motion using either breathing method, but it is easier if one
learns, and employs both methods. Yet, even in Tai Chi some believe because it was
developed as a Taoist fighting style it employs only Taoist breathing. Yang Cheng-fu,
however, used both styles, as did his father, Yang Jain Hao, and both breathing methods are,
or should be, learned by advanced Tai Chi students. Additionally, Yang Cheng-fu taught his
later students to breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, while his early
teaching, and that of his father and grandfather breathed in and out through the nose - and this
is the method used in the Body Set. Unfortunately, most Tai Chi instructors simply tell their
students to, "breathe naturally", and go no further.
Kenpo students are notoriously poor at learning Yang Cheng-fu style Tai Chi Chuan. My
brother Al Tracy recognized this in 1967 when we created Kenpo for Self-Defense; Tai Chi
for Life because two years of Kenpo was better for self-defense than 25 years of Tai Chi. The
stances of Yang style are often contrary to Kenpo, with the body leaning into the moves,
instead of remaining erect, and the movements are too expansive to fit into the Kenpo style.
Chen Man Ch'ing's adaptation of the Yang style was far better suited for Kenpo, and this was
the style Al chose to teach. The style is, however, little more than an exercise and seldom
advances one beyond movement meditation, and I have retained Yang Cheng-fu's style,
holding to the same standard that I apply to Kenpo, to master the original style first, and
eschewing styles that abridge or limit the style.
Seeking stillness of motion is an arduous process even in the best of training, and even more
so in Kenpo. It's for this reason that I espouse Yang Cheng-fu style Tai Chi, which when
properly practiced develops the mental faculties for Intention, the development of Chi and
directing the movement of Chi. I've advocated the teaching Tai Chi in Kenpo schools for
some time, not just for the health benefits, but because the Baby-Boomers will soon number
between 50 and 60 million people over the age of 55, and there will be market for Kenpo for
Self-Defense, Tai Chi for Life.

NOTE added by Roarke Tracy: It took my father four years after his accident in 1999 to be able to
concentrate on Tai Chi moves to where he could complete the form. He now practices every day and tells
me it is the only way he can control pain.

The problem with Tai Chi instruction is it takes time to learn not just the form, but to be good
and look good doing it. When comparing Tai Chi in the United States to that in China where
Tai Chi is practiced every morning, I would say the average person practicing Tai Chi in
China is far better that most of those teaching Tai Chi in the United States.
That aside, once the form is memorized and the student can mimic the instructor, the process
of developing the mental and spirit state, where a "insubstantial spirit rises to the top of the
head" begins. This is probably the easiest aspect of Tai Chi to learn, yet I've seldom found an
instructor who can explain it, let alone a student who can exercise Xu ling ding Jin. This, like
intention, can be demonstrated and most students can experience it in less than ten minutes.
There is, however, a conflict in maintaining the "insubstantial spirit" once Chi is developed
and moving Chi. But until one has developed Chi, this is not important, because the purpose
at this point is not to develop Chi but to develop stillness.
There are 108 postures in the Yang Cheng-fu form as it was taught to me. I counted 242
moves in the form back in 1967, and may have missed some by combining one move with
another, but the exact number was so trivial I never revisited it. The beginning student will
perform the 108 postures in about 15 minutes, while the advanced student will take 30
minutes or more, and when one's breathing is mastered, the form will take close to an hour.
But this requires complete relaxation and a meditative state.
There are three Yang Cheng-fu forms, traditionally called the body form, mind form and spirit
form, and each has 108 postures that are done differently from each outer. The traditional
from is the spirit form, and many Tai Chi instructors say this form should be practiced three
time, once for the body, once for the mind and once for the spirit. While this may be good
practice, it is not the same as practicing the three different, body, mind and spirit forms; and
to facilitate meditation, and move beyond meditation to stillness it's best to also practice the
mind form.
Memorizing the form takes time, and in the process every student will experience "monkey
brain". That is, a state where you are lost and don't remember the next move, or forget what
move you have just performed. The lesson one gains from this is to become more focused. It's
really not until one has committed the form to memory that correct breathing can be fully
practiced. But the student should practice proper breathing whenever it comes to mind; while
walking, sitting, resting, before going to sleep, etc. After breath control is modestly achieved,
Xu ling ding Jin is practiced and coordinated with your breathing. This will require a great
deal of practice, and once the insubstantial spirit can be felt and maintained, one should begin
to coordinate it and breath control with intention.
Kenpo students are usually aware of coordination of upper and lower body, but Tai Chi and
stillness requires distinguishing between substantial and insubstantial; that is the amount of
weight on each foot, when one leg is full and the other empty, or partially so, and which
corresponding hand movement is substantial or insubstantial; that is, the amount of extension
or force of each hand, arm, shoulder or back movement. With this one must be aware of
where movement emanates. For instance, most Kenpo students begin the punch with the fist
moving forward. But the actual movement must first come from the elbow; yet the elbow
cannot move without the shoulder behind it; and, this is where most Kenpo students get their
speed. Tai Chi, and stillness, require the movement to begin with the waist as transmitted to
the back, and it is for this reason one of the ten essentials of Tai Chi is, Han xiong ba bei,
(sink the chest, lift the back). But all this is done in a relaxed state, with the waist (which
leads the back), hips and chest relaxed so the back is extended. This is in contrast to the erect
posture found in Kenpo. But anyone who has ever seen an NFL game has seen a running back
who, after a strenuous play, goes to the bench where he sits hunched over with his chest sunk,
his shoulders dropped and his back raised as he naturally relaxes his body to grain strength.
There are ten important elements generally considered essential in Tai Chi, but those and the
dozen other important elements not listed in Yang Cheng-fu's essentials must eventually be
mastered. However, they are not necessary here for the purpose of explaining stillness of
motion. Once the form is committed to memory and the frustration of memory and movement
have been overcome, the student must practice being quiet.
The Yoga student will learn this from the beginning, but both in Kenpo and Tai Chi the
purpose of being quiet is secondary to proper movement and technique and posture. Being
quiet is a meditative state where the noises and physical environment are blocked or ignored.
We do this every day in our lives without realizing it, and only recognize that we have
blocked out common sounds when for some reason they stop. The most striking examples of
this are experienced by sailors who become so accustomed to the drone of the ships
propellers they no longer notice them, until there is a change in speed, or when the stop. But
the Kenpo student must go deeper and quiet his thoughts. Each student will discover the best
method for doing this. But the Tai Chi student first learns to concentrate thought on a single
element, and then combine the thought with multiple elements of the form, and when the
mind is clear and movement is harmonized one reaches the first level of tranquility in
movement.
There is a fine distinction between tranquility in motion and tranquility of motion, but those
who achieve this understand. When the mind is calm the Tai Chi movements are harmonized
and flow from one to the next. But when the movements flow with intention the motion is
itself tranquil or calm. When one can distinguish the difference, the next step goes contrary to
what is generally accepted in Tai Chi training, to forget self.
To forget self means exactly that, to stop thinking, stop the mind from directing intention, and
allow the movement to proceed without thought. This is a difficult concept, but it can be
understood when you experience your mind is like walking across a bridge over a rushing
river, you stop, but the bridge moves on. When you have reached this state, there is stillness
in motion. When your mind is void and is like walking across a bridge over a rushing river,
you stop, your movement stops, the waters stop, the movement of water stops, the bridge is
no more and you are on the other side of the river, you have experienced the stillness of
movement. The form is no longer important. Your hand and feet can move however they
wish, for like the archer drawing the bow, the arrow releases itself, and you step into the Void,
Wu Chi.