Spirals as a means to generate force and adjust to change

One of the key features of Taoist martial arts is chan si jin: a method of coordinating legs, torso, and arms using spiraling movements.  Through the use of spirals, the Taoist martial artist can simultaneously deflect blows, generate power for striking and joint-locking, or throw his opponent to the ground.  What’s even more impressive is that spirals allow one to do all these things with a minimum of muscular effort.

Spirals play another key role in Taoist martial arts.  They allow the practitioner to adjust to forces used against him while maintaining his centeredness: a quality I call “changeability.”  Maintaining centeredness, a state of total mental and physical harmonious integration, can be said to be a Taoist’s primary goal.  Sophisticated spiral movement allows the Taoist martial artist to do this by simultaneously projecting (yang) and absorbing (yin) force around the “central-lines” of the body.

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Attaining Center in Martial Arts and Life

You begin practice by setting your feet apart, directly under your shoulders, and parallel.  You take a deep but gentle breath in, setting your posture as straight as you can from the top of your head to the center of your feet.  Then you exhale and settle in, relaxing your arms by your sides.  Now the internal work begins.

You start by focusing your attention on your breath – seeing that your inhale and exhale are even and smooth.  You let go of any external concerns and allow yourself to be fully present, consuming your awareness in the task of feeling the subtle sensations of your inner body.  Then you begin to breathe with your lower torso, relaxing your low abdomen, waist, and lower back, and allow the whole area to gently expand on your inhale and relax on your exhale.

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